Smartphone, Kindle or Nook
 

Will be in Europe for a month in May. I have a Smartphone 4, which maddenly will not work as a phone in Europe, but I was wondering if the e-mail, texting, google part will work there. Would I have to be in a wifi area? Probably wont work on a cruise ship either? Don't laugh, I KNOW I am ignorant about all this. If you have some info for me, just pretend you are addressing someone in kindergarten!!

Also, as a big reader, I am thinking that a Kindle or Nook would be much better than 4 paperbacks. In case I find myself lounging around the pool in the Med (yay!) Are there any major differences between the two? I was thinking about the Nook for about $149.00 which is in color. a). Would I be able to read in the sun, and b). Would I be able to download books from a Stateside Library while in Europe.

Don't forget, kindergartenese!

I am not sure why your phone won't work in Europe. And yes they DO work on many cruise ships since a lot of the ships have installed "towers" for exactly that purpose.

Cannot help otherwise except to say that a Kindle is, in fact, illuminated in such a way that you can easily read even in the brightest sunlight

"a Kindle or Nook would be much better than 4 paperbacks"

Not if they break down, they won't. I speak as someone who's currently Kindle-less while squabbling over warranties, replacements etc. Stuff that's merely a pain when you're at home with a desktop computer and a freephone complaints number- but catastrophic if you're foolish enough to go abroad without an emergency stash of proper books, and almost unrecoverable if you're somewhere without a bookshop with an adequate stock of books in a language you're familiar with.

Which said: Amazon's back catalogue of free or almost free non-copyright books is so immense, even the skinnest of flints among us will have enough to keep him fully provided with unpaid-for reading matter for the rest of our lives. If the damn machine works that long

The Nook color is difficult to read in the sun because the the lcd screen is backlit. You'd have to go with the regular B&W only Nook reader ($99) if you're planning to do a lot of reading under direct sunlight. I'm not sure about downloading while in Europe, but you can go directly into a B&N store and ask the Nook people there about it.

I've had the B&W Nook since Thanksgiving 2011 and have not had any issue with it. And if it breaks down? Well then that'll give you more time to interact with the locals :)

I have a Sony e-reader since Amazon insist I have to buy a Kindle from the US rather than the UK.

So I use Adobe DRM books, which I buy from a variety of sites including Kobo in the US and a couple of Dutch sites. UK sites tend to need a proxy to use them.

All suppliers of e-books have vast catalogues of free books - the best place in my experience is Project Gutenberg.

A Nook is tied to Barnes and Noble so I am not sure if you can download books while travelling. Generally it is better to load your reader up with books before you go so you are not relying on s dodgy, slow wifi connection somewhere.

Amazon are a bit stroppy about selling their Kindle books too - many can only be sold in the US or the UK and they check your internet location before allowing them to be downloaded. My brother was unable to download a new book to his UK Kindle when he visited us for us instance.

I took a Nook with me last year and was very happy with its performance. You can't download from Europe so be sure to take as many books as you can. B&N has a lot of free ones along with those you purchase.

My UK registered kindle has travelled all over the world with me in the past 18 months. I have the 3g version and coverage is good in most places but Amazon do have a map showing the coverage. Amazon can query purchases when you are away from home but to be honest it's easy to buy your books before you go.
A lot of hotels in Greece (and other parts of Europe) have bookshelves where people leave the books they've read and just pick up something else to read. This is usually free and the books are usually English or German. It does mean that you don't have to carry your read books home with you.

Love, love, love the Nook color for reading and gentle web surfing. (For more activities, the IPad is it.) With that said, the Nook also has disadvantages in travel. Here are the cons I have experienced so far:

1) As previously noted, it is difficult (not impossible) to read in direct sunlight due to the backlight.

2) No 3G- so you must download from a wireless or wired internet connection. (Nook B&W has 3G - makes no sense why the color version does not.)

3) The power cord insertion end is fragile. If it breaks while on your trip, there is no way to power the Nook. It does not charge with your laptop, and the power cord tip is unique. (This has happened to me twice; luckily, both times in the U.S. B&N is aware of the problem, and will ship you a new one if it breaks within a year. To solve this problem, be careful how you pack the power cable so it doesn't bend in your bag, and be careful of how you handle it when it's plugged in.)

4) My pet peeve - On flights, before takeoff and 20 minutes or so from landing, you have to turn off all electric devices - including e-readers.

Because of the above, I always travel with a paperback or 2 as backup.

With that said, love the Nook! I travel with it everywhere as it's a quick fit in my purse. I even download travel books, and sightsee with it because it is light. Load it up with books before you leave - you can always read them when you are at home.

Happy reading and travels!

I can't input on the travelling aspect; however I am a Kindle fan. I got a Kindle Fire for my birthday and I rarely go anywhere without it.

However, with that being said, I agree with flanneruk. If they break down, it's always best to have a stash on hand. I couldn't imagine not having anything to read... :(

I was an early adopter, having bought a Sony Reader before the Kindles and Nooks were introduced. I am now on my third generation Sony Reader, the PRS-T1 which has a touch screen and wi-fi capability.

Whichever eReader you choose, IMHO there are several things you should look for: lightweight, so it is comfortable to hold during long reading sessions; clear text, and easy to read even in bright sunlight; long battery life. It should be possible to download books from several sources, including while travelling, either through a separate computer or through its own wi-fi capability. Other features, such as touch screen, 3G connection, dictionary, etc. are desirable but not necessary.

Most of those features can be found on any eReader that has an e-paper display. This type of display is closest to a real book, and can be read easily in bright sunlight. The display only uses power when changing pages, so has a long battery life (up to 100 hours on my current model).

If I didn't already have a Sony Reader I would probably pick a Kindle, but others may be just as good.

:-)

With the Kindle Fire or the Nook Color, the screens are backlit (like your phone or an iPad), so it would be like trying to read your phone in bright sunlight. If you want an E-Ink screen, you want either the Kindle Touch or the Nook Simple Touch (or there are other options from Sony and Kobo, but I'm not familiar with those). Those are *not* backlit, meaning you have to have your own light source to read them (like a normal book), but you can absolutely read in direct sun. You can't, however, surf the web on them, so you'd have to decide which is more important.

I got a Nook Simple Touch for Christmas and love it. I asked for that instead of the Kindle Touch for a few reasons:
1. The design: I like that the Nook has the option of either using buttons or swiping on the screen itself to turn pages. The Kindle, if I remember correctly, only has the touch option. I've used the buttons much more than I thought I would - it's a lot easier to read one-handed while eating breakfast or whatever.

2. Book rights: With the Kindle, you are limited to buying books from Amazon and only Amazon (though my library does have books available to check out in the Kindle format). The Nook uses the epub format, which means that I can buy books from Barnes & Noble but also from Google Books or any independent bookstore with that option. My local bookstore is about to have that set up, and I'm glad that part of my purchase price will support them.

There are some down sides of the Nook, and how much they matter will depend on your priorities. It's wifi only, no 3G coverage, and you can't buy books overseas. To get books from the library or non-B&N sources, you have to download them onto your computer and sync it like you do with an iPod.

One thing I like about Sony is the Reader Library, which I maintain on my desktop computer at home, and back up on a netbook. The program works a bit like iTunes, where you can transfer titles from the library to various devices. I live in Europe and can purchase books from the US Sony Reader store. The reader uses epub format, so I can also download from Google, Adobe, Project Gutenberg, and other sources. There are lots of free books available. :-)

Get a Kindle. Don't be put off by someone having one that broke... it's like not buying a car because it might break.
Chances are you'll be fine.

My experience with Amazon was and is excellent. A couple of weeks after I bought mine I got a cheque for 20 dollars from them because they'd reduced the shipping cost to Canada soon
after I'd bought mine. More than fair.

Not sure about your phone... of course it will do some things if you have a WIFI connection. Are you certain it can't work as a phone though? If it is GSM it should work as long as you have it unlocked. Your carrier might do this for you... if not look locally for someone offering this service... Kijiji and Craigslist are likely places. Cost is in the 20-35 dollar range.
Then you can pick up a local SIM card.

As a rule... phone calls and internet shipboard can be very expensive.

I took my Kindle to Greece for a month last summer and it performed well most of the time sitting on beaches in glorious sun. I did download about 20 books before we left so I did not try to purchase more while we were in Greece. We tend to travel very light with just one carry on bag each and I have always used about 25% of my luggage space for pocketbooks and now I am free to pack a bit more stuff.
My wife brought her netbook so I was able to charge the kindle from her computer and she had additional books stored in there that we could have downloaded as we were able to use the internet.

A friend has just returned from her latest annual trip to Japan - her first trip there with a Kindle. I waited to hear her experience before I buy. She loved having it with her. Daylight reading was fine. Hers had no backlight and she commented that this would have been handy. She actually purchased a clip on light. She seemed to not find this satisfactory. I shall ask her why. What is needed is a product with a facility to switch between daylight/night reading. I'm still considering this problem myself. I plan to take one to Italy and Switzerland - read on the trains if I'm tired of the view and at night to relax. Plus store travel guides to refresh my brain on my pre trip planning whilst travelling.

You can buy a case for the kindle which has a built in light that pulls out from the top right hand corner of the case and is powered by the kindle itself.

http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Lighted...9283239&sr=8-1

I have the 3G version - have used it in England, France, Germany and Australia including downloading books on the go (and rudimentary checking of email with the experimental browser) without issue. If you read inside and out, it's the perfect solution.

I too have a 3G Kindle, it has traveled many times with me. I love it! Sure beats carrying a load of books around, I also have some travel books on it with maps that have come in handy. I am in Australia and have not ever had any trouble downloading at home or abroad.

You mentioned a cruise - ships usually have great libraries. Many people read their own books and leave them behind and or swap.

Another Kindle 3G user. I also started with Sony but find Kindle so much more convenient.
Don't forget that you can also get a Kindle app. for your IPhone
It will even take you to the page you were last reading.
For free books, go to http://www.feedbooks.com/
or http://www.manybooks.net/
Manybooks gets its titles from Gutenberg, but it's a nicer site to use.
As others have said, the Kindle site has many free books and complete works of classic authors for ridiculously low prices

<i>Another Kindle 3G user. I also started with Sony but find Kindle so much more convenient.</i>

MissPrism, that's good to hear. I gave my daughter a Kindle 3G for Christmas. :-)

Bookmarking - thanks for the informatin