Ebook or Paper

[Parson]

Not all ebooks have the DRM. Baen books for example. I believe the day is coming when older books will not even start with a DRM.

 

[steve12553]

Another point as far as file conversion. If you have any tablet or reader with a reasonable amount of memory Amazon will allow you to have a free Kindle reader program for your tablet. Barnes and Noble has a free Nook reader program. As always there is more money to be made in media sales than hardware sales. Both sites also have a large amount of free older books. And some that are very cheap... And some that cost a little more. My tablet carries both Nook (epub) and Kindle (mobi) and tons of books (if they were made of paper).

 

[anivid]

DRM? - ho-ho-ho, that might be the reason why it's not possible to download some book extracts/samples from Amazon, even they claim they can be downloaded for free.
Instead of saying: extract from THIS book isn't available - they just bar the downloading, having clients like myself, who normally believe in what people says - to try, try, and try again.
OBS! I didn't vote in the poll, as I think the two different reading methods call for different sort of literature - leaving space for both of them

 

[Timba]

Not all ebooks have the DRM. Baen books for example. I believe the day is coming when older books will not even start with a DRM.

I love the fact that Baen does not put a DRM on their books and they appear committed to this approach. On a sadder note they recently raised prices across the board, as much as 50%. My understanding is the bulk of the increase is going to the authors so I am not totally bothered by it but it certainly will reduce my purchasing options since nobody bothered to increase my book budget by 50%.

Another point as far as file conversion. If you have any tablet or reader with a reasonable amount of memory Amazon will allow you to have a free Kindle reader program for your tablet. Barnes and Noble has a free Nook reader program. As always there is more money to be made in media sales than hardware sales. Both sites also have a large amount of free older books. And some that are very cheap... And some that cost a little more. My tablet carries both Nook (epub) and Kindle (mobi) and tons of books (if they were made of paper).

I follow your approach, a tablet with the Sony reader app, Kindle app and Nook app along with a couple of generic readers. I like the freedom to buy where I choose.

 

[Parson]

Timba, I suspect that this move was somewhat forced on them, because at the same time the price went up the Baen books became available on Kindle. I doubt that's a coincidence.

 

[Moggle]

I prefer paper if it's a book I'd like to keep for my personal library. If I just want to read something then it's got to be e-ink. It's just too convenient. If I want a book or even collection of books I can probably have it at a moment's notice. The days of me ordering something from the library have largely been eliminated.

 

[Timba]

Timba, I suspect that this move was somewhat forced on them, because at the same time the price went up the Baen books became available on Kindle. I doubt that's a coincidence.

I agree Parson, just looked at a few I was planning on buying and the increase is as much as 66%. Thank you Amazon. At least they are staying DRM free. I may have to look at the monthly bundle option they have and see if that is a better approach given the pricing realities.