Amazon's Kindle

Its value is definitely overwhelmed by its cost. Generally speaking I avoid anything locked down with DRM like the plague.

I mean, it's a great space saver if you're not fussed about having a bookshelf. But I prefer the feel of paper. And besides, I have a long history of poor relations with gadgets.

I just received a Kindle 2 yesterday from my workplace (they bought everyone a Kindle for the annual Christmas present). I played around with it for a few minutes and it seems pretty user friendly, but I haven't downloaded anything yet. I'll play with it more this weekend and tell you what I think.

I do think these sound pretty nifty, but I wonder if they'll ever truly catch on. Everyone I've talked to seems to like reading books that are actually books.

They just announced the Kindle DX (a larger kindle for handling textbook type stuff). Besides its ridiculous price of $500 it's actually starting to tempt me into maybe picking one up.

The new Kindle also natively supports PDF so it would be great for keeping all the PDF copies of pen and paper RPGs in a non-shelf bending collection.

Full specs:

Now if they were a 1/3 of the price they might be marketable. The small one need to be under a $100, and the big one be under $150.

If Amazon could work with textbook publishers they could use the DX (priced as a steal compared to buying school textbooks) to revolutionize that industry, and ensure that future generations of students have weaker backs.

College students would go nuts for it, especially those studying math and science since those are more textbook reliant. $500 is a bit steep but that's a steal compared to how much they end up paying out over the years for textbooks.

Future students will miss out on the following Economic lesson:
They will need to sell back 3 of the books they paid over $100 each for mere months before in order to almost afford that $20 bag of weed they've had their eye on.

But you don't get free textbooks with it, that's the thing. You're just buying the device that can hold the textbooks. You still need to pay EXTRA to get the books.

If schools/textbook publishers were willing to subsidize it because they knew they wouldn't have to deal with used book sales it might make more sense.

Obviously. There's nothing that says the books would be free. But without the need for ridiculously high production costs, textbooks could (COULD, assuming Amazon uses some leverage) be a lot cheaper. And if the DRM holds, publishers might do better than they do now.

In 4 to 6 years these things will be cost effective though. In 7 to 10 years even the big color ones that go for over 1k will probably be cost effective.

Got a free DX this week and having never had any real experience with an eBook before, I have to say this is the coolest thing ever. As someone who reads a lot, and moves a lot, having all of my books in one device literally adds years to my life that I've been losing by carrying 100lb boxes of books up and down six flights of stairs every two years. With all that being said, I don't think this thing should cost more than $200.

I can't wait until they have these suckers in full color and I can read my comics on it.

Someone had one with them at the 4th of July cookout I went to and I must say, saying it in person certainly piqued my interest. They just knocked the price on the basic model down to $299, which still seems a little steep, but it's definitely on my radar now.

Barnes and Noble is launching their free E-Reader today. It's an app, not a product (although they do have their own device coming out next year), and they say they'll have over 700,000 books available for purchase. You can use the reader on PC, Mac, iPhone and Blackberry. Haven't checked it out yet (can't install at work), but I looked at the store, and it looks like most books are in the $9.99 range, and you get five books free (four public domain novels and a dictionary) when you install.

Amazon sued over Kindle deletion of Orwell books

I guess this is just another asshole who jumps on a technology bandwagon without reading the fine print.

The correct response, of course, is go and get yourself a real fuckin book, shitsmear!

Waah! Waah! Science and technology promised me a world of convenience to enhance my fat and lazy American lifestyle but all I got was an F in Lit!

So now that the "Ooh! Aah!" factor has died down a bit, how much do you all who have Kindles still use them regularly? Have the passionate crushes of the first mpressions translated into long-term affection?

I'm seriously considering one but want some feedback from people who have had them for a while who aren't posting on Amazon.

I use mine every day, and at the beginning my mom refused because she said she preferred having the actual text in her hands, but after I downloaded a few books she wanted to read to her Kindle she hasn't stopped using it since. If you're looking for something that's more of a multimedia tool then a Kindle is the last product you want, but if you read a lot and want to travel light I completely recommend it.

Ditto what Eric said. At this point it's been months since I've actually physically picked up a newspaper or book. Love the Kindle.

I'm glad to hear it, as I ordered one about ten minutes after I posted in here.

Looking forward. Are there any initiation rituals I should know about?

Not so much an initiation ritual, but if you get the Amazon made Kindle cover then make sure you never open it from the back because the prongs can crack the plastic on the Kindle. I have it and it's great, but you just have to be careful.

Although the first thing I did was put it in sleep mode a bunch of times to see all of the different screensaver illustrations.

When you set up your Kindle, it defaults to whatever (at least in my case) the first credit card you ever had on Amazon was. For me, this was years and many expiration dates ago, so I couldn't download anything and couldn't figure out why for a few minutes. Fixed that, then it was easy to download. TOO easy as you'll soon discover.

I have the DX and have read off it pretty much every day since I got it without fail. You can download scripts to it, which is helpful, but also - and this may seem like a small thing - it's easier to read at the gym. I've always had a hard time on whatever elliptical or treadmill I'm on reading a book as they're hard to flatten on the little lipped stand they have, so it's usually all about scripts or magazines there. As I can see the page a bit better on the DX, I now take it to the gym with me and it's solved that minor inconvenience.

As I said, it's a small thing, but as I love to read books and have limited time to do so, it has changed my life.

For it's size, it's amazing how light the Kindle is too. I think the lightness is what makes me (unconsciously) be very careful with it. Haven't dropped it yet. Screensavers are all kinds of awesome. Feels very much 30s and 40s ad illustrations.

I had heard about that the cover was cracking cases a few minutes after I ordered it. Glad to hear there's a preventative measure. Thanks!

Heh. The first card I used on Amazon probably expired ten years ago. Looking forward to reading your novella, which, to be honest, probably got me seriously thinking about buying one in the first place. But the final straw that broke my miserly back was finding out about the free 3g wireless. I know I won't be browsing CHUD anytime soon on it, but free GMail anywhere without a cell phone contract is the tastiest gravy I can imagine.

Sorry for the aside, but I love when this thread is active, as the title cracks me up. If parody threads were still in vogue, I don't know what I'd go with. Dell's Kindle, Panasonic's Kindle, Anthony Edwards' Kindle.

Oh, the possibilities.

This.

AND THIS!

Another example of where the Kindle makes things easier... reading while eating. Ever tried handling a book and keeping it open and turning pages, while actually eating? Not always easy... unless you are in the middle of a big hard cover. With the Kindle? So easy. Rests on a table nicely, or you can hold in one hand. Pages turn with minimal effort from one finger. Ahhhhhh.


I've been alternating, though. I often am reading 2-3 books at a time, and I make sure that at least one is on the Kindle while the other 1-2 are physical books. I probably use it 5-6 days a week. I ALWAYS use it at the gym. I had a knee/quad injury recently, and the Kindle was a lifesaver during rehab.

Now, honestly, if I was paying for it myself, I probably would never have tried one. My mother-in-law bought the new Kindle, though, and she gave my wife and I her old one (and you can link 6 on one account), so every time she buys a book, we get it too. So, I haven't bought a Kindle or any eBooks yet, but I'm reaping benefits. Once I read the 4-5 more books she has on the Kindle that I'm interested in, then we'll see if I buy any.

I am still in love with the idea of a physical library, though, so if I truly love a book and might read it again (or want it available for my daughter), I might still want to own a physical copy. Maybe I'll outgrow this at some point as all of our media becomes information on hard drives of various sorts. For the actual reading part, though, I'm very happy with the Kindle. Just being able to hold it in one hand and turn pages effortlessly is fantastic.

A million times this.

I love it. Free books I ordered from the site that actually arrived at the first initialization of my Kindle:

Elric
Perdido Stret Station
Kim Stanley Robinson's Red Mars

The samples are the best part about it, for them and for me. I previewed both of Ebert's Great Movies books, and not only did I purchase them, but I'm planning on watching two entires a week.

Cursor word lookup enhances my comprehension the nth degree. I had no idea how many words I wrongly assumed I could decipher from context.

Now we'll see in a month or two if this enthused reaction is legitimate! Glad to hear you like it.

What's sick is, I have 12 or so books checked out from the library, and I've already bought two of them on my Kindle simply because I'm addicted to the word lookup. And if you highlight every word you look up, when you browse dictionary highlights, they come up in alphabetical order.

I haven't read this much since college.

My mom broke hers by accident! The extended warranty covers one accidental breakage, so hopefully we'll be good.

One of the little tiny things that annoys me about the Kindle is that the book covers are sometimes really bad. It's not like I spend all day looking through the covers on my Kindle (well, occasionally) but it's annoying.

Glad to hear you're loving the Kindle, bendrix. The first few weeks I had with it, it probably never left hands where ever I went.

I'm thinking of asking for a Kindle for Christmas. Now that you guys have had it for a few months, are you still singing its praises?

Yes, yes, and yes. It's a great device.

I'm reading up on Kindle reviews and Nook reviews, trying to decide which may be better. How is the web browsing on the Kindle?

It's a little more limited than your average no-frills mobile phone. It's a not a selling point of the device, but rather a nice perk.

I use it to check my Gmail on occasion or Facebook updates. The fact it's free is a bonus too.

Here's a blast from the past, but I got one of these new-fangled devices for Christmas. The latest version, or the Kindle 3 I guess.

I was wondering if any Chewers had one and could recommend a skin or a case for it? Hopefully a case that would hold the Kindle if it had a skin on it. I was thinking about the Timbuk2 case, but I'm not sure it would work if it wasn't "naked."

Thanks.

I got this sucker, which is a little expensive (to say the least), but I like the little reading light that pops out of it:

http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Lighted...3685966&sr=1-1

I don't have a skin on mine. Other then my hand when I'm holding it.

Could be the worst Kindle joke ever, yet I'm still proud.

Was hoping for a complete case rather than a wrap-around and a bit cheaper to boot, but I'll keep it in mind. Thanks.

http://www.gelaskins.com/


Made my Letterman skins.

Any sites devoted to finding the best of the free books? I'm interested in getting the app for my Incredible and taking it for a test-drive before getting a full reader.