covetting a kindle...does it make me a bad person?

Enterprise_1701C

I have a Sony Ereader. I take "real" books on holiday to avoid having to fret about the ereader, but I absolutely LOVE to be able to visit the library online and not have to worry about getting on my bike and cycling 2 miles in the snow! There's loads of free ebooks around too if there is nothing available that I want. Am avoiding downloading War & Peace though cos I already have several hundred books on my reader and it is hard enough to lift as it is :rotfl:

To anyone thinking about it I would say get one, they are great fun, they remember where you got to it you fall asleep, and they are not as heavy as the thicker normal books. Also, I only have to recharge mine every few weeks.

Yolina

I've had a Kindle AND a Sony 650 for months They're great - I read a lot (2 to 3 books a week) so I didn't have to think about it too much. The battery lasts for weeks, easy to carry and it also means I don't need to buy yet more shelves to put books on

The Kindle wi-fi only version is £111 - you can easily get your money's worth by having a look at all the free books around, some on Amazon (classics and promotional freebies), plenty of out of copyright classics on www.gutenberg.org and lots of original works on www.smashwords.com (quality of writing may vary). There's also a lot of very cheap (under £2) self-published books of Amazon, and I've found some really, really good reads in there (others weren't so good though)

cgk1

phatbear wrote: »

How about buying a tab?

Just bought mrs pb an advent vega for £40 more than a kindle so with a bit of jiggery pokery she can now use kindle and do so much more for only a bit extra

But it's really not the same experience at all - reading books on a LCD screen is not a patch on using eink - the kindle only does one thing but it does it really well. Moreover, if you just want to read books, the battery life of the kindle is incomparable to a tablet.

Yolina

cgk1 wrote: »

But it's really not the same experience at all - reading books on a LCD screen is not a patch on using eink - the kindle only does one thing but it does it really well. Moreover, if you just want to read books, the battery life of the kindle is incomparable to a tablet.

Yep I agree - eink is an absolute pleasure (and no problem reading out in the sun!) and I get nearly 40 hours use out of my Kindle from full charge to the first "please feed me" message (with the wi-fi turned off - no need to leave that on all the time, all that would do is use the battery faster)

Fifer

I just don't get the 'I love real books so would never want a Kindle' stance. It's like saying 'I love live music, so I'll never buy a CD player'. I'm a book lover - I love real books, but the Kindle allows me to indulge my love of reading so much more that I consider it worth every penny. I can carry a library in my pocket, I can take loads of books on holiday and still remain under the hand-baggage weight limit, I can access thousands of totally free books, I can buy and immediately receive and read a book anytime, anywhere and as a bonus, I get free 3G internet access across Europe and the US. What's not to love? It's a book-lover's dream.

Desperate_Housewife_2-2

asbokid wrote: »

I don't know about a kindle although I confess to coveting a desperate housewife! (only joking!)

QUOTE]


:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

mr_fishbulb

Desperate_Housewife wrote: »

I would love a kindle but put off by the price, do you think the price will come down?

I would think Kindles are being sold either close to, or at a loss by Amazon (especially the 3G ones). They make their money by selling books and magazines/newspapers. So I don't think the price will come down, but it depends how you use it as to if you will get your moneys worth. For example I haven't bought a copy of the Economist since I got my kindle - I just download a free copy with Calibre.

Desperate_Housewife_2-2

wow thanks for all your replies!

I still think its expensive as I get all my books (also cds and dvds) from the library at a fraction of the cost, also I was watching a program last night about brand loyalty and there seems to be an element of surveillance in these gadgets which I am unsure about. For instance, they have remote access to your kindle and could if they wanted to delete books (although I believe they would be in infringement of their own terms and conditions...possible nevertheless)

Also they know what you have read, how many pages and if you finished a book etc which I find very invasive, I think it is to provide feedback to the publishers for future publications. Maybe I'm paranoid??

Another quick question...if I did get one (still tempted) which one should I go for?

1jim

I bought a kindle (3g version) when it first came out last year, one of my best purchases ever. I read at least one-two books a week, so easy to carry around, easy to read- the e-ink is great, and I have hardly spent anything on books since buying it...register with jungle who will send you a daily email of free kindle books, some are poor, some are ok and some are absolutly great!

In the USA amazon seem to have partnered with overdrive and libraries to launch kindle books in libraries, I guess (although have no reason to believe it really) that if it works we might see this next year in the UK, a few libraries currently lend out ebooks to users not in their "catchment area" already...I think one may be surrey but could be wrong on that...so you wouldnt necessarily need to get you local one to sign up

I too like physical books but after using the kindle I find them a bit heavy, awkward to hold and read (odd I know) and now only borrow books from the library when the book is a new release hardback and the amazon price is too expensive. One thing to mindful of is the price fixing by some publishers (these are noted on amazon by the text,,,,the publisher has set the price for this book, or something to that effect) which is currently being invesitgated by the Office of Fair Trading, so if you like a certan authour its worth checking to see if their books are price fixed as these can sometimes be more expensive than the paperback

Saying all of that, I would rush out and buy one now, cant see the price coming down anytime soon

victor2

Desperate_Housewife wrote: »

I would love a kindle but put off by the price, do you think the price will come down? Must resist...

The price will come down and the devices will improve, if you can wait!
Just look at how that type of technology has evolved, computers, mobile phones etc.