40 replies to this topic

[bendyas]

Thank god! I'm not allowed to take my books out of my flat.

What's the point?

[Shaggy]

For me it would be the ability to read obscure, out of print books that I can download from the internet.

[ckn]

I have some books that I bought nearly 30 years ago. I wonder if the Kindle (and similar) will still be around in 30 years or will it be obsolete and your purchased "books" unusable if it breaks.

Nice technology but it doesn't give anywhere near the satisfaction of sitting down with a real, paper book.

[Hornetto]

Not good for reading in the bath.

[shrek]

I have some books that I bought nearly 30 years ago. I wonder if the Kindle (and similar) will still be around in 30 years or will it be obsolete and your purchased "books" unusable if it breaks.

Nice technology but it doesn't give anywhere near the satisfaction of sitting down with a real, paper book.

I can see convenience being the main selling point, especially for money grabbing whores/IT Contracting types who are living out of suitcases from time to time and anyone else who has cause to travel on a regular basis.

Will probably go for the iPad option when I take the plunge, no fear of it being out dated short term as I am sure Mr Jobs powered by his iLiver will be releasing one a year till the day he dies!

[Steve May]

I can see convenience being the main selling point, especially for money grabbing whores/IT Contracting types who are living out of suitcases from time to time and anyone else who has cause to travel on a regular basis.

I travel like this and I find that it's quite possible to carry round quite long works of literature on bound stacks of printed paper. You can also read these stacks on trains, planes, in the bath, you can stick them in your pocket and if you lose them they only cost about a fiver to replace. They also have unlimited battery life.

On top of that they are ridiculously pleasing things to have dotted about the house on shelves.

I call them "books".

I'm not kidding when I say I have thousands of them. A house full. More than I can realistically read if I live my allotted three score and ten.

[Steve May]

Will probably go for the iPad option when I take the plunge, no fear of it being out dated short term as I am sure Mr Jobs powered by his iLiver will be releasing one a year till the day he dies!

The iPad is brilliant for reading the internet. You may never buy a newspaper again.

It's ###### for contributing to the internet on sites like this, and it's ###### for trying to read a book.

[Haloman]

I was very close to buying one on my last holiday as they are relatively cheap and portable. Then I thought about it.

It's another piece of hardware & charger to lose/break, why bother when I can install Kindle sw on my netbook with its 9 hour battery life or my iPod? I am carrying them anyway, so why a third device?

I noticed that all of the last 6 books I'd bought, some of which I intended to take back to Afghanistan, were not available on Kindle anyway, so i would still have to carry them. The classics are often free, but they are already available on my netbook and weigh nothing.

Eventually, I decided it wasn't worth it. If all the books I wanted were available, then OK, but they're not. And I quite like books.

Edited by Haloman, 08 December 2010 - 04:45 AM.

[shrek]

I travel like this and I find that it's quite possible to carry round quite long works of literature on bound stacks of printed paper. You can also read these stacks on trains, planes, in the bath, you can stick them in your pocket and if you lose them they only cost about a fiver to replace. They also have unlimited battery life.

On top of that they are ridiculously pleasing things to have dotted about the house on shelves.

I call them "books".

I'm not kidding when I say I have thousands of them. A house full. More than I can realistically read if I live my allotted three score and ten.

Of all that I'd agree on the shelves and personally that's about it.

But those are just my circumtances and whats best for me were a light weight electric alternative is the way forward for me, the rest of you can sort yourselves out and long my you continue to buy books as I quite enjoy a mooch around a book shop every now and again!

Edited by shrek, 08 December 2010 - 08:15 AM.

[Severus]

I bought from through amazon.com in January for the price of £250 and I'm a bit peeved with the price drop. TBH I'm yet to be convinced which probably means it will not replace books. The device is good for reading text, the e-ink is easy to read, it is nice and compact and convenient (until the battery runs out). IMO the books are too expensive to justify the initial outlay for the device and the fact that in 10 or 20 years time I will not be able to read them. Saying that I've read quite a few out of copyright works for free.

[ckn]

One thing as a positive, our library now offers free downloads of books for these things. Can only have so many "checked out" at once but still means you should be able to get hold of what you need.

Even with that, I doubt if I'll get one any time soon.

[l'angelo mysterioso]

you can read a book anywhere
I like books, whatever kind of books as objects
one thing that might be useful is if you can adjust the size of the image on the screen like you can on your computer screen. I don't know if it does this.

[Severus]

you can read a book anywhere
I like books, whatever kind of books as objects
one thing that might be useful is if you can adjust the size of the image on the screen like you can on your computer screen. I don't know if it does this.

The benefits of an e-reader are numerous. As you pointed out you can change the size of the text, insert multiple bookmarks, make comments and highlight passages and these are synced to all your devices (e.g., I can read my books on my phone starting from where I left off on the kindle). Another useful feature is the built in dictionary, this has come in handy when reading the Sherlock Holmes stories when I am unfamiliar with some of the old fashioned terms.


Given the choice between a book and an electronic copy read on an e-ink screen I prefer the electronic copy. I don't think they will replace books and am still uncertain whether they will take off like technology has for other medium.

[ckn]

The benefits of an e-reader are numerous. As you pointed out you can change the size of the text, insert multiple bookmarks, make comments and highlight passages and these are synced to all your devices (e.g., I can read my books on my phone starting from where I left off on the kindle). Another useful feature is the built in dictionary, this has come in handy when reading the Sherlock Holmes stories when I am unfamiliar with some of the old fashioned terms.


Given the choice between a book and an electronic copy read on an e-ink screen I prefer the electronic copy. I don't think they will replace books and am still uncertain whether they will take off like technology has for other medium.

Try going on 9/10ths of airlines and use the thing during taxi-ing on runways, takeoffs and landings, you'll be subjected to the shrill screechings of the stewards telling you that you're endangering the plane.

On marking where you're at, I find it easy to use either the book sleeve or a bookmark as a convenient way to remember where I was in the book

I can see where it would be useful but I can't see me ever being a convert and will default to a physical paper book every time.

[JohnM]

I'm often away overnight. I have a small laptop and I am going to give Kindle a try on it. That way it might save on replacing the books I leave behind in hotel rooms!

[ckn]

I'm often away overnight. I have a small laptop and I am going to give Kindle a try on it. That way it might save on replacing the books I leave behind in hotel rooms!

The dedicated e-readers with the liquid ink technology are far better than reading it on a laptop. It's certainly worth trying it with a freebie book or two first before you invest in buying some books if you intend using it on your laptop.

[l'angelo mysterioso]

The benefits of an e-reader are numerous. As you pointed out you can change the size of the text, insert multiple bookmarks, make comments and highlight passages and these are synced to all your devices (e.g., I can read my books on my phone starting from where I left off on the kindle). Another useful feature is the built in dictionary, this has come in handy when reading the Sherlock Holmes stories when I am unfamiliar with some of the old fashioned terms.


Given the choice between a book and an electronic copy read on an e-ink screen I prefer the electronic copy. I don't think they will replace books and am still uncertain whether they will take off like technology has for other medium.

they do have that Sir Clive Sinclair vibe about them don't they
pray what are these old fashioned terms that vex you so?

[Futtocks]

The dedicated e-readers with the liquid ink technology are far better than reading it on a laptop. It's certainly worth trying it with a freebie book or two first before you invest in buying some books if you intend using it on your laptop.

What format does an eBook file need to be for a Kindle to work with it? Could you download the free books on Bartleby or the Gutenberg Project, for instance, and have them work with a Kindle?

[ckn]

What format does an eBook file need to be for a Kindle to work with it? Could you download the free books on Bartleby or the Gutenberg Project, for instance, and have them work with a Kindle?

If they're in .txt format, yes. Can't do .doc or .pdf

[Futtocks]

If they're in .txt format, yes. Can't do .doc or .pdf

That's good; I was expecting some proprietary format that tied you in to official suppliers.

*.doc and *.pdf is easy to convert to *.txt, anyway.

Edited by Futtocks, 08 December 2010 - 01:54 PM.