Anyone out there have any experience with Ebooks? I have been wanting one for a while, and waiting as the price comes down, but would like to hear some thoughts from those that have them. I love the idea, but don't look forward to paying much for books that I already have on my shelves, though the collector in me would want complete sets, and complete authors before I got rid of the paper versions. I am on a reduce my material possessions kick, and the idea of my book collection fitting in something I can hold in my hand gets a bigfrom me!
So what say you all? Kindle? Sony Ebook? Koby? Another one? Or would I be smarter to keep waiting and dream of the day I can buy one?
/me
The past is history. Tomorrow's a mystery. Today is a gift. That's why we call it the present.
Personally, I still feel that the technology has much further to go and that the price could be lower. A big thing I'm waiting for is color and better touch screen interaction (being able to highlight and markup your books). Other drawbacks are limited sharing (Kindle allows one time, one week shares for approved books). One more thing to note about the Kindle: while is may be the cheapest, it has the most restricted access to digital libraries.
“As a lifelong member of the Columbia Business School community, I adhere to the principles of truth, integrity, and respect. I will not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do.”
"Capitalism ho!"
i like my kindle.
Ebooks are a bit too expensive, but this is true of music/video too.
The Kindle has the best 'easy to purchase' library in Amazon, and you can use other formats too... it is also in the most countries.
JM
Jon Miller-
I AM.CANADIAN
GENERATION 35: The first time you see this, copy it into your sig on any forum and add 1 to the generation. Social experiment.
I've a Kindle DX (graphite), my mom just got her Kindle 3. We both love them.
She was torn between the Kobo and the Kindle 3, but I had her check out the book offerings in Canada to see which store she liked better. Kindle had by far a better selection, so that's what she got.
If you want to mark up your books and use touchscreens, the Sony reader (650 or something) is the best bet. e-ink, touchscreen.
Also it supports ePub which most libraries seem to support.
Me...I have no desire to mark up my book, touchscreens are useless to me on a book reader (I just need page turn type features, really), and I've not been in a library in 15 years and that's not going to change anytime soon.
The Chinese just produced a color E-ink screen:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/08/technology/08ink.html?hpw=&pagewanted=printColor Comes to E Ink Screens
By ERIC A. TAUB
E-book readers are lightweight and use little power, but most have a distinct disadvantage to colorful tablet computers: their black-and-white displays.
But on Tuesday at the FPD International 2010 trade show in Tokyo, a Chinese company will announce that it will be the first to sell a color display using technology from E Ink, whose black-and-white displays are used in 90 percent of the world’s e-readers, including the Amazon Kindle, Sony Readers and the Nook from Barnes & Noble.
While Barnes & Noble recently announced a color Nook and the Apple iPad has a color screen, both devices use LCD, the technology found in televisions and monitors. The first color e-reader, from Hanvon Technology, based in Beijing, has an E Ink display.
“Color is the next logical step for E Ink,” said Vinita Jakhanwal, an analyst at iSuppli. “Every display you see, whether it’s a TV or a cellphone, is in color.”
Jennifer K. Colegrove, director of display technologies at DisplaySearch, said it was a milestone moment. “This is a very important development,” Ms. Colegrove said. “It will bring e-readers to a higher level.”
E Ink screens have two advantages over LCD — they use far less battery power and they are readable in the glare of direct sunlight.
However, the new color E Ink display, while an important technological breakthrough, is not as sharp and colorful as LCD. Unlike an LCD screen, the colors are muted, as if one were looking at a faded color photograph. In addition, E Ink cannot handle full-motion video. At best, it can show simple animations.
These are reasons Amazon, Sony and the other major e-reader makers are not yet embracing it. Amazon says it will offer color E Ink when it is ready; the company sees color as useful in cookbooks and children’s books, and it offers these books in color through its Kindle application for LCD devices. Sony is also taking a wait-and-see approach.
“On a list of things that people want in e-readers, color always comes up,” said Steve Haber, president of Sony’s digital reading business division. “There’s no question that color is extremely logical. But it has to be vibrant color. We’re not willing to give up the true black-and-white reading experience.”
But Sriram K. Peruvemba, an E Ink vice president, is not upset by the reluctance of the market leaders to adopt his color technology. “I’m convinced that a lot of times it takes one company to prove the market,” Mr. Peruvemba said.
While barely known in this country, Hanvon is the largest seller of e-readers in China. Its founder and chairman, Liu Yingjian, says Hanvon has a 78 percent share of the Chinese market.
Hanvon’s first product using a 9.68-inch color touch screen will be available this March in China, starting at about $440. The price is less than an iPad in China, which sells for about $590. It will be positioned as a business product, with Wi-Fi and 3G wireless connectivity.
“It’s possible that we’ll sell this in the U.S. as well,” Mr. Liu said. Hanvon sells other products, like tablets and e-readers, to Americans online and through Fry’s, a regional electronics chain.
E Ink, based in Cambridge, Mass., was bought by Prime View Holdings of Taiwan in 2009 and was recently renamed E Ink Holdings. To create the color image, E Ink uses its standard black-and-white display overlaid with a color filter. As a result, battery life is the same as its black-and-white cousins, measured in weeks rather than hours, as with the iPad. The color model from Hanvon can be easily read in bright light, although the color filter does reduce the brightness.
The Hanvon e-reader is not intended to be a multifunction competitor to the iPad, but rather a dedicated reading device, like the Kindle. Ms. Colegrove of DisplaySearch said these types of lower-cost products should continue to gain market share, growing from four million units sold worldwide in 2009 to 14 million units by 2011. At the same time, slate-type devices like the iPad will increase from one million in 2009 to 40 million in 2011, she predicts.
“Color is absolutely critical for E Ink,” said James McQuivey, an analyst at Forrester Research. “Without it, they’ll either be replaced by LCD displays or other competitors.”
I'd wait awhile on this too.
“As a lifelong member of the Columbia Business School community, I adhere to the principles of truth, integrity, and respect. I will not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do.”
"Capitalism ho!"
It's worthless in that model. Very muted.
the eReaders are so damn cheap I don't see a point in waiting. 99% of the time you want to read black text -- it's perfect for that.
I have a nook, it is adequate. My entire library on it is free thus far.
I've been looking some more at the ereaders available now and the Sony PRC 650 looks really good. The only problem with it is lack of wifi and 3G. There's the "Daily Edition" that has both wifi and 3G but costs significantly more and has a larger screen, which is not necessarily a good thing. I'm going to have to go to the store to play around with them first, but I may go with the 650, if I get one. Also, all the Sony readers are on sale until Nov 27th.
The touch screen is the biggest feature for me, because I read a lot of articles in pdfs where I need to be able to mark up and make notes on.
“As a lifelong member of the Columbia Business School community, I adhere to the principles of truth, integrity, and respect. I will not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do.”
"Capitalism ho!"
I now have both a Kindle DX (Graphite) and a Kindle 3
Looks like someone's mom realized that IT'S CHEAPER TO JUST BUY ACTUAL BOOKS AND YOU DON'T NEED A ****ING IPOD FOR BOOKS YOU ONLY READ ONCE :MAD:
Last edited by Wiglaf; November 17, 2010 at 23:41. Reason: No comment
I'll use the Kindle e-reader app for now.
ACK!
"Foof." - Sasquatch.
I WONT DISOWN YOU SON, THOUGH YOU ARE A HOMO SEXUAL AND ARE NOT THE PROVINCE'S BEST COMPUTER CONSULTANT BUT I'LL BE DAMNED IF I CAN'T DISOWN THIS CRAPPY KINDLE 3
WHY MOTHER WHY. You can even play Scrabble now on the Kindle 3 and can SUBSCRIBE TO NUMEROUS BLOGS FOR ONLY ONE EURO EACH
YOUR FATHER GOT ME AN IPAD 3G. I enjoy using its ALARM CLOCK FUNCTION
MOTHER WHAT IS THE USE CASE? DO YOU ENJOY STARING INTO A BRIGHT SCREEN AS IT MELTS YOUR CHOCOLATE BRAIN?
BACK TO YOUR ROOM SON! YOU WILL FINISH CODING YOUR JAVA APPLET OR ILL TELL YOUR FATHER
STEVE JOBS MUST NOT FIND OUT ABOUT THIS! BUT NOTHING IS BETTER THAN HAVING TO WAIT 30 SECONDS FOR A TEXT ONLY EXPERIMENTAL INTERNET BROWSWER TO LOAD SO YOU CAN BUY PROPRIETARY EPUBS THAT HAVE DRM SO FAR UP THE ASS NOT EVEN MY BOYFRIEND COULD FIND IT FOR YOU
GO FLAMES
No, she kept her Kindle 3. I've a Kindle 3 as well now.Originally Posted by Wiglaf
BACK IN YOUR ROOM SON
I'll be happy to go to my room. I HAVE KINDLES TO READ.
ONE IN EACH HAND.
Can you watch videos on the Kindle
THERE IS NOW A NOOK WITH AN LED BACKLIT SCREEN. Your science is BOGUS.
WHY WOULD I WATCH VIDEOS ON MY KINDLE. THAT IS WHAT THE iPHONE IS FOR. IDIOT.
The kinds of videos you would watch would probably void the ****ing warranty. YOU ARE A BETA MALE. I am not going to sit here and watch you pretend to be an ALPHA MALE. GO BACK TO WONKA'S CHOCOLATE FACTORY WHILE THE BIG BOYS GET WHAT THEY CAME FOR.
Watch videos on a phone?
A phone can be used to talk to people.
I use ~20 minutes of voicetime on my cellphone each month. 99% of those are to register my vehicle for parking at a paylot near work.
I have been wanting for a while, and waiting as the price comes down, but those that still think them.I technology go much further could reduce the price to hear some ideas want. One big thing I'm waiting for better color and touch screen interaction.
I have a Kindle2. Besides the whole "free 3G data" thing its long battery life and lightness make it ideal for long distance hiking(instead of bringing a paperback).
I'm also one of "those people" that read multiple books at once.
With such viral bias, you're opinion is thus rendered useless. -Shrapnel12, on my "bias" against the SS.
I've never understood how God could expect his creatures to pick the one true religion by faith — it strikes me as a sloppy way to run a universe.
Updated to Kindle software 3.1 preview today. Has real page numbers when you press Menu, which is nice for some people like my mom.
It's also noticeably snappier.
"The issue is there are still many people out there that use religion as a crutch for bigotry and hate. Like Ben."
Ben Kenobi: "That means I'm doing something right. "
Just updated my DX to 2.5.7. Don't see any difference. Is it me or is Amazon taking forever to update the software?
Let us be lazy in everything, except in loving and drinking, except in being lazy – Lessing
For the DX? Yes, very much so.
I just installed the preview Kindle 3.1 for the Kindle 3 -- it adds real page numbers, public notes, etc. And it's faster. Great update.
"The issue is there are still many people out there that use religion as a crutch for bigotry and hate. Like Ben."
Ben Kenobi: "That means I'm doing something right. "
I want page numbers.
JM
Jon Miller-
I AM.CANADIAN
GENERATION 35: The first time you see this, copy it into your sig on any forum and add 1 to the generation. Social experiment.
More then 3 months after I posted the question in the OP, I finally gave in and bought a Kindle...now to figure out what books I am willing to pay for and what ones are offered free (and which ones play on a Kindle). It's a whole new world for me, but I look forward to no longer purchasing paper books (which I am embarrassed to admit have been a big part of my life to date).
I feel like I am starting a new chapter (pun intended).
/me
The past is history. Tomorrow's a mystery. Today is a gift. That's why we call it the present.
"The issue is there are still many people out there that use religion as a crutch for bigotry and hate. Like Ben."
Ben Kenobi: "That means I'm doing something right. "
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