Any thoughts on the Kindle e-reader? I've seen them on Amazon at £109, and wouldn't mind buying one for the wife for Christmas.
Thanks.
CS
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They are also available in some shops like John Lewis. The screen on these us very good. The cheaper version is wifi only.
Some say the new sony prs350 is better with it's touch screen. But it is more expensive.
Don't forget you will have to buy books. I now trend to get my ebooks on Amazon but converting them for my sony reader is a faff. Soon our library will support borrowing ebooks. Not sure if the Amazon wil l be supported.
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Ha one last Christmas - very good took it to the States - very useful as a internet browser (basic) as the screen is bigger than the iPod Touch I had far more user friendly in one way as long as you remember it's screen deals with text well and graphics rather badly. Light and portable screen works well in all light conditions.
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I saw the new Kindles in JL yesterday. The screens looked even better than before.
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Very nice bit of kit for the cash - the liquid paper screen (or whatever it's called) is extremely impressive and very easy on the eyes.
Don't expect massive savings on the price of books though - I bought a couple of George Orwell paperbacks (Penguin Modern Classics edition) off Amazon last week and each was about £3 cheaper than the e-version for Kindle.
Very handy if any part of the journey to work involves public transport, though - being smaller than an iPad it's much easier to stow in a bag/coat pocket.
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I've thought about them but;
we tend to buy several paperbacks at one time. Wife starts at one end, we cross over in the middle. So we'd need two Kindles. And then someone would be reading book a on the Kindle which also has book b and book b is the only one which the other person hasn't read. If you can't swap a book between Kindles then there's a problem.
As has been pointed out the electronic books are not much cheaper than paperbacks, if at all. There's VAT on electronic books. Publishers must be having us on.
When finished with, books go to charity shop. There's little "great literature" that I'd want to keep forever.
You're not going to leave a Kindle on your towel on the beach.
Nice toy but that's all it is to me.
John
Last edited by: Tooslow on Sun 28 Nov 10 at 19:05
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I use Kindle and can access my books on my work laptop, my desktop, my Mac, my iPod touch and my Android phone. Same books. I suspect if you registered two physical Kindle devices toy your Amazon account you'd see the books on both.
Sometimes there are good prices for Kindle books. When the UK store opened there were many low priced items and some were actually free. Not being tied to Kindle (I have a Sony eReader) I sometimes get books at a good price on the WHSmith ebook site. I somehow doubt the Kindle would load ePub files but then my eBook reader does not support the MOBI derived Kindle format either and so needs converting (via Calibre.... but Calibre does not remove any DRM and I won't say how that can be done in public).
One thing I like about Kindle as a service is the ability to download the start of a book to see if you like it before buying the item. I have a few stacked up for Xmas.
Our library is apparently going to start lending eBooks - I don't suppose this will include the Amazon Kindle unless it does work with DRM'd ePub files.
I know what you say about leaving the eBook on a towel. But I would probably also have my camera and phone with me.... so I'd not be able to leave them unattended either.
Last edited by: rtj70 on Sun 28 Nov 10 at 19:14
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Many thanks for the replies.
Clk Sec
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Quite a few people buy Kindle on the asumption that they won't have to buy any book again and then feel disappointed.
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You mean disappointed that books on Kindle cost? And often as much as or even more than a paperback copy which is wrong.
One reason I didn't get a Kindle was being tied into Amazon format eBooks. I like shopping around. It does involve some conversion which some will say is illegal - but I say I've bought the book and want to read it. If I bought a paperback I could choose to give it away when finished etc. You cannot do that with a DRM'd eBook.
I am currently reading more ebooks on my Android phone (4" screen) than my Sony reader (5" screen) because it is backlit. On holiday the phone is no good outdoors in bright light.
Last edited by: rtj70 on Mon 29 Nov 10 at 18:25
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I am delighted with mine. I was amazed how easy it was to register etc., load and use, compared with most IT. Books are a snare, however, as some Kindle versions are more expensive than normaL ones. Some from Amazon are free. I hadn't quite wanted to get into The Origin of Species and The Odyssey just yet but hey! if it's free, I'll read it. There are over 30,000 free books on Project Gutenberg, those out of copyright for 50 years, and there are other free sites as well.
Kindle is the cheapest eBook reader and Which? reckons it is the best.
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But it doesn't as fas as I know support Adobe DRM'd ePub books which means you cannot borrow ebooks from libraries etc. Or does a Kindle reader support ePub books?
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I think you're right - and that makes me think a Sony PRS-350 might be more useful for my wife. I have confirmed that our library service offers e-books but the Kindle it seems is not epub friendly.
I gather that the epub format can be converted for Kindle using the open-source Calibre but I can't confirm that this will work at all with DRM'd files or even how easy it is for a non-expert.
The Sony doesn't have WiFi or 3G either, but on reflection I don't think downloading books on a PC and syncing is really a problem.
However I'm still feeling a bit lost with this so any guidance is still welcome.
Last edited by: Manatee on Wed 1 Dec 10 at 18:51
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I really wish we could kill e-books and e-book readers at source.
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Calibre can be used to convert between different ebook formats but they must be DRM free. Not strictly legal? So I wouldn't say how. Can you copy ebooks onto a kindle manually? Do the books need to come from Amazon?
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I don't think Adobe is covered. Of dozens of free Gutenberg titles I have checked, all have had a Kindle or (similarly compatible) mobi version, among several others. If you have an Amazon account you can download both free (not many) and paid books direct from its "Kindle Store" using wi-fi and you will be debited directly. For it and other sites you can also transfer books via computer, using the USB cord that comes with the device. There is some kind of email service catered for so I imagine you can copy from other Kindle. I believe there are a number of "How To..." books on eBook readers so maybe it is best to read a couple.
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I've looked at the Kindle, but the fact you can't swap books between devices puts me off as does the fact that I like browsing in the library.
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You can have your purchased Kindle library available on a number of devices. I've just got a new work laptop and installed Kindle (so can access my Kindle technical books). And have a reader on the iPod and Android phone and of course the iMac.
I assume Espada is talking about swapping books with someone else?
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Yes - with Espadrille. Seems a waste to buy two though. Somehow I there is a feel to a book you don't get with a piece of equipment. I'm probably a Luddite - so help me!
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I am a techno kiddie and embrace all new technology...
However, you cant replace the feel, practicality, longevity, and the ability to lend on or sell, a proper book.
E-books are a curse and a con
Last edited by: Zero on Wed 8 Dec 10 at 21:37
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I like hard copy books and must have around 2000 of them at home. However, they don't have the same practicality as a device which could probably house half of them, giving a huge reading choice at the touch of a couple of buttons and taking an infinitesimal amount of the space.
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Well, herself will be opening a Sony PRS-650 'Touch' e-reader tomorrow. A couple of nights ago I furtively removed it from its box, to charge it and set it up with a few books, borrowed from Herts Library Service using her library card!
A good thing too, because it took me a good four hours in the end. The destructions were useless, even after I'd actually read them. The library lends mainly epub books, DRM'd, and unlocked for7/14/21 days. You can only have 3 at once, but they can be 'returned' using Adobe Digital Editions.
The set up was a pain because ADE would not 'see' the reader at all to begin with. No clues at all, at least any that I found, in the ADE help file or the reader manual. Resorting to Google revealed that a lot of people have this problem!
The solution is to download the Sony eBook Library software. This does see the reader, and subsequently ADE can see it.
Anyway it's done now, but boy am I glad I've done it and not landed her with that to sort out on Christmas Day.
I'll report on how well it has gone down when she's tried it for a week or two!
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>> borrowed from Herts Library Service using her library card!
Very generous of you ;-) But the generosity is in providing the device. May she enjoy it a lot.
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A really description of why proper books are less hassle.
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Kindle - rtj70
