E Book readers

[milkman]

Looking for something for the wife's Christmas and she's really hard to buy for, don't need anything, but I found out that she would like to have one of these. I know the Kindle from Amazon is rated good, but does anyone know if it comes with any pre loaded booke. Some that I have seen like on HSN or one of the shopping networks comes with a ton of books already loaded.

 

[nikdfish]

None are there other than the user manual. Having said that, there are a ton of free books (mostly out of copyright) that you can "purchase" at Amazon for a new kindle's account & they will be on the kindle when it's delivered.

The latest (3rd generation) kindle comes in 2 flavors- wifi only/wifi+3G & two colors - graphite/white. Wifi only is $139 & wifi+3G is $189. The wifi only version has to be in range of a usable wifi network to connect for book transfers (other than via USB cable). You can turn off the wifi/3G radio to save battery power.

I just picked one up a couple of months ago after having used an LCD based reader for quite a while. Love the e-ink display, no glare, looks very much like a printed page.

If you get a kindle, be sure to consider downloading a free copy of "Calibre". It is a package for managing & translating ebooks into different formats. You can even set it up as a book server which can make your non-DRM books accessible via the network. Amazon is NOT the only source you can use for books for the kindle. Many other sources can provide books in .mobi or .prc formats which the kindle handles with no problem.

Nick

 

[milkman]

Thanks, that's a lot more than I know about them, just starting to look, guess I better get in a hurry.

 

[nikdfish]

If you like science fiction/fantasy, check out the Baen Books website WebScription Ebooks They have a lot of my favorite authors (incl. Dave Weber, John Ringo, Lois McMaster Bujold, Larry Correia, Eric Flint, etc). They have better prices than Amazon - typically $6 for a title, $15 for a webscription group of a half dozen titles. Best of all, their titles are all DRM free ... no constraint on what device you read them on, and they have multiple ebook formats available for each title!

Nick

 

[ronjhall]

Bought my wife a Kindle. She loves it. One draw back in night time lighting. Got a Belkin LED light for wife's after she made her own case/cover. Kindle has a cover that includes a light. Good reviews on it. It is about $60.
Another noted problem is that some users are playing some games. The numbers/letter wear off. Wife does not use that feature. Bought her the WIFI/3G model. Both work well.
She is in the process of getting it loaded with books she want to read. Likes the feature that allow free downloads of first chapter to review books she is interested in.
Family members are giving her Amazon gift cards so she download more books. Christmas for me is easy this year. By her some books to down load. All I have to do is load card info on the Kindle for her.

 

[dmccarty]

Check the fine print on the books you buy. The last time I looked into the books you were only renting the books you buy and in theory the seller could revoke the books. The other negative is that the ebooks for sale can be very expensive. As much money as a real book.

I like books. I read alot. I literally have tons of books. They take up a quite a bit of space. I do like the idea that I could have all of my books on a chip or two. On the other hand you are then limited to a device that can fail and needs power. Danged if you do Danged if you don't.

Some magazines and newspapers are sending their subscribers their issues to the Kindle which is nice.

I know someone with very bad eyesight that has used the Kindle to help them read. From their perspective it is a life changer.

I was skeptical that one could read easily on a Kindle like device(excepting people with eyesight issues.) My smart phone will read ebooks and I downed a book for free that I have wanted to read for years. I did not have any problem reading the book on the little itty bitty smart phone screen. I was really surprised at how readable the ebook was on such a small device. A Kindle would be easy peasy.

I would shop around for the Kindle or other readers. Not sure if HSN will give the best price. We just bought a new TV and I checked quite a few places for the best price. After buying the TV we noticed one of the shopping channels was selling the TV so I watched to see the price. They were much more money that what I could buy online. They were about 40% higher than the lowest price I could find at a good online store. So check prices.

Later,
Dan

 

[nikdfish]

Amazon got some bad press when they "pulled back" a book that had had copyright issues. There was enough of a stink that they have made a very clear statement that it won't happen again; if you buy a book they assure folks that it will stay in your device & account library until you remove it.

Amazon book purchases remain available for re-downloading. If you delecte it from the device it will show up in your "archive" listing, from which you can re-download. Also, you can have mutiple kindles associated with an account (6?). Any device on the account can access any book in the account library. The Amazon DRM does limit use of books to devices associated with the purchasing account.

Baen Books, on their webscription.net site, retains info on your purchases as your account history. At any point in time you can re-download books you have purchased there. As their books are DRM-free, you can download in different formats to read on different devices without having to associate them with an account. They also have a large free library where you can download full version books from current authors for free as samples of their work, betting you will come back & buy books from authors you like.

From what I've seen on the forums, the keyboard wear issue on the kindle was mostly associated with units with "clay" style keys, most have a different style of plastic. People have been getting replacement kindles issued when the problem manifests.

Nick

 

[charlz]

I am not up to speed on the technical differences between the readers. However, I read an article the other day that mentioned briefly that the Kindle does not support the format (epub?) that is used for ebooks in libraries. They prefer you buy the books versus borrow them So that might be a big negative depending on how she likes to acquire her books.

 

[milkman]

Lots of things to consider. I was looking around in the free library, ton of stuff there. I'll have to find out more of what she'll be reading and have her look at what's available.

 

[LostInTheWoods]

Google's getting in on the act, and it looks promising.

What Google's Gotten Itself Into - the eBook and eReader Market, in Pictures: GOOG, SNE, BKS, AAPL, AMZN : Stocks In Focus : Small Cap Stocks and Penny Stocks For Big Returns - SmallCap Network

Would make me think twice about purchasing a Kindle...

"Google's e-books are easily the most universal option; they can be viewed via any web browser. That means only the Kindle is the major device that can't handle (and then the Sony e-reader) that do readers no good of they prefer Google's new offer.

While the Kindle could afford exclusivity at the onset of the reader wars because Amazon hosted the biggest e-book store in the world, Kindle sales are now most at risk among all the major reading devices.

While the actual number of for-pay titles available through Google is unspecified, given the company's marketing clout and deep pockets, it's a reasonably good bet it won't take long for Google to offer more than Amazon's estimated 610,000 book titles for sale..."

 

[MichKubota]

Wait - You should consider Google Ebooks!

Google eBookstore


Why?

Pro's
1. More free books.
2. Huge new book collection.
3. No need for special dedicated device to read book.
4. Your books stay within your library (online) not in the device. So if device is lost, damaged or outdated no loss of books bought.
5. Read your books from any device that can get online. Laptop, smart phone, iPad (or other Tablet) and even some ebook readers.
6. Get smart phone and have books available wherever you go without carrying a separate device. I know smart phone may seem like disadvantage but if you are buying Kindle etc might as well have a universal device like smart phone.

Cons
1. Battery life of dedicated device like Kindle is much better then smart phone when a portable device is used.
2. Visibility in direct sunlight is much better with the dedicated ebook readers. However; you need some sort of lighting to view dedicated ebook reader in dark. No different then a real book. Of course with Google eBooks using a laptop, smart phone, iPad (or other Tablet) device they include there own back-lighting.

 

[forgeblast]

I heard google will be coming out with their own reader, they have a huge book collection they have been scanning for the last 5-7 years. I would look into that.

Honestly I hit the button and the other posters about google posted....

 

[ronjhall]

One of the best feature of the Kindle and some others is they can be read in direct sunlight. Many of the other options are practically useless in sunlight.

 

[texbaylea]

I was thinking seriously about getting a Kindle. I have been using Kindle for PC and yesterday a science fiction compendium (about 80 old books and short stories) disappeared from my library. I got some crazy message that said that there was a problem with the book on my list and I should download it again. I went to do so and it was priced at 3 times what I had originally paid.

No Kindle for me!

I am considering finding a cheap netbook and using that as my book reader. I would go to Google's eBook store.

I am a Science fiction fan and a fan of Baen. Some of the authors I like are available through Suvudu.

Vernon

 

[jinjimbob]

Lots of things to consider. I was looking around in the free library, ton of stuff there. I'll have to find out more of what she'll be reading and have her look at what's available.

Our library offers a download service to readers that include the Nook / Sony eReader, BUT not the Kindle.

Take a look on your library website, they will tell you what devices they support. I think I might get a Sony 'Touch Edition' one, http://ebookstore.sony.com/reader/
The Sony/Nook also support the Google eBooks.

 

[aczlan]

<snip>However, I read an article the other day that mentioned briefly that the Kindle does not support the format (epub?) that is used for ebooks in libraries</snip>

That is correct

Our library offers a download service to readers that include the Nook / Sony eReader, BUT not the Kindle.
Take a look on your library website, they will tell you what devices they support. I think I might get a Sony 'Touch Edition' one<snip>

Many libraries use Overdrive for downloadable eBooks and audiobooks. See: Device Resource Center - Compatible eBook Devices for a list of ebook readers that work with their software and: Device Resource Center - Compatible Audio & Video Devices for a list of compatible audio players.

Aaron Z

 

[texbaylea]

For Kindle owners:

How to Do (Almost) Everything With a Kindle 3 | Gadget Lab | Wired.com

I ran across this link and thought I would pass it along. Looks lik some useful tips.

Vernon

 

[picker77]

There is currently a war going on between Amazon (Kindle) and Google to win the e-book market. Google's main weapon is deliberately making their entire library incompatible with Kindle, but compatible with everything else. Kindle, OTOH, already owns the lion's share of the e-book reader market. Betamax vs VHS all over again, I guess.

I happen to use a Kindle DX my wife gave me for Christmas last year, and like it a lot. However, it was expensive compared to the new generation of Kindles, which I think are only around $130 or so for the same capability as the DX. Pretty reasonable.

Preloaded books should not be a consideration, since (assuming you buy the 3G wireless capable version of Kindle) there are a zillion free books available directly online that will download in seconds to your Kindle the minute you click on them, and use of the 3G wireless downloading service is free after you register your new Kindle with Amazon. So many, in fact, that the hardest thing is finding time to even look at them all online to select what you want to download. There are of course a zillion non-free books available, usually for less than $10, but I've downloaded very few of those so far. With a pocket paperback at WalMart going for $8 a pop, downloading a recent best seller hardback for $10 begins to seem like a bargain if you like to read a lot.

In addition to Amazon's Kindle book store, there are many free downloadable books on line on several websites that you can download to your PC and then dump to the Kindle via USB cable. Just about anything written in the past 200 years that's no longer in copyright (because of years elapsed) is available for free somewhere online.

I like my Kindle, and some of the best books I've read on it were freebies written in the 18th/19th/20th century and therefore out of copyright. Also most of the classics are available free at Amazon's Kindle book store.

Admittedly the only device I have experience on is the Kindle, but it works great and once you've paid for and registered the device with Amazon, there is a nearly endless supply of free stuff, and an infinite supply of paid stuff you can instantly download and read. A 500 page book takes about five seconds to download via 3G. Very slick. One of these days they'll have a color Kindle, which will be a big seller, I'm sure, but the current version is really wonderful for people who love to read but don't want to pack around a stack of books. That's me!

 

[nikdfish]

For what its worth, you can translate most any e-book format that does not incorporate some form of DRM distribution limitation into a format readable by the Kindle. Typically you only see DRM limitations applied to currently copyrighted commercial material. The Calibre package I mentioned earlier is a pretty painless way to do it & I've used it on Google e-book downloads of out of copyright material ...


Nick