Amazon Kindle - ebooks & readers v "traditional"

[Jay G.]

Originally Posted by drmoze

If you want Wikipedia access, a decent cell phone/pda with browser would be better.

A cell phone/pda would require either a free wifi access point, or a per-month data charge on their cell account (if they have one). The Kindle's data access is always free, which is what I think he meant by "always on."

[xraybies]

I've read ebooks on every device I have, desktops, laptops, Pocket PC's. I love the convenience of having a ton of books at my disposal depending on my whim at the moment. I wouldn't buy the current readers due to price but when they come down I'd probably snap one up. I think all this "soft and fuzzy" feeling from touching paper is kind of silly, if you feel the need to touch paper while you're reading an ebook just keep a token book nearby and fondle it whenever you get the urge.

[bloopbleep]

when was the last time Amazon had them in stock? I actually am thinking of getting one when I get my stimulas rebate.

[davidh777]

Looks like they're in stock now. Considering it....

[Deke Rivers]

I like mine..as long as you use it as its intended (a book reader) you wont be disappointed.

[The Bus]

Letter to Shareholders

Looks like it is "permanently" in stock now. This needs to be cheaper than $399 though.

[CloverClover]

I recently bought a kindle, it is okay, I wish the screen was better for images and in color (to view comics / graphic novels) and it doesn't have a night reading option... but overall I will probably keep it. I was surprised that it has a web browser and not just wikipedia, I didn't know it had free internet so that was definitely nice.

[Mitchforth]

I've been playing with one of these for a few days. I think the most valid complaint about it is the design decision on the page turn buttons. Because they are so big, there's no way to grip the device by the side of the frame without accidentally turning the page.

This could be fixed, however, with a firmware option that locks the page button unless you hold down the "alt" key when you press it, similar to the hibernate feature.

The lack of color or animation on the screen is definitely a worthwhile sacrifice for the e-ink display. For those who don't fully understand what this is, the screen seems to "print" the text and then switch off. There's no flickering, there's no light shining in your eyes. It's very much like reading a book.

The ability to change the font size is also really nice, and this thing is probably easier to read on at the gym than a regular book, especially since it's difficult to turn pages and keep your place on a cardio machine.

Also, the library is constantly upgraded. I wanted to read a book that came out in hardcover immediately, and it was on kindle shortly after midnight on the release day.

[kaze0]

Theres definate issues with the page turn buttons, but honestly I'd rather have the buttons the way they are instead of having less accessable buttons. With the cover on and folded back i can perfectly hold the kindle.

[ds6161]

Originally Posted by CloverClover

I recently bought a kindle, it is okay, I wish the screen was better for images and in color (to view comics / graphic novels) and it doesn't have a night reading option... but overall I will probably keep it. I was surprised that it has a web browser and not just wikipedia, I didn't know it had free internet so that was definitely nice.

CloverClover how does the web browser work? Other than Java & moving ad's does it display normal web pages?

I mainly visit web forums just like dvd talk, can you login and use like normal?
Thankz for any info..

[otto24]

The kindle looks good but there are so many sites out there i never know which one to go for. I buy second hand books ofebay too and sells student books , hitflip(for swapping) as well as online bookshops like blackwells (which are some cheaper than specific online stores). Its good as a travel around a lot so just need to find the right stores depending on where i am located. Although it doesnt help when i lug an entire suitcase of books back home!

[drmoze]

I have a Sony Reader (not a Kindle--same screen and basic idea though). I have a little over 100 books on it as my current 'to read' list, and the internal memory isn't even full. It's great for so many situations, like quick reads while commuting by subway, weekend trips, a recent stay in the hospital, etc. Always a lot of reading options at my fingertips (novels, short stories, various genres) and a charge lasts 2-3 weeks so no need to deal with a charger and plugging it in all the time. It acts more like a real book, with instant on from sleep mode. Been doing a lot more leisure reading since I got it. (And I already have tons of stuffed bookshelves.) It's nice to go on a trip or pass a bookstore and not even be tempted to buy more books! I occasionally surf a few sites or visit the e-book stores to see if anything catches my fancy. I've found tons of free ebooks (both recent and classic), and obtaining them is cheaper and faster than even the used/trading sites.

[josuff247]

I saw a thread, but it was so old (2001) that i decided to start a new one.
I have a strong urge to buy a kindle.
Please either talk me into it or out of it. or just discuss the topic.

[drmoze]

Get a Sony Reader if you like reading stories and novels. Sleeker, better battery, now supports ePub and pdf reflow,and cheaper to boot. Tons of free books out there, old and new. And who really needs the wireless and a cheap plastic housing? Even without using memory cards, you can load up at least 100-200 novels on the Reader's internal memory for lots of reading variety. No need to impulse-order books wirelessly.

I've been doing a lot more leisure reading since I gotmine, both new authors and some classics.

[dtcarson]

That 360 bucks on the Kindle would buy you quite a few books at a used bookstore or even through a book club (QPB, SFBC, LitGuild, that book-a-month club, etc). Not to mention the library late fees it would cover. (I'll admit I'm spoiled, I get 100-400 books once a year for 20 bucks from the library booksale, so it's hard for me to spend 8 bucks on a new paperback, much less 350 on a device then ten bucks a "book".)
I like cool tech toys, and I love to read, but I personally don't really have an interest in Kindle or ebook readers. There's very few places I go that I can't bring a regular book if I want to read, and lots of places I can take a book but not a kindle (I would not dare take it to the beach or the pool or leave it in my car, but I don't mind getting a paperback a bit sandy.) Plus one great thing about books saying "I just finished this great book, here, borrow/keep it, pass it on when you're done."
Unlike mp3 players, where I might decide I want to listen to AC/DC then a few Pet Clark songs, I don't really need access to hundreds of books at the same time in an expensive device (again, if I'm at home, I'll walk out to the garage and pick a book from the seven bookcases.)
I can definitely see ebook readers in certain venues--law schools/offices, doctors, etc, where being able to quickly access thousands of pages is a great asset.

[BigPete]

For the convenience of an e-book, it seems like you are sacrificing an awful lot. It's a publisher's dream - no 2nd hand market, built-in obsolescence, no marginal cost of production, no competition. For that kind of a windfall, they should be giving these things out and begging people to adopt the technology, not charging the same price as a bestselling hardcover.

[josuff247]

My decision just got harder, the sony 505 is $250 at frys, plus no tax (amazon now charges tax in NY). However the book prices are so high on sony. And the selection is less.

Is there anywhere I can get current books for the sony at kindle prices? Legally of course.

I am thinking the extra money for the Kindle may still be worth it.

[DJLinus]

This is interesting:

Esquire to geeks: hack our e-paper magazine cover
Posted by Joel Johnson, July 30, 2008 1:20 PM | permalink

E-paper cover a "stupid gimmick"? No way, Brian. Esquire's animated 75th anniversary cover is the flashing, squawking future of magazines.

It's pretty easy to see the far future. Cheap, disposable e-paper magazines on subway newsstands and on the racks of your airport's Hudson News. Each one thin, flexible, disposable. Just a couple of pages, with bright, glossy color, wirelessly updated with the latest issues of your favorite rag. Need something to read? Buy a new e-mag — or press a button to refresh your virtually dog-eared copy to this month's edition.

That's about five years away, just like it has been for the last decade.

But deputy editor Peter Griffin can tell you what magazine stands will look like this October, when then the 75th Anniversary issue of Esquire with an e-paper cover will be unloaded from refrigerated vans and slotted into the rack. For the first time ever, one of the magazines will be animated.

It's not too flashy yet. "The order of the words will change," says Griffin. "There will be images that will turn on and off." The images are black-and-white in four shades of grey; a murky newspaper image, at best, but colored by a sheet of transparent, tinted plastic that will be fixed over the top.

It's the same e-paper that's inside Amazon's Kindle e-book reader, except this sheet of e-paper — two, actually; there's a second sheet on the inside cover that advertises the Ford Flex crossover SUV — will cost just a few bucks, not $350.

Esquire can sell the e-paper covers at the standard cover price because of the Ford advertisement, which has "defrayed a lot of the cost," explains Griffin. That's not the cop-out it might at first glance seem: should the Esquire cover make a splash, other advertisers will be willing to underwrite the use of e-paper in other magazines.

As long as they're Hearst magazines, that is. Hearst, Esquire's publisher (and one of my employers; I'm a contributing editor at Popular Mechanics), has brokered a one-year exclusivity with eInk, the e-paper manufacturer.

But on to the question most of the geeks have been asking: Can you rip out the cover and use it for your own projects?

Griffin says it should be possible — "We look forward to seeing what people do it" — although there isn't any discrete input on the custom-designed circuit board that will control the e-paper. The data will be baked into the circuitry. Figuring out how to reprogram the e-paper controller or installing an entirely new one will be up to the hackers.

Good news about the battery, though: it should be trivial to replace.

"The batteries are pretty standard, small batteries," says Griffin, some sort of coin cell battery that can be purchased from a variety of retailers. That means when the soldered-in battery dies after an estimated ninety days, replacing it shouldn't be too much of a challenge.

The cover itself isn't going to be completely stiff, having some of the give and bend of real paper.

Griffin says the cover is "like a really heavy magazine stock, but not like cardboard," about three millimeters thick. He thinks they could have gotten it even thinner.

"The thickness in the cover has nothing to do with the circuit or the technology; it's the protection we had to build into magazine for the binding. If we were to create a demonstration cover without worrying about the padding needed for the printing process it would be not much not thicker than a regular magazine cover."

http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2008/0...geeks-hac.html

I figured that since the issue will use the eInk technology and it may signal the magazine industry's shift away from paper (though no time soon), I'd put the article in this thread. But mods move it to where you see fit.

[DeputyDave]

Originally Posted by DJLinus

This is interesting:



I figured that since the issue will use the eInk technology and it may signal the magazine industry's shift away from paper (though no time soon), I'd put the article in this thread. But mods move it to where you see fit.

I hope it's a shift for a cheaper Kindle. I'd buy one for under $100.

I'd also like to agree with an earlier poster. Why is Amazon (or publishers in general) charging so much (or anything at all)?

If they gave away a basic unit with no wireless (downloading books via USB over a computer) they would sell countless "units" of eBooks.

[Deke Rivers]

I like my kindle..I like being able to buy books at the touch of a button at prices close to paperback price if not cheaper without waiting for the paperback to be released(also lots of free stuff out there).
I like the wireless..means I can buy a book any time anywhere without a computer.
I dont have to invest in bookshelves or have my house cluttered up with piles of books (read and unread). My whole library fits right on the kindle
I dont have to deal with short checkout terms from the library.
I dont have to waste precious gas driving to the bookstore only to pay full price for a book that several people have already thumbed through in the cafe of the bookstore .
Only issue I have is when I find a book that hasnt been put out in kindle form..I find it hard reverting back to traditional books now
in any event I find I have read more books now after owning a kindle than I have before

[Deke Rivers]

Originally Posted by BigPete

For the convenience of an e-book, it seems like you are sacrificing an awful lot. It's a publisher's dream - no 2nd hand market, built-in obsolescence, no marginal cost of production, no competition. For that kind of a windfall, they should be giving these things out and begging people to adopt the technology, not charging the same price as a bestselling hardcover.

Kindle books are a whole lot cheaper than the hardback..9.99 for a new release in most cases..your average paper back is close to 9 bucks now Kindle prices are even cheaper for older books

[ds6161]

If they really want to become a player in the book market the Kindle needs to be below $100 and e-books need to be $5 or less.
Once you get to the point of shipping the script of to a printer, in e-book form there is no more cost other than bandwidth costs.

But this is coming from a guy who never understood paying $1 for an Ipod song..

[innocentfreak]

Originally Posted by ds6161

If they really want to become a player in the book market the Kindle needs to be below $100 and e-books need to be $5 or less.
Once you get to the point of shipping the script of to a printer, in e-book form there is no more cost other than bandwidth costs.

But this is coming from a guy who never understood paying $1 for an Ipod song..

I am the same way, never understood paying $1 for an mp3 which is why I have never bought an mp3.

For the Kindle to grab me it would have to be max $200 with books less than $2 and also have library support as an option where I could actually check books out for free. I read way too many books and even more through the library to justify buying every book even at the supposed discounted rate of the kindle edition. At the same time as it has been said I have no option to resell the book when I am done with it if I don't want to keep it.

The only other way I would possible be interested is if every book I bought through Amazon included the Kindle version for free. I would probably buy a Kindle just to have in case I traveled if this was the case. As of now their is no incentive for me to try it.

[Deke Rivers]

well they seem to be selling well the way it is right now.
They really seem to be geared toward people who normally would buy new books..not used book store bargain hunters or library people..
asking for free books on the kindle is a bit much if you ask me..just becausee its another form of a book does not mean it should be free

[drmoze]

Originally Posted by Deke Rivers

I like my kindle..I like being able to buy books at the touch of a button at prices close to paperback price if not cheaper without waiting for the paperback to be released(also lots of free stuff out there).
I like the wireless..means I can buy a book any time anywhere without a computer.
I dont have to invest in bookshelves or have my house cluttered up with piles of books (read and unread). My whole library fits right on the kindle
I dont have to deal with short checkout terms from the library.
I dont have to waste precious gas driving to the bookstore only to pay full price for a book that several people have already thumbed through in the cafe of the bookstore .
Only issue I have is when I find a book that hasnt been put out in kindle form..I find it hard reverting back to traditional books now
in any event I find I have read more books now after owning a kindle than I have before

I have a Sony Reader (similar screen to Kindle, no wireless) and agree with all the above apart from the wireless feature. I have found tons of free e-books online (new and classic), and have discovered many new authors. Most importantly, I'm reading a whole lot more than before.

Some folks balk at the price (the Readers can be found for about $250 now). Yeah it's a lot, but the convenience is incredible. I have about 150 books on my Reader (internal memory, not even using a memory card, and more memory to spare still) which is why I don't need wireless. I have many months' worth of reading at my fingertips. Lighter and thinner than a single "p-book"! And I love the battery life--lasts 2-3 weeks, so no need to drag yet another charger when going out or on a short vacation.

A new wrinkle--the Sony Reader now handles books in Adobe Digital Edition format. Many libraries have electronic catalogs with Adobe DE books. I just picked up a NY Public Library card (free for residents, $100/year for 'foreigners') and they have tons of e-books available for checking out. You download the book from the library website, and it 'expires' in 21 days. You can check out up to 12 books at a time--from the comfort of your own home!

As if I didn't have enough to read already, I can now check out books whenever I want, free, and have them on my Reader!