Anybody excited about the $139 Kindle?

fatchowmein

Preorder now. Ships August 27th.

I'm on the edge. If it was $99, I'd probably jump on it. Maybe Christmas. My hesitation: economy. If this was July 2007, I'd buy it. Funny how I was looking at a Camero a few months ago. :rolleyes:

cfrizz

Nope I'm not excited since I don't prefer to be stuck with just one store in which to buy all of my books.

You have to realize that if someone comes out with another reader, that you would like to have, that unless you know how to break the drm and then use Calibre to convert your books you will ALWAYS have to buy a Kindle in order to read your books.

Many people have no problem with that, I'm not one of them.

concealer404

Not so much.

fatchowmein

Forgot. Highlights from Amazon.

All-New, High-Contrast E-Ink Screen – 50% better contrast than any other e-reader
Read in Bright Sunlight – No glare
New and Improved Fonts – New crisper, darker fonts
New Sleek Design – 21% smaller body while keeping the same 6" size reading area
17% Lighter – Only 8.5 ounces, weighs less than a paperback
Battery Life of Up to One Month – A single charge lasts up to one month with wireless off
Double the Storage – Up to 3,500 Books
Built-In Wi-Fi – Shop and download books in less than 60 seconds
20% Faster Page Turns – Seamless reading
Enhanced PDF Reader – With dictionary lookup, notes, and highlights
New WebKit-Based Browser – Browse the web over Wi-Fi (experimental)

RuSsMaN

I'll wait for the DVD.

bdaley6509

I owned one. It's a super nice e-reader and it makes buying books super easy. I guess that could be good and bad. Sold it for an Ipad, but still cool if you love to read.

fatchowmein

cfrizz wrote: »

Nope I'm not excited since I don't prefer to be stuck with just one store in which to buy all of my books.

You have to realize that if someone comes out with another reader, that you would like to have, that unless you know how to break the drm and then use Calibre to convert your books you will ALWAYS have to buy a Kindle in order to read your books.

Many people have no problem with that, I'm not one of them.

True. I don't relish the idea of being tied to Amazon, B&N, or the Apple store.

Sherardp

Ipad owner, best of both worlds (iBooks and Kindle)

j allen

Okay, I may be a n00b with this technology, but couldn't you kinda back door around that by installing the kindle app on your ipad or nook? I would think that would be doable...

cfrizz

The Ipad is a mini computer in which only one of the things that can be done on it is reading.

I don't want any other distractions when I'm reading that the Ipad can do. I just want a straight reader.

And you are STILL held prisoner between the Ipad & the kindle with your books being unreadable on other readers.

J, you can download the Kindle app on an Ipad, however, you cannot do so on the B&N Nook. That is proprietary to B&N. And even though the Nook reads pdf's & epubs, you cannot transfer the drm books over to any other reader that accepts Adobe Digital Editions epubs & pdfs.

I know because I tried. I downloaded a free epub book from B&N then I couldn't open it via ADE or my Sony reader. (Supposedly at some point ADE is going to fix it so that this is no longer a problem.)

I should be able to purchase the lowest priced ebook from any vendor and be able to read it on any device I have now & in the future. The Ipad, Kindle & Nooks don't allow this, therefore I am not interested in their products.

j allen

Interesting, cfrizz. I've been wanting an e-reader simply because I burn through a lot of money reading, and the digital format books seem to be fairly cheap. Seems like a lot of this crap would make it more of a PitA than it is worth.

I can agree, it should be like buying mp3s; pick a player well suited to your needs, download from the service of your choice, load the download to the player. All this proprietary nonsense could conceivably keep the tech from catching on as well as it otherwise might.

cfrizz

No it's not a PITA if you do your research ahead of time to find out what's out there.

Amazon succeeds because they do make it so easy with being able to download books straight from the reader which is pretty cool. Some love that convenience, but if they ever decide they want a different reader, then they are going to have problems.

Some rant and rave about the drm being evil, blah, blah, blah. I don't have a problem with it per se, I just made sure that I got a reader that accepts a wide variety of formats especially the most common being epub & pdf and utilizes Adobe Digital Editions for the drm books.

So I have a Sony now, but can change to another reader that also utilizes the above.

I don't have the conveniece of being able to download a book straight to my reader like Kindles do, but to me that is a non issue. I have a ton of books on my reader that I can read until I can get home to purchase & download a new book to transfer onto my Sony.

I'm not going to let the fact the drm exist stop me from the enjoyment I get from reading books. I will never go back reading paperbacks. I am saving space, trees & money with my reader. I've purchased over 100 books so far and have used Calibre to convert some of my word documents in to epub format to put them on my Sony PRS-600

Also, there are plenty of either free reads or multiformat books that you can buy that will be accepted on any reader.

Once you have a reader it will simply be a matter of finding the store that has the best price for books.

So get yourself a reader J. You won't regret it. Here are some sites to check out.

www.mobileread.com This is a great site with tons of info & free reads on it
www.calibre.com This is free software that you can download that will take ANY drm free format & change it over to the format of your choice.
www.borders.com
www.ezread.com
www.kobobooks.com
www.booksonboard.com

fatchowmein

cfrizz wrote: »

www.calibre.com This is free software that you can download that will take ANY drm free format & change it over to the format of your choice.

That goes to a Wells Fargo Family Wealth site. Here's the correct link.

http://calibre-ebook.com/


And thanks for the info!

kawizx9r

Personally, nook > Kindle

Retail price dropped on them as well, $149 for the wifi version and only $199 for the wifi+3G version.

Demiurge

I'll stick to real books. I bought my dad a Kindle last year and he likes it, but I can't stand any of the hand-held readers. I'd read a newspaper and various articles on them, but that's about it. Lower costs aside, they are a poor solution to an actual book, IMO.

madmax

I can't stand to read. The only way I could read a book is if it was one of the audio books.

BottomFeeder

Yep, I'm now interested in the Kindle because of the $139 price tag. As far as I understand it, Kindle / Amazon has waaaaaay more books than anyone else. Yes? & I bet Cathy can tell me: because you have the Sony, can you search / buy from enough sites to approach Amazon's book list total?

Big Dawg

I think that the Kindle is very attractive, and Amazon's business model attempts to follow the iPod/iTunes model of selling hardware with an outlet for proprietary content (think razors/razor blades).

Millions of people have bought music via iTunes despite the fact that they can only be played on an iPod or iTunes-equipped computer. Of course, now there are plenty of work-a-rounds if you want to share your music, but that wasn't the case in the early days of the iPod.

It's only a matter of time before the Kindle books, which are now accessible on multiple platforms via the new Kindle apps, will be hacked and then transferable between all forms of e-readers.

Personally, I've been on the verge of buying a Kindle since they first came out. I think I prefer it over the Nook. I've not held a Sony e-Reader in my hands, but I've seen them and they seem nice, but I think that the Amazon content is a powerful lure.

I'd really like an iPad, but Cathy's right, it would be too distracting and every time the book got a little slow I'd start surfing for, er, audio stuff.

There is probably some convergence coming, and who knows how that will play out. If you'll get good use out of any of them, jump in. Just understand that you may end up buying something different in a year or two.

cfrizz

BottomFeeder wrote: »

Yep, I'm now interested in the Kindle because of the $139 price tag. As far as I understand it, Kindle / Amazon has waaaaaay more books than anyone else. Yes? & I bet Cathy can tell me: because you have the Sony, can you search / buy from enough sites to approach Amazon's book list total?

This is a great site to get a list of ebooks and what stores they are in and what prices they are selling at. http://ebooks.addall.com/

Big Dawg, there are already python scripts written that can hack into & demolish the drm. Just Google remove drm and you will find them.

I can't be bothered doing that, I simply make sure that I get a reader with formats that can be transfered from one reader to the next.

I have no doubt that Amazon probably is king of content as far as books go, but there are more ebook stores popping up all the time.

cfrizz

Demiurge wrote: »

I'll stick to real books. I bought my dad a Kindle last year and he likes it, but I can't stand any of the hand-held readers. I'd read a newspaper and various articles on them, but that's about it. Lower costs aside, they are a poor solution to an actual book, IMO.

ebooks ARE real books they are simply delivered in a different format from what you are used to.

This is the same old arguement that we have over audio. It's about the MUSIC/BOOKS it's NOT about the gear that delivers it.

If you are caught up in the story, you forget all about what you are reading it on.:D

When was the last time you lugged around a few books while traveling Demi? I walked around with over 100 on my reader while I was on vacation & read 3 of them in a week.:D

What I like best of all is that with my eye sight, I am able to increase the font to a size that is comfortable, when was the last time you could do that with a book?:D Ereaders have allowed many people with bad eyesight get back into reading.

comfortablycurt

I can't help but wonder what the long term health effects of things like this are going to be. Between TV's, computers, iPods, Kindles etc. etc...People are spending a LOT of time staring at LCD screens. That can't be good for your eyes in the long run.

Personally, I'd rather buy actual books. I can't see myself reading a book on an ereader like that.

To each their own though. One thing I can definitely say in favor of these things is that they save a LOT of paper waste.

Demiurge

cfrizz wrote: »

ebooks ARE real books they are simply delivered in a different format from what you are used to.

This is the same old arguement that we have over audio. It's about the MUSIC/BOOKS it's NOT about the gear that delivers it.

If you are caught up in the story, you forget all about what you are reading it on.:D

When was the last time you lugged around a few books while traveling Demi? I walked around with over 100 on my reader while I was on vacation & read 3 of them in a week.:D

What I like best of all is that with my eye sight, I am able to increase the font to a size that is comfortable, when was the last time you could do that with a book?:D Ereaders have allowed many people with bad eyesight get back into reading.

I wasn't putting them down....because if I thought they were a bad thing I wouldn't have bought one for my father.

I just don't like them enough to buy one for myself. I like to hold a book in my hand rather than a thin piece of plastic. I like to turn the pages. I like to be able to put it on my book shelf.

I'm never going to be anywhere that I need 100 books, so other than to say "Hey, I have 100 books," that isn't appealing to me.

They are very nice in that they read like actually paper and you can change stuff to suit you in a way you never could with a book. I'm glad you enjoy your reader.

j allen

I want one, but I would love to have one with two full sized screens that opens up like a book. Well, more like a laptop actually, but I think simulating holding an actual book would be an added appeal.

lightman1

Nope.

cfrizz

comfortablycurt wrote: »

I can't help but wonder what the long term health effects of things like this are going to be. Between TV's, computers, iPods, Kindles etc. etc...People are spending a LOT of time staring at LCD screens. That can't be good for your eyes in the long run.

Personally, I'd rather buy actual books. I can't see myself reading a book on an ereader like that.

To each their own though. One thing I can definitely say in favor of these things is that they save a LOT of paper waste.

Curt, the majority of ereaders including the Kindles are Einks screens not LCD screens. It's supposed to be easier on the eyes. I don't have any problems reading on either one.

I was one of those people who said the same thing....until I actually checked one out & found it to be great. I had pretty much stopped buying books because I hated having to keep switching my regular glasses over to my reading glasses. Now I no longer have to, I just increase the font size.

Demi, my Sony Touch allows me to swipe my hand across the screen to turn the page just like the book that it is, and my Sony is made of metal.:p;):D

cfrizz

j allen wrote: »

I want one, but I would love to have one with two full sized screens that opens up like a book. Well, more like a laptop actually, but I think simulating holding an actual book would be an added appeal.

Only for tech geeks, but I believe someone is working on one. The whole idea and appeal of readers is that they are small, lightweight, portable and can hold lots of books.

I like being able to hold my reader with one hand, but if you can simulate it if you buy a cover for it, then you can hold it with 2 hands if you like.

Ron-P

Reading is boring.

Shizelbs

Kindle rocks. iPad is terrible for reading. $139 is a great price. I got mine at $259 or whatever, and don't regret it for a second.

Ron-P

My wife wants something like one of these Nook / Kindle things. I honestly have no desire to look into these things. A girl at my work loves here Nook so I'll most likely get my wife one of those.

sucks2beme

I have one given as a gift. Why does a book that doesn't have to be
printed, shipped, stocked and sold out of a store cost almost as much
as a real one? I can resell a real one and more than break even.
Somebody out there needs a new business model.

george daniel

I suppose I'm a dinosaur,,I'll just turn the page.