e-reader?

[Syahira]

any of you considered iRiver? rm900 is okay no? But then again, it doesnt support mobi nor html NOR lit. hmm...

[Norain]

Syahira wrote: "any of you considered iRiver? rm900 is okay no? But then again, it doesnt support mobi nor html NOR lit. hmm..."

Calibre can convert epub to mobi and vice versa. Maybe it can help.

[Najibah, Penterjemah yang mencintai kata-kata]

Have anyone visited Amazon.com today? The all new Kindles are out. They have the color one at USD 199. The black and white at only USD 79.

[Najibah, Penterjemah yang mencintai kata-kata]

I believe there is none so far. In the first place, the truly original Malay classics are mostly in the form of manuscripts, in old Jawi language - and those in the modern book form, usually are restricted by copyrights of the authors or publishers who had made efforts to transcribe them from the obsolete Jawi to modern Malay Language.

There are quite a big number of manuscript collection in PNM/Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia, but I think there's no digitization efforts so far (I could be wrong, so maybe you can refer to PNM for clarification).

[Juliana Es]

I've posted my review on Samsung Galaxy Tab as e-reader in my blog. Click here to read it.

[Ummu Auni]

I'm thinking of buying an e-reader since I found my bookshelves are brimming full with books. And I've taken interest in e-book since I found that I can read books using laptop for free. I'd been vying for Kindle since...? Sob sob

[Syahira]

thought about asking someone who was in US to buy kindle for me and then give me when he's in singapore... :/ but he's back to UK now.. argh.. tak sempat!!!

$79 vs 89pound vs rm500

hmmmmmm

[Ulya A.K]

Norain MT wrote: "Calibre can convert epub to mobi and vice versa. Maybe it can help."

i convert all my ebooks using Calibre, mostly to enable me to read it on my laptop.

p/s: just got myself an ipad last week, but darn, my ibook somehow wont sync. still haven't finished transferring all my ebooks into it.

[Roslee]

Guna aplikasi ibook (ipad2) untuk baca format epub. Buku? Tak payah beli. Semua saya download free termasuklah yang ada dalam senarai The New York Times Best Sellers.

Pernah guna Calibre tukar format pdf ke epub tetapi semua jadi tunggang-langgang. Guna aplikasi Perfect Reader untuk baca file pdf.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/perfec...

Saya suka aplikasi ini, seolah-olah membaca dalam format epub menggunakan ibooks.

[❀ Hana]

Salam sejahtera,

Siapa di sini yang nak ebook percuma bertajuk Under Fishbone Clouds tulisan Sam Meekings boleh PM saya. Nanti saya beri kod muat turun untuk tebus di iTunes. ebook ini hanya boleh dibaca melalui app iBooks di iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad.

Tawaran sehingga 16 Februari 2012. :)

[Natasha]

Why nobody wants to buy Kobo? I think that's the only ebook store that is available for Malaysians and well Smashwords of course.

[Juliana Es]

I install Kobo at my Android tablet.

Maybe because people don't find Kobo e-reader as attractive as Amazon Kindle or B&N Nook.

[Natasha]

Yup it's just way easier to read on your tab but my eyes grew so tired..huhu

[Clerk Can]

Saya sudah membeli tablet buatan cina. http://encik-kerani.blogspot.com/2012...

Ok : Boleh baca dalam gelap. Ada game. Ada comic reader. Ada movie player.

Tidak OK : Sakit mata. Makin kurang membaca kerana lebih banyak main game, baca comic n manga dan tengok movie.

Sekarang iRiver Story HD cuma RM499. ~~murahnya....

[[deleted user]]

where to find kindle with reasonable price at malaysia?
or any better choice?
anyone?
sorry if it has been discussed before..
so lazy to read through all comments=)

[Layen]

Anyone here has purchased the Hanlin v5 from MPH? Mine seems to be having battery problems already - one day of reading and the battery's gone kaput D: And it's only 1+ years old...

[Syahira]

Amal wrote: "where to find kindle with reasonable price at malaysia?
or any better choice?
anyone?
sorry if it has been discussed before..
so lazy to read through all comments=)"

This is a good site for kindle http://kindlemalaysia.com/

Layen wrote: "Anyone here has purchased the Hanlin v5 from MPH? Mine seems to be having battery problems already - one day of reading and the battery's gone kaput D: And it's only 1+ years old..."

have you asked for warranty?

[Layen]

Syahira wrote: "have you asked for warranty?"
Sadly, it's already past the warranty date.

[[deleted user]]

Amal wrote: "where to find kindle with reasonable price at malaysia?
or any better choice?
anyone?
sorry if it has been discussed before..
so lazy to read through all comments=)"

it is actually much cheaper to use the service of a web proxy, that is having the Kindle shipped to an address in US, in which they will ship it to you, with some additional fees.

or if you have a friend in the US, just have them buy and ship it for you. international shipping, i think, only costs around $15. So it just adds up to $115, (assuming you want the $99 kindle touch), which is approximately Rm350.

Kindle Malaysia charges way too much for a price tag of Rm500.

As for myself, I use a Nook Color, that I rooted to function as a low-end Android tablet. So it gives more opportunities for customization. The hook/handle thingy at the bottom edge also is useful if you want to hold it while moving/walking. Gives you more grip.

As for the reading experience, I like the fact that I can bookmark, highlight, and look up words all in one touch. Also most of the books I have are in .epub or .djvu, and Nook's interface is perfect for this. For .pdf files, the built-in reader lags too much, but with a bit of tweaking and using apps on the market, you'll be alright.

Never bought anything on the B&N store though.

All in all I'm happy with it.

Hope this helps.

[Deviki]

It is true that ebook is reading from a screen LCD or whatever screen, and for those who work in IT field or face computer for 8 hours or more, its just a turn off for me, i really dun wanna sit down in the corner and read it, i disagree that it causes eye aches from reading small text, there is text enlargement function for most e-book tools,
i guess it its just not my cup of tea ..or coffee LOL

[Lord Nouda]

Syahira wrote: "Amal wrote: "where to find kindle with reasonable price at malaysia?
or any better choice?
anyone?
sorry if it has been discussed before..
so lazy to read through all comments=)"

This is a good si..."

Actually it's one the worst places to buy the Kindle. It's grossly marked-up at nearly extortionist rates (above RM500, when the original price was about RM300). You'd be better off buying from independent resellers. I got my Kindle Touch (Ads) from a lowyat dude for only RM400 (RM410, if you want it via post laju). The dude's Kindle 4 is only RM360 (Ads) There's also a reputable singaporean store, Qisahn, that ships to Malaysia. RM397 is the price tag for their Kindle Touch (Ads).

Lowyat Dude: http://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?act...

He's pretty reputable, I got my Kindle Touch via COD at pavilion KL. He also shipped some accessories to my place in JB. Very good service.

http://qisahn.com/mobile-gadgets-kind...

Singapore Games Merchant (they sell kindles too). They're a reputable brick and mortar store that also sells online via their site.

[Lord Nouda]

I've calculated the costs of getting kindle touch shipped from Amazon to one of those reshipping services (the one where they give you a US address for the Kindles to ship to, before packing and resending it back to malaysia). The costs are roughly $20-30 depending on which service you use, which means the total cost ends up totalling around, 120-130 USD, or about RM400. The biggest disadvantage of using one of these services is that it'll take a entire month for your kindle to arrive from the states. Whereas, the local or singapore method is under a week. A few days at the latest or even the very next day if post-lajued. <- lulz

[ims]

Got my Kindle straight from Amazon.

[Lord Nouda]

Unfortunately Amazon doesn't ship Kindles directly to Malaysia. You're lucky you're in OZ :O

[ims]

hahaha yes :D

[Syahira]

oh..
Kindle with Special Offers RM 360
Kindle Touch with Special Offers RM 410
Touch 3G with Special Offers RM 610
Kindle Fire RM 760

I like it since the seller is quite nearby for COD.

and then I found this on the thread
http://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?sho...

RM290 - Kindle 4 Basic (Wi-Fi, Non-Touch, with ads)
RM370 - Kindle Touch (Wi-Fi, with ads)
RM730 - Kindle Fire (Wi-Fi)

but above was the prices without shipping from singapore which can be pricey on its own. But I could get my relatives to COD it. Depends.

BTW, for electronics, I would prefer COD than normal poslaju shipping. Those peeps don't really get the word "Fragile".

[Limau Nipis]

has anyone owned a nook?

it seems everyone is talking about kindle (including myself), but i noticed that kindle does not support the common epub format.

and nook supports the epub, if i am not mistaken

[Lord Nouda]

Limau Nipis wrote: "has anyone owned a nook?

it seems everyone is talking about kindle (including myself), but i noticed that kindle does not support the common epub format.

and nook supports the epub, if i am not m..."

There's this magical and uberl33t program called Calibre. You don't need to limit yourself to any specific format or device once you have it installed on your computer. I have over 100 ebooks on my kindle touch and I've only read a quarter of them since I got it in January.

Pos Laju are a bunch of lame-asses. They couldn't fricking deliver my kindle screen protector (which was in a standard size envelope btw) to my mailbox. They couldn't even be bothered to call my fricking number when they realized I wasn't AT HOME even though it was written on the pos laju form. LAZY SOABs.

GDEX however, called me up to ask what they should do with my MPH book (someone apparently bought it for me, I still have no idea who since I didn't recognize the name of the sender). I told them to just chuck it over the fence. The dude did it. Epic service btw even though the "delivery method" was rather crude. =P

The two sites I posted are close to 100% reliable, as in you will get your product. I've gotten two kindles from the lowyat so far, one CODed to check whether it's the real deal and the other I got it shipped to someone in Melaka as a gift. The Singaporean site lists the final price including shipping (which is free). It's about 13 ringgit cheaper than the lowyat dude.

[Limau Nipis]

Hi Nouda,

I was wondering whether you root the Kindle because I understand that we had to do some rooting to open access. If not, the Kindle will route the url through Kindle Store rather than the Internet.

And talking about the Calibre software, did you convert the books to Kindle format in the computer, before you transfer it to the Kindle itself?

[Lord Nouda]

Limau Nipis wrote: "Hi Nouda,

I was wondering whether you root the Kindle because I understand that we had to do some rooting to open access. If not, the Kindle will route the url through Kindle Store rather than the..."

Uhh, You don't have to root it to be able to surf. There's a separate option to go through the Amazon store to buy books or you can just choose to use the experimental internet browser which allows to you surf the web (unimpeded access) as long as you have a wifi connection.

I converted the ebooks to .mobi using Calibre on my laptop before transferring them to the Kindle.

[Norain]

To those using Kindle in Malaysia, where do you get you ebooks (since you cannot buy from Amazon)?

[Limau Nipis]

Norain MT wrote: "To those using Kindle in Malaysia, where do you get you ebooks (since you cannot buy from Amazon)?"

i think what Nouda has already written earlier, Nouda converts the file using Calibre at the computer before transferring it to Kindle

[Lord Nouda]

I get my ebooks from the same place most of you get your movies from. Don't get me wrong, I'd totally buy retail ebooks if their prices were reasonable.

But atm they're totally ripping us off with ebooks costing just a dollar or two less than real books (basically just copy pasted text from the same source document they use to print the paperbacks, with minor formatting involved that does not, in any way justify the price).

I'd rather spend my money on real books that I can resell or lend to anyone I like since they become my property. Whereas ebooks are just licensed text locked down to a specific format or device. According to the publishing industry, I don't own the ebooks I "bought". They do. They just allow me to pay nearly full price to read a bunch of text, while getting no other extra benefits from that purchase.

I can't resell ebooks. I can't lend them out freely. They don't contribute in any way to my assets. Despite having spent money to buy them, I can't do shit with them.
______________________

But then again, I still buy ebooks from smashwords from time to time ($.99 - $2.99 price range), especially ebooks by indie authors who allowed me to preview their novels (kinda like reading a book in a bookstore, before deciding that you want to buy it). I do get free ebooks every now and then by random authors (mostly indies).

[Norain]

Nouda wrote: "According to the publishing industry, I don't own the ebooks I "bought". They do. They just allow me to pay nearly full price to read a bunch of text, while getting no other extra benefits from that purchase. "

I have to agree with you. Kindle is superb but Amazon charges us like a vampire bat draining blood from a cow. I too do my best trying to find free ebooks first before resorting to buying from Amazon.

Thanks for sharing / mentioning about Smashwords. I kind of like indie writers. Amazon too sell many indie books for the same range price as you quoted and good thing is, if the writer sucks I could just return the book, no question asked. Sometimes I even buy non-indie books, read at one go, then return them. Nak disimpan mahal wo, and I sort of have an aversion to owning fictions.

I hate DRM but thankfully there are (as always) ways of getting around it :D

[Syahira]

I'm coming back here for Nouda's link. BTW, I bought a Kindle 4 for rm315, and waiting for it to come to me. Cannot wait!!!!! Will do review on it as requested by kak Limau Nipis :P

[Lord Nouda]

Amazon is actually the cheapest ebook retailer by far. Smashwords mostly caters to indie authors, whereas Amazon has everything. B&N and Kobo ebooks cost a bit more than their Amazon equivalent.

Did you hear about the monopoly on ebook prices planned by the Big 4 Publishers and Apple? Apparently they were secretly planning to bring ebook prices up (From 9.99 to 14.99 USD) and force Amazon to do the same. The US Justice department with the aid of the intelligence services managed to stop them in their tracks and now they're getting sued in court. =D

Kalau nak carik buku takyah bayar, leh join kumpulan fb aq. We can find all the latest books published in the last 10 years, the ones in ebook form at least.

Just send me a pm with your fb email and I'll get ya an invite.

[Norain]

Syahira wrote: "I'm coming back here for Nouda's link. BTW, I bought a Kindle 4 for rm315, and waiting for it to come to me. Cannot wait!!!!! Will do review on it as requested by kak Limau Nipis :P"

Kindle 4 is more portable, but because such was achieved by doing away with the keyboard, it becomes less user friendly. Nak taip leceh :(

Nouda wrote: "Kalau nak carik buku takyah bayar, leh join kumpulan fb aq. We can find all the latest books published in the last 10 years, the ones in ebook form at least."

Can I join too? Please?

[Limau Nipis]

Can I also join? There are certain books that has been blocked at epub, unfortunately...

[Ummu Auni]

Lord Nouda, I have sent you a message, unfortunately I forgot to inform you that my profile is invisible..

[Lord Nouda]

@ Limau Nipis, send me a pm with your FB email addy.
@ Norain MT: That's why I got the Kindle Touch instead of the K4. I initially thought that both were touchscreens, with the K4 having additional buttons for the old-school peeps who preferred those. But it turns it doesn't even have the touch function and you'd have to use the directional buttons, to type on a virtual keyboard. -.-'

The ads aren't all that bad. If it wasn't for the geographical restrictions, I might actually buy some of the ebooks they're advertising. Atm I need to get a US-based VPN and buy an Amazon Gift Card for my secondary account just to be able to buy ebooks from Amazon. Too much work for a lazy bum like me xD

[Mslvoe]

I didn't mean to pry but I'm interested to join :-)

[Lord Nouda]

I've added you to the LB group. There's a bigger group that has a lot more contributors and books but it needs the approval of its admin to join. It'll take around 24-48 hours for you to get in.

[Limau Nipis]

Thanks nouda for adding me to the group :-)

[Mslvoe]

Thanks Lord Nouda :-)

[Ummu Auni]

Lord Nouda, I've just added you as my friend. Sorry for the lateeee notification since I had problem adding you in FB.

Now, with extra money coming in, I'm tempted to by an e-book reader. So please anyone, review it for me please. For info, I want to download books FOC

[Lau King Hua]

i think i want to buy the kindle 4 basic.its pretty cheap at rm295. the thing that hold me back is can i export book into the reader or must i only buy books from amazon?
Lord Nouda been using kindle touch and have no problem exporting book... i wonder whether the kindle 4 basic also can do that. anyone kind enough to let me know? thanks!
by the way, i usually got my ebook from demonoid.me and been using my android phone for reading. i have a lot of ebooks! so if anyone want any ebook, let me know, if i have the title i can send it to you.. :)

[Lord Nouda]

Kindles are all the same, except for the hardware. You can read any pdf, prc, word or mobi ebooks. I use calibre to manage the ebooks on my kindle. There's an option to sync the library with your kindle.

Transferring ebooks into the kindle is just copy + paste.

[Lau King Hua]

thank you very much i think you just convinced me to buy a kindle.

[Ummu Auni]

Eh does this mean you can read ANY books? Not just bought from amazon? That would be really nice.

TQ Lord Nouda for adding me to the group :-)

[Mslvoe]

Yes, you can read any books :-) Just copy + paste, and tadaaaaa you can read in your ereader.