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I just got a Kindle!

M.A.N.

Scribe
I agree with you on the DRM issue. It's a problem, but actually mostly with the e-books from UK and US.
Here in Sweden (and Germany) all (most) publishers have dropped the DRM.
Hopefully we'll see this soon with the english ebooks as well.

Take care,
Magnus
 

Philip Overby

Staff
Article Team
I just got my Kindle yesterday and spent about an hour tinkering with it before I went to bed. I have to admit, it's pretty cool. And I'm not one of these people that's into gadgets and such. Since I move a lot, I can't deal with buying new books all the time and carrying them with me everywhere I go. So the Kindle is a way to limit all this book carting the rest of my life.

So from just a first glance, here are the pros and cons:

Pros
1. The screen looks pretty nice. No glare, just a plain screen that looks about as much like paper as I can imagine.
2. 3G is my friend. I can download books anywhere, anytime.
3. There are some "experimental" features on it, such as a web browser (which is pretty cool, but slow at times) and a way to put MP3s on your Kindle too
4. You can download samples, so even if you want to buy a print book, you can check it out beforehand. I love this feature, as sometimes I'll think of a book I want, but I want to check it out first. So now I can do it anywhere!
5. Some games! Mostly word games that are pretty fun.

Cons
1. Some of the Kindle books can be quite expensive. But as I understand, these prices are set by their publishers and not Amazon. But there are lots of free books and quite inexpensive ones as well.
2. No backlight. For some reason I thought it would glow in the dark. But it doesn't, but that's a minor complaint.
3. The buttons are a little clunky, but I'm getting used to it, so it's not bad.

Those are my first thoughts! I don't think it can replace regular books, but I do see it as a positive upgrade for someone that travels a lot. And I do.
 

myrddin173

Maester
While I highly doubt paper books are going to go out of style anytime soon, I think e-readers are a great idea. I got my NOOK at christmas and have loved it ever since. I mostly use it to purchase books where either I can't find them in the book store, I only have Borders near me, or I have the rest of the series in paperback and want to keep them all the same/don't want to pay for hard cover and I want to read it RIGHT NOW, no waiting a year for it to come out in paperback.
 

Artless

Minstrel
I really should get a Kindle.
Specifically for the awesome titles that are available in the Public domain via Project Gutenberg.
Love that website.
 

kennyc

Inkling
Free books at Project Gutenberg, Google Books, Feedbooks and others. Even Amazon has a few free one and special offers now and then.
 

Ophiucha

Auror
I got a Kindle recently, and so far, I am pretty fond of it. It reads a lot like a proper book, even if it doesn't feel much like one, and I must say, instantaneous midnight releases really do it for me (I had pre-ordered China Miéville's new book, and I got it at midnight exactly of the release date, which meant a sleepless night of outstandingness). Admittedly, I haven't been reading much at all recently, between the lack of books that interest me (I sort of spent most of high school powerhousing through all of the big names in fantasy, so now I mostly reread my favorites and wait around for new releases) and the fact that I am busy writing and planning my wedding. But still, I've read a few books on it, and I like it.
 
I don't own one, but can definitely see the value in them. There's something to be said for carrying a small library with you in a slim package.

That being said, I don't care for the implication (made by some) that they will one day phase out books made from paper. I love the feel of a paper book in my hands, and the smell of dead trees and ink. I would hate to see them vanish.

Can you see your kindle completely replacing paper books in your life?

With due respect, replacing my paper books is my goal! I want all my books in digital form--preferably on my Kindle, but e-books are good too. (I know there's a way to load my e-books onto my Kindle, but I haven't figured it out yet . . .)

I think my negative attitude toward paper books comes from living in small apartments, where space was limited--and from moving several times and having to pack all those paper books!
 

M.A.N.

Scribe
I don't think paperbooks will disappear any time soon, but I definitely think ebooks (or rather text in various formats) will continoue to grow.
For the reason above and many, many more.
One reason we heard in the bookstore the other day: it's better having an ereader with you on holiday, because that allows you to bring more stuff back home ... (Sangria, Ouzo and other souvenirs and beverages)

A book (paperbook that is) is just a container with writing in it. It's the writing we're interested in, not the container. It's only natural for it to become digital, because of the advantages it gives you.

I often hear that people don't want to pay more for the ebook, because you don't own it, you can't lend it to someone, you can't give it away and so on and so on.
And to me that seems like a backwards thinking. I feel the ebook is worth more than the paperbook, because of the advantages it gives to me, being able to adjust fontsize (highly underrated), search the text and so on.

Naturally this is something very individual, but I remember the transition from vinyl to CD. I embraced that immediatly, while many others didn't.

Just my 2 cents.
 

Behelit

Troubadour
An e-book is undoubtedly a progressive and totally predictable move in the silicon age. What makes it arguably slow, depending who you ask, to catch is the fact that you are paying a premium to purchase strictly a "container". Its an investment.

Comparing it to the transition from vinyl to cd is too different. It would be more like the transition from cassette to mp3 player. Except even then the cassette tape would play itself, be portable, and you own each physical copy of an "album". You would be paying 150$US for an mp3 player and that doesn't give you any music yet. Lets even bypass the fact that the sound quality is any better because to be accurate, that wouldn't count. I wouldn't consider the ability to magnify font size to be on par with an increased sound quality.

There are all kinds of parallel perks to mp3 players compared to owning each individual cassette. You are able to carry many albums in one device, there's an equalizer (this usually doesn't increase sound quality, but does allow you to tweak how you perceive the sound to your liking), being able to skip around to any part of a song without fast forwarding or rewinding, etc. If it is worth 150$ to do those things then, yes, owning an e-reader is for you. If you literally care only about the content then it is not truly worth 150$.

The most ironic thing, if this wave of tablets truly kicks off, its going to make the e-reader obsolete. Pretty much the only difference, between an e-reader and a tablet, is the screen. Some e-readers, like the Nook Color, just needs to be rooted into a tablet.

One more thing of note, new technology is notorious for imperfections and has incomparable, or less than accessible, content in comparison to its predecessor. Once these are tweaked and sorted out, it is THEN only logical for the masses to hop on the bandwagon.
 
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kennyc

Inkling
....

The most ironic thing, if this wave of tablets truly kicks off, its going to make the e-reader obsolete. Pretty much the only difference, between an e-reader and a tablet, is the screen. Some e-readers, like the Nook Color, just needs to be rooted into a tablet.
.....

Yes and no. The screen (e-ink on ereaders like Nook, Sony, Kindle and others) is not backlit and reads much like a book -- easier on the eyes to many. I personally can read either way -- on my Xoom or Droid (lcd-backlit) or on my Sony or Kindle e-ink. The other major difference is battery life, the e-ink readers can run for days or weeks between charges, not true of lcd tablets which have a battery life of a few hours typically.

To each his own though.

I actually just wanted to update this thread because yesterday Amazon released a Kindle book reader for Firefox which will let you access all your Kindle/amazon books and sync bookmarks, notes etc. just like the other Kindles and Kindle apps. See/install it at: https://read.amazon.com/


Enjoy.
 

Fangz

New Member
I have the Nook, and it's perfect for what I use it for. I love the fact that it will handle multiple formats, epub, lit, html, pdf and some others, I think. There is a free program, Calibre, that will run on your PC and handle all major formats and convert one to another. It's great reader and it's compatible with many ebook devices as well. If you are into Ebooks, do check out calibre!!!
 
I read on my phone, which is a Nokia N8. Although the screen is much smaller than a tablet, I find that it is a very comfortable experience. One of the features I really like is the ability to invert the text so that you have white text on black background. This allows you to read at night with no light on. My wife loves this feature too :)
 
I had a 2nd gen Kindle. (My wife had a 1st gen, which died, so I got her a 3rd gen, which she loves.) Mine died too eventually, and now I just read all my ebooks on my phone (Android G1). My wife can't stand reading books on the phone, but it's fine for me. I've probably read 15-20 books that way so far, including A Dance with Dragons. I don't know that I'll bother getting a Kindle device again, at least not for a while. I'd want a better phone first.
 

kennyc

Inkling
I received my Kindle Fire this week and have been using it for the last few days. I love it! It's certainly not a full Android Tablet like my Xoom, but it's way more portable, reading on it is great, videos are great. Browsing the web is just 'okay' but the access to all my Amazon content and it being synced across all my devices (Kindle 2, computer, Xoom, Fire, and DroidX) is the real clincher. The video content is even synced with my TV which has Amazon Video app on it. :)

I'm lovin' it!
 

Steerpike

Felis amatus
Moderator
I love my Kindle with the e-ink display. I still read a lot of physical books as well, and I was leery of getting a Kindle for a long time, but I have to say that once I actually bought it I was quite pleased with the reading experience and the ease of carrying so many books with me on trips.
 
To be honest I don't use my kindle as much as I should ... I do like it though.
Due to the fact that I am A. a fan of classics and B. a cheapskate ... I most frequently use it to download free books off ProjectGutenburg and (never tried it but) I suspect you could use it to read some Medieval texts on Fordham's historical text archive site-another little treasure I could not live without.

In school I mostly used it to download my Anthropology text books (they were cheaper & I stopped losing books in the mail- a bonus ;)) ... of course you can upload your own books to it which is also nice (I sometimes put my notes on it to study on the city bus w/o having people looking over my shoulder) ...

Now that I'm done w school I mostly use it for classics.

And yes - it should be backed up on your computer.
You should also shut off the internet when you're not using it. I have one of the older models (got it several years ago) and I never remember to charge the darn thing!

Happy Reading :)
 

Fyle

Inkling
I wont make my book available for electronic download - paper only for me!

It is my feeling that the files are child's play to crack, and before you know it, your tome is available for free on The Pirate Bay or some such site. That means zero revenue from those "copies".

I prefer reading a proper book in any event.

Good point...

I havent thought about this for a while. It has crossed my mind.
 
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