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message 51:
by
Regina
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Jul 07, 2010 06:15AM
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Just curious. If you were purchasing an ereader now, would it not make sense to purchase one that can read epubs and pdfs? Aren't those becoming industry standards for ereaders? That way, you don't tie yourself to one bookstore. Also I understand that in some parts of the world many titles are not available in ebooks. Would this not make people want to look at "other" options to get their books?
this isn't the exact article I read but it sums it up http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/com...if you go to google news and type nook kindle patent a bunch of articles will pop up
Yes, one that supports epubs would be good & that's why I was leaning toward the nook, until finding out that it may be going away if these patent issues don't work out in their favor ... but the choice between kindle or nook doesn't 'tie' you to amazon or b&n. Both devices support other formats. Kindle may not support epub, but it does support a total of 14 other formats while the nook only supports I think 4 maybe 6 other formats can't recall for sure which
If I download the kindle app for my computer does anyone know if I will be able to transfer the ebooks to my ebook neo? Any advice would be a big help thanks.
Amy or "Ames" wrote: "Kimberley wrote: "Hey Regina. You say that amazon do eBooks, when I look they aren't doing there are non at all, are you in the UK or the US? I'm in the UK and don't think they are selling them here."They are selling them to us, Kimberley but you have to buy them from the .com website. However, whenever you hear about "free" ebooks they're only free to US customers we apparently have to pay VAT even though 17.5% of free is free. They should make ebooks free of tax just like their dead tree counterparts. I'll stop now before I bore you all with my ranting. :)"
I found the answer!!!! I downloaded the Kindle for Android app onto my phone and all the free books became free! I guess you have to register a "Kindle" device (your PC doesn't count 'cause I tried that) before they'll give 'em to ya.
Anyone out there with a Kobo? I understand that they are releasing a fix for some of their issues. Has anyone had the fix installed? How is it working? Thanks.
I have a Kobo but I haven't heard about any fix yet. I honestly really haven;t had any problems with it.
Here are the fixes - I don't like to be the first to download fixes - (Kobo ereaders) * The ability to resize fonts for any ePub file, no matter where it comes from.
* Improved battery management
* The ability to hide/show the preloaded free classics
* Charging lights that make sense (red/violet when charging, blue when finished)
I signed up for early access to the upgrade because I'm eager to try it. None of my font's resize, so hopefully that'll be fixed too
Mod
How cool Jen!!!! Which Sony did you get?
Mod
I got the PRS-300 Pocket Edition. Good price in the sale too :)
Had also looked at the Kindle but decided to go with the Sony as it seems to be the most used in the UK so most of the ebooks available seem to be for it. I checked I could get compatible stuff elswhere too!
I've also got Kindle for PC on my computer. With a bit of conversion I can read these on my Sony too! EDIT - or so I was told, seems it might not be entierly legal! I'll hold off for now!
All round good!
Only thing is now that I'll probably end up with an eBook AND a paperback going all the time.
I've just started my first book on my Sony, Among the Living which I won in the BDB group as one of Rossy's favourites!!
Oh Jen, I do that. I have ebooks and paperbacks going at the same time. The ereader fits nicely in my purse and is really great when you are reading a "chubby chunkster". Enjoy your new toy!
The pocket book is great, great price right now too! How are you able to convert? That is great! I have often thougth about getting one but can't justify having 2. I often have several library books in paper version and kindle books going at the same time too. :)
Use Calibre to convert PDFs to epubs. I think it does other conversions, not sure. I've also used Calibre to convert epubs (not bought from Kobo store) to epub that can be read by Kobo. Apparently there is a fix for that and I wont need to do that anymore.
I too have paperbacks and ebooks going at the same time. Have fun with your new ereader!
AH, my understanding though that the conversion of Kindle to other types or DRM protected ADE and ePub can't just be done through Calibre. You need something to strip the DRM. But I have only looked at the process of going from DRM ePub and ADE to Kindle and not the other way around.
And that post was the limit of my knowledge. LOL, I have never done it. Just read about it. :)
Mod
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There are loads of books for my Sony and I've loaded the Kindle add onto my Ipod Touch so I can read them on there too! Should keep me going for a while :)
I just edited my initial post re Kindle for PC to reflect what I've found out.
Short info first - One place to find free ebooks is scribd.com, just create an account, and choose Explore for the easy categories (don't forget to set the length to all or long for full books) and it lets you download almost everything as pdf or text files. Some people have lists of ebooks they have and are willing to share posted, sometimes you have to be creative with your searches by title/author/subject to find things that interest youJust mentioning because you mention you have a Kindle and recommend Overdrive:
Regina wrote: "See if your local library has ebooks. Overdrive.com..."
Overdrive lists themselves as compatible with Nooks, Kobo, and Sony Readers, not Kindles.
"DRM-protected Adobe EPUB & PDF eBooks are incompatible with these devices…
* Amazon® Kindle
* Amazon Kindle DX
* Apple® iPad™"
I personally will most likely be buying a Nook (waiting just in case the new Kindle is *amazing*, their recent offloads give me hope), it's been really tempting to just get one of the cheap Kindle 2 refurbs the Amazon sites have had recently, ($110 Monday and something similar the day they announced the Woot Purchase).
Pro Kindle: I love the idea of free Wikipedia, text to speech (better sounding than a lot of screenreaders) and it's lack of that little touchscreen,
Pro Nook: easy and cheap to replace the battery and expand the storage (this is what really tips the scales for me), and is supported by Overdrive
If either one had all of the following I would buy one for myself and one for my husband as soon as I could enter my credit card info (1) expandable storage, (2) great folder system that let me make/keep my many organizational subfolders, (3) Native PDF support, (4) a slide/pull out (from under like some phones [I don't care if they have to make it a quarter of an inch thicker:] instead of being on the lower front) keyboard/touch strip
Becca wrote: "Short info first - One place to find free ebooks is scribd.com, just create an account, and choose Explore for the easy categories (don't forget to set the length to all or long for full books) and..."Becca, yes I know. :) I check out from overdrive.com literally daily -- my big fave is audio books from the library system. I am lucky enough to belong to two large urban library systems. My point was that if checking out from the library is important to you, first check out to see what is available and see if it is even a factor. Most people don't have access to a public library with enough ebooks or ebooks they want that make it a worthwhile factor. Even with my two large systems, after looking into it -- it wasn't a large enough factor to decide against the Kindle, there were only 50-60 ebooks that I would read (they have thousands, but only 50-60 that i was interested in) and that was not enough to tip the scales for me. So I highly recommend checking out to see what the availability is. And if there are books you want to read, and the wait isn't too long (some people report long waits) -- and you envision checking books out from overdrive -- then you should consider it and put this in the pro column for Nook/Sony/Kobo. :)
FYI, the Nook isn't supported by Overdrive, it reads a format (and so does Sony, Kobo and a few others) that overdrive has -- which is either DRM ADE or ePub (I believe Kobo doesn't do ADE though).
There are two things about the battery and the expandable storage -- these are non issues. It is funny, b/c reading your post is like reading my thought process last year. These two issues were a big deal for me and the reason why I first bought a refurbished Kindle 1 (then sold it and got a Kindle 2). So I totally get where you are coming from. I understand if you prefer the Nook, it is a personal deceision, but in case it is helplful for you ..... Kindle 1 had a removable battery and expandable storage, but they found that it wasn't actually used. There are Kindle 2s that have been around for close to several years now -- and the inital batteries are still working. If you check out the Kindle forums, there is information about how to replace/fix the battery if it ever goes dead (but not an issue thus far) -- and it is a very low cost fix. So this really isn't a factor.
Expandable storage -- I have hundreds and hundreds of books on my Kindle. I believe it can hold 1500 books. And if you have more than 1500 books, Amazon archives your books for you for free, permanently. So the expandable storage issue really isn't necessary. I typically delete a book off my kindle once I am done reading it -- if I want it again, I download it and it is there within seconds. You can go back and forth very easily. I just can't envision a situation where I need more than 1500 books at a time?
The dictionary in the Kindle is amazing, you choose a word from the book and immediately pops up the definition. The text to speech is nice, and the sharing of books/accounts is great. I love the archiving that Amazon does. But I actually don't use the wiki or the browser alot, I thought I would and this played an important part in my decision -- but I use my iPhone for that. Kindle has a folder system, it doesn't allow for sub folders, but it is still pretty nifty. I love the folder system. I heard that Sony has a folder system too. So something to consider.
Also the keyboard, I just so rarely use it. I remember really wishing the iPhone had an expndable keyboard -- before I got the iPhone. But once I had it, I realized I liked the touchscreen keyboard. I guess my point is, you might not use the keyboard bc it is an ereader and that is the main function.
Native PDF reader. This was a big deal for me, I almost bought the DX instead of the regular Kindle bc I felt like this would be such a big factor. I thought I could read my work papers, etc. As you probably know, the regular Kindle, Nook, and lesser Sony -- aren't native PDF readers. The DX and the expnsive Sony (forgot its name) read PDF very nicely, I forgot if they are native readers or not thought. Reading a PDF on my Kindle is OK if I switch to horizontal view (turn my kindle and switch the view, pretty awesome function) -- it is OK. If I do that. Not great. However, I have recently heard that you can use the program Calibre to convert PDF documents to word so they are viewable in a native format on your kindle. If this is important to you, I recommend checking out the forums and see what they say. I am guessing if you can do this on the Kindle -- you could do it on other readers too. But I could be wrong.
Do you and your husband share books or read the same books? If so, then you should read about the sharing books function on the Kindle. I share with my neighbor -- and it is a great option.
I remember thinking about this for months and writing about it in forums and once I had my ereader -- it was like a relief -- I could finally just read on it. :) I actually haven't heard of someone being unhappy with their decision whether it is a Kobo, Nook, Sony, Kindle, etc. -- it is just so much fun to read on!!! I am sure whatever you choose will be great after your well thought out research. Good luck in your decision and I hope you get what you want.
P.S. I am guessing the Kindle 3 will have wifi, come in different colors, have the new crisper e-ink that the new DX has. And likely make some change to the keyboard. These factors are not enough for me to want a different Kindle. I cannot wait to see what the new Kindle is!!! I am sure despite what I say now, I will want to upgrade. And I am guessing there will be a new Sony and a new Nook soon too. But I could be wrong.
I found a link for the Kobo firmware upgrade so I upgraded mine. I've messed around with it some, and the font sizes do change now, the charging light is correct, and you can hide the preloaded books. The font resizing is the best fix so far. Now you can actually make text large! and small! Its great!
I upgraded my Kobo this week and the upgrade works great. The upgrade was automatic when I plugged my Kobo to the computer. It took about 30 minutes. So, if you have a Kobo and are not in Canada, they will be rolling this out soon or you can ask for an early upgrade by email.Make sure you have a small paperclip!
I had a sony prs 600 but I sold it to my friend and then brought myself a Nook. I love it except that it does not have a collection folder like the prs 600.One good thing about having the wifi edition is that you can get updates. So hopefully soon there is an update for a collection folder for personal books.
For now, this is how I put my books in order for a collection. For example if I had the night huntress series on my computer ready to upload to the nook, it looks like this:
[Night Huntress 01:] Halfway to the grave
[Night Huntress 02:] One foot in the grave
___
That way its alphabetized by the series
I also recommend going to the mobileread forum. This site is dedicated to E-readers. You can recommendations from there as well and if you have questions, they have answers.http://www.mobileread.com/forums/inde...
Found another site you all may be interested inhttp://www.booksetc.co.uk/
and the good thing is, they supply to the UK
OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG!!!!!!I just went to www.amazon.co.uk and their selling their new Kindle from the UK for £109 (wireless) and £149 (wireless + 3G)! And it's black! And they're distributing from 27th Aug -4 days before my birthday and now I have £50 in Amazon vouchers, the temptation is killing me!
It now has to be the cheapest mainstream e-reader in the UK. The wireless one is cheaper than my iPod Nano!
There's going to be a UK Kindle book store too!
See here for more details!
Mod
I just went to www.amazon.co.uk and their selling their new Kindle from the UK for £109 (wireless) and £149 (wireless + 3G)! And it's black! And they're distri..."
AMY :) I think you've got many of us Brits clicking on that link, I could not believe the price!!!!! Is that the permanent price do you think or is it a promotional for before the UK Kindle bookstore launches????
The price is low in the US too. So I think it is the permanent price.
I hope the price is permanent. I can rationalise spending money on it especially with the dedicated PDF reader. I don't need 3G, I have that on my phone with the Kindle for Android app which I love. I'm so glad it's black, I thought the white ones were eyesores that would instantly attract dirt. And space for 3,500 books, perfect. I might wait a couple of weeks to see if the competitors come up with something better, if not, I may be buying a Kindle...
Mod
Amy, I think it's unlikely the competitors will get as low as £109 and have the advantage of getting books from Amazon.
Now I'm really torn, I do like my Sony but ...........
Amy, with regards to the PDF abilities, check if you can resize the fonts on PDFs. My reader reads PDFs, but life is a whole lot easier just converting them to epubs.
AH wrote: "Amy, with regards to the PDF abilities, check if you can resize the fonts on PDFs. My reader reads PDFs, but life is a whole lot easier just converting them to epubs."The Kindle could always "read" PDFs, but Amazon is touting that the Kindle 3 does something different -- I wonder if it means that it is inline with the Kindle DX and the high end Sony, this is what it says for the Kindle 3:
Improved PDF Reader
Now with new dictionary lookup, notes and highlights, and support for password protected PDFs. Easily carry all of your documents on the go.
it also states,
Built-in PDF reader with pan and zoom
Also in the chart at the bottom of the page, it checks off that the Kindle 3 is a native PDF viewer.
This is what it says about the DX:
Built-In PDF Reader: Carry and read all of your personal and professional documents on the go. Now with Zoom capability to easily view small print and detailed tables or graphics.
by the way it defines "zoom" in relation to the DX, and then Amazon uses "zoom" to describe what the Kindle 3 can do with PDFs, I am guessing it can resize the fonts.
I would have them demonstrate that to you. Zoom does not necessarily resize the fonts. Your document may be off center and you may need to navigate a lot. I found that with zoom and pan you lose part of the document and that is why I converted PDFs to epubs. Just easier to read.
Jen ~ "Dhexterity" wrote: "Amy, I think it's unlikely the competitors will get as low as £109 and have the advantage of getting books from Amazon."True. I wonder how much the ebooks will be and whether we'll still be able to buy from the .com site. I know they say they'll be cheaper than other UK e-stores but that won't be difficult, they could still be more expensive than the paperbacks which are very cheap at the moment.
Well there is a 30 day refund period no questions asked. Not much of a risk to see how PDF documents look on this.
Mod
I think it would be a shame if we were only able to buy what was on the UK site unless it's as extensive as the US site with comparative prices too. My experience at looking at UK v US sites though leads me to think we will be lucky if the books cost the same in £'s as they do in $'s on the Kindle site!!
Thanks for all the info on ereaders. I have a sony PRS-300 and will be checking out some of these sites.
I've decided to wait until the UK Kindle Book Store opens on the 27th before buying the new device. I'm going to buy an ebook from the .com site to see if I still can. If it works then I'll buy the new Kindle regardless of whether the UK store is any good for price and availability.
Mod
Sounds like a good plan! If we can buy physical books from the US site as well as the UK one then in theory at least we should be able to for ebooks too! Let me know how it goes.
Jen ~ theMagicFaerie wrote: "So I won't be converting any Kindle files until I'm sure what the situation is! I don't want to end up being an ebook pirate without meaning to!There are loads of books for my Sony and I've lo..."
I think you can safely convert the files as long as there is no DRM restricting you. Many ebooks from Amazon and Barnes & Noble have DRM, but there are other sites that don't have it. ebooks from those sites are easy to to convert on calibre, which is free:)
Stripping the DRM is the questionable practice, as publishers say it can lead to pirated copies. While probably not legal, there are people who feel that once they buy an ebook, they should be able to play it on whatever device they want and say they are only removing the DRM for their own benefit--not any one else's. It's quite a debate!
I do think I made a big mistake geting the Bebook Neo instead of a Kindle.
Walmart Canada has Kobo at $128 this week. Thought I'd pass this on.
Rebecca wrote: "I do think I made a big mistake geting the Bebook Neo instead of a Kindle."Then sell it on Craig's List or eBay and buy a Kindle! I bought a refurbished Kindle 1, then 2 months later sold it and bought a Kindle 2.
But why do you think you made a mistake? I do not know much about the Neo.....
Ok, so I was doing a radio interview for my books and the host asked me if I had an ereader. I told her no because I didn't know if you could cuddle up in bed with an ereader like you could a book. So that is a question I have for all of you. Is it easy to cuddle up with an ereader in bed? (That's where I like to read) What do you like better about them versus a regular book? I have moved recently and after having to reshelve all my books and seeing the space they take up I began pondering the advantages of an ereader.
I recently purchased an itouch so I can now download some stuff on it which is nice for when I'm traveling to book signings. Which ereader device do you most recommend? I've heard good things about kindle and the ipad. Can you only download books in their library or any ebook? See...I'm totally ereader illiterate! Thanks for your help and suggestions!!
I recently purchased an itouch so I can now download some stuff on it which is nice for when I'm traveling to book signings. Which ereader device do you most recommend? I've heard good things about kindle and the ipad. Can you only download books in their library or any ebook? See...I'm totally ereader illiterate! Thanks for your help and suggestions!!
Lacey wrote: "Ok, so I was doing a radio interview for my books and the host asked me if I had an ereader. I told her no because I didn't know if you could cuddle up in bed with an ereader like you could a book..."For me its so much easier to curl up with, but i'm getting over a broken arm so that's most likely why.
I used to be so anti ereader until I realized how convenient it was.
It was only after reading in bed one night that I realized just how wonderful my Itouch really was. Reading with one hand, turning pages with my thumb and still having a free hand to pat whichever of my dogs or cats that managed to worm their way next to me.Love it!
I am still pretty illiterate and haven't figured out how to transfer everything from my computer to my Itouch but still loving it.
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