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Old 07-20-2010, 12:59 AM   #101
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I bought a B&N nook after much research - what swayed me was the following -

  • the ability to borrow free books from the public libraries - I know have a collection of cards from around California
  • the ability to replace the battery myself, not having to send it back
  • the Android operating system - should allow for easier updates
  • the lend me feature
  • B&N runs promotions every Friday - where they give out a free book
I have bought very few book and have a full nook. Also, as mentioned earlie, Calibre is great for downloading newsfeeds to read on the nook. My DW is now considering the purchase of one before our next vacation.
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Old 07-20-2010, 03:32 AM   #102
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Just stayed up far too late reading a book on my iPad. The advantage to the backlit display is all the lights are out in the bedroom. Downside is my night vision will be toast for a bit after turning it off after posting this.
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Old 07-22-2010, 12:57 PM   #103
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Originally Posted by wheel9 View Post
I bought a B&N nook after much research - what swayed me was the following -

  • the ability to borrow free books from the public libraries - I know have a collection of cards from around California
  • the ability to replace the battery myself, not having to send it back
  • the Android operating system - should allow for easier updates
  • the lend me feature
  • B&N runs promotions every Friday - where they give out a free book
I have bought very few book and have a full nook. Also, as mentioned earlie, Calibre is great for downloading newsfeeds to read on the nook. My DW is now considering the purchase of one before our next vacation.
Those are compelling reasons. The big drawback to the Nook, from what I've read in the reviews, is that it very slow to load books and slow to turn pages. But I guess if you're retired, you don't mind the slow.
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Old 07-22-2010, 03:30 PM   #104
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I just got back from my first trip with a Kindle. All I can say is I am sorry I waited this long to get the thing. I had no idea it would be this much better reading books on a Kindle than real book. You got a piece of luggage and waiting in the airport line, now normally it is tough to read a book one handed and standing up not with the Kindle, the page buttons are very convenient. In low light with my fading vision it is a heck of a lot easier to move the font size up than searching for my reading glasses.

Also for men who are looking at the which one to get, be careful about ordering the DX model. I found the regular Kindle fits into jean and cargo pants/short pockets easily I think the extra couple of inches on the DX model may make it too big to put into pockets. The portability is a huge feature of the device.

One of the unexpected bonuses of the Kindle is that while most books are $9.99 there are a lot of books at the $1-$3 range from unknown authors. I am cheap enough that I won't spend $10+ on a book from unknown author without a bit of due diligence (read reviews, thumb through the book, read sample page etc.) at couple of bucks I am much more inclined to experiment similar to spend $.99 on iTunes.

Also there are of course a ton of free classics, although I am not sure I'll really go back and re-read them.
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Old 07-22-2010, 03:42 PM   #105
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Over the past three months, for every 100 hardcover books Amazon.com has sold, it has sold 143 Kindle books.


I wonder how many softcover books they sold. But in any case, we've probably reached a tipping point.
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Old 07-26-2010, 04:08 PM   #106
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Just bought my Kindle. i was waiting for a $100 price point and I was able to get a refurbished model from Amazon Warehouse for $109. I was using my Ipod Touch with the Kindle app but did not like the small screen. I am going to try the new Kindle out tonight.
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Old 08-06-2010, 07:12 AM   #107
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Someone said why have an ebook when a netbook is more versatile. Someone else (probably) said the same thing in relation to an ipad.

Well, for a start, the battery on my netbook lasts about two hours, I believe an Ipad lasts several hours, the battery on my Sony Reader is claimed to last long enough to read War and Peace five times. I can take my Sony on holiday and not have to recharge it until I get home. The netbook may not last the length of single airport wait.

That's just one difference - there are others. For example, the netbook is relatively heavy and awkward to hold, assuming you are going to sit away from a table and hold it like a book. Not very easy to page down, either, if you operate the keyboard at that angle.

I bought the Sony Reader after visiting my local library and finding they didn't have a single book on the shelves from a shortlist of five famous 19th century authors. Once I had the reader, without leaving the house I loaded 200 or so classics I was interested in (available free from the project Gutenberg web site) into the reader.
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Old 08-06-2010, 10:02 AM   #108
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I just pulled the trigger on a Kindle 3, expected to be delivered in early September. It was just announced a week ago. It is Wi-Fi only, $139 (there is a more expensive 3G version, also). Compared to Kindle 2, it has longer battery life, is 17% lighter, 21% smaller but with same size screen, has a new screen with 50% more contrast (among other things much better for low light reading), double the book storage, automatic microcode updates (just like previous kindle). Basically, it looks like a category killer.

Amazon.com: Kindle Wireless Reading Device, Wi-Fi, 6" Display, Graphite - Latest Generation: Kindle Store

The one big disadvantage with Kindle seems to be no native ePub support and it does not support Adobe's Overdrive library checkout system. Converting non-DRM (non-copy protected) epub files for reading on the Kindle is trivial. Doing so with copy protected epub files is more difficult, but can be done.

They are also creating an App store for this thing and have an experimental browser.

The best web site for information on the various readers is MobileRead Forums . They have forums on each device, links to tools you can download, etc.

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Old 08-06-2010, 11:57 AM   #109
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I bought a Kindle 2 a month ago and loved it. The battery seems last forever and I can read outside under the sun. DW also has an iPad with Kindle app so books are loaded on both devices. We can read in the dark or the sun, just one of us has to read outloud :-)
Love them both.
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Old 08-06-2010, 02:08 PM   #110
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Someone said why have an ebook when a netbook is more versatile. Someone else (probably) said the same thing in relation to an ipad.

Well, for a start, the battery on my netbook lasts about two hours, I believe an Ipad lasts several hours, the battery on my Sony Reader is claimed to last long enough to read War and Peace five times. I can take my Sony on holiday and not have to recharge it until I get home. The netbook may not last the length of single airport wait.

That's just one difference - there are others. For example, the netbook is relatively heavy and awkward to hold, assuming you are going to sit away from a table and hold it like a book. Not very easy to page down, either, if you operate the keyboard at that angle.

I bought the Sony Reader after visiting my local library and finding they didn't have a single book on the shelves from a shortlist of five famous 19th century authors. Once I had the reader, without leaving the house I loaded 200 or so classics I was interested in (available free from the project Gutenberg web site) into the reader.
Those devices are back-lit which as you know fries your eyes if your reading for long periods of time. I have a notebook and a netbook and could have spared myself the expence of a Kindle 1 purchase.
However I would not have been able to read for hours, which I tend to do, on those devices.
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Old 08-06-2010, 06:01 PM   #111
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Originally Posted by cjking View Post

That's just one difference - there are others. For example, the netbook is relatively heavy and awkward to hold, assuming you are going to sit away from a table and hold it like a book. Not very easy to page down, either, if you operate the keyboard at that angle.

I bought the Sony Reader after visiting my local library and finding they didn't have a single book on the shelves from a shortlist of five famous 19th century authors. Once I had the reader, without leaving the house I loaded 200 or so classics I was interested in (available free from the project Gutenberg web site) into the reader.
The superior portability of the Kindle is a big deal. There is no way I could read my netbook, while waiting in line at the airport with baggage. Not a problem with a Kindle, since it can be read one one handed, even easier than real books.

I also like the I can stick the Kindle in the front pocket of jeans, and cargo shorts.
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Old 08-06-2010, 07:37 PM   #112
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This is a hypothetical question. I've got this friend who has bought many hundreds of books over the years, and now owns a Sony Reader. He has discovered that many of them are available as PDFs via Bittorrents. He's downloaded many of them for both re-reading and electronic storage, donating the originals to the library. He's only downloaded books he owns, with a few that he previously owned but gave away.

What do y'all think about this practice? Ethically, I mean. He know's it's probably not legal in these days of DMCA. Just curious, since there are so many POVs on this forum.
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Old 08-06-2010, 10:42 PM   #113
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I can speak to the legality but ethically I have no problems (I really frown any type of software piracy, games, movies, and music), especially because he donated the books to the libraries.
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Old 08-09-2010, 12:48 PM   #114
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I'm probably the only one that hasn't used yelp for travel information (seems I'm always behind times). I haven't purchased an iPad yet so will be taking my Kindle with "Experimental" and free G3 Internet when I go to Chicago later this week. This site is really nice to have bookmarked on your Kindle for travel.

Much cheaper than monthly G3 internet access.

Yelp Mobile - Restaurant Reviews, Doctors, Bars, Salons, Dentists and More - Yelp Mobile
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Old 08-09-2010, 02:05 PM   #115
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Do I understand correctly that the Kindle can display ebooks from the library or Project Gutenberg if one uses the Calibre file manager/file converter?

It appears to me that the Kindle is going to be the survivor in this contest, so I would prefer going with it. But it won't natively read the file formats from Seattle Public Library, or KCLS I believe. I recently became intersted when I realized that I could haul around the printed material from my FSI language course on a reader, and the audio on an MP3 player so I don't have to sit in front of my computer to study.

Ha
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Old 08-09-2010, 02:36 PM   #116
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Do I understand correctly that the Kindle can display ebooks from the library or Project Gutenberg if one uses the Calibre file manager/file converter?

It appears to me that the Kindle is going to be the survivor in this contest, so I would prefer going with it. But it won't natively read the file formats from Seattle Public Library, or KCLS I believe. I recently became intersted when I realized that I could haul around the printed material from my FSI language course on a reader, and the audio on an MP3 player so I don't have to sit in front of my computer to study.

Ha
I'm not sure if Kindle will be the only survivor Barnes & Noble 's The Nook is simple to use for transferring books ( even the Sarasota e library books )to the ereader ( so simple that even a non techie like me can do it ) plus it has the Lend me feature . My Sister , my niece , my daughter & I all use their format and trade books so it really brings down the cost of books . So the contest is still on for the Survivor of the ereaders .
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Old 08-09-2010, 03:06 PM   #117
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I'm a bit surprised that some see that Kindle (or equiv E-type Reader) as a choice in that if you purchase one, you've made some sort of lifetime commitment and therefore must give up all other forms of reading and reading materials. Maybe I exaggerate, but my point is that DW and I are avid Kindle users (yes, we each have our own, yikes, oh the lack of frugality) for about 2 years now. We also make regular trips to our local library. AND, we've never passed by a used Book Store without stopping in and perusing the shelves for the offbeat, the rare, the interesting, and the unexpected.

You don't have to choose, people. All the various methods of acquiring and maintaining home libraries still apply, but now you just have another, especially efficient choice. We've found tons of totally free kindle content. We started with about 25 Thousand books, most of which we'll never read. Then we discovered Baen Books and other authors that are experimenting with giving away an early book in a series to get you interested or "hooked" to continue through the rest of that bunch of books. Even Amazon itself does that. Others have pointed out the many very low cost books available making content competitive with used books.

Used books have their place. We find books that the library doesn't have, Amazon doesn't yet carry in Kindle format, and maybe never will as they are out of print, and the enjoyment of discovering new authors by searching the shelves by type, i.e. Mysteries.

Library has it's place. I can continue reading series of books by certain favorite authors as the Library gets them in, but after the sugar has fallen of a bit. Still quite new, but I can wait a few months until demand falls off, and I only pay transport, plus as mentioned, they have all the magazines, and reference materials, and non-fiction books in stock, ready to check out for free.

Someone mentioned one of the other non-Kindle brands permits sharing between family and friends. Kindle has the same deal. We put DW's Mom on our Amazon Account, she can now download any Amazon book we've ever purchased. They permit up to (I think) six users per account to share all the content.

There are utilities already out there (I'll also check out the Calibre) that have permitted me to convert files from any of the other ebook formats to Kindle format. Some take a few minutes, but hey I'm FIRE, I have the time.

Kindle 1 takes a SD Card. Space will never be an issue unlike later versions. A very inexpensive 4Gb chip can contain a literal lifetime of books, be careful not to actually load that many.

The Wireless bit was included to allow easy downloading of new books from Amazon. A Moneymaker for them. However in so doing they included a rather kludgy but useable browser. We found we seldom used that feature on our telephones, so turned it off to the tune of $60 savings per month for the two phones. The Amazon wireless browser is free forever. Way-Cool, and sorta makes up for it's funkiness. I can read email on it in a pinch, I can even visit and read this Board!

When you plug in the USB to your computer, the Kindle just becomes another drive, making it easy to organize, transfer, and backup your content. Remember anything you find in PDF can be converted to Kindle (or mobi, more or less the same thing) I believe new revs of Kindle can read PDF natively.

When you don't need the wireless, you can just turn it off, and get easily a week's battery life. Just did that on a trip.

We use LightBright's for reading at night and not disturbing our mate. A simple clip on LED thing with a little gooseneck for positioning. Cheap and Highly Recommended.

As I said, we're two years in and quite content. I think she paid $289 and mine was a touch less as it was a refurbish, although you couldn't tell and the one-year warranty was the same.

We like 'em, but like used books, and libraries too.
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Old 08-09-2010, 03:51 PM   #118
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I agree with JonnyM. I use a variety of reading methods including Kindle but also paperbacks, hardbacks, library books.

I am now tending to do most reading on my iPad (no the bright light doesn't bother me even if I read for hours).

I share books with my husband and son and we have a number of devices for our Kindle account so the sharing part is fine.

Only one thing that I don't like. I was able to convert other pre-Kindle ebooks (such as my many books from baen) to Kindle format and upload to my kindle account. I can download them to my Kindle (good) but can't download them to my other devices. (I am able to import them into my iBook software through itunes). This is a bit of a pain when I want to put one of those books on another device.
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Old 08-09-2010, 04:51 PM   #119
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I have to also agree .I like my ereader but I still use the library and browse the book stores . It's just another way of reading . Last night our power went out at 8 oclock and I was able to read for several hours using my ereader .
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Old 08-09-2010, 04:56 PM   #120
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I am a little confused to imagine that someone would feel that trying to decide on a reader format would mean that that person would never again read a physical book, or go in a library or bookstore or used book store.

It's a ~$200 purchase, but not a wedding.

Ha
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