Indian Readers discussion
E Books and E Readers
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All e-reader related queries...
Mod
When I have kids, I will bring them to manipal to visit the e-reader museum :-P
Aacharya Didn't wrote: "When I have kids, I will bring them to manipal to visit the e-reader museum :-P"hahaha...ROFL! that was a good one...
Other than price, is there a reason to vote for Kindle/dedicated e-book reader vs i-pad. I've read close to a hundred books on -ipad, and am quite comfortable. Is there something that kindle does that makes the experience better? @smitha - on kindle vs nook - I'd aver that kindle wins. Amazon has way more titles on offer than barnes and noble. As a new author, I believe more readers go to amazon than bn.com.
@mp - i've tried a couple of audio books. they didnt work for me. unless they are business titles which can be heard on an i-pod on a flight and free, i dont see myself trying an audio book anytime soon. the romance is in the reading and keeping it between yourself and the book. the 'third party' voice can be disconcerting.
ereaders have eink which is easier on the eyes
Srini wrote: "Other than price, is there a reason to vote for Kindle/dedicated e-book reader vs i-pad. I've read close to a hundred books on -ipad, and am quite comfortable. Is there something that kindle does t..."The advertised advantage of Kindle over iPad is the E-Ink technology, which is better for one's eyes and does not go black even under harsh sunlight. And that it is relatively smaller and lighter. But, of course, iPad can do a lot more than kindle can. So unless one specifically wants a dedicated e-reader, I guess iPad should be a perfectly fine choice.
Mod
LOL. Do bring them to Manipal to visit the E Reader museum. My husband berates e readers saying it is a dying technology and people will prefer ipads to EReaders. When I eagerly show my E Readers to my friends and relatives - their reaction is mostly incredulity over the money spent
Thanks Sudhang & mp.TO be honest, I think that $200 or equivalent is still too pricey for a dedicated e-book reader. At sub $100, there is a compelling case, I think. Having said that, i do realize that amazon and others have sold a ton of e-book readers till date.
With android tablets showing up near the $200 mark, it will be the most dedicated of readers who will go for the dedicated reader, notwithstanding the e-ink technology.
It is an exciting world that we live in. With lots more excitement on the way. cheers and have a great sunday.
@smithaI had a kindle for a month or so it was nice but i found it be small ..i moved on to "ADAM" it has a pixel qi screen which is as good a E-ink display.Its a tablet pc created by indian guys..google it up .
have they released the adam? last i heard, there were claims the company was having serious trouble and that the adam might be vapourware.
Mod
Adam was released Feb 2011 it was pre-order sales only.I wouldnt say it was hugh sucess but i guess about a half a million devices were sold.you can check their website.
http://www.notionink.com/
it was supposed to be like this huge ipad killer.. i wonder what happened.. i saw the preview at that gadget conference [forgot which :P] by endgadget and it did seem asskicky.@Smitha: it's cheaper than ipad, i think... and it is aimd at western market, IIANM
well engadge is very ifrndly that was expected out of them...bt if u ask me about the hardware and pixel-qi adam as ebook reader its good.
asskicky is a compliment. they gave it shiny reviews.
I use iPad to read eBooks and usually turn the screen all black and read the white fonts to go easy on the eyes. I'd love to get a kindle but not yet ready to pay the custom charges on it.
Mod
I don't know about in India, but in the US - my Nook beats the kindle hands down. There's a touch screen b&w version for about $100 US, and the color touchscreen (that runs apps just like an i-phone) for around $250 US. You can get books for the Nook from B&N, and Books a Million, and you can check out e-books from your local library on the Nook free of charge.I vote for Nook simply because you're not chained to one store for your books, and their e-readers are fantastic. I can even read my Nook color in full sunlight, and at night without using a light.
and I forgot- on the color version of the Nook you can also get your email, store photos, surf the web, and more (wi-fi connection or hot-spot must be available for web connectivity).And no, I don't and never have worked for Nook- when I love a product I like to tell people about it. :)
Kindle is not compatible with PDF books.
Mod
Well i have seen people read pdfs on Kindle so I'm sure it must be compatible.
New member chiming in on this... I have a Kindle (2nd generation) that I brought from the US to India when we moved here. I can read PDFs, and using software called Calibre (it's freeware), you can convert various formats - .pdf to .mobi, a .lit free book to an .epub, etc.I love my Kindle very much; I can use the WiFi here (Mussoorie), and I don't miss "colour" on it at all - black/grey is fine by me. It will never replace real books for me, but the convenience is undeniable. I'm not pro-Kindle anti-[other reader here], but it's the only one I can speak to.
My husband & I also have an iPad, and it's the first purchase I've made that I have buyer's remorse for. It's much heavier than a Kindle, and the things that I do on a computer, I don't want a tablet for - I want a computer with a full screen & full keyboard. The iPad only is used for games, as a sketchpad, and music device... we never read books on it.
iPad is very good if you are into graphic novels.
I am a writer who went kicking and screaming into the E book world...but now I really enjoy having the Color Nook, which allows buying books from a variety of sites, web browsing, movie watching, music etc. and also free library book loans (here in the US). Most E Readers (Nook, Ipad, Kobo, etc) use the Epub formatted files, which can also be read on a home computer. That said, I've noticed that the sales of my mystery novels and stories are ten times more with Kindle/Amazon than the B&N Nook, which tells you the Kindle is wildly outselling the Nook. And now fortunately Kindle has allowed the lending of E book files from a reader to one friend, if the author has posted they're agreeable to lending. When you start buying Ebooks, you will love the prices. Many author-published Ebooks are free, 99 cents or 2.99. If you see a high price like 9.99 or 12.99 on an Ebook, it usually means the conventional publisher set the price, not the author.
Cheers from Sujata, who just E-published 3 stories last night from her dining room table!
Any idea when the new Kindle is coming out? And are the rumours about it coming with a touch screen true?
The new Kindle Fire is out! It looks like a cross between a tablet and the e-reader. It's got a color screen to compete with it's rival nook. But it also got a TI dual core processor running at 1.2G to allow usage of other apps on it freely. And all of this for $199, looks a wonderful deal to me. Only bad thing is - looks like they have done away with the e-ink screen now and replaced with some other hi-tech stuff, have to see how good is reading e-books over that!
Amazon website has a done a poor job of listing down it's tech specs, can someone confirm if this is running on Android?
For the eReader, Kindle still has 2 products apart from Fire. fire is just an entry level tablet. Yes, it does run on Android, but unspecified version and highly customized by Amazon.
I've just added the touchscreen Kindle to my Christmas wish list. There will be 2 touchscreen (with 3G and without) and then the 1 model that has a small enter button & arrow keys. There is also still, if memory serves, a Kindle with keyboard. Fire does not completely replace the Kindle (which makes me very happy).
I don t think its the kindle fire that they are talking abt in that thread. Fire has got a colour screen
Aacharya Didn't wrote: "I don t think its the kindle fire that they are talking abt in that thread. Fire has got a colour screen"THAT is what Chintan is saying, that Amazon has stuff other than Fire as well.
oh sorry, i thought u were referring to the kindle touch as the kindle fire...my mistake.I believe they intend Kindle Fire to be a high-end e-reader rather than a low-end tablet and hence they reason they call it the "kindle" fire instead of using a new name. And i believe this device fits the bill for me perfectly, provided the display is properly calibrated for reading and is almost as good as the e-ink display if not better.
I couldn't understand the pricing strategies of the e-readers, apparently it doesn't cost anything compared to a mobile in terms of the OS or the processor. And i wonder if e-ink is really the only differentiating factor between my mobile and the e-reader.
How is the screen different from any other tablet like iPad?
but even if it is a good display, i think eink will be inherently better, no? :s
Kushal, Sudhang - looks like u r right. It's the same display as in iPad - IPS - in-plane switchingAnd i found a detailed comparison on the web of the IPS in iPad vs e-Ink of traditional e-readers like Kindle and Sony PRS 700.
http://www.zdnet.com/photos/ereader-s...
The Indian tablet Aakash should hit the market in November. It will retail at Rs 3000. While its resistor-based screen so its as kool as the all the ubercool tablet, but I have seen it. For that price tag, its a brilliant purchase
Mod
yep it is 3000, cheapest tab in the world
Mod
Fortunate enough to know one of the key people who conceptualizer and worked on it.. So luckily have used the tabIt has the ability to change the future for a coming generation in next 5 years
Imagine kids in interiors of india .. Access to the knowledge of the world
The possibilities are endless!!!!
Aacharya Didn't wrote: "yep it is 3000, cheapest tab in the world"I read somewhere that it will be offered at the concession rate of 1500rs for students and 3k at free market..
Mod
I got duped by Infibeam (not wholly, but partially - thats a relief)
I went off and ordered their Pi2 because of my greed for the Rs. 10000 gift coupons for books they had promised, did shopping with all the coupons and Rs. 2000 worth books were not delivered citing non-availability though these were available while I ordered. For the past 2 weeks I am constantly on phone with these guys and am bombarding them with email. They refunded Rs. 1500 worth Gift coupon, but it is showing as expired/already used whenever I try to use it to order new books. I am flummoxed. I mailed them and phoned them regarding this repeatedly. SO far, no action taken.
I am going to forget those Rs. 2000 books and have resolved never to shop from infibeam in future.
For me flipkart or indiaplaza, even if I find their products costlier. Atleast so far my experience with those two have been hazzle free. (touch wood)
Mod
Immediately after the one year warranty period my older Infibeam Pi has stopped functioning.
Smitha wrote: "Immediately after the one year warranty period my older Infibeam Pi has stopped functioning. ..."Intelligent design i wud say :P
But, am still not believing that u spent 4k on repairing a product that was worth 10k! Anyways, in the longer run, customer satisfaction is imp and we go shop from where we can get it, be it flipkart or indiaplaza. And this just gave me the idea, why dont flipkart get into e-reader business? They got a really strong technical staff (though totally in software) and a very gud support staff too!
Are u listening, flipkart?
Aacharya Didn't wrote: " this just gave me the idea, why dont flipkart get into e-reader business? They got a really strong technical staff (though totally in software) and a very gud support staff too!Are u listening, flipkart?..."
Great idea for flipkart people if they haven't thought of it yet.. If they are introducing one, Im sure that will replace all the e-readers to become number one in India.. Hope they are listening :)
Smitha wrote: "This is for all and sundry who are foolish enough and impulsive enough as meI got duped by Infibeam (not wholly, but partially - thats a relief)
I went off and ordered their Pi2 because of my gree..."
You should sue them in consumer court and am not kidding
I did try the text-to-speech feature, it is mechanical. Also I have never listened an audiobook, so I am not quite used to this format.
If you listen to audiobooks though, Kindle does play them for you.