Amazon's Kindle

[fls]

I'm interested in getting the Kindle (caveat: at this point, you'd have to talk me out of it). What do Kindle owners here have to say about it?

Linda

 

[Formerly]

I could go on and on and on about mine - I love it!

The only disadvantage is that

1. I have a limited budget and about a million books I want to get for it. I'm glad some of what I want is out of copyright and available through Project Gutenberg.

2. Not *all* books are out for it. There's still a lot that I'd like to read on it that isn't there yet. Maybe someday, but in the meantime I just wander the Kindle store and see tons of stuff that IS available for it that I WILL get (downloading the 'samples' is a nice way to keep a running 'want list' in your Kindle)

Anything specifically you're curious about?

 

[RoboTimbo]

I'm interested in getting the Kindle (caveat: at this point, you'd have to talk me out of it). What do Kindle owners here have to say about it?

Linda

I'd be interested also. I was an early adopter of the Rocket ebook years ago and used it a lot. The last few years I've just been using a pocket pc.

 

[Ichneumonwasp]

When does the new version come out? I'm waiting for that since I understand that most of the kinks of Kindle 1.0 have been worked out.

I want one, I want one.

 

[fls]

Anything specifically you're curious about?

Whether or not owners are enthusiastic (thanks for your input).

Any aspects that are annoying or unsatisfactory. Whether the kinds of books we (JREF forumites) are likely to want to read are available. If there are rumours that some of the available features (no extra fee for downloading the book through the data network, free internet access) are likely to change.

Linda

 

[Formerly]

Any aspects that are annoying or unsatisfactory. Whether the kinds of books we (JREF forumites) are likely to want to read are available.

Annoying things: I find the experimental internet option annoying and frustrating (Though, I know it's 'experimental'). I like speedy, and speedy it is not. I do still use it when I'm out and about and want to look up something on Wiki, but only after I've found a comfy chair and am prepared to sit a bit if you know what I mean. Even on 4+ bars, the browser rendering is slow.

I find cookbooks on Kindle to be somewhat annoying to read, that's just a personal thing, I guess some things I'll continue to prefer print for. I have a subscription to Reason magazine and Asimov's Science Fiction magazine through Kindle and find them easy to read and navigate. And I notice I'm more apt to read 'everything' rather than picking and choosing my favorite stuff, so I probably get more out of everything this way.


I'll give a few books that folks here may like, I know everyone runs the spectrum of interests here so I'll just throw out a few popular ones:

Voodoo Science by Robert Park
Snake Oil Science by R. Barker Bausell
Science Friction by Michael Shermer
The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins (as well as a few other Dawkins books)
God is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens (as well as a few other Hitchens books)
Death From the Skies! by Phil Plait
Stiff: The Curious Life of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach

For fiction:
Dexter books are all on Kindle
some Douglas Adams
Anathem and other Neal Stephenson works
Lots of Tween science fiction/fantasy making its way to Kindle, as well as a lot of older sci-fi.

The coolest thing is that you can, by design, share books between family members with Kindle if you link them on Amazon. So if I read the first Dexter book and my husband wants to also with his Kindle, we don't pay for it twice. I wish that worked with the magazines. =(

I dunno if they'll start charging for free stuff. I'll just hang in there and see, but I'd be willing to pay a little more than I am right now for the convenience factor.

 

[calebprime]

Whether or not owners are enthusiastic (thanks for your input).

Any aspects that are annoying or unsatisfactory. Whether the kinds of books we (JREF forumites) are likely to want to read are available. If there are rumours that some of the available features (no extra fee for downloading the book through the data network, free internet access) are likely to change.

Linda

as fls (Linda) knows, ol' Cp don't need no stinkin' evidence.

Books are already perfect. I hate gadgets, anyway.

Books smell good. And they encourage harvesting of our forest resources! Everyone knows trees are causing pollution.

Pry my old-fashioned analog book from my sweaty, shaking hands, just go ahead.

If you don't like a book, you can throw it against the wall.

I did this with Listening to Prozac so many times I had to buy a new copy.

Dogs, also, like to chew books.

Eating Poetry
Ink runs from the corners of my mouth.
There is no happiness like mine.
I have been eating poetry.
The librarian does not believe what she sees.
Her eyes are sad
and she walks with her hands in her dress.
The poems are gone.
The light is dim.
The dogs are on the basement stairs and coming up.
Their eyeballs roll,
their blond legs burn like brush.
The poor librarian begins to stamp her feet and weep.
She does not understand.
When I get on my knees and lick her hand,
she screams.
I am a new man,
I snarl at her and bark,
I romp with joy in the bookish dark.

-Mark Strand

 

[Nick Bogaerts]

Please don't. Please don't, for the sake of convenience, allow Amazon to erode your rights. A book you bought you own, and can resell, lend, give away, or even keep, at your sole discretion. You get none of those with the Kindle.

If you don't, we'll end up in a world like this like this:

The coolest thing is that you can, by design, share books between family members with Kindle if you link them on Amazon. So if I read the first Dexter book and my husband wants to also with his Kindle, we don't pay for it twice. I wish that worked with the magazines. =(

How generous! how magnanimous! Amazon, in their infinite kindness, have given you their permission to what used to be a mere of a fraction of your rights.

It's not worth it.

Here, a few resources:
The Kindle Swindle (Defective By Design)
The Future of Reading (Mark Pilgrim)
The Right to Read (Richard Stallman)

 

[Sasha]

Thanks for starting this thread, fls. I've been looking at the Kindle also. It looks like just the thing for me; I read a lot in bed and haven't bought a hardbacked book in years because it's so hard to hold up while lying down. This would also allow me to read my favorite authors when they first come out instead of waiting for them in paperback. The ability to enlarge the font is also an attractive feature. I've been watching for the next version to come out and will probably get it then.

I wouldn't worry about books becoming extinct - even with this device, I'll still be at the used bookseller once a month and will always be looking for books in any store that carries them.

As far as passing along a book to someone else and not being able to with the Kindle, if I read a book I want to share, I usually buy it for the person I know will enjoy it - that way I can have my copy to re-read if I want to. I don't see the Kindle as an "end to books" but rather an increase in reading, how can that be bad?

 

[fls]

Please don't. Please don't, for the sake of convenience, allow Amazon to erode your rights. A book you bought you own, and can resell, lend, give away, or even keep, at your sole discretion. You get none of those with the Kindle.

I was already aware that an electronic reader will have different attributes than a physical book. If those things are critical or important to me, I am not so dense as to fail to recognize that the medium will influence my ability to do those things. As far as I can tell, Amazon is not interfering with my right to choose, as they are upfront about the extent to which the content is transferable/movable.

It's not worth it.

Really? I'm curious as to why these are the critical characteristics of a book or of the reading experience?

@ calebprime:
I must needs be sampling the full range of the written-word experience. Will some be neglected with the introduction of another? Doubtful.

Linda

 

[fls]

Thanks for your review, Formerly. That was helpful.

Has anyone used it on a treadmill or other exercise device?

Linda

 

[JJM]

Yeah, Linda, thanks for starting this thread. Some libraries have Kindle's you can borrow and test drive. I suspect your public library is part of a regional system, like mine; which gives me access to 2/3 of the libraries in the state.

I have had terrible experiences with how slow electronic books are, OnLine, with the fastest connections. I suspect I can flip back 5 pages, or forward to a new chapter-subheading, faster by hand than one can do on a Kindle (and I bounce around books quite a bit). I am interested in hearing from users on this.

A difference between Kindle and print is like the difference between a violin and a fiddle- nobody cries when beer spills on a fiddle.

 

[Kaylee]

I agree with NB. Why not buy an e-book reader that uses open format files instead?

 

[fls]

I agree with NB. Why not buy an e-book reader that uses open format files instead?

What advantage does this give me?

Linda

 

[Kaylee]

You aren’t locked into a proprietary format. You are free to purchase reading materials with the usual rights which means that you can lend e-books to your family, friends and acquaintances just like you can now with other reading materials (e.g., books, magazines, newspapers).

Also, in the long run, if the majority of consumers decide to stay with the open formats, the odds increase that e-books and other e-reading materials will remain affordable.

 

[fls]

You aren’t locked into a proprietary format. You are free to purchase reading materials with the usual rights which means that you can lend e-books to your family, friends and acquaintances just like you can now with other reading materials (e.g., books, magazines, newspapers).

Are no limits placed on the redistribution of copyrighted material? That sounds like I would be contributing to the abuse of intellectual property.

I very infrequently find myself in a situation where I am lending reading material, so I will admit that this is a very low priority with me.

Also, in the long run, if the majority of consumers decide to stay with the open formats, the odds increase that e-books and other e-reading materials will remain affordable.

To be honest, I tend to make my purchases on the basis of whether or not it satisfies my desires/needs. Aren't those providers that use open formats free to provide products that appeal to someone who would otherwise choose the Kindle?

Linda

 

[Kaylee]

Are no limits placed on the redistribution of copyrighted material? That sounds like I would be contributing to the abuse of intellectual property.

I very infrequently find myself in a situation where I am lending reading material, so I will admit that this is a very low priority with me.

I use to borrow and lend books and CDSs (does that date me? ) pretty frequently -- not so much now adays though.

To be honest, I tend to make my purchases on the basis of whether or not it satisfies my desires/needs. Aren't those providers that use open formats free to provide products that appeal to someone who would otherwise choose the Kindle?

Sure. But, and maybe someone else can phrase this better than I can, I think the Amazon business model (in regard to the Krindle only) is terrible for consumers. I personally have no wish to encourage it in anyway.

I have a strong imagination and it doesn't take much for me to imagine a Philip K. Dicksonian future where every new book has to be purchased with an expensive and proprietary reader and software -- perhaps a different one for each publisher.

I'd go for the ilLad or Sony e-book reader first -- or maybe even an Asus or equivalent.

 

[BenBurch]

I use my iPod to read books. Not sold on the Kindle because if your kindle breaks, you lose you books; as I understand it they are keyed to that one device.

 

[Charlie Monoxide]

I agree with NB. Why not buy an e-book reader that uses open format files instead?

I've had an Sony ebook reader for about 3 years now. It lives next to my bed and travels with me when needed. It can handle many open formats (ie doc, txt and pdf limited). It looks great in bright light (as well as the Kindle). Using just the built-in memory, you can have at least 30-50 books installed.

Sony also sells ebooks and there's always Gutenburg.

I also recommend checking the various ebook Usenet groups for content as well.

Charlie (read or die) Monoxide

 

[Geek Goddess]

I researched the Kindle and the Sony, and picked the Kindle. After two weeks, I ordered another one and gave it to my son, who serves on a submarine and has enough personal space allotted to him to ALMOST hold his spare uniform. I preloaded about 15 books I thought he would like (this was his birthday/Christmas/everything gift for the next two years!!). He received it a few days before deployment, and had several shipmates order one.

Which leads to one of the reasons I love it. I travel a bit on business, and found it cumbersome to carry 3-4 books with me. I frequently ran out of stuff to read, and would find a bookstore and buy things there. This is not an easy thing to do in small rural towns, and the airport bookstores have poor selections. Now, I always have a dozen books with me. It will never replace my paper library, but that was not my intention.

I like the selection on Amazon, and I expect it to improve. For every Kindle book I buy, I also end up ordering a few real books. I like the wireless delivery. The internet browsing is a bit slow, but that's not why I got the thing. I carry it with me everywhere, so I am never stuck in a doctor's office with crappy magazines.

Charts and graphs are a bit difficult to read. Even when I make the font the maximum size (I have poor visions), the charts remain the same, so I would not recommend buying the Kindle version of a book that has tables and charts unless you have excellent eyes.

With an SD card, the Kindle will hold (about?) 200 books. However, everything you have purchased on Amazon stays permanently under your account, and you can reload it at a future date if you run out of room, or screw up your ram.

I use my iPod to read books. Not sold on the Kindle because if your kindle breaks, you lose you books; as I understand it they are keyed to that one device.

This is not quite true. It IS keyed to one device, but if you damage the device and get a replacement, you simply register the new one under your account and delete the old Kindle. And then you re-download the books you want to read, either wirelessly or via a cable, at no additional cost. Different than iTunes, for instance, where if you lost your music they don't let you get another copy without paying for it.