Amazon Kindle - Anyone tried it?

[azzam]

And then, what are you going to wrap your fish and chips in?

I spect it would save a few trees though, I'll give you that.

[TheD]

Vintage Straits Times?

[Bender]

should I wait for the 2nd generation?

Wait. They're getting cheaper. More features too, soon they'll have GPS, phone, music and PDA functionality. Then we'll have all these schizophrenic devices that try to do everything.

[cromasaig]

Or, you could just buy a book.

[Kooky]

I was obviously sans internet when this thread first went up. Confused, what's new? ebooks have been around for years as have dedicated ebook readers, haven't they? I remember looking at them before we left the UK, and I did used to read on my old PDA until my eyes went. Neo always reads books this way, although it's proving a bit of a challenge on his Blackberry Pearl.

Great for travellers.

[cromasaig]

1) A book's batteries won't go flat during the last chapter.
2) You can read it in the bath.
3) You can fall asleep on a book without frying your brain or setting fire to your pillow.
4) As others have pointed out, it smells better.
5) Try drying a Kindle out over a radiator.
6) You can't have a favourite edition, with just the right cover, just the right paper and just the right font.
7) I don't think your descendants are ever going to treasure your download of [insert favourite classic here].

I'm not a Luddite but I find it difficult to believe that we're going to be able to improve on the fundamental design of a book in my lifetime.

[Kooky]

I AM a Luddite so I'm not going to attempt to tell you how many books I can get on my PDA, but I'm sure it's far more than I can get in my luggage.

I love books, and I'm touchy feely so I love reading and turning the pages (and, hell, I still buy CDs) but ebooks do have their uses.

[slinky]

Besides all that, what would we fill our (book)shelves with????

[cromasaig]

I downloaded a book onto my laptop once for a train journey. Dracula. I simply couldn't generate any kind of emotional attachment (for want of a better expression) to the story. That may well be because mentally I associate laptop with work and perhaps with practice I could get used to the different medium, but I'm not sure I want to.

You're right that e-books have their benefits (We're paying $400 a month on two storage units for a library in the UK, for example), but it's not for me. Check with me in five years and see if I've cracked.

By the way, just read The Moon and Sixpence. Fantastic. Always nice when one of those books you 'ought' to have read turns out to be really good.

BTW again, really I think I should've said 'one ought', but it seems a bit much on t'internet. Opinions on appropriate use?

[Burbage]

Funnily enough, for all the reasons that Cromasaig mentioned, books are the one copyrighted medium that has hardly been affected at all by digital piracy. Simple reason is that people prefer books to reading PDAs.

Another advantage:

With books you can quickly flick back to check that you read something correctly (essential with an Agatha Christie for example) and with reference books you can hold open six pages at once really easily, or you can have six reference books spread upon a table so that you can virtually simultaneously check them all. Try doing that with a PDA.

[BFG]

...and how can you hide a copy of "Penthouse Readers Letters" in a Kindle?

[BoD]

You read the letters? !!

[Burbage]

And you can't swat a fly with a PDA.

[azzam]

You can't borrow a kindle from a friend and never give it back.

[Fat Bob]

Yes you can. Just more expensive if you hit anything other than the fly!

I'd be interested in trying it, I like the idea of being able to check out an online store prior to holiday and downloading a few books. Doing this whilst actually on holiday without a traditional internet connection would be great, but at the mo it's linked in only to Sprint in the US.

Never read an online book before, but I think the ideas behind this are different to a PDF on a laptop, just like to see it working first.

And I don't know if I'd want to shed USPeso300 for one.

[Burbage]

You said all that before FB.

I have used the PDA to read books at times, and it isn't bad, and there is some quite good software. The auto scoll idea seems quite good, but then you have to read at the pace of the scroller, whereas most people don't read at a set rate, so it becomes awkward after a while. Maybe some eye tracking device might be the answer. But reading an actual book is just a lot more pleasant. And it's not as if you need to read 400 books at once.

[BFG]

You read the letters? !!

...with one hand...



I can't believe I typed that....

[baloo]

You read the letters? !!

...with one hand...

yet another keyboard ruined.

[BFG]

With coffee, I hope....

[Bender]

should I wait for the 2nd generation?

Wait. They're getting cheaper. More features too, soon they'll have GPS, phone, music and PDA functionality. Then we'll have all these schizophrenic devices that try to do everything.

...and now they're free, if you have an iPhone/iPod Touch.

(Yes, I know, it's an old thread.)

[Fat Bob]

Hmmmm....not sure I'd want to read a book on such a small screen. Would be interested in giving it a go but think I'd prefer the kindle. If it didn't cost so much $$$

[expat yorkshire]

The interesting development will be the new apple mini tablet due later this year, which will also be the right size to be an ebook reader .

Why buy a Kindle when for a bit more you can have a apple ?

http://www.macpredictions.com/2009/04/i ... ockup.html

[Bender]

apple mini tablet due later this year

The rumours about this also say it may be released next year and that it may run iPhone OS. There are also rumours of two larger versions which will run Mac OS. Time will tell.

There's to be an announcement by Apple on the 9th of this month, and the rumours are that new iPods with cameras will be announced. It looks like new iPods will be coming as the current ones are now in runout at the shops.

Been thinking about getting a mac for a while. I'll wait and see whether a tablet surfaces.

[slinky]

If I'm going to have books on my iPod touch, I'd rather they were audio books I can listen to - wouldn't want to read a full-length book on that little screen.

[Burbage]

hmm... interesting idea.