posted
The $139 Wifi model. And only because a) I'm going to be converting a friend's books into a Kindle-ready format and wanted to be more familiar with it, and b) I'll need one for a work project. Oh, and also c) I love gadgets.
Quick impression: I would never carry this around with me. Too awkward, too fragile, won't fit in my pocket. I do the bulk of my reading during breaks at work and while walking around; my iPod Touch is still superior for that, since it fits nicely in my pocket and does lots of other stuff besides. So this will not become my primary ebook reader.
And the navigation feels positively last-century compared to the touch screens Ive gotten used to. If you carry more than a few books at a time -- and I expect to have hundreds, at least -- finding any given book is a serious pain, even using the awkward Collections option.
However, I can see using this at home when I'm settling in for a good long read, as the larger screen and eInk display easily beats my iPod. And it looks amazing in full sunlight. (But just as hard to read in the dark as a print book, whereas my iPod works just fine). And it would work well on vacations.
And while organizing and finding your books on a Kindle is a pain, buying them is incredibly easy, much superior to the ebook readers on my iPod where I have to open a browser to buy the book and then go back to the reader to download and read it.
I'm already a calibre user -- any ebook fan should be -- so filling this thing up will be no problem. Anyone have any good tips on Kindle use or hackage I should know?
For one thing, is there an easy way to change the screensaver images? Those aren't the authors I'd pick...
Posts: 7790 | Registered: Aug 2000
| IP: Logged |
posted
Adding: also not used to the way the screen flashes when you move through the pages, but I expect I'll adapt.
Posts: 7790 | Registered: Aug 2000
| IP: Logged |
posted
I personally have a problem with the way the kindle doesn't tell you what page you're on, instead using a totally stupid 'blocks read/left' representation. Idiocy, that.
Posts: 5462 | Registered: Apr 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
Pages are kind of moot, since you can change the font size. Also, you can end up with different text renderings, depending on whether you jumped to a specific line of text or did page by page views. Plus, the device has to be compatible with a wide variety of formats.
Posts: 339 | Registered: Apr 2008
| IP: Logged |
posted
I really enjoy my kindle. I read a lot of essays and papers and articles online and it kills my eyes, so I transfer all of them to the Kindle and can read them easily without having to waste paper or have my laptop with me.
But I'm with you Chris on some of those negatives. I'm so used to my iPhone that not having a touchscreen is a killer. I also really love the functionality of the ereader on something like an iPad, that has a multipage display where you can browse through your notes and bookmarks extremely fluidly and easily. It's very cumbersome on the kindle.
As of now I'm not willing to give up the benefit of the screen to gain the benefit of the functionality that other products have, and am really looking forward to something that can combine the two.
Posts: 8741 | Registered: Apr 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
I'm still mixed on mine. My wife has an IPod Touch, and I envy how easy it is to take around. When I board a plane I want one device for a 5 hour flight to make the time pass quickly, which the Kindle really doesn't.
For home, beach, and pool reading it can't be beat though.
I just got a free PSP 3000, and may play around with hacking it to see if it can handle ebooks.
Does anyone who has the Kindle app on another device know if you can add a bookmark on your Kindle, and open the same book to that bookmark on another device? That would be awesome, and would lose my wife her Touch when I fly out west in April.
Posts: 3134 | Registered: Mar 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
If you're reading in the Kindle app on an iPhone or iPod Touch it will sync with the same book on your Kindle or on your Kindle for PC app so your place will be saved whatever you read on.
Posts: 7790 | Registered: Aug 2000
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by Chris Bridges: If you're reading in the Kindle app on an iPhone or iPod Touch it will sync with the same book on your Kindle or on your Kindle for PC app so your place will be saved whatever you read on.
Even with ebooks converted with Calibre? Well thats just awesome.
Posts: 3134 | Registered: Mar 2005
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by manji: Pages are kind of moot, since you can change the font size.
Wrong. Being able to change the font size doesn't render pages any more moot than it does on real books (which, by the way, vary the number or words on a page depending on genre, printing, font, and other variables). The fact that you can do it within the book while you're reading it doesn't suddenly make pages moot. And kindle developers clearly know it, since they did make the conscious decision to display some progress indicator. Then they made another conscious decision to make that indicator beyond unreadable, pushing it into actively annoying. For me, at least. And half of the people I know who own kindles.
Posts: 5462 | Registered: Apr 2005
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by manji: Pages are kind of moot, since you can change the font size.
Wrong. Being able to change the font size doesn't render pages any more moot than it does on real books (which, by the way, vary the number or words on a page depending on genre, printing, font, and other variables). The fact that you can do it within the book while you're reading it doesn't suddenly make pages moot. And kindle developers clearly know it, since they did make the conscious decision to display some progress indicator. Then they made another conscious decision to make that indicator beyond unreadable, pushing it into actively annoying. For me, at least. And half of the people I know who own kindles.
Wrong. Unless you're willing to have the page numbers multiple times on a page or in fractions.
Just deal with it.
Posts: 688 | Registered: Nov 2008
| IP: Logged |
posted
I will get an eBook reader when either of the following happen. When both happen, I'm going to kiss someone.
1. I can get my books and textbooks on it, and can mark passages in the textbook to saved and recalled later, and make highlights that can be access from my computer. MY books and textbooks - old books, and textbooks on Latin and Greek, from England and Germany as well and the USA. There are tons of books on Kindle. But very, very few of the books I buy are available on Kindle, and all of them are the just-for-fun books. I don't need Kindle to replace and make portable my paperbacks. I need it to make portable my 50lb Oxford Latin Dictionary.
2. I can buy a book, and then for about $3 more, get the electronic copy. If I buy only the electronic copy, then full price. Fine. But if I am buying a paper copy of the book, then the electronic copy should come almost free. All the expense of editing and writing I already paid for with the paper copy.
Until then, any eBook reader is just a toy. I read a lot of things on my BlackBerry already - I don't need a separate reader.
Posts: 26077 | Registered: Mar 2000
| IP: Logged |
quote:Unless you're willing to have the page numbers multiple times on a page or in fractions.
Wrong. If you look at a printed book with a magnifying glass, you're still looking at a definite page. They could have made it work as it does with PDFs, or PostScripts, or indeed practically any other format you care to name: Have a page indicator at the bottom, which doesn't care about the number of 'views' you have left in the book but only about what canonical page you are currently looking at.
Posts: 10645 | Registered: Jul 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
The Kindle is the ultimate device available for the target market -- heavy recreational readers who prefer the larger and more comfortable (on the eye) book size.
Navigating: Your most recent book is at the top, second most recent is second, etc. Most heavy readers aren't exactly bouncing all over the place. This might be a problem if you're only concerned about DOWNLOADING books, but it's great for the reader.
Interface: I don't want a touch screen to turn pages. I don't want to deal with accidentally going forward or back when I'm walking or handling the device. Two page forward buttons, one on either side, and a page back button are all I need. I DO WISH, however, that they'd make a version without the keyboard and just give me more screen space.
It wins on battery life, readability, and book availability. I can switch to my phone when I'm mobile and not lose my page (because it ISN'T always the best device). Between the phone and Kindle, I'm fully covered.
And unlike many others, I LOVE the text to speach. I read for awhile, then I can close my eyes and have it read to me. Or I can listen to my textbooks in the car. Triple win.
Posts: 688 | Registered: Nov 2008
| IP: Logged |
quote:Unless you're willing to have the page numbers multiple times on a page or in fractions.
Wrong. If you look at a printed book with a magnifying glass, you're still looking at a definite page. They could have made it work as it does with PDFs, or PostScripts, or indeed practically any other format you care to name: Have a page indicator at the bottom, which doesn't care about the number of 'views' you have left in the book but only about what canonical page you are currently looking at.
Then, how would you handle page breaks, if the current view has run out of text to render for that particular page?
Or if you run the pages together, what would happen when there are multiple "pages" on a single view?
Posts: 339 | Registered: Apr 2008
| IP: Logged |
posted
What textbooks do you get that are available on the Kindle? I just checked my wish list, and there wasn't a single textbook, poetry book, or serious history book available on the Kindle on the front page. The fluffy books were, but those are generally shorter and easy to carry. No electronic reader necessary.
Posts: 26077 | Registered: Mar 2000
| IP: Logged |
posted
Even with ebooks converted with Calibre? Well thats just awesome.
Sadly, only with books bought or downloaded from Amazon.
Navigating: Your most recent book is at the top, second most recent is second, etc. Most heavy readers aren't exactly bouncing all over the place. This might be a problem if you're only concerned about DOWNLOADING books, but it's great for the reader.
This heavy reader tends to keep large libraries of ebooks on his ereaders, and he rereads a lot. When a new Dresden book is coming out (or Ender or Discworld or many others) I tend to go back and reread the last one, if not the whole series. On the Kindle, there's a lot of physical button-pressing to bring those up. I suppose I can make tons of Collections (can you nest Collections within Collections?) but it's still awkward and slow compared to sorting on Stanza on my iPod and zipping down through the list to find the book I want.
One big confusing omission: why can't I manage my Collections on my Kindle account page online and then sync it to organize the books? That would be much easier than fiddling with the buttons on this thing.
Again, I think the actual act of reading is better on the Kindle, and buying books and battery life are both much better. For every other aspect the Kindle falls behind other readers for me.
Posts: 7790 | Registered: Aug 2000
| IP: Logged |
2. I can buy a book, and then for about $3 more, get the electronic copy. If I buy only the electronic copy, then full price. Fine. But if I am buying a paper copy of the book, then the electronic copy should come almost free. All the expense of editing and writing I already paid for with the paper copy.
I think if you buy the hard copy, the electronic should be free. At the very least downloading it from Usenet, or a torrent, or a message board, is definitely not immoral. Amazon has already started doing this with some movies.
I like having my books on the shelves, but enjoy the e-reader experience.
I also think any e-books more than a couple of years old should be priced closer to a used book. $12.99 for Kings newest Full Dark, No Stars is great. $7.19 for The Shining is a joke.
Posts: 3134 | Registered: Mar 2005
| IP: Logged |
Could Amazon make publishing companies go the way of Blockbuster?
When will we see the first major author go directly through Amazon and cut out the middle man? For that matter, sell it themselves through their personal websites?
Posts: 3134 | Registered: Mar 2005
| IP: Logged |
quote:When will we see the first major author go directly through Amazon and cut out the middle man? For that matter, sell it themselves through their personal websites?
Depending on how you define major, we've already seen both of these. However, publishing companies won't be going the way of Blockbuster. The gatekeeping and editing roles are too important to the qualities consumers want, and those are more analogous to movie production companies. And such companies are still going strong, despite (in fact, bolstered by) competition from independent film makers who use the easy availability of digital movie making technology to turn out what used to be cost millions of dollars in tens of thousands of dollars.
Now, how publishing companies need to act will definitely change (and not in ways entirely analogous to movie companies), but they'll still be around.
Posts: 15770 | Registered: Dec 2001
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by manji: Pages are kind of moot, since you can change the font size.
Wrong. Being able to change the font size doesn't render pages any more moot than it does on real books (which, by the way, vary the number or words on a page depending on genre, printing, font, and other variables). The fact that you can do it within the book while you're reading it doesn't suddenly make pages moot. And kindle developers clearly know it, since they did make the conscious decision to display some progress indicator. Then they made another conscious decision to make that indicator beyond unreadable, pushing it into actively annoying. For me, at least. And half of the people I know who own kindles.
Wrong. Unless you're willing to have the page numbers multiple times on a page or in fractions.
Just deal with it.
Incorrect. You're smart enough that you could be a kindle developer, which is to say not smart enough to pass 5th grade math.
Posts: 5462 | Registered: Apr 2005
| IP: Logged |
quote:Could Amazon make publishing companies go the way of Blockbuster?
As I recall, Kindle sales are already exceeding hardcover sales for the same titles, and the same is projected for paperbacks in the not-to-distant future. However, I don't know that publishers will go away any more than music publishers have gone away now that digital music is ubiquitous.
Posts: 3275 | Registered: May 2007
| IP: Logged |
posted
Please relax a bit more folks. I'm sure many Kindle developers passed 5th even 6th grade math.
Posts: 1194 | Registered: Jun 2010
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by Stephan: Could Amazon make publishing companies go the way of Blockbuster?
If publishing companies go the way of Blockbuster, I really hope it isn't Amazon that makes it happen. I really dislike how they're are essentially licensing ebooks rather than selling them.
I love my Kindle, but one big complaint I have - I have hundreds of books on mine, a list totalling 38 pages. I can't believe there's no way to pop directly to one of these pages, as you can within a book. If I want to get to a book at the end of my list, I have to hit Next Page 37 times.
Posts: 1080 | Registered: Apr 2006
| IP: Logged |
posted
You can search the text. That's sort of what the keyboard is for. Alternatively, you can jump to a line number. Some books also have a table of contents, which lets you jump to specific chapters.
Posts: 339 | Registered: Apr 2008
| IP: Logged |
posted
But you can't jump to a specific book, which was my point earlier on.
If publishers die -- and they won't, not all of them -- it won't be because of Amazon. It will be because they didn't adapt to what their readers wanted.
Posts: 7790 | Registered: Aug 2000
| IP: Logged |
posted
By the way - Google ebooks, when read in the Google Books iPhone app, retain their print page numbers. You can page forward several times and still see "Page 10" before it finally changes to "Page 11."
posted
Chris, the same is true on the Nook - which I have. With some books, the pagination is as it is in the original book and I can page forward several times and still be on the same page in the Nook.
B&N just came out with a software update that includes shelves for the nook - so you can organize your books in shelves. I have a traditional fantasy shelf, an urban fantasy shelf, a mystery shelf, etc. If I had all the Dresden books I could do another shelf of just Dresden books very easily.
I really, really want a nook color. But, I have been pleased with the performance of the nook so far, especially since they continue to send out updates. At first the page turning was extremely slow, and they have improved it now to virtually instantaneous. They also added a web browsing feature which is great for browsing both hatrack and facebook. And, the sudoku and chess games keep my kids busy. So, overall I've been happy with it.
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
| IP: Logged |
quote:Unless you're willing to have the page numbers multiple times on a page or in fractions.
Wrong. If you look at a printed book with a magnifying glass, you're still looking at a definite page. They could have made it work as it does with PDFs, or PostScripts, or indeed practically any other format you care to name: Have a page indicator at the bottom, which doesn't care about the number of 'views' you have left in the book but only about what canonical page you are currently looking at.
Then, how would you handle page breaks, if the current view has run out of text to render for that particular page?
Or if you run the pages together, what would happen when there are multiple "pages" on a single view?
How does Adobe Acrobat handle these problems? Copy that.
Posts: 10645 | Registered: Jul 2004
| IP: Logged |
quote:Unless you're willing to have the page numbers multiple times on a page or in fractions.
Wrong. If you look at a printed book with a magnifying glass, you're still looking at a definite page. They could have made it work as it does with PDFs, or PostScripts, or indeed practically any other format you care to name: Have a page indicator at the bottom, which doesn't care about the number of 'views' you have left in the book but only about what canonical page you are currently looking at.
Then, how would you handle page breaks, if the current view has run out of text to render for that particular page?
Or if you run the pages together, what would happen when there are multiple "pages" on a single view?
How does Adobe Acrobat handle these problems? Copy that.
Eh, I guess so. On that note, I have no idea how the Kindle handles PDFs, since I have an earlier generation.
Posts: 339 | Registered: Apr 2008
| IP: Logged |
posted
Any post correcting or impugning someone's knowledge of grammar will contain a grammatical error.
Posts: 26077 | Registered: Mar 2000
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by manji: Pages are kind of moot, since you can change the font size.
Wrong. Being able to change the font size doesn't render pages any more moot than it does on real books (which, by the way, vary the number or words on a page depending on genre, printing, font, and other variables). The fact that you can do it within the book while you're reading it doesn't suddenly make pages moot. And kindle developers clearly know it, since they did make the conscious decision to display some progress indicator. Then they made another conscious decision to make that indicator beyond unreadable, pushing it into actively annoying. For me, at least. And half of the people I know who own kindles.
Wrong. Unless you're willing to have the page numbers multiple times on a page or in fractions.
Just deal with it.
Incorrect. You're smart enough that you could be a kindle developer, which is to say not smart enough to pass 5th grade math.
Oh DAYUM! Herblay just got disrespected... Hatrack Style!
Don't take that sh*t Herblay! Tell him his momma's fat! Tell him she's got her own zip code! Blast the big guns, son!
Posts: 3564 | Registered: Sep 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
Kindle is easy for me to carry around on a crowded subway train during my commute. I do use a cover for it though.
Posts: 7021 | Registered: Nov 1999
| IP: Logged |
posted
I am looking seriously at the Nook. Never thought I would be interested in an e-reader, but I liked the Kindle that my friend has more than I thought I would so I started looking at them.
Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
I totally agree with Katharina's point about being able to buy a digital copy either as part of the regular book price, or for a small additional fee. The same thing should be true of dvds and cds as well.
Now here's a feature I would really love. If I'm reading the physical book, and i highlight a passage or bookmark a page, it automatically syncs THAT action with the digital version! The next time I go to read on my kindle or iPad or computer, all the changes have been integrated.
Posts: 8741 | Registered: Apr 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
How about reading a book in bed, and then have the Audible version pick up where you left off in the car on the way to work rather then the text to speech it uses?
Posts: 3134 | Registered: Mar 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
I strongly suspect that I'll be getting a Nook Color for Christmas. If that happens, I'm trying to decide whether to use it as is or try rooting it.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
| IP: Logged |
posted
I'm getting a Nook Color for Christmas but this week I borrowed one belonging to a friend so that I could practice loading video and other non-book files. I still need to play with some video encoding settings, but my comics look amazing with almost no work.
I'm a fan of e-ink but I'm also surprisingly comfortable with the LCD backlit screen. My favorite setting was the black text on a gray background. And the shelf and home screen organizations are also very handy.
I don't think I'll mess with rooting it though. The app store should hit in the next three months so I'll probably just wait.
Posts: 1733 | Registered: Apr 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
Got my free Iphone 3GS this morning from Best Buy. Downloaded the Kindle app, and sure enough, Traffic (yes I took Rivka's recommendation from a thread a while ago) picked up right where I left off on my actual Kindle. That is great.
I wonder if I can transfer bookmarks from my non-Kindle books, I will play around a bit.
Posts: 3134 | Registered: Mar 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
I've been using my iPhone for eBooks, both using the iBooks and Kindle apps... I really dig both, but *damn* if my eyesight isn't exponentially failing as a result. I just have to scale up to an iPad or Kindle... I'm hoping the perfectly sized gift with my name on it under the tree is my wife's way of making the decision for me! Heh.
Posts: 1144 | Registered: Feb 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
On page numbers, I'm convinced people are just envisioning different implementations.
If the reader renders a page in different sizes without re-paginating, like Adobe Reader, the page numbers are exactly as relevant as they are in printed material. They mark an actual point in the text.
If the "page" is dynamic - as I believe is the case with the Kindle - then a page number is only relevant to the current rendering. If you forget your reading glasses and display really large text, and then remember you were on page 100, that page might correspond to page 30 once you've retrieved your glasses and resized the font back down (or switch to the hard copy version at home).
If you expect to read entire books with the same page rendering, then page numbers on dynamic pages could still be relevant. Static pagination on a device like the Kindle seems like a bad idea, since it would entail a bunch of scrolling at larger renderings.
Posts: 4287 | Registered: Mar 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
Kindles don't actually use page numbers. They use "locations," which correspond to where you are in the book as opposed to what page you're on. It's how they keep your location synced between Kindle apps even when you may have different font sizes/screens in each one.
Most other ereaders use pages, which change with every screen and do not correspond to the printed version at all.
The new Google Books app for the iPhone/iTouch uses page numbers that do correspond to the printed version, so that you can page forward several times and still see the same number at the bottom of the screen.
Posts: 7790 | Registered: Aug 2000
| IP: Logged |
posted
I haven't been too thrilled with this holiday season. I usually get some tie or hat or useful but not dreamed of item from my wife and son.
This year they both have been begging me to tell them what I wanted for Christmas. I mentioned a new watch or something else.
This morning Sasha told me that I was NOT getting an I-Pad because they are just too expensive--at $1,000.
That is the most expensive one they found, about 10 times our holiday gift budget. Yet they have been known to go beyond it before--so---maybe...
That came out of nowhere. The fact that they were even looking at something like that gets me excited. Who knows? Maybe in a couple of weeks I'll have something useful to add to this thread.
Posts: 1941 | Registered: Feb 2003
| IP: Logged |
Printer-friendly view of this topic
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
