Any Kindle users? Talk me into/or out of it. I am being snowed under by

books. Is the Kindle worth owning? Is it easier on the eyes?


Give your impressions please

Here's a link to their just launched touchscreen Reader. http://www.mobiletechreview.com/gadgets/Sony-Reader-Touch-Edition-PRS-600.htm

And in December they'll launch a Reader with a 7" display and wireless connectivity. http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10317087-1.html

I've got to say the 7" Sony Reader Daily Edition looks really sweet.

Asus also plans their own Eee-book Reader. http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10319965-1.html

by and read your daily paper, comic book or novel every morning...the info will be quicker & up to the second, so everything ever in print will be available...the good thing for rural lovers like me is it'll have even widespread access in the most remote forest, deserts & beaches anywhere, the units will be nearly as cheap as the throw away plastic utensils at McDonald's (only a bit more indestructible)...my guess in about six or seven years.....I'll wait.

Where it could get really interesting is if any e-reader device could allow you to access your personal library/documents anywhere. When that happens is when I think we'll see these things become as ubiquitous as pen and paper is now.

I also got the kindle reader into my IPOD, as well as a slew of other readers. and you know what? I find myself readying on the Pod a lot these days.

Why? Same reason... getting physical books was getting a little on the where next to put them?

Right now readying IT CAN'T HAPPEN HERE, Kindle edition, as well as the Family, Kindle Edition...

I'm nearing 65, my eyes are not as good as a few decades ago.

granted, I am used to doing weird shit...

But I have adjusted it to larger type when needed.

I read all of The End of Overeating by Kessler on it, and have been readying both the Family and It Can't Happen Here.

The best I can suggest is to go the store, if there is a store near by and try it if you can.

software for the Mac as well. So just downloaded to the Mac and authorized this computer

Essentially this will increase my use of the E-Reader. I kind of don't use what I don't use on my primary machine anymore. The Macbook is my primary machine.

Charging the reader now.

:-)

And have moved my library to the macbook too.

That should work on an iPod touch.

I am also going to put the next version of my RPG into as many E-Versions as posisble and sell it for even far less than just the PDF version.

I think I will be amongst the first RPG publishers to do that. To test them, I need the damn readers

:-)

I just finished charging my PR-500 and even got a new book or two for it... will take it with me tomorrow to read.

May just tell sis, for b-day just give me either an itunes card or a sony book card.

any purchase back a few months. Maybe the mythical Mac Tablet will emerge from the vapor by then.

I like to read when a have a few minutes between my students. I find it surprisingly easy to read because the text is so sharp. It's not perfect, but I always have it with me.

(56 year old eyes)

large fonts that are adjustable. I have terrible eyesight, so if it doesn't bother me it probably won't bother you.

I have a big issue with the screen on the Sony Reader. The screen glare is very bad, so bad that the PRS-700 has been discontinued. The PRS-600 seems to be better according to reviews.

There are many other advantages to owning a Kindle vs the Sony specially now that the Kindle finally has the capacity to show pfd files (Kindle DX only).

The new Kindle DX is kick ass. You can read full page pdf files. Good if you read Scientific papers or Journals. It is more expensive than the Sony but I guess they just reduced to price to match the Sony.

It was a birthday gift, and I do really like it. I'm older and my eyes get fatiqued easily. It's so nice to be able to increase the print size and there is absolutely no glare on it. It's also nice when we are camping and I finish my book and just download another right there on the campsite right from the device itself.

The pros outweighed the cons for me.

but I needed a reader able to load pdf's. Two weeks after i bought the Sony, Amazon released the Kindle DX. I was livid.

It isn't too heavy or too light. You can adjust the size of the font. You download the books for a fraction of what you pay for the books and infinitely faster. And every book you read with it will save a tree.

And if you spend a lot on books think of the investment in those terms. It's less than $400 and will pay for itself quickly.

It travels well and takes up much less space than a bunch of books.

purchasing books for it from Amazon seems really high. I cannot understand why they only knock $5 or so off of a book for a Kindle version.

Also I got two books from Amazon via the old digital method. I put them on my work computer, and I later had to upgrade that computer. Guess what - I can't view the books any longer. When I buy a book I expect the purchase to be forever. Amazon did absolutely nothing for me.

Lets assume that Kindle fails - will Amazon walk away from these books like they did with my earlier experience.

Also they have a bad track record with what they did on 1984. Pulling to book from your reader without notifying you including the user annotations in some cases. That is plain wrong.

At $5/book how many books will you need to buy to cover the $200 to $300 for the reader.

Access to the free books (out of copyright) is an advantage though, and, if you are wanting to read a bunch of them, then the Kindle starts to make more sense. Much easier to curl in bed with a Kindle than a laptop.

I de-drm all the titles I purchase, and store them locally. Amazon can never do to me what they did over that boneheaded aussie publisher.

I do end up buying more books.

And I don't think it is worth $350 if $350 means anything at all to you.

I do love not having books cluttering up my house. (I am sort of at the point where I wish I could sell/give away almost everything -- except my internet connection and associated devices, but then again I am married so that's not happening anytime soon.)

computer, much longer. I wish I could see one to see if the pages are easy on my eyes.

It isn't LCD it is eink which means no refreshing except when pages change.
Most people assume it is like reading a book on a computer screen but it isn't.

On an LCD (computer, pda, gameboy, iphone, ipod, etc) the screen "redraws" about 60x per second even when nothing is changning (easy to see wave your hand fast in front of the screen in a dark room and you will see multiple copies of your hand from the strobe effect of the screen). This is what make it difficult to read a computer screen.

The Kindle is fixed once the page loads, no backlight, no refreshing, no redrawing. The screen will remain exactly like that until you change the page.

Hard to describe without seeing it in person. I think amazon has a return policy but I am sure you will like the screen.

weight?

I have the larger one and it feels like about a pound to me. I figure the smaller one weighs even less.

What makes Kindle special is the service. You get free cellular delivery of books so you can browse amazon from the kindle find a book you like buy it in one click and few seconds (20?) later you are reading it.

Also a small perk but the kindle has free access to wikipedia so you can lookup stuff while you are reading.

I like mine. The price makes it currently a luxury but I believe in supporting things you like. If I were more frugal I would have waited a year or two until the price was half what it is now.

I think they know a $149 or $199 reader will sell a lot more than a $299 one will.

I bought the bigger one (10") because my initial goal was for reference (programming) books. I would get another one for my wife but I can't entertain the idea of another $299. Maybe this Christmas.

but that's no fun.

Although, even if I could, I'm not sure I would buy one. I don't mind my book collection. It's actually a source of pride for me. I also like to feel the pages beneath my finger tips and the different smells from new and old books. If I can't afford to buy even a book, I just love the treasure hunt that comes from visiting the library. I don't know if I want to lose all that stuff.

A quality book is a pleasure.

.. and you have stacks on the floor waiting for the next ikea bookshelf.. you might consider a kindle ;)

it did not help that the parrots love to ahem munch on them and dad hates the mess.

So most of my books are in storage and these days... electronic

http://www.librarything.com

It never failed that we'd hit the local used book store, only to find that one of our purchases was something we'd read before with a different cover. Librarything makes duplicate purchases a thing of the past (I open up the mobile version on my blackberry and check if we've read it.)

will check the cheap books there to see if I load a new book on it, for tomorrow.

I'm not a hoarder, except for all those darn books. I have a flimsy two ledge bookshelf for my current books and textbooks, all others get categorized/cataloged (Library Thing!) and placed into the boxes.

Edited to add another shout out to Library Thing.

We were able to catalog 3k titles in a weekend using librarything. Now we track our kindle books, too, and we're up to ~4k total titles.

can't afford one and love my books. I have books that are pretty hard to find/acquire and the ones it took me years to get are some of my most precious possessions.

Julie

I believe e-book readers are the future and we will all own one within three years... That said... The market is competitive right now, and it's not clear to me which device will come out on top... Right now, Amazon and Sony dominate the market, but the Plastic Logic eReader looks awesome and it will be introduced in partnership with Barnes & Noble. Also, I suspect Apple's forthcoming tablet device will make a big splash as an e-book reader.

Kindle e-books can be read on Kindles and iPhones. Barnes & Noble e-books can be read on PCs, Macs, iPhones, and soon the Plastic Logic eReader.

I suppose the risk is not really the cost of the device, but the investment in a proprietary e-book library... That's not a risk when buying real printed books ;-)

A few of my friends have Kindles and they love them... I think they are cool, but have only bought a few titles to read on my iPhone... Personally, I'm waiting to see what the Apple tablet is about before buying a dedicated device.

Upon edit: Fixed a typo.

Mobipocket e-reader is a free download.

(Kindle DRM has been cracked, so you can back it up or view it anywhere.)

I hadn't read about Mobipocket until now... Apparently, they are owned by Amazon. However, no Mac support...

http://www.mobipocket.com/en/DownloadSoft/DownloadManualInstall.asp

.. a buddy of mine uses it on his mac.. but I just hit him up on IM and he has a VM of windows that he keeps open for that kind of thing. *blush*

I "believe" you can loan electronic books from Public Libraries on Sony format but not for a Kindle.

Please, someone correct me if I am wrong.

Here is the new Sony Reader (PRS-600) which now comes with mac compatible e-book store.

http://www.mobiletechreview.com/gadgets/Sony-Reader-Touch-Edition-PRS-600.htm

I am actually waiting for an apple tablet and I hope it is not just a rumor.

I tend to be a bit of a technology fiend, yet in my research on the Kindle I became disenchanted with the whole idea of electronic readers.

Initially I thought I would be doing the world a favor, less paper use, less trees killed, etc. Upon examination what I discovered is that at least for me, there is no value and I could save trees in a much more friendly, local way.

First of all I don't read newspapers because I have DU and other online news sources, which I can view at home with a screen that is much larger than any ebook reader and whose font size I can adjust much more readily.

Secondly there is the initial expense added to the fact that you are tied to another monthly bill.

Thirdly the price of books isn't as low as you may expect. First line runs for $10 or so, older books for 1$ to 3$. Sure, they are easy to get, but your ebooks might just end up disappearing.

My answer to these problems is simple, the local used book store. I find I can get real books priced very reasonably. Perhaps they aren't quite as new as what is available on the Kindle, but I have purchased one year old hard covers for as little as $3 to 4$, paperbacks way less. And when I buy a used book, I sell it back when I am done, further decreasing it's cost and at the same time saving trees.

For me all this just added up to trips to the used book store, where I can help others in my community earn a living and be environmentally friendly to boot... Plus when I am done I can hand a real book to a friend and say "Check this book out, you may enjoy it".

Think about it,
Scuba

my home, but it should be worth the trip.

I do love browsing.


This a local bookstore. It's something like 40,000 sq ft.

I can still get many books for $3 to $4 including shipping from Amazon or Ebay. Even books that have only been out for six months or so (like Grisham's The Associate for $6 (including shipping)).

Another place I hit are the library book sales - can get many books for a $1 or so.

I'm not getting one....

emailing documents, web browsing, $13.99/mo for New York Times Daily, and the like. I imagine it would be easy to get along without these features, but you still can't share your books, and can get them often for less at used book stores. I often buy used then recycle right back to where I bought it. Very reasonable, and many people can share these books. The used book store is almost the library model.

Scuba

Granted the browser is rather limited but for example I use it to check status of my flight while I am reading at the airport.

If you want to email docs TO your Kindle it does have a fee but you can transfer them by USB for free.

We have pared down our physical book collection to ~2k titles that we re-read at least once a year or so.

Within a week, I found myself reaching to turn the page on the kindle's screen, it's that good.

I'm a teacher of literature. If I were to pay $300 for a reading device, I'd want to be able to use it to read and search classic works without paying $10 a pop.

txt, html, or pdf (DX version is best for pdfs). All work on the kindle. You can convert from other format e-books to the kindle as well, using free tools.

Convert anything into Mobipocket format, and the Kindle reads Mobi.

No need to convert anything.

I downloaded a dozen books to my kindle in seconds.

I wish amazon offered a free option (just the principle of it) but feedbooks works for me.

I have the Sony, but I wish I had waited:

http://www.plasticlogic.com/

video demo:

http://video.allthingsd.com/video/plastic-logic-the-full-d7-demo/E9755752-32CD-47FD-B1F7-F7CF6C70BE7F

Thanks. I will do some research.

I really love the form factor... But, I can't help but think the technology is not ready for prime time... I saw slow display refreshing and glitches, and the Plastic Logic UI is terrible (based on that demo). That's the first time I saw the UI and I was disappointed... I had high hopes. Plastic Logic has a vested interest in that particular display technology that they invented... And you can see how this may hold them back... They set out to create a flexible display that customers actually didn't like (according to the CEO in the video)... So, they put that same technology into a rigid device and the display quality suffers as a result.

My gut tells me that Apple will swoop in and take this market away from everyone else when they introduce a multi-function color tablet... A color device that displays e-books, plays games/video/music, browses the web, and runs applications from the iPhone app store will blow the single function devices away.... Especially, if Apple works out smart partnership deals that subsidize the cost of the device (like they did with the iPhone).

But they do say in the demo it will be getting faster.

Apparently that's the first version with all the touchscreen and menu functionality in place and it hasn't had any optimization. It may get better. We'll see...

it is great. If you want to get up in the middle of a book to do something else you can switch it over to the talk mode and it will read the book to you, which is great...it is so nice and compact to hold and I got a TufLuv flip style cover for it which you might want to look into. I think it is worth buying if you read a lot. i believe you can try it for 30 days and if you do not like it, return it. Try it...you'll like it.

There is a very basic web browser attached to the Kindle. You can cruise the web anywhere for free on the 3G network. DU comes in well - just no pictures.

I have a local directory on a linux server running apache mapped to a hostname that the kindle can read. I dump all my gutenberg and converted books there, and hit them from anywhere.

I'd hold off and get the next generation iPod Touch that's going to be announced September 9th instead of the Kindle unit. Not only will you have free Kindle access through the iTunes store Kindle app, but the Touch is more multi-purpose - you can browse the web via wifi, play movies and video, music of course, and browse the huge number of apps for it. It's actually a nice gaming unit.

I have a zillion books, too, and out of curiosity I downloaded the Kindle app. I was sure I'd hate it because I like actually holding a book. Now I'm hooked on it - the contrast/brightness is outstanding and you can adjust the font size. It's easy to read with one hand. And now I have a bunch of books on it that aren't taking up space in my house.

Edit to add: kudos to Amazon for the Kindle interface. It's seamless and takes seconds to transfer a full book to my iPod. Amazing stuff.

I paid $359 but the price just got knocked down to $299.

I like it mainly for taking along when traveling. I can subscribe to a newspaper--free trial for two weeks--and then cancel before they start charging for it. I've also taken things like Huffington Post and Salon, to be able to keep in touch with what's happening when away from a computer. I can read the news at my son's house, for example, without turning on their tv and bothering them, any time of the day or night--great for this news junkie! I'm as unobtrusive as if I'm sitting there with a book. And riding down the freeway and being able to get the latest headlines is great.

I haven't bought any of the NYT bestsellers yet--I'd rather hunt for bargains. But I did buy a Toni Morrison novel for $5.99, and also the complete works of Mark Twain for about the same price. How else can you bring the complete works of Mark Twain along on vacation? I can decide later what I'm going to read. On my last trip I read "Innocents Abroad". I also got the complete works of Shakespeare for 99 cents and read "The Winter's Tale" just before seeing the play this summer. There are other works of literature that I've found completely free.


I don't use it for news when at home, because there I have my computer and TV. But I do use it to read books. I got a leather cover for it and it's just perfect.

I bought my wife one and she loves it. She's an avid reader. I did find it easy to read. (variable type helps too)

I've seen both it and the Kindle and think the Kindle is better.

(I wrote this up a while ago)

http://www.correntewire.com/sunday_book_review_6#comment-143185


Pros:

* You can pack a ton of books in a tiny space (I have a second-gen one. The new ones are bigger and have a few new features; I never used the first gen.)
* Can download a book in seconds. Great for impulse shoppers and otherwise impatient types! No charge for the network (other than the content cost), and it's quite reliable and seamless.
* Resizable fonts -- awesome for reading on the treadmill
* Can mail self .PDF files for portable reading
* Excellent battery life
* Can write notes in context without feeling you've defiled a book, and can (as of this week!) read those notes in your web browser
* Infinite bookmarks
* Unlike iTunes, you don't lose your downloaded content if the system craps out, is stolen, etc.
* Search! I forget to use that sometimes, but it's very handy.
* You can read your downloaded books on an iPhone, if'n you have one. Really nice for when you can steal a coupla minutes of reading time but don't have your Kindle with you. Doesn't always keep synched about what your last-read location was, but that's a handy feature when it kicks in. The iPhone Kindle app (free, BTW), doesn't work for your private PDF files, and I think you can't take notes with it. Still, an unexpected benefit that works quite well.

Cons:
* Expensive, and it would be very easy to lose. I almost have a couple of times.
* No built-in light. The E-ink technology saves on battery and makes for good reading, but it means you need a clip-on, battery-powered light for reading in bed after your significant other has conked out.
* No page numbers or indicators of how many pages are left in the chapter (a big pet peeve -- I always want to know what "milestone" lies ahead). Uses a newfangled "location" # and % progress. Makes it impossible, say in a book review, to reference a specific page.
* Easy to mistakenly jump to next chapter, making it slow to get back to your last place if you hadn't bookmarked it
* Slow refresh and crummy keyboard make note feature less awesome than it might otherwise be
* AFAIK, you can't read the books on your computer
* In some books, the quality control is rather spotty. Seems like someone shoved them into a scanner and didn't proof them. So, you don't know if the book had typos to begin with, and it likely has more in the Kindle edition.
* Many titles I've looked for aren't available yet
* Books aren't as much cheaper (than physical books) as you'd like

Feh (gripes about non-core features):
* Music-playing feature. Worthless -- you can't control the order of songs played, and it doesn't even randomize them. Plays in the same order every time.
* Text-to-speech feature. Very jumpy pacing. Not completely worthless if you follow along with the text, but could be much better. Note: publishers have the right to turn off text-to-speech for their titles (to protect premium-priced spoken editions).
* Web-browsing feature slow and awkward (Kindle's optimized for everything but screen-refresh speed), and downloaded blogs aren't free (though it does mean some revenue for the A-listers whose blogs are provided, I think -- I haven't paid for any such services; if I were a newspaper-readin' man, I might try the subscriptions, but I haven't, so nothing to, um, report there)

All in all, a solid and useful tool with room to improve.

That's the biggest thing keeping me back. I'm a book editor and really excited about the possibilities from a professional angle (love the long tail aspect). However, from a consumer standpoint, it doesn't make fiscal sense. I'm a very social reader with a lot of friends and family that are into books. When I discover a great read, it isn't uncommon for 2, 3, or even more of my "reading buddies" to eventually get my copy. They also pass along their finds. We save money, discover a lot more authors/books than one person could otherwise, and it strengthens and enhances our social bonds.

Either the price needs to come down (which goes against my employment interests) or there needs to be a fair and free (or dirt cheap) way to share within a circle of friends. I do know that DRM has been broken on the Kindle, but I am in the industry and I'm not at all comfortable with doing legal end runs around copyright.

$10 is a lot for a disposable book. If you share with a friend who has like tastes, you each buy a new $7 paperback, your cost is $3.50. Even a new release hardcover can be had for about $25, again, $12.50 if you have one friend--takes a long time to ever recoup the reader cost when you figure it that way.

I also have a netbook that I keep with me most of the time, always on the road. It isn't as good as the Kindle at making it easy to get a book, and the screen isn't perfect. However, it does a heck of a lot more than the Kindle.

Finally, there are just some books I want to own and keep.

No reason an ebook can't keep track of "lent" status.

i.e you have an ebook. you lend it out and while lent you can't read it. when your friend returns it you can read it again. maybe even by default all books return (deleted from friend, available to you) after 30 days.

No reason libraries couldn't work the same way.

However such a radical change in thinking will take a long time and would require a universal standard.

However 20, 30 years? why not.

She is going to Morocco and the PC has warned her that she will be expected to abide by local customs, which include women NOT leaving their homes alone after dark. Since she can only take a small amount of luggage with her, a kindle is a way of taking a "library" in her suitcase. She's already downloaded dozens of free books, including a lot of great classics, to take along.

However, I am addicted to the smell of paper and ink, and the feel of turning pages, so I doubt I will go in for an e-book until/unless we get prosperous enough to make it a good option for being on the road. Right now I buy used paperbacks and just leave them when I'm done reading.

I would also DEFINITELY wait until they get a backlit version. Current version is NOT backlit, which means you have to use in a lighted room or area.

informatively,
Bright

It work very much like a digital version of paper.

There are book lamps for it:
http://www.amazon.com/Mighty-Bright-XtraFlex2-Kindle-Version/dp/B000TXZIDM/

Maybe someday they will be make a kindle with built in lamp that fold out when you want to use it but there will never be a backlit version.

The screen is not like a lcd (laptop, hdtv, ipod) screen. It uses a different technology called eink.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eink

how big are the Kindle e-book files? I've been thinking about downloading some e-books for my iPhone but I've only got the original 8GB version and don't want to take up too much space. Does anybody know approximately?

Text is incredibly small.

The Kindle 2 has 1.4GB of user space and Amazon estimates that is enough for 1500 books. So rough estimate is 1000 average sized books per GB.

Obviously the longer the book the more space it takes but that should give you a ballpark figure.

A single 3 minute music mp3 is larger than a dozen ebooks.

Thanks for the info.

The Kindle runs a form of Linux, so this is probably not that far out there, but shows maybe the functionality of the device can be expanded down the road.

http://hackaday.com/2009/09/03/ubuntu-9-04-on-kindle-2/