ricco67 Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 (edited) For the past several months I've been debating on whether or not I should get one, but just not sure if this is a purchase to make and this article makes me more confused. Cost is a bit of a concern, but not much.Pro:I won't have books just taking up shelf space.I can easily carry it with me with an amazing battery life.Can look up other news sites on the goNo WIFI neededCon:Pictures aren't very clear (which isn't a big deal).Not sure if I can store the book on PC to reread at a later date.Can't buy books to transfer onto Kindle. I like supporting local businesses.Anyone have one or sitting on the fence like me? Edited July 10, 2008 by ricco67 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pumapayam Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 (edited) I dunno, for traveling purposes, I usually, if I do read, only bring one maybe two books.Other than that, if you want to minimize clutter in your life, (CD's, DVD's, and now books), digital downloads is the future.Think of it this way, 5 years from now, you won't have to pack boxes of CD's (just an iPod/PC), DVD's (Apple TV/PC/Media Center), and now books (Kindle/Sony eReader).I say go for it. Edited July 10, 2008 by Pumapayam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricco67 Posted July 10, 2008 Author Share Posted July 10, 2008 For those that don't know about the kindle:Link. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
memebag Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 No. It's DRM'd too hard, it has a keyboard you don't need to read a book, and it's designed to generate revenue for Amazon. I'll buy an eBook reader when someone besides Sony makes a good one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crunchtastic Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 For the past several months I've been debating on whether or not I should get one, but just not sure if this is a purchase to make and this article makes me more confused.Cost is a bit of a concern, but not much.Pro:I won't have books just taking up shelf space.I can easily carry it with me with an amazing battery life.Can look up other news sites on the goNo WIFI neededCon:Pictures aren't very clear (which isn't a big deal).Not sure if I can store the book on PC to reread at a later date.Can't buy books to transfer onto Kindle. I like supporting local businesses.Anyone have one or sitting on the fence like me?I dunno. I'm not impressed with the reports on the quality, and it's definitely more than I would pay. $350 for the device and you're only getting half off the brick and mortar price. Plus, right now the market share doesn't make me feel warm and fuzzy to believe that enough publishing houses will make enough of their catalog availabe digitally. Article sez the expected digital book market share is optimistically pegged at a tiny 5% in 2012. If the price comes to to a hundred bucks or so, I' might bite the bullet, but the next i-tunes, this is not--not with those numbers. And, the portability thing is not really an issue with me. I'm so with you on shelves full of books. When I put my house on the market in SA, I carted 17 boxes of books to 1/2 Price. I vowed never again. Especially now that my study doesn't have a whole wall of built-ins. Between me and cap'n crunch, we usually share the books we get with friends and let them pass them on or do whatever with. Every few months we'll sell what we have accumulated or donate them. We buy used as much as we can. I'm actually going to start doing the library thing, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricco67 Posted July 10, 2008 Author Share Posted July 10, 2008 I dunno. I'm not impressed with the reports on the quality, and it's definitely more than I would pay. $350 for the device and you're only getting half off the brick and mortar price. Plus, right now the market share doesn't make me feel warm and fuzzy to believe that enough publishing houses will make enough of their catalog availabe digitally. Article sez the expected digital book market share is optimistically pegged at a tiny 5% in 2012. If the price comes to to a hundred bucks or so, I' might bite the bullet, but the next i-tunes, this is not--not with those numbers. And, the portability thing is not really an issue with me. I'm so with you on shelves full of books. When I put my house on the market in SA, I carted 17 boxes of books to 1/2 Price. I vowed never again. Especially now that my study doesn't have a whole wall of built-ins. Between me and cap'n crunch, we usually share the books we get with friends and let them pass them on or do whatever with. Every few months we'll sell what we have accumulated or donate them. We buy used as much as we can. I'm actually going to start doing the library thing, too. See, I used to have a TON of books, CD's and crap. Slowly I started getting rid of things and xfered them onto portable drives (Believe it or not, I don't own an IPOD) or CPU's. Hell, I've even consolidated computers. I used to have 5, each with its own monitor. Now I have 2 with one being a laptop. Will still keep the CPU, its easier to upgrade for playing games. Tossed my VHS player for TIVO ( ), so my only real clutter I have left is books. I only have several that I reread (David eddings, Tom Clancy, and William Shakespeare) so everytime I buy a book, I go a bit nuts because I KNOW i have to get rid of it eventually.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crunchtastic Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 Can I have a vodka beverage instead of the candy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricco67 Posted July 10, 2008 Author Share Posted July 10, 2008 Can I have a vodka beverage instead of the candy? I was using "Candy" as a euphemism, but if Vodka is your candy, go for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crunchtastic Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 I was using "Candy" as a euphemism, but if Vodka is your candy, go for it. I figured you were using it as a proper noun...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted July 11, 2008 Share Posted July 11, 2008 I almost bought a Sony eReader when I saw one in Tokyo a few years ago. I loved the screen and the battery life and the idea of having all of my books in one place. I got a short wave radio instead of the eReader, so I continued to read e-books on my old Clie. I'm kind of glad I skipped it. Most of the e-book readers have some sort of DRM, though the cellular data transfer aspect of the Kindle is almost enough to make me overlook it.The problem I have with the Kindle is not the price of the machine, but the price of the books. From what I've read that's a problem with the publishers and not the authors. Some very reputable authors have gone public with their anger after they offered to give Amazon unlimited copies of their books in electronic form for free so they could be included for free on the Kindle. Amazon turned them down. That smells like publisher interference.There's a regular at one of the local Starbucks who uses a Kindle all the time. He seems very happy with it. (As an aside, there is now an e-book reader for the iPhone, but I think it only reads DRMed books, too. But it would keep you from having to carry another gadget.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricco67 Posted July 11, 2008 Author Share Posted July 11, 2008 I almost bought a Sony eReader when I saw one in Tokyo a few years ago. I loved the screen and the battery life and the idea of having all of my books in one place. I got a short wave radio instead of the eReader, so I continued to read e-books on my old Clie. I'm kind of glad I skipped it. Most of the e-book readers have some sort of DRM, though the cellular data transfer aspect of the Kindle is almost enough to make me overlook it.The problem I have with the Kindle is not the price of the machine, but the price of the books. From what I've read that's a problem with the publishers and not the authors. Some very reputable authors have gone public with their anger after they offered to give Amazon unlimited copies of their books in electronic form for free so they could be included for free on the Kindle. Amazon turned them down. That smells like publisher interference.There's a regular at one of the local Starbucks who uses a Kindle all the time. He seems very happy with it. (As an aside, there is now an e-book reader for the iPhone, but I think it only reads DRMed books, too. But it would keep you from having to carry another gadget.)Well, Kindle offers a "virtual backup" of all your purchases if you happen to lose or break your kindle, as well as letting you delete some books to make room for other books.After doing to some searches, kindle and other readers they offer the exact same books, so I don't see a real difference on selections. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted July 12, 2008 Share Posted July 12, 2008 This article about Kindle was just on Bloomberg and they're very positive about the idea. I haven't given it much thought, but the idea is tempting. I am a bit of a compulsive book buyer and accumulator, so it would make sense. Photos and music made the transition from physical items to files and I doubt anyone would go back, so it seems natural that books would follow the same path. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricco67 Posted July 12, 2008 Author Share Posted July 12, 2008 This article about Kindle was just on Bloomberg and they're very positive about the idea. I haven't given it much thought, but the idea is tempting. I am a bit of a compulsive book buyer and accumulator, so it would make sense. Photos and music made the transition from physical items to files and I doubt anyone would go back, so it seems natural that books would follow the same path.I ran across that article yesterday while doing some research on the kindle, I just wish I can get my hands on one to test drive it. The only real complaint people seem to have is the lack of numbering pages, no "scroll back", and a the keyboard is "clunky".I looked up some of my "regular reads" and from what I can see they're not digitalized, which tells me they won't be available for ANY reader. I'm sure the giant majority of new books will be available, though. I'm close to pulling the trigger, but not quite yet. I'm debating on a rival reader or perhaps just waiting until the next version of Kindle comes out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted July 12, 2008 Share Posted July 12, 2008 Remember the original ipods were quite clunky by today's standards, but they improve over time and now every human being on earth has one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EastEnd Susan Posted July 12, 2008 Share Posted July 12, 2008 If I got one of these I would have no more books to sell to Half Price Books to get more books. And so on and so on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
memebag Posted July 12, 2008 Share Posted July 12, 2008 I am a bit of a compulsive book buyer and accumulator, so it would make sense.Not with Amazon's DRM scheme. You don't own the books on the Kindle like you do real books, you only license their use. You can't let a friend read one, you can't sell it, and if Amazon goes out of business or stops supporting the device, all your e-books could disappear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted July 12, 2008 Share Posted July 12, 2008 Remember the original ipods were quite clunky by today's standards, but they improve over time and now every human being on earth has one. mmm...no they don't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricco67 Posted July 12, 2008 Author Share Posted July 12, 2008 Remember the original ipods were quite clunky by today's standards, but they improve over time and now every human being on earth has one. Note, that I said I didn't own one. Unless you count the 4 or 5 I've given away as presents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted July 12, 2008 Share Posted July 12, 2008 Well, Kindle offers a "virtual backup" of all your purchases if you happen to lose or break your kindle, as well as letting you delete some books to make room for other books.That's very cool. Combined with the free cellular data transfer it's like having an unlimited personal library you can take with you anywhere. Does anyone know which network it uses? Does the data transmission work overseas?Not with Amazon's DRM scheme. You don't own the books on the Kindle like you do real books, you only license their use. You can't let a friend read one, you can't sell it, and if Amazon goes out of business or stops supporting the device, all your e-books could disappear.Actually, you can. It's probably very difficult, but it can be done and has been tested in the courts by some guy who tried to sell DRMed songs he bought on iTMS on eBay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricco67 Posted July 12, 2008 Author Share Posted July 12, 2008 (edited) That's very cool. Combined with the free cellular data transfer it's like having an unlimited personal library you can take with you anywhere. Does anyone know which network it uses? Does the data transmission work overseas? According to their website, they use "sprint" Actually, you can. It's probably very difficult, but it can be done and has been tested in the courts by some guy who tried to sell DRMed songs he bought on iTMS on eBay. Really? I wonder how easy it is to transfer your "books" to memory/sync to your laptop... that's why I'm SO on the fence...too many stupid questions...and the cheap side of me keeps coming out. Oh yeah, you're welcome to making HAIF pop up when you search for kindle on yahoo and put "Houston" on it....but it's another thread. Edit:nonsensical stupidity...which is normal. Edited July 12, 2008 by ricco67 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted July 12, 2008 Share Posted July 12, 2008 This link may be helpful to you. It shows the current ebook readers and their capabilities and limitations.Looks like Kindle will read plan text files, so that's good for the thousands of free books at Project Gutenberg.Looks like every other ebook reader will also read PDFs. There's your temptation right there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricco67 Posted July 12, 2008 Author Share Posted July 12, 2008 This link may be helpful to you. It shows the current ebook readers and their capabilities and limitations.Looks like Kindle will read plan text files, so that's good for the thousands of free books at Project Gutenberg. Looks like every other ebook reader will also read PDFs. There's your temptation right there. I so hate you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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