Kindle

[StoopTroup]

I'm sure some of you have seen these.

The Wife asked me if I thought it would be something to buy the kids and for ourselves for Christmas. At first I thought it was just a way to get out of reading real books. Then I saw that they evidently didn't think the product through as they promoted it to help the blind but the on/off buttons and controls aren't in braille so the blind would find it hard to use.

After hearing that I got to thinking that as good an idea as it seems to be....maybe they haven't really come up with a really high end product yet and that maybe we should wait until another generation is produced? Maybe even another Company will come up with something better and even cheaper in a year? Also...I hear they are coming up with a larger version that might be even better.

Thoughts?

http://thesamerowdycrowd.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/kindle.jpg

[Crucifax Autumn]

I'm a big time reader and have been since I was a kid. Literally ALWAYS reading a book. There is no way I could ever feel "right" reading a novel in any way other than a traditional book.

News and crap like that...I'm cool reading on gadgets, but not full fledged books.

[JohnnyMack]

The Kindle is one of the many reasons the terrorists hate us.

Books rule.

[Jello Biafra]

you think this is what he was texting on when he ran through that apartment building?

[yermom]

i haven't used one for an extended amount of time, but holding it and flipping through a few pages quelled a lot of the similar feelings i had about them

i hate reading books on a computer, but those don't really feel like that at all

[King Crimson]

the ebook thing failed massively the first time.....and things like harry potter and lord of the rings brought "reading" back to the people and gave the dying publishing industry a big shot in the arm. even worse than newspaper, the book industry was.

be interesting to see how kindle does. you can't roll up your copy of On the Road and go canoeing and get wet with kindle like you could with the paperback.

sometimes disposable culture has it's advantages.

[Frozen Sooner]

Had to get rid of my collection of books when I moved. Sold 'em and bought a Kindle with the proceeds. I really like mine, and now prefer it to paper books. KC brings up a valid point, though I don't really think that the mixture of Kerouac and canoeing is something I'm going to worry about a lot.

Here's my pros and cons:

Pros

Don't lose my place when I fall asleep reading.
Syncs across platforms-if I don't have my Kindle with me but do have either my laptop or phone I can pick up where I left off on either device.
Can buy a book and download wirelessly, even if regular bookstores are closed.
Books are cheaper (though won't be an overall savings until I buy a LOT of books). Public domain stuff is very cheap or free.
Portability-I stuck a 2GB memory card in mine and I can fit a simply ridiculous amount of material on that thing.
Redownloadable content-I can delete stuff off my Kindle and redownload it from Amazon at will.
Text search. Handy.

Cons
DRM. Annoying. Hasn't come up yet, but I'm sure at some point it will.
Can't loan books to friends.
Availability of some titles.
Not a great idea to read in the tub or whilst canoing.

Surprising non-issues:
Readability. Very easy on the eyes, uses reflected light just like real paper.
Power. I leave the radio on 24/7 and it takes 8 solid days to run the battery down. Turn the radio off and I've never seen the power gauge move.
"Feel." I'm a voracious reader (I mean, I'm a first year law student and I still read for pleasure. That should tell you something.) I don't miss paper books at all, really. I picked up the new Wheel of Time book in hardback (one of the aforementioned not available books) and was fairly put out by how unwieldy it was compared to the Kindle.

[SicEmBaylor]

I'm a luddite when it comes to ebook readers.
Do. Not. Want.

[1890MilesToNorman]

Mom has had one for about 3 months, she is extremely tech ignorant but she loves hers. First battery charge lasted 5 weeks but she mainly reads at night before going to sleep. If a 75 year old likes it they did something right.

[StoopTroup]

I'm a luddite when it comes to ebook readers.
Do. Not. Want.

When you use the Big Boy words....it gives me hope that yes...one day you will graduate. :D

[Frozen Sooner]

Mom has had one for about 3 months, she is extremely tech ignorant but she loves hers. First battery charge lasted 5 weeks but she mainly reads at night before going to sleep. If a 75 year old likes it they did something right.

Oddly enough, most of the people I see using them are old. They REALLY love the feature that lets you resize text. The first person NOT me I saw using one was 90-year-old former Anchorage Mayor Tom Fink.

Yes, that's really his name.

[StoopTroup]

I'm getting old...but maybe I'm not Kindle material yet....lol

[Frozen Sooner]

Most of the young people who like to read I've let play around with mine say how much they love it, but say they don't want to spend $200 on one just yet. Mainly because most of the young people I know are poor.

[StoopTroup]

Yeah. I was thinking the price is either going to come down and/or the device will get even better.

[King Crimson]

Yeah. I was thinking the price is either going to come down and/or the device will get even better.

until about June i was still using my 1st gen ipod. it was like carrying around a brick in your pocket by today's standards.

[StoopTroup]

until about June i was still using my 1st gen ipod. it was like carrying around a brick in your pocket by today's standards.

I had a 4gb Nano with the Best Buy warranty. The screen went bad and after I took a 10x magnifying glass into the store so the manger could show me where I cracked the screen...they replaced it with the new slimmer version. A week later the ones with the video feature came out. However...I've become such an addict to the device that I'm eventually going to give it to one of my kids and go get one with the max GBs and the video option. I could really use it for more than just entertainment. They really are a great device.

[Frozen Sooner]

The price has already dropped pretty significantly, and they're rolling out models with different feature sets pretty frequently. Since I bought mine, they've come out with the Kindle 2 (added WiFi support and a better web browser) the Kindle DX (larger screen) and the Kindle Euro (mobile web support in both US and EU.)

Color may come at some point-I guess there's a technical limitation with e-ink that makes color really difficult to implement.

A firmware upgrade that includes native .pdf support would be nice. The DX apparently already does this.

[Frozen Sooner]

Haha. Never mind, they added .pdf support through a firmware update a couple of weeks ago.

[StoopTroup]

Funny...that things are more Black and White on Kindle.

When you think about it...it's a reading device! It should look like printed material.

[King Crimson]

i can see the future in kindle, but honestly it's not even ludditism or nostalgia for "the book"....it just doesn't really appeal to me much. not sure why.

but, i also prefer the off the grid nomadism of not carrying the cellie around 24/7...i like times where i'm not on the network and "unreachable".

[StoopTroup]

If I drop my book after I nod off...I don't want to kill anything when I wake up.

[King Crimson]

as refer to in the canoeing example, i like the "existential" lightness of being (to poach a phrase) and cheap cost of the paperback. something happens, i'm out 8 bucks....not 200.

[1890MilesToNorman]

The main reason my brother and I bought the kindle for Mom was to keep her from having to go to the book store. Winter around here get's nasty and she doesn't need to get out in it to go get a book.

[StoopTroup]

The main reason my brother I bought the kindle for Mom was to keep her from having to go to the book store. Winter around here get's nasty and she doesn't need to get out in it to go get a book.

See...it's like ping pong...one minute your like....no I'm not getting one...then...

[StoopTroup]

Wonder if there's a setting for making sure Harry Potter **** won't load up? :D

[1890MilesToNorman]

Wonder if there's a setting for making sure Harry Potter **** won't load up? :D

Jes use yer wand dummy. :D

[Wishboned]

I bought one a couple of months ago and I really like it.

I have to echo Frozen's thoughts on all the pro's and con's. I love the portability, it's really very comfortable to read. And as someone is somewhat anal about my books I don't have to worry about creased spines, and bent covers or pages.

I put a lot of technical manuals that are on pdf on it and that works great.

[StoopTroup]

I put a lot of technical manuals that are on pdf on it and that works great.

This is something I think will be one of the coolest things about having one. When you need reference material...you'd have it right there.

[OUmillenium]

I think it would be best to wait till just after the holidays. Supposedly, the Sony Reader had a new version coming out and a lot of people really liked it better as an ebook. The Kindle supposedly has more ease when hooking up to other devices and using apps other than ebooks like PDF, word, or whatever. You should go online and see when the next gen for both is coming out. Thats what I am waiting for.

[StoopTroup]

Agreed.

I'm waiting.

Maybe. :D

[StoopTroup]

Jes use yer wand dummy. :D

Maybe Dean will let me borrow his. Wonder if it's detachable or if the Wife holds on to it for him? Do you need two hands?

Maybe I should just get my own. :D

I think I just hijacked my own thread...