Wondering on Wednesday: Textbooks on E-Readers?

As a college student if I can find a way to lighten my book load then that’s great.  This past summer I bought the Nook Color for a few reasons; at the time it was the only eReader that you could get magazines on (which I love), it was greener, and it was better for my wallet.  It has had several updates on it that allow me to have interactive magazines and books and I can now watch Netflix .  But one thing that the Nook, as well as the Kindle, is missing is the ability to load eText books on to them.  As a person with six textbooks and has to walk to most of my classes I find this very annoying.  

So why can’t you get text books on e-readers?  Apparently because the screens are too small to properly display the text.  If I had known this at the time it may have been a deal breaker for the Nook.  Needless to say, I am still hoping for an update that will allow me to purchase my textbooks on my Nook.  Interactive, maybe, to make the pictures take up less room?

Although you can’t get your textbooks on your e-reader, Barnes and Noble does offer Nook Study, which allows you to view your textbooks on your laptop.  While this would eliminate the tons of books that you’d have to pack around, some teachers don’t allow students to bring their laptops into class.  Then there’s the whole possibility of something happening to your computer, which a lot more expensive to get fixed or replaced than a eReader.

What do you guys think?  Is it a deal breaker for you?  

Smashwords

Did you know that you can purchase books for your e-reader at more places than just the Kindle or Nook store? You can! In fact Smashwords is one of those fantastic websites that lets you do it.

All you have you to do is go their the website, www.smashwords.com, create your personal account, find the book you are looking for and go to the checkout line. After purchasing your book, there are all kinds of formats you can get your for whether that be Nook, Kindle, Sony E-reader, PC, Apple... the list goes on and on. So the coolest thing about this is that if you decide someday that you have a Nook and you now want a Kindle (or vise-versa, I'm not showing favoritism!)  all you have to do is redownload those books in the format that you need for your new device. No extra charge. Cool, right?!

Now to get your book from the computer on to your e-reader, you have to use a USB cord, plug in your e-reader device and bring up the folder with all of it's contents. (Go to your My Computer folder and bring up your e-reader contents folder from there.) All you have to do is place your purchased, downloaded book into the e-reader folder using the drag and drop method.

Also, if you didn't know, Smashwords also has a great Facebook page. They give great tips and tidbits and sometimes even free books.

Have you guys used Smashwords before? I'll be honest, I don't use it too often unless I have a coupon for a book just because Amazon's Whispernet rocks to me, but it's still a great system. You may not be able to find every author you're looking for, but many of them are up there, plus a bunch of indies that aren't necessarily posted on Amazon or Barnes & Noble. So what do you think of this way of getting books?

-J

Accidents Happen - Part 3!

Busted screens

Whether your e-reader was dropped or hit by something wrong in your purse or carryon bag, this can usually be fixed. All Kindles, whether bought in a retail store or online at Amazon’s website, automatically have a one year warrantee. In this one year time period you can replace one Kindle free of charge. All you have to do is call Amazon’s customer service line at 1 (800) 201-7575 and tell them your situation. They will then send you a replacement Kindle within two business days, along with a UPS tag so you can send your old Kindle to them.  Usually all this is done with little to no hassle and no rush on sending the old Kindle back!

And of course, all of your purchased books can be found in your achieves. And next week I will have a post on transferring collections, whether that be from a Kindle 2 to a Kindle 3, or from a broken Kindle to replacement one.

Note: I have heard stories of the customer service rep saying “Anything that happened to your Kindle that wouldn’t have happened to a normal book if it was in that situation, we’ll replace. They’re supposed to be more durable than books.” Then I’ve heard the other side saying “I’m sorry, there’s nothing we can do because it was done was busted inside your bag (purse, carryon, ect).”
Point of this story: be on the safe side and don’t mention that your Kindle was broke in a bag. You never know who you’re talking to on the other end.

Every Nook you buy also has a one year warranty automatically. Barnes and Noble is a bit more selective than Amazon on replacing your e-reader though especially in broken screen situations.  You can contact B&N at 1 (800) 843-2665, talk to a service representative and if they are willing to replace your Nook, they will pay for shipping to send you the replacement as well as for you to send the broken one back.

You could also replace the cover yourself. You can find the screen on Ebay, the model number is: LG LD070WS1. It’s about $69 plus shipping but you’ll also need to get a kit give you the tools you’ll need to replace the screen. Personally, this route is more difficult, but it may be worth the trouble. If you want to see how click here to watch a video we found on YouTube.

If they don’t offer to replace your Nook and you don’t feel comfortable replacing the screen yourself you can contact the Nook Repair Service. It looks like the price to replace the screen is about $199 plus $69 for labor plus shipping… which it sounds like you would be better off just purchasing a new Nook unfortunately. And if you buy a new one, always hold onto the old parts such as the battery.

Have you guys had much difficulty with customer service at either place? How durable has your experience with your e-reader been?

-J

Note: We are obviously not liable for any damage done  while trying to replace your screen.