eReaders

[Proto]

Had a look at an Amazon Kindle 2 the other day (my brother in law's, he reckons it's fantastic) and I must agree that it looks a quality bit of kit, and in terms of hardware I can't imagine it will get much better. However, it would seem that the Kindle is somewhat limited in which file formats it can read, and further handicapped by only being able to download from the Amazon site and not one of the multitude of other sites offering eBooks. Or have I got this last bit wrong?

Plenty of other readers out there, Sony, iRiver, etc, and including, I suppose, the iPad, but anyone actually bought one? How do you choose? Help!!

 

[ian turner]

KIndle 3 supports pdf but not ePub.
The iPad makes a very expensive book reader so you would either have to be loaded or see a more general need for it beyond
book reading and a gadget fetish.
Book readers need to get down to around £50 but I'll still stick with books for the moment.

 

[scots_lass]

One of the good things about buying paperbacks is that you can swap/give/sell them on to family and friends. I guess with an e-book reader you can't download a good book to a friend's e-book reader.

 

[marzjennings]

I'm not rushing to get any of the current ereaders as I reckon by this time next year they'll be at least half the price, all colour and with a host of extra features.

Plus with any luck flexible..

 

[woohoo]

One thing to be aware of is apparently Amazon are considering embedding ads in e-books.

 

[PaulSB]

I borrow audio CDs from the library, put them on my iPod and listen to books on a regular basis. Very relaxing and great for when it's difficult to read such as driving to work. If I'm using some form of electronic book "reading" I prefer to listen rather than read a screen.

 

[srw]

We have a Sony - the original small one, not the larger touch-screen job. It was very useful for a long bike tour! It came with a large bundle of free classic (i.e. out of copyright) books, and so far we haven't bothered going beyond those.

It's just as easy to read as a real book, unlike a laptop (where the glare gets tiring after a while). The only down-sides are that you can't use it while it's charging itself up, and the software isn't especially bright in places.

 

[vikingcyclist]

We have a Sony - the original small one, not the larger touch-screen job. It was very useful for a long bike tour! It came with a large bundle of free classic (i.e. out of copyright) books, and so far we haven't bothered going beyond those.

I've done the same, although after exhausting the books I wanted to read from the free list I hunted down a few sites which provide free (legal) ebooks, or ones for a small cost. Generally these are written by authors who couldn't get published, but there are a few gems among the dross. I do still buy books, but when travelling always take the ebook reader instead.

It's also handy for work as I have PDF versions of all my technical manuals on an SD card.

It's just as easy to read as a real book, unlike a laptop (where the glare gets tiring after a while). The only down-sides are that you can't use it while it's charging itself up, and the software isn't especially bright in places.

Yep - couldn't agree with you more. Very comfortable to read, where on a backlit screen I generally need to take a break after a couple of hours. The battery life is quite stunning as well - I read a lot and usually have to charge about once a fortnight, once a week if I have more free time than usual.

 

[byegad]

I have had a Sony PRS505 reader for nearly two years now. I like the ability to take lots of books with me when I'm away from home and that alone makes it worth the money. Apart from the 100 or so 'free' books that come with it, all of which are 'classics' or to put in another way out of copyright, I've bought several books from Waterstone's, Amazon and W H Smith as well as getting a number of free books from various free ebook sites.
Currently it has some 80 books on it and I'm going on holiday soon so will be able to take them all in a 'slim volume'. In the past I've taken three paper books for a week away and still run out of reading material.

Pluses, as above, easy to read, you have three print size options, battery easily lasts a fortnight away from home so no charger needed, the unit will work with almost all formats (except Microsoft reader!)

Minuses, price, I paid £200 for the reader and ebooks costs are frankly not a lot cheaper than discounted paperback prices and can be as much as a hardback for new releases, (This is a rip off give production costs are minuscule compared to paper and as the market grows surely competition will drive this down.), purchase sites are almost all hard to navigate. Some will search for eBooks and the results are a mix of e Readers, eBooks and paper books, others have multiple formats some of which are Audiobooks in the list. The market is young ans still evolving, the first time I shopped for a new ebook was a nightmare, it's still not easy but W H Smiths has the best site so far, although it's still not that easy to navigate.

Big plus. My wife no longer rolls her eyes when I tell her I've bought yet another book, our living room already looks more like a library than it should.

 

[vikingcyclist]

Minuses, price, I paid £200 for the reader and ebooks costs are frankly not a lot cheaper than discounted paperback prices and can be as much as a hardback for new releases, (This is a rip off give production costs are minuscule compared to paper and as the market grows surely competition will drive this down.), purchase sites are almost all hard to navigate. Some will search for eBooks and the results are a mix of e Readers, eBooks and paper books, others have multiple formats some of which are Audiobooks in the list. The market is young ans still evolving, the first time I shopped for a new ebook was a nightmare, it's still not easy but W H Smiths has the best site so far, although it's still not that easy to navigate.

Big plus. My wife no longer rolls her eyes when I tell her I've bought yet another book, our living room already looks more like a library than it should.

For books:
www.gutenberg.org
www.manybooks.net
www.feedbooks.com
www.booksinmyphone.com

The readers themselves have dropped quite a lot in price since coming out, though they're still pricey at around £100 on average.

 

[martint235]

I've got a Kindle on order from Amazon. I'm hoping it will do for my books what my ipod did to my cd collection. I like the idea of being able to carry numerous books around in a small "package". Also I have Kindle software on my phone and apparently the software will update both versions with how far I've got in a book. So read a bit on my phone at lunchtime, continue automatically from the same place on the Kindle when I get home.

Now if only I could find a way to stop buying new books in anticipation of it arriving.........

 

[MrGrumpy]

hoping to get one for my xmas was going to just buy one but SWMBO said no !

 

[martint235]

hoping to get one for my xmas was going to just buy one but SWMBO said no !

Yeah me too, just ignored her and promised to come up with a different Xmas list. Some things just gotta be done...

 

[BentMikey]

Quite a few epub books available here:

http://fxzer.com/f146/ipad-ipod-iphone-ibooks-collection-epub-ebooks-7-05-10-a-15600.html

 

[ufkacbln]

Epub is having problems as the encryption varies between formats is changing and there are now three formats.

Having said that the fact that Sony is still remaining with the format(ish)

Rumour has it that there are up to three new models on the launch and with different formats from the older models and no updated software for the older ones.

There are also suggested problems if the DRM handling changes and aren't compatible between the formats even if the book files themselves are.

Unfortunately this is almost becoming a VHS / Betamax repeat.

Personally I have a PRS505 for use at home and work, with a smaller PRS300 for travelling.

Wouldn't be without either!