Does anyone have a Kindle?

[Johanna]

Does anyone have a Kindle? Like it? Why or why not? Anyone have the DX version? Is it it worth the extra dollars?

[esantoro]

I don't have one, but I'd wait a year or two for a company to come out with an e-book reader that will open all sorts of text files without the need to upload anything.

I think these devices are two generations away from being desirable.

Edit: Just now read that the DX is the latest generation and does have native support for PDFs. Very nice. I still think $250 is the proper price and will wait until then. By then, though, the competition will have improved.

ed

Does anyone have a Kindle? Like it? Why or why not? Anyone have the DX version? Is it it worth the extra dollars?

Edited June 8, 2009 by esantoro

[dbusarow]

I agree with Ed. I've used my Palm Pilot for reading ebooks and it worked just fine for a lot less money. That was 5 years ago when my eyes were better and I didn't need reading glasses though

Now I use my old Mac ibook with an 8" screen. You can buy a new diskless laptop for under $300.

Dan

[esantoro]

I agree with Ed. I've used my Palm Pilot for reading ebooks and it worked just fine for a lot less money. That was 5 years ago when my eyes were better and I didn't need reading glasses though

Now I use my old Mac ibook with an 8" screen. You can buy a new diskless laptop for under $300.

Dan

I was also thinking about how a netbook would be a better purchase right now for the money. I did go and take a look at the Kindle DX and it is an improvement over the last generation.

When I read ebooks, I want to be able to copy and paste passages to a text file. I'm not sure the kindle can do that.

ed

[Leerwerker]

I do not have one, but my friend do, and I had a good look at his a few weeks ago.

I think it is a must, if you read a lot. The electronic paper is totally different from any computer screen. The eye-relaxing reading on the kindle makes it feel like you are staring into a laser pointer when you read on a normal computer screen again.

The only reason I do not have one, is that I do not have a lot of time to sit and just read (I get more read in my car using Audio books). And I do not have the money for a Kindle ....

[TwinOaks]

It looks like a neat solution in search of a problem. No offense, but given the continuing rate of advances in technology, this seems to be a step backwards.

When the system includes a roll away screen (reference US Display Consortium) then it'll be more interesting.

[Echo4V]

I'm waiting on one with a GPS built in. I mean think about it, driving a long (well hopefully someone else is driving while you're reading) and you need directions. Just pull up the GPS and get directions then go back to reading.

David

[leatheroo]

i have been reading books in ebook format for years...first a pda then a pda phone and now i use the iphone...the iphone is by far the best reader i have ever used...the free stanza app will let you read any format...Lit...palm...web pages...etc...with the windows based pda i always had to convert to microsoft lit...but with the iphone no conversion needed. i like having to carry only one piece of equipment that does everything...with the iphone i have music, books, phone and all my photos (over 2000).

[Johanna]

So what you folks are saying is that a Kindle is redundant with the technology that exists in our laptops and cell phones. I wonder if I could break the "stuff-the-book-in-my-purse" habit anyway?

Thanks for your opinions!

Johanna

[esantoro]

Battery life on the kindle is nice, but I don't think it is worth the current asking price. The DX does have some nice improvements. I think the usefulness of the kindle increases a lot in metropolitan areas where public transportation is the rule, but even in that situation I seem to prefer MP3 audio books on an MP3 player.

I thought about getting a netbook to use as an ebook reader and whatever else, but my rule is that if the tech isn't vitally important right now, I'll wait until the price goes too low to pass up.

ed

So what you folks are saying is that a Kindle is redundant with the technology that exists in our laptops and cell phones. I wonder if I could break the "stuff-the-book-in-my-purse" habit anyway?

Thanks for your opinions!

Johanna

[BradB]

I have an Iphone 3g (price has dropped to $99, with the new version 3g S coming out). It has a kindle app that you can load, I have it loaded and have read 4 books so far and it is really great. I was thinking of getting a Kindle (they are very nice, I borrowed a friends), but the Iphone app works great for me!

[Echo4V]

When you get a kindle, does it come with books loaded or do you have buy the books and download them? Is this the same for the iphone?

David

[tashabear]

When you get a kindle, does it come with books loaded or do you have buy the books and download them? Is this the same for the iphone?

David

You buy the books and download them, same with the iPhone.

I have a Kindle, first gen, and I'd love it a lot more if the battery life were better. I was an early adopter, though, and the first gen batteries are not as good as later versions. I just need to pony up the $20 for a new battery. That being said, I love the ability to preview samples of books, and to download books on the spot. I'm an instant gratification kind of girl.

I do have the Kindle app for my iPod touch, however, and use it often. It's great when standing in line at the grocery store.

[rickybobby]

Johanna,

I just heard on NPR today that Google was getting ready to launch a new book app. I did not get all the info but the jest of it was, no need to down load books, they stay on Google and you read from there. Amazon is having a fit because it will appeal to a larger audience (those with computers & laptops already)

Look into it before you jump for the Kindle

Rick Jorgenson

[hidepounder]

Does anyone have a Kindle? Like it? Why or why not? Anyone have the DX version? Is it it worth the extra dollars?

Johanna.....How would I know, I can't see back there...are they permanent and is there a cure?

Seriously concerned!

Bob

[esantoro]

Johanna has sparked my intermittent interest in tech gadgets.

For a long time I've been interested in HTC smartphone PDAs. Here's a link to an old model. Current models could be had for about $250 new.

http://msmobiles.com/news.php/5424.html

I like the ability to have Excel, Acrobat, MS Word, mp3 audio and AVI film, other programs, and telephone service all in one portable device with the option of having backup batteries available.

I also already have tons of Mobile Windows programs at my disposal from when I had a Compaq IPAQ a few years ago. Does anyone know if a lot of the current smartphone/PDAs use Mobile Windows or some proprietary OS that requires proprietary programs?

ed

[gtwister09]

Just a recent tidbit on the Kindle....

They can delete books directly from your machine and they just did. Now here's the rest of the story. It deleted Orwell's 1984 and Animal Farm. Ironic that one of them was about big brother, censorship and complete control of man. Hmmmmmmm. Here are some articles about class action lawsuits and such against them as well as the Orwellian saga.

Kindle Articles Fast Company

Regards,

Ben

[TomSwede]

Can I put the tracingfilm over it and still get a good clear image to draw from?? Oh, pic resizing would be a neat feature in it for that scenario.

Tom

[Jordan]

Just a personal observation, there are some things that just shouldn't be messed with. Books should be paper and ink. It is bad enough that in the workplace if the computers go down no one knows how to do their jobs manually. If the kindle goes down, will they still remember how to read. I think it is just one more piece of technology to mess things up and dictate to people what they can and cannot read. Don't own one never will unless the government finds a way to force me. Maybe they will inject a chip or something while I sleep.... where the hell did I put my tinfoil hat? those microwaves are working overtime today!

[Johanna]

Just a recent tidbit on the Kindle....

They can delete books directly from your machine and they just did. Now here's the rest of the story. It deleted Orwell's 1984 and Animal Farm. Ironic that one of them was about big brother, censorship and complete control of man. Hmmmmmmm. Here are some articles about class action lawsuits and such against them as well as the Orwellian saga.

Kindle Articles Fast Company

Regards,

Ben

I read that the other day in the newspaper and the irony was not lost on me. I've been keeping up with the MS updates that are getting delivered and installed even when the machine is set to not auto update. I also am the victim of a scam involving legal downloads of MP3s that I can only hear on my computer because they have DRM (digital rights management) built into them so I can't burn them to a cd or put them on my MP3 player even though I paid my money for them.

I had thought about a Kindle and all the convenience, but I do most of my reading in the bathtub, with the door locked so no kids can get in and bother me, and like my husband pointed out, what if I drop the Kindle? Books dry out.

Johanna

[tashabear]

I had thought about a Kindle and all the convenience, but I do most of my reading in the bathtub, with the door locked so no kids can get in and bother me, and like my husband pointed out, what if I drop the Kindle? Books dry out.

Johanna

The first gen kindle fits nicely in a quart-sized Ziploc.

Just a personal observation, there are some things that just shouldn't be messed with. Books should be paper and ink. It is bad enough that in the workplace if the computers go down no one knows how to do their jobs manually. If the kindle goes down, will they still remember how to read.

Are you serious? The Kindle is just another way to deliver text. I really don't think "forgetting how to read" is an issue with e-books.

[Jordan]

No not serious maybe tin foil hat is on a little tight today, but over dependence on technology is one reason people are losing interpersonal skills in the workplace.

[JohnBarton]

Just a personal observation, there are some things that just shouldn't be messed with. Books should be paper and ink. It is bad enough that in the workplace if the computers go down no one knows how to do their jobs manually. If the kindle goes down, will they still remember how to read. I think it is just one more piece of technology to mess things up and dictate to people what they can and cannot read. Don't own one never will unless the government finds a way to force me. Maybe they will inject a chip or something while I sleep.... where the hell did I put my tinfoil hat? those microwaves are working overtime today!

LOL. Well since the Kindle is for reading I'd guess that they would know how to read. The real question is would they know how FIND information without being tethered to the internet? Does anyone know how to go to a library anymore and find information the old fashioned way with a card index file? Do libraries even use non-electronic filing anymore?

I personally like the idea of ebooks. I am reading a lot of the classics now on my new Ipod Touch. I have a whole library at my fingertips. I downloaded all of the stories from the Brothers Grimm to read to my baby. I am a nomadic sort. I left more than 20 boxes of books behind in the USA. Most of them I donated to others before I left.

I carried most of the books with me around the world for 20 years. Now I have more than that in my pocket or at my fingertips.

That said, there is nothing about reading anything on any computer device that can replace the tactile good warm feeling of reading a book or magazine. Books are natural, they feel good, they don't run out of battery life, you can take them anywhere and not worry about dropping them. You can fall asleep reading a book and not worry about it when you find it on the floor in the morning or crushed under your pillow.

Lastly, to speak to the Big Brother mentality, I find the idea that with electronic devices your every move is tracked - ostensibly for customer service reasons - to be completely repulsive. More repugnant is the idea that "they" can go into your machine and delete items you have on it. My Ipod touch is jailbroken. I have turned off Apple's killswitch so they cannot just go in and disable whatever they want to.

I find Apple's products to be very nice and cool but their controlling nature to be very much like the "Big Brother" that they were supposed to be against in their iconic Superbowl ad in 1984 where the lone protester is standing up to Big Brother. Now Apple has become that which they said they would never be. Much more so than Microsoft whose products are not as sexy and "cool" but in fact are a lot less restrictive.

Is the Kindle worth it? Not to me when I can get an Ipod touch or even an Iphone for about the same price and still get just about every book in the world on it. And I can do a lot more than read books.

There I have addressed everything in one post. Going to listen to a podcast now :-)