The Sword and Laser discussion
E-readers. Am I the only one that doesnt get them?
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Yeah I really want to. But I'm the only geek out of my close friends and family. I heard on BOL that Target may be getting them on shelves soon. Hope I can play with one there!On a side note I re-read my 1st post and realized I sounded whiny. Sorry about that everybody who read it :).
How many people own an e-reader? Be it kindle,nook,or other? And what do you love about it?
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My 13-year-old daughter has the Nook and loves it, it is light and easy to read and she can buy books for around $6 anytime she likes (I will never put a budget on books for my kids, as long as they are reading). We are getting her an iPad because she is going in for surgery on her spine this summer and will be in bed for a month and will need a multi-entertainment device, so I may inherent the Nook! Usually the hand-me-downs go the other way! :0)
I originally didn't buy into the hype of e-readers. However, last year at around this time, I found myself with 2 issues:1) I needed to buy at least 1 more bookshelf
2) I was starting to do a lot more travel for my job.
I ended up buying a Kindle2 then, before my travel really started. Though I can see that they're not for everybody, I think that I am the right target for them (reads a lot, travels a lot). I love my Kindle.
I'm not yet sold on the iPad as an e-reader; I do like the e-ink on the eyes. But I LOVE that I can read a book on my Kindle at home, sync the location of where I've left off, and then pick up reading again while in grocery lines or while waiting at doctor's offices on the iPhone using the Kindle app. I think the synchronization with the cloud is the best least-touted feature of the Kindle out there.
I also did not get e-readers until I got one as a present last year. Now I just love it :)Kindle should be available in Targets starting this Sunday. Plus, Amazon allows you to return Kindle within 30 days if you don't like it (http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/custome...).
I agree with all of your reasons for not wanting one, Micah, and I still want one.I feel like, though it's been a number of years, we're still in the first generation of these things. However, unlike a lot of other people, I don't want my e-reader to do anything except display text. I'd love if somebody using an open format would come out with a device that was basically a screen, meaning no LCD or keyboard. Focus on the speed of the page refresh and use Amazon's model of wireless downloads. I'd even pay the high entrance fee we currently have for something like that.
I was Anti-Ebooks for Awhile, but then I heard about the Kindle. I, like you, had never seen the kindle in person to see if I really wanted it. But then I realized that I was soon going to graduate from high school and go to callage. Callage dorms are not very but and I have a lot of books... I had gotten some money from my grandmother and with it I got my Kindle and I love it! I still read book and listen to audiobook but I do read quite a bit on my kindle and it's very nice for traviling.
aldenoneil wrote: "I feel like, though it's been a number of years, we're still in the first generation of these things. However, unlike a lot of other people, I don't want my e-reader to do anything except display text. I'd love if somebody using an open format would come out with a device that was basically a screen,..."Exactly! I think I would jump on a device like that in a second. All screen, no visible keyboard (pullout one = ok), and get that refresh rate handled. I really like the E-ink display but that refresh is horrendous. Totally jars my eyes out of focus. I assume that it just takes getting used to but I don't know if I want to.
I have been looking at these as a gift for my wife for mothers day but haven't been able to pull the trigger yet due to the issues mentioned in earlier posts. Maybe I will when I can actually touch a Kindle.
terpkristin: I didn't know about the wireless sync feature. That sounds awesome!!!
Vance: Sorry to hear about the surgery. Hope nothing to serious and all goes well. And that is what I see an iPad as perfect for. I don't know if i could sit there on the couch and hold that thing for extended periods of time as a book replacement.
I love the Kindle. I still have a first gen one and have been using it pretty consistantly for about three years. It's starting to show wear and tear so I'm planning to purchase an iPad next month. That way I won't lose any of my ebooks since there is a Kindle app for the iPad...I agree with the problem of having to rebuy books. I really wish that you could buy the paper book and get an e version for free.
Like some other responses - I had zero desire for one for a long time. I broke down in Jan. and purchased the Nook. Even with some of its problems I would never consider being without one. I can say the 1.3 update for the Nook released yesterday has completely fixed the sluggish performance that has plagued the Nook. As far as e-ink displays - I think the one on the Nook and Kindle are incredible - especially in sunlight if you read outside. Being able to pick up another book anytime I want has turned me from a heavy reader into a voracious reader.
The only negative so far is that you can't read it during takeoff and landing!
Regards, Jim
I've got a Sony 505 (earlier generation) and read quite a bit from it. The primary attraction for me is not have to store tons of paper. Being able to have thousands of books on a hard drive and move them back and forth easily means that the next time I move I won't have to deal with boxing and re-shelving 15,000 books (not hyperbole, that's what the accumulation topped out at. I've been replacing them with e-ditions as I can), I am not, however, a fan of e-ink - contrast too low (black on white? ha! more like light gray on darker gray), page turns too slow. I'm close enough to a page-at-a-glance reader that the screen on anything short of the Kindle DX or the big Sony is a bit smaller than I would prefer. I"ve stayed away from the Kindle precisely because of Amazon's DRM lock-in.
I am looking forward to getting an iPad, as I have use for the other things it does in addition to serving as an e-reader. We've got several of them floating around my workplace, and I haven't had problems with the screen, preferring it to any e-ink screen I've seen.
Yes, it's all fairly new tech, and I'm sure that newer versions will come along that will, in retrospect, make us all say, "How could we ever have thought that earier version was so great?" It's what always happens with technology, and if you wait for the perfect gadget, the next generation is always whispering from around the corner, "I"ll be soooooo much better. You don't want that old thing." So you keep putting it off and never get one.
Ive read my last 100 books or so on my Blackberry Curve. A real ebook reader sounds pretty good to me. Its just not in the budget for now.
I have pretty much stopped buying paper books and prefer to read (almost) everything on my Kindle 2, unless there are many footnotes or I need page numbers -- not a big problem with fiction, though -- or if a large book-seller offer the new Dresden hardback for 9.99 (Yikes!). The screen refresh is fast (much better than the Kindle 1), the contrast, while not perfect, is nearly so, and it weighs so much less than Anathem. (Heck, even the iPad is lighter than than that.)The convenience is incredible -- and there are more than a few books that are out of print or hard to find in paper that can be found electronically. And found easily. Also, closing in on 60 with multiple cross-country, cross-continent moves and their attendant culling of books (my wife is right, we can't keep them all -- but where oh where is my original Venus Equilateral?) and shelves and downsizing...arrgh. If I could convert all of my books to electronic versions, I would.
The advantages of the e-book outweigh any of its disadvantages for me. Give it a hands-on try at Target when it goes on sale.
It would be good to get some test results from any iPad owners, too, on how it really stands up to lengthy reading sessions. Some have said the brightness would get tiring, but, would it? Did it? I'm not looking or an excuse to buy an iPad. Of course not.
(And thanks to the S&L-er who suggested E.E.Knight's Wolf series. Great! Of course...read it on the Kindle.)
Brad wrote: "Ive read my last 100 books or so on my Blackberry Curve. A real ebook reader sounds pretty good to me. Its just not in the budget for now."ouch....thats a very very small screen....ouch
I didn't understand e-books until my wife bought one. She bought one because she travels a lot. I was skeptical until I tried it. I love having multiple books on hand, being able to purchase anything in a moment's notice, and not having to find a place for more books. The Kindle is great and if I didn't think the next generation will be even better, I'd buy a Kindle for myself. For now, I'll just use my wife's while she is in town.
I am probably one of the very few that bought a Kindle 2 and sent it back. (I rarely send anything gadgety back, by the way.) It's not that my experience wasn't good, it just wasn't $260 good. I read Feast for Crows on the Kindle 2 and then read another book on paper and didn't miss the Kindle much, so that's when I knew it was going back to Amazon. I had a bad experience with shopping on it at one point, where the device was so slow that I must've hit the select button twice and instantly bought a book I didn't want, and Amazon never responded back to me after 3 inquiries about reversing charges, so I had to dispute them with my credit card instead. The web browser on it was terrible and slow, so there was no bonus to be had there, in my opinion. The reading experience was fine and easy on the eyes, and searching within a document was great, and having a dictionary built-in is awesome, but I've gotten good at flipping through my little paperback dictionary I keep by my bed.I love going to the local used bookstores or waiting for Borders to release those 40% off coupons, so I rarely ever pay over $10 for a book anyway. Plus, this is one of the few things I currently do in my life where I'm not dependent on having a charged battery or a screen in front of me, so I cherish that as well. I lend books to people often, so that's another problem I have with e-readers. I may get an e-reader when they get cheap enough, if only for the free content one can read on it, but I'm probably too much of a fan of paper to go completely away from it.
One thing that I really love about e-readers (currently I just use my iphone) is having the ability to read without ever having to use more than one hand. If you have a cup of coffee next to you or a cat in your lap or whatever, it beats the heck out of struggling with a book that doesn't want to stay open. Also, it makes reading in bed a lot easier for me, I've never really been able to do that very comfortably as an adult.
Well I got a Kindle 2 a few months ago after looking at them for a longtime but never sure if it was worth the investment. I have to say I am impressed with it. For me I think Amazon have done it right. Some people moan about the fact that there is DRM on the files, but I don't see that as a problem as they are bringing out apps for the iPad, iPhone, Mac, PC and Blackberry and I am sure they are working on an Android version (I hope so as I am getting a HTC Desire). I have only been getting into reading more the last year or so and all ready my bookshelf is getting quite full. The Kindle is solving this problem.Strangely I hasn't stopped me buying books altogether. I brought a Jamie Oliver cookbook the other day. I don't think using a Kindle in the kitchen with a cook book on it would be much help, also the photography is just gorgeous. I also brought a series of travel books that I love as hardback as they were to get signed by the authors. Can't see them signing my Kindle lol
I own a sony prs 505. While it ddid take me sometime to get used to it, i ended up loving it. I like the fact that you can store multiple books, instead of carrying around two or three paperbacks(or hardcovers). I also like having the option to resize the font size. i am not blind but i really enjoy reading in big letters. my eyes don't hurt as much.=]
Micah, thank you for your concern, while it is serious, we are expecting a very positive outcome which should solve her problem entirely. And, yes, I really believe the iPad will be perfect for her during this time! She can watch videos, play games, read and chat with her friends. Thanks again!
I did not have much interest in e books, but also had a problem with hauling books around and stack on my nightstand, desk, where ever. I read multiple books at time. Usually a fiction, and at least two non-fiction (most times history books which are not generally known for being light in heft). I also travel a bit, although less then in times pass. I just could not get behind the kindle after looking at the first generation. I decided kindles would be nice gift for my wife and I this last Christmas, after reading and looking at the Kindle 2. My daughter got a job at a publisher coming out of college and Amazon came through her company, offering unlimited purchase of kindles at what has to be cost ($140), she got 3 of them, and it was a very nice surprise for all of us on Christmas. I have not read a conventional book since and love this thing. Reading is actually better as I have blended bifocals with basically 4 different scripts on the lenses (old eye injury). I have taken to Asia on a few different business trips and the convenience is mind blowing. Battery life is really good (solid reading straight through, west coast to Narita and then to Seoul). iPhone app rocks, btw, for those times you don't have the Kindle with you. Although I mostly have read books, I am subscribing to a few blogs and magazines now, but have to agree the web interface is a bit clunky. As far as buying books, you do have to be careful, but to tell you the truth, restraint is needed as there are just too many books I want to read. I really like both the free and bargain books you can find in the store. Some nights I actually don't read, just browse. Cannot recommend the Kindle enough just the same.
read an article today that the Kindle is finally coming to ALL Target stores starting this Sunday. I guess they did a dry run in 1300 stores and liked it :). I will finally be able to get my hands on it and check it out personally. YEAH!!!
I've never gotten the "slow refresh on page turn" or "ugly page turn" arguments. My Kindle displays the next page twice as fast as I could turn a page, with the bonus of no hand or curved text sliding between me and the story. Kindle page turns are invisible now. Physical books are more distracting for me. Also, my iPod's page turn animation is ridiculous - it's not a physical book, don't pretend to be one.
I agree completely - on the first sony ereaders the page refresh issue was really bad. My wife uses a Nook - before the latest update the page turn wasn't very good, but acceptable. Post update it is pretty quick. I use a Kindle and agree the page turn is fast and the "flash" of the refresh barely noticable. I just can't buy into the idea of reading a novel on the ipad - comic books and magazines, I'm all in.Best Regards, Jim
Charles wrote: "I've never gotten the "slow refresh on page turn" or "ugly page turn" arguments. My Kindle displays the next page twice as fast as I could turn a page, with the bonus of no hand or curved text slid..."
I've had a Sony 505 model for 2 years. I super love it. Ebooks are great, especially for fiction reading. They eliminate the problem of having books pile up until I finally donate them somewhere. I also like reading on the ebook reader better because I never lose my bookmark! The machine always opens to where I left off. Plus I can advance pages with the touch of a button. It's just great when you're eating. Simply set the Sony on the table, eat, page turn as necessary. My Sony has a good refresh rate. It's the equivalent of manually turning a page in my opinion. I find the e-ink screen superb for reading both in sunlight and artificial light. It causes me no eyestrain.
Now, the format issues and DRM are quite valid, especially for books that you want to keep indefinitely. However, the format called epub is trying to emerge as a standard. It can be used on many different devices (Sony, Nook, ipad) except Kindle. Also, there are sources that specialize in ebooks without DRM, like Smashwords.com.
Also, I've read that DRM is really easy to crack. I suppose you could find out how by googling it because I don't personally know how.
As for printed books, I prefer them for many nonfiction books, especially those with charts and photos. Also, cookbooks are a must in print because I don't want to be splashing and flouring my electronics.
I actually love my Nook. I have found my reading has greatly increased since I've gotten it. For me it's so much easier to pick it up and read a few pages than a physical book. The refresh rate since 1.3 is just fine. I also have the Kindle app on my blackberry and that's very usable as well.Funny thing, last night I was at services (Reform Jewish) and we're very liturgical. Our new liturgy book is pretty big and I was sort of wishing I could just have it on my Nook. It may happen in the Reform movement someday but given that more observant folks don't use electronics on Shabbos I'm not sure if it will ever reach the Conservative or or certainly the Orthodox congregations. It wouldn't surprise me if some folks are already bringing their Bibles to Church on e-readers.
Having owned the Kindle for over a year now and the iPad since it was launched, I have to admit that the Kindle is still better for pure reading. I'd probably recommend to anyone but the most hard-core readers to pick up an iPad, as for a little bit more money it does so much more. But for pure readers, an e-reader is lighter, cheaper, easier to read and smaller to fit in your bag.
My wife is currently stealing my Kindle since she finds a larger print size much easier for her to read. I think I might have to bite the bullet and get another one soon. Waiting to see what the new Nook Wi-fi has in store and what Amazon will do once B&N announces their new product.
I love my Sony e-Reader. The main reason I like it is that I can use it on my daily bus ride (~1.5 hours per day). I can crank up the font which makes it easier to read while the bus is moving. I normally get head aches from reading but the eye strain is reduced significantly with the large font and e-ink.
I really enjoy reading ebooks and have been doing so for years, but I do not like e-ink screens. As many have pointed out the refresh on an e-ink display when you turn the page is prohibitively distracting. I started reading ebooks years ago on my Palm TX, but have found that reading them on my iPhone is a much more pleasant experience. I love being able to have a huge library of books available at my fingertips and in my pocket at all times. I personally do not see the appeal of an iPad for ebook reading as I find it too large to be comfortably portable and too heavy for long term reading. I imagine I'll be using my iPhone as my ereader for quite a while.
I had the kindle & enjoyed it. But sold it & got the ipad. I now have the kindle, iBooks & b&n readers on it. I think it's great & I love having all of the books with me in one place. I have had no problems using the ipad as a reader either. I don't care about reading in the sun, I'm in Florida & it's too hot. I wouldn't want to take it to the beach either, any device for that matter. I also love having it as a multi-function device. I use it for everything now. Only go on laptop for my school work.
I love eBooks. I can't have enough of them. I need them with me all the time, if I can help it, I would keep them with me all the time.Because of that I need a device that would hold many eBooks and more(can't have enough :)
With that said, I am almost addicted to eBooks, so I would read them any where, on anything and in any way I have to, so what I have to say on this topic means little but I am saying it anyway because, I love eBooks. :)
I think its not the device as much as its the software. All I would say, it can not be as customizable as it should be and the only solution is to make your own app.
I've been reading on iphone/ipad more, but I think I'm getting more eyestrain compared to books.
Tamahome wrote: "I've been reading on iphone/ipad more, but I think I'm getting more eyestrain compared to books."I think the eyestrain is more of a psychological thing IF your eyes or your sitting positions are fine. Because its straining only after you try to concentrate but why would you concentrate when you can enlarge the fonts?
I have a Sony PRS600 and found I have been reading more than I was, up from 2-3 books per month to 3-5 per month now. It is just so much more convenient, except when the battery is flat *sigh*. Must say getting 4-6 days with 2-3 hours per day is IMO just perfect for me, I am rarely away from a USB port for that long.My primary reason for the Sony was that at the time the Kindle was not available in South Africa, of course that changed a week after receiving it LOI
Kim wrote: "...of course that changed a week after receiving it LOI ..."I hate when that happens. :)
Charles wrote: "I've never gotten the "slow refresh on page turn" or "ugly page turn" arguments. My Kindle displays the next page twice as fast as I could turn a page, with the bonus of no hand or curved text slid..."I'm with you. I have a nook and the screen refresh is a bit slower. Still, it happens in less than a second. Maybe people are just faster than me, but I find that physically turning a paper page and focusing on the top of that new page takes at least half a second. That would mean that my reader is taking an extra .25 of a second to refresh. I can live with that to never be caught without something to read.
I had a problem with the Kobo ereader on the ipad. It couldn't show all the chapters from Kim Stanley Robinson's Galileo's Dream, so they're giving me a refund. It's a wierd book though; some of the chapters have no numbers or titles.
Tamahome wrote: "It's a wierd book though; some of the chapters have no numbers or titles. "hmmm...wonder if that is a format problem with that specific e-reader? or is that just the book itself, does a physical copy have the same things?
My mother loves her Kindle, but I still prefer dead trees in my hand. I do have some ebooks on my iPhone (and one that I purchased from the Kindle store, using the Kindle for iPhone app), but that was an anomaly. I like the *idea* of having hundreds of books with me at any given moment, but I much prefer the connection to the work that holding a book in my hands gives me.
is wondering how long until LCD screens like the ipad are dual mode and can switch back from normal mode to e-ink mode. I carry too many devices as it is and dont need another one trick pony of a device.Now if I could hit a button and iphone, or ipad could switch to an e-ink mode I would read 100% of my books on it, until then I will remain e-readerless.
(yes I know this is at least a few years away)
I just got a Nook today. I'm pretty excited. I made excuses to avoid getting an e-reader for a long time, but the price and features on the Nook are good and B&N will be giving away a free book in their stores to Nook owners every Friday for who knows how long. They have a deal right now where you get a $50 gift card with the Nook purchase. I just had to buy another bookcase recently and realized that I just don't have any more room for dead tree books.
Matty Van wrote: "is wondering how long until LCD screens like the iPad are dual mode and can switch back from normal mode to e-ink mode. I carry too many devices as it is and dont need another one trick pony of a ..."This technology already exists, it just hasn't come out yet. Check out http://www.pixelqi.com/ they have developed a display that is both reflective and transmissive I would love to convert an iPad with this display technology.
I finally went to check the ipad out and it's too heavy. I couldn't image holding it for long with the carpal tunnel (self diagnosed) I have in both hands. I have the PRS-600 now and it isn't hard for me to hold since it's lightweight, I enjoy it but sometimes I wish the screen was bigger and there wasn't a glare when I am reading under a lamp. My husband is lucky I have to connect via USB cable in order to get new books. Another thing I wish it could be more like the ipad where I can have the Kindle app, B&N app and other ereader apps so that I have multiple devices on one device. That's one of the reasons I picked the PRS-600 over the others is because of the different formats my device can accept over the others but now that the ipad is out it drew me in except for the weight of the blasted thing and of course the price.
Sandi wrote: "I just got a Nook today. I'm pretty excited. I made excuses to avoid getting an e-reader for a long time, but the price and features on the Nook are good and B&N will be giving away a free book i..."You'll love it - Friend B&N and Nook on Facebook or follow them on Twitter. They release a lot of good insider stuff. If you are in store, check your Nook for coupons - they have free food/coffee coupons quite often.
Best Regards, Jim
The Nook just seemed like so much more than the Kindle and blew away the Sony. The page turns aren't great, but I can read one-handed easier. I figured The Passage was a good first choice because it was so much less expensive than the hardback and a the dead-tree version is absolutely huge. B&N gives away a free e-book every Friday too. I think they're modeling themselves after iTunes.
One of the biggest reasons i bought a kindle was that my friends and i can share an account, buy some gift cards, and each of us (up to 6 can register a kindle on one account) get the book for the price of one.Assuming you have friends that read the same genres as you, your book collection grows pretty quickly, and you always have someone around to chat about the book with.
I have looked at 3 different Sony ones, The Nook, and the iPad (want to see a kindle but cant get my hands on one yet, how does amazon expect most people to buy 1 if they cant even touch it first?).
Any E-ink display looks ok but the screen is only about 1/3rd of the device and that wouldn't work for me if I am trying to read. The slow refresh rate when you turn a page is horrible and distracts me from of whatever i am trying to concentrate on. And the touch technology on the Nook is so frustratingly slow to respond.
The iPad books were beautiful and I really loved the page turn and dictionary look up. But can you really read off of that screen for hours? I wouldn't be able to. And the dang thing was so heavy that trying to hold it and read a book would be impossible for me long term.
And since there is no de-facto standard for e-books yet you are locked into whatever device you bought them on. If you want to upgrade...Sorry you have to re-buy your books!!! Our DRM says you cant do what you want to with YOUR BOOK!!! Maybe im the only one but I am going to stick with paper and audio books for the foreseeable future.