the kindle - are you kidding me?- Page 2

[Unknown User]

Posted: 6/10/09 at 4:37pm

Taz, pay attention! KINDLE, not FLESHLIGHT.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 6/10/09 at 4:45pm

I've said this on the other Kindle threads: I have a Sony eBook reader and it is not fun or sexy to hold. It's unpleasant--or at any rate, it does not compete with a real book.

The Kindle does. Everyone I know who has bought a Kindle has become obsessed with reading on it. They personalize it the way the first iPods became personal to consumers.

People in the electronic book world have been saying for years that eBooks wouldn't become popular until a "box" was developed that was as satisfying to hold and read from as a hardcover or paperback book.

The Kindle is that, finally--a eBook reader you can read in bed or on mass transit, if not necessarily at the beach.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 6/10/09 at 4:58pm

PJ, is the Kindle device that different from the Sony? (Apart from its having a keyboard?)

[madbrian]

Posted: 6/10/09 at 5:06pm

My wife has a Kindle and absolutely loves it. The main difference between the Kindle and the Sony device is that the Kindle is totally wireless. You can download books without having to connect to a PC. Last I heard, the Sony device needed to be connected to a PC. With the Kindle, you can subscribe to magazines, newspapers, etc. Don't know if the Sony lets you do the same.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 6/10/09 at 5:09pm

No, you're right about that, Madbrian.

But I was wondering about PJ's saying that devices felt different in the hand. I absolutely agree that that was key (the old reader I had felt like I was holding a carton of Parmalat milk). I'm just not that familiar with the Kindle, and I was wondering how it was different in that way from the Sony.

[nearthestage]

Posted: 6/10/09 at 5:19pm

I have a Kindle 2 and love it. I'm in the research field and I travel good deal. I love having research materials (newspapers, magazines, blogs, etc)at my fingertips in a nice tidy package. I admit I'm a library rat, but when you're on Amtrak as much I am - the Kindle 2 is great. I'm not sure about the original Kindle - but the Kindle 2 has a dictionary available at the push of a button, also, if your eyes get tired or you're walking through the streets of New York or anywhere else - you can plug in your ear buds and the Kindle converts to reading to you - just like an audiobook. It's well worth the money I paid.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 6/10/09 at 5:32pm

The difference between the Sony eBook Reader and the Kindle is the difference between a transistor radio and and an iPod.

People love their Kindles--and they love reading on them.

No one loves their Sony.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 6/10/09 at 5:33pm

That's not really an answer, but ok.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 6/10/09 at 5:37pm

The Sony is just not pleasant. The Kindle is cool and fun and easy-to-read.

I only have a Sony here. One of my gadget-loving colleagues has one, and I tried it out a bit.

[StockardFan]

Posted: 6/10/09 at 5:38pm

My mom has one, but she travels back and forth between the States and Ireland and it's easier than lugging a bunch of books back and forth.

I just check my books out of the library.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 6/10/09 at 5:43pm

I was asking because I do like the Sony; I find it pleasant and asthetically pleasing. But I've never owned a Kindle, so I may well like that better.

On the other hand, I don't much want a gadget that I'd obsess over.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 6/10/09 at 5:49pm

Reg, I'll just let that one slide.

[tazber]

Posted: 6/10/09 at 6:05pm

LOL MM.

Reg, the kindle 2 is very light and easy to navigate. It's thinner that a classic ipod and about the size of trade paperback. It's also extremely lightweight.

It definitely does not feel like a box of Parmalat.

Haven't held the Sony so I can't compare though.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 6/10/09 at 6:30pm

The Sony is very light as well; also the size of a thin paperback. It has a nice leather(ish) cover that opens up, so I feel like I'm holding a book. The page forward and backward buttons are just by my right thumb, so go forward or backward seems fairly intuitive.

Again, I don't know the Kindle. It sounds as though it's much more sophisticated.

But aesthetically, I find the Sony pleasing. I'd be eager to try a Kindle.

All this being said, I'm still much, much happier reading a book. I really only like (and use) the reader for its portability when traveling. And for reading manuscripts for work.

[tazber]

Posted: 6/10/09 at 6:49pm

I'm still a book guy too. One of my main issues with the kindle is that it doesn't accomadate books with pictures very well. I was curious, so I browsed the Twilight making of book and all those color photos were just grey and brown.

Now, I wouldn't purchase a book like that per se, but there was a novel I wanted to get in which the author cleverly used drawings as excerpts from the protagonist's diary. It was edited perfectly in terms of the placement of the drawings. But a lot of that is lost on a portable device.

[Eris0303]

Posted: 6/10/09 at 9:08pm

I read a lot and have books everywhere. I am, also, a late technology adopter.

My biggest concern is that as a society we stare at so many small screens. Harsh glares and small print. How much damage are we doing to our eyes?

I've said before that my eye doctor encourages reading real books because it helps keep your eyes strong. I even do it without my contacts or glasses on.

Updated On: 6/10/09 at 09:08 PM

[Elphaba]

Posted: 6/10/09 at 11:08pm

they offer TONS of books free, and many are under $5, new are $9.99 which is considerably less than new hardbound in the store.
It is MUCH easier to travel with, and it does other things, ie you can email, etc.

Perhaps it's a problem for people in Ohio......It's one of the best investments I have ever made.

The Kindle beat Sony's hands down in Consumer Reports.....Sonys yoy download the books to your computer, and load on your reader....no thanks! Kindle, just downloads right to the kindle.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 6/10/09 at 11:16pm

What can't email anymore? I emailed the fridge from my toaster the other day.

I think after we run out of energy and civilization is almost extinct, I'll be glad I have some good old fashioned books to read. Of course, then my glasses will fall off and shatter on a rock and I'll be screwed. But still.

[StageManager2]

Posted: 6/10/09 at 11:21pm

You could always learn braille.

[Plum]

Posted: 6/11/09 at 12:32am

you can plug in your ear buds and the Kindle converts to reading to you - just like an audiobook

Okay, that I have to argue with, because I've used that feature, and it sounds more like an audiobook being read by a dyspeptic robot with a limited vocabulary. It's an amazing feature for vision-impaired users and others, but it's not comparable to an audiobook at the current state of the technology.

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 6/11/09 at 1:02am

The best way to get Kindle. Ask for it for Christmas. That's how I got my Kindle 2 this year. I can't get enough of it.

I subscribe to the New York Times for $15 a month, and it gets delivered every morning when I turn it on.

Since it syncs to your Amazon.com account, if you are interest in reading a booking you can buy it or sample of from the website or Kindle itself. If you buy or sample from Amazon.com, it'll download next time you turn it on. So I have ton of samples and soon as I want to buy it, I can click on the sample, buy it and I have it in less than a minute.

In terms of eye strain, you can adjust the size of the text, but even better, because it is not an illuminated screen, you can read for long stretches of time without discomfort.

[Eris0303]

Posted: 6/11/09 at 1:21am

I think after we run out of energy and civilization is almost extinct, I'll be glad I have some good old fashioned books to read

Unless that Commie Liza has burned them all.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 6/11/09 at 11:58am

Buh-buh-buh-but....KINDLE!!

[tazber]

Posted: 6/11/09 at 12:02pm

Did the fridge reply, Namo?

Does anyone else get those little "proof of receipt" thingies on e-mails?
I hate when people send them like that. I never acknowledge receipt just to annoy them.

[Elphaba]

Posted: 6/11/09 at 12:26pm

and.....the new Kindle will be bigger, as they are anticipating students using them for textbooks, and that is already happening.
Some schools are testing out the idea. Imagine not having to lug around 10 textbooks, etc.

I refuse to buy the third generation Kindle, because, once again, they give nothing off to loyal users, who got the first, and then got kindle 2...plus.

And once I sell my Kindle 1 on EBAY, I can pretend my Kindle 2 cost less.

Papa I am about as early a tech adopter as one can be.....and for the most part has worked for me.