Kindle

biodroid

biodroid

A.D.D.
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I got a Kindle for my birthday on Sunday, and I must say I am hooked. I actually do not feel like bothering with paper copies anymore. I know this might sound like sacrilege to you guys but technology has finally taken over a centuries old medium, not that there is anything wrong with the paper versions. It's so easy to read a book on it, looks just like the paper version if not better, and the best thing about it is I can download (and obviously pay) a book anywhere there is a 3G network in under 60 seconds. The books are a quite a bit cheaper when you convert it to my local currency. I downloaded The Desert Spear by Peter V Brett and so far I am liking this book more than The Painted Man. Another nice thing is you can download sample chapters if you are sceptical about a book/author, like try before you buy.
 
I also recently got a Kindle and have become a bit of a convert too.

It’s quite pleasant to read on for extended periods, more so than a heavy 1000 page hardback.

I like the way it sync's with my phone so I can easily read a chapter or two during the day should the chance occur.

I like the instant access to books and the fact that I can work a "just in time" purchase strategy rather than piling up books on a TBR pile that I will probably want to read at some point in the future (often at HB prices, when they are often available at MMPB prices by the time I get around to reading them).

I do still quite like the tactile look and feel of books - so far I haven't cancelled any of my hardback pre-orders; but I do now strongly prefer eBook to paperbacks where available.
 
I like building up my (paper book) collection too much to switch!

I fiddled around with a Kindle recently, and a Nook in a Barnes and Noble. I noticed there is an awful "flicker" or "flash" when one goes to the next page. Is this something that can be gotten rid of? I wouldn't be able to stand it; honestly, the e-readers aren't easy on my eyes at all.
 
Kierkegaurdian said:
I like building up my (paper book) collection too much to switch!

I fiddled around with a Kindle recently, and a Nook in a Barnes and Noble. I noticed there is an awful "flicker" or "flash" when one goes to the next page. Is this something that can be gotten rid of? I wouldn't be able to stand it; honestly, the e-readers aren't easy on my eyes at all.
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Thats a limitation of the way the "eInk" screens work - it looks more intrusive when messing around with the devices than it turns out to be in practice.

I like the collection aspect too - but i think the convenience will win out for me in the long run.
 
You can take my paper books out of my cold dead hands.

My books don't depend on power or batteries. My books can be bought used. My books can't be deleted or obsoleted at the whim of the corporation that controls them. My paper books don't need net access. My paper books can be shared. My paper books don't come with ads (some of them very briefly used to in a failed paperback experiment but I guarantee it'll work this time on this medium) - no matter what, my paper books don't come with animated ads. Etc., etc., ad nauseum.

BUT... thanks to all the people who flock to this nonsense, if ebooks "win", I'm not going to be able to buy very many paper books as you're turning them into a niche market that will be aimed at rich people with very small supplies and high costs. And, once the paper market is crushed, I'm sure ebook prices will rise, also. People already pay slightly more (at least) for a noback than they do a paperback, which basically means that price tier (at least) will be eliminated. Not to mention, as I say, the used market.

And then there are the hypotheticals about what the monks of the New Dark Ages are going to write their inventories over so that only fragments will survive, fortunately leaving a little so that we can have a New Renaissance out of what's left. If we ever did have a New Dark Ages, climbing out of them could be a lot more challenging. All we'd have is de-illuminated manuscraps that would be very hard to transcribe from.

I'm a computer freak - I even do some slight work with open source. But NOT EVERYTHING MUST BE ELECTRONIC.
 
I have mixed feelings. I'm seriously considering getting a Kindle... but I share some of J-Sun's reservations.

I play on my PS3 and spend time on my computer. I like having something that doesn't need batteries and won't ever get a virus or short-circuit.

Space is an issue for me, though. I'd also like the convenience and (sometimes) cheaper prices.

Hmmm.
 
My best reading friend has got a Kobo, and she swears by it. My concern is that I want something that will not be proprietorial - Kindle/Amazon, Kobo/indigo - and will play audio books. I think I may just wait a while longer for the technology to evolve. I will have to do something sooner or later, as my book collection is oozing out the corners of the house.
 
I'm a Kindle convert as well because 1) I live in Shanghai at the moment and it's impossible to get any good/current sci-fi/fantasy novels, 2) packing and shipping will be so much easier unlike when I moved from Sydney to Shanghai with my books.

And while the heft of a book and the smell of paper is nice, the 'uniformity' of the Kindle is also practical: You just have to deal with that one size which is good for carrying around or reading for a long time.
 
J-Sun said:
You can take my paper books out of my cold dead hands.

My books don't depend on power or batteries. My books can be bought used. My books can't be deleted or obsoleted at the whim of the corporation that controls them. My paper books don't need net access. My paper books can be shared. My paper books don't come with ads (some of them very briefly used to in a failed paperback experiment but I guarantee it'll work this time on this medium) - no matter what, my paper books don't come with animated ads. Etc., etc., ad nauseum.

BUT... thanks to all the people who flock to this nonsense, if ebooks "win", I'm not going to be able to buy very many paper books as you're turning them into a niche market that will be aimed at rich people with very small supplies and high costs. And, once the paper market is crushed, I'm sure ebook prices will rise, also. People already pay slightly more (at least) for a noback than they do a paperback, which basically means that price tier (at least) will be eliminated. Not to mention, as I say, the used market.

But NOT EVERYTHING MUST BE ELECTRONIC.
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hear hear.

and if everything is electronic, where are the jobs? where is the inbuilt quality control? i like the idea of the ebook, but i don't want to see it destroying a whole sector of the high street in the same way that downloaders have killed the music/dvd/games industry and put thousands of people out of work. think about it, people. your booksellers and bookshops are important. you'll miss them when they're gone.

disclosure: yes, i've self-pubbed a couple of ebooks. but i still firmly believe in the innate power of the physical book itself.
 
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I love my Kindle, I hardly ever buy any 'real' books now - only those hardbacks by a few favourite authors (Banks, Hamilton, Erikson etc).
 
I have mixed views on the quality control argument.

The agent/publisher barrier undoubtedly stops the market being flooded with junk, but I also think it probably prevents and deters a significant number of decent authors as well.

I've been meaning to get a Kindle for months now. I was on the verge of getting one... but I've postponed (at least) it for now.
 
My books don't depend on power or batteries. My books can be bought used. My books can't be deleted or obsoleted at the whim of the corporation that controls them. My paper books don't need net access. My paper books can be shared. My paper books don't come with ads (some of them very briefly used to in a failed paperback experiment but I guarantee it'll work this time on this medium) - no matter what, my paper books don't come with animated ads. Etc., etc., ad nauseum.
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No, your books depend on trees, bleach, and ink!

I don't think that Downlaods have killed the high street store for music or DVDs, it may have made the competition harder and eliminated a few stragglers, but the HMV's still dominate my shopping trips. Times change and you have to change with them or else you'll be left behind.

I do have a kindle and I haven't bought a physical book since, although I got a couple for my Bday, I love my kindle, it is the best gadget I have, and I'm Inspector Gadget's third cousin once removed, so there is plenty of gadgetry in my blood.
 
My mother is 97 and has sight problems. We needed something where she could vary the font size to make reading easier. We finally decided on an I-Pad because it has all the download facilities you would expect, she can blow the font size up dramatically but she can access and send e-mails as well.
 
As a genuine Kindle user and not an Iphone user of a kindle app this doesn't affect me, but it does seem a little like monopolising.
If Apple continues to act in this way (showing favoritism to some companies and not having fair and even policies) I hope it back fires and their lose a market share. But Apple users are notoriously loyal and would prefer a £1000 mac over the equivalent PC even if it works just as well, looks just a arty and costs half the price.

Down with Apple, Up with Kindle! :)
 
my wife and daughter have one (New Kindle) and love them. (Wife had a Nook, but the battery went bad or it stopped working and she felt it was easier to get a new reader a new battery was something like $30).

But I have over 1000 real books in my collection, it will take me most of my life to read all my books, so I don't really see the point of getting one for myself. I guess when traveling it would be nice to have. I was once delayed at an airport for 2 hrs and forgot to pack a book, and the small chain bookstore didn't have anything i wanted to read.

I like real books, but sometimes they are not the easiest to handle especially the large books I have. But to me that's part of the charm.

Plus, sometimes I will buy another edition of a great book, that I already own such as Moby Dick or LOTR (which I have around 10 copies), just as a type of homage or to have a really nice copy of a really great book.
 
I don't own an electronic reading device but I have seen others using them and I can see the attraction:

1) Being able to store hundreds or thousands of books on one device.
2) Being able to purchase and instantly receive them (with access to the net).
3) Getting free access to books out of copyright.

However, I have some concerns. My main concern, that I don't like reading from a screen, was alleviated when I found out how easy on the eye they are. However a few remain:

1) DRM. If I can't back up my books to my PC and transfer them onto other devices then they are of no use to me. Yes, I realise you can re-download them if you lose them because your device goes kapput but that requires you being able to prove you've paid for it already. Whatever way you look at it, it puts you at the mercy of the industry.

2) Devices are prohibitively expensive. That's quite a large outlay just to get the device to read books on. How long will it last? How often will you have to lay out that amount of money to carry on reading books this way?

3) Paper. I like the touch and smell of books. Having a book on an electronic device is never going to truly replace a paper book to my mind. But this is more a sentimental reason to be honest.

I am not concerned about the supposed threat to the industry or people's jobs. Society progresses by making the processes of production more efficient. If we rejected every innovation to the processes of production on the grounds of protecting jobs, we would still be living in caves and hitting things with sticks. I don't see anyone calling for the abolition of the printing press so that we can bring back all the jobs people used to have of copying jobs by hand. No doubt some people were put out of a job at the time but I think in the long run, we're all better off as a result. If the industry has to change and people are put out of work, no doubt the same will be true in this case as well.

The real question is whether this is a genuine improvement. For some, it obviously is, for others it is not.
 
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