OT: Kindle and other e-readers

[John]

Wifey has decided that she wants an e-reader for Christmas.

Personally, I think the books are a complete rip-off - someone, somewhere, is saving on all that ink, all that paper, the manufacturing process to turn ink and paper into book, warehousing, transportation and distribution costs, and yet some of the e-books I've seen are just ONE POUND less than the printed version, so I always said I would never have one on principle.

Having said all that, I'm currently reading a book that's well into 700 pages and is a pain in the neck (and wrists) to read in bed - especially when you get to that half-asleep point where the book drops out of your hands, falls on the floor and wakes the whole house up - so I may just swallow my principles on this ocassion and get one myself as well as one for wifey.

So now the question - which e-reader to go for?

We have no need for it to be like a 'tablet'. No need to surf the internet, send email or make a cup of tea - just purely for reading books without the associated weight of paper.

The basic Kindle appears to be about £69 but is it any good? And is it true that they are only capable of reading a format decided by Amazon while others use something called epub? What happens if a book we want isn't compatible with the Kindle - are converters available?

Cheers

[polygonum]

Not only are they often "ONE POUND less" - they are sometimes more expensive. And most especially as VAT is applied to ebooks, so even if they start cheaper they can end up more expensive.

And at least Amazon appear to be ripping us all off by charging 20% vat on them...

to say, is very useful. And I have yet to pay for any ebooks - have either found for no charge, done without, bought the real thing - quite often secondhand. Am more than happy for the author to get their due, and reasonably OK about the publisher, but the bookseller making more than everyone else seems wrong.

[The Medway Handyman]

SWMBO & I both have Kindles. I bought her one two Christmas's ago & she got me one on my biffday 6 months later. At the time only two models were available, hers is the more expensive 3G version, mine has to be plugged into a PC to download books - no great problem.

Both great fans. Books aren't much cheaper as you say, but the sheer convenience outweighs that for us. If you go on holiday, you can download as many books as you want - they hold 100's, you can read it anywhere, if you finish your book on a Sunday afternoon you can download another, low weight, no pages to keep open, you can search, change font size, it returns to the page you were reading etc.

[Andy Burns]

I bought a Kobo Touch little over a year ago, happy with it, recently flogged it and upgraded to the Kobo Glo, higher resolution display, frontlit (recommend you look in WHSmih one before buying they all have a "shadowy" area at the bottom in an unobtrusive part of the screen, but some have pinpricks where light bleeds through the screen) from whst I understand the Kindle paperwhite is similar, not sure if it's sold in the UK (yet?)

Can load content or firmware updates over WiFi or USB. With adobe digital editions you can 'borrow' library book, with calibre you can convert and upload various formats.

[Chris Wilson]

I have a 3G+Wi-Fi Kindle with a keyboard and having had it for a year I want it to marry me and breast feed my babies. Granted I do read a *lot* and I take it everywhere (for instance I commute by train) can't recommend it enough. Other's may be better - I don't care, the Kindle ticks all the boxes for me.

[Thomas Prufer]

Have a look at the PocketBook range.

I have the PocketBook Touch, which can surf the net, barely (The browser is slow and limited) but enough to download an ebook in a pinch. Comes with plenty to read, handles lots of formats natively, can be furtled. Low on icons and slickness.

Calibre can convert pretty much anything to anything. Free, and just works. The standard tool to manage libraries, I think.

Thomas Prufer

[Clive George]

Kindle works well for reading. Needs a lighting source in the same way as paper does.

I'd expect pretty much everything to be available for kindle - Amazon have that clout. There are converters for some other formats I think.

(If you're not too concerned about being legal, there are DVDs containing thousands of ripped off titles, some fairly recent. The quality isn't necessarily as good as a properly prepared title, but it's good enough)

[John]

John formulated the question :

Thanks very much guys :')

[Chris Bartram]

Don't forget there are still costs involved in electronic distribution....

I've just bought the basic Kindle, mainly to avoid carrying heavy books on holiday. I swore I'd never have one, but it's fine, and will handle other formats than Amazon's proprietary one (Kindle Format 8 (AZW3), Kindle (AZW), TXT, PDF, unprotected MOBI, PRC natively; HTML, DOC, DOCX, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP through conversion, according to the website).

The screen is very readable in varying light levels, and I find it just works. I don't want to surf the web (though you can, with a limited browser) on it- it's just a convenient way to carry books, small, light, but useable.

SWMBO has one as well, and is thoroughly convinced.

[mike]

I'd been toying with the idea of getting a Kindle too, but the more I read about Amazon's behaviour, the less attractive it seems:

It's a shame that digital distribution seems more about lining the pockets of middle-men and big business than improving the lot of authors.

[polygonum]

> It's a shame that digital distribution seems more about lining the

And there is a half-way accommodation - use an iPad and load Kindle software onto it. Not actually sure what other variants on that theme are available. But as Amazon are claiming they make nothing out of the hardware, you have to admit this doesn't really hit them very hard - or, possibly, at all.

[Mike Barnes]

John :

SWMBO and I both have Kindles and rate them as much more usable than books, and probably better for the environment. Depriving yourself of principle of those advantages seems like cutting off your nose to spite your face.

An unexpected bonus is that I can read my books on my phone at no extra cost, so I always have something to read with me. And my phone knows where I'm up to on my Kindle, and vice-versa.

Also if I come across a word and I'm not exactly sure what it means, rather than skipping over it and assuming the sentence will make enough sense anyway (which it usually does) I look the word up there and then, so I am ameliorating my vocabulary.

[Bob Eager]

+1. And I've converted lots of books from epub, pdf, etc. Free converters available.

[airsmoothed]

Trouble is, converting DRM protected ePub books (library books for example) to be readable on a Kindle is quite a faff. If you're happy with Amazon's pricing then the Kindle is very easy to use, if not buy a Kobo.

[misterroy]

I am reading a real paper book just now. I came across a word I was not sur= e of the meaning of and tried to access the built in dictionary, then I rem= embered it was a paper book and not the Kindle. I use a program called Radio Downloader to catch radio programs and downlo= ad them to the kindle.

[jkn]

On a sightly different note: is it possible to buy eBooks from Amazon but read them on a Kobo? And what would the conversion route (if necessary) for this be?

(I would much prefer a Kobo over a Kindle due to it being so much less DRM-encumbered; but I do realise that Amazon has the widest choice of books)

Thanks J^n

J^n

[John Rumm]

>>>

I have the kindle app on my PC and on my (Android) phone - you can read on any and it keeps all the titles in sync between all your devices (inc page number read to etc)

[John Rumm]

Both have DRM, so there is not much in it. Not sure if Kobo has the capability of being remote wiped though.

[Roger Mills]

Most people with Kindles seem to swear by them (rather than *at* them) so they obviously meet a need for many people.

I bought SWMBO a Kindle Touch for her birthday back in August - and she thinks it's *ok* - but she'd rather read a paper book!

And I notice that Amazon is now offering the Kindle "paperwhite" which appears to have superseded the previous models so - as with any hi-tech stuff - be prepared for it to be obsolete by the time you get it!

Not of interest to the OP, I know - but I see that Amazon is now pushing updated versions of the Kindle Fire - including an HD model.

Any comments, anyone?

[harry]

There was a bit on "Watchdog" about kindle last night. They pack in after a year apparently.