E-Readers, do you have one?

The Jammy dodger

How many of you have these E-Readers? I was gonna get one for my wife as she is mad into reading books and taking up space in my house with them.

I thought this E-reader would be a good idea to reduce that and at the same time serve as a lovely present that I'll get weeks of peace out of.

So...Are they worth the money? easy to use? Easy to download books on?

Jam

ShamoBuc

No time for books, boards.ie only!!

Fago!

Books. The boring version of TV.

Professey Chin

Love my Kindle. Saved my ass from extreme boredom in airports & when travelling a lot

Einhard

No! I hate this whole progress thing!! Bring back the Luddites I say. Burn em all!

Einhard

Fago! wrote: »

Books. The boring version of TV.

:eek:

Take that back sir!!

W.Shakes-Beer

cant beat an old book, and the smell of the pages...

yes i sniff books

strobe

Every time I've done a search for the e-books I would buy only a small fraction of them exist, and it's not even like I have particularly eclectic tastes. So no, would be a bit of a waste of money in my case. One of the adds for Kindle makes a big deal out of the tag line "now with 2,000,000 available books"... that's nothing to brag about, there are trillions of books.

Mr Benevolent

It's silly buying a Kindle or whatever when most phones have book reader apps. Phones do everything nowadays. Why carry extra shit around?

Colonel Panic

Easier to read e-ink on a Kindle compared to an iPad.

megaten

Yup. I love it. I can still read young adult trash that I'm too embarrassed to buy in shops anymore.

Overheal

They are great for old people. Anyone with sense would rather a tablet. Kindle Fire is supposed to be alright but I have not seen any concrete specs or reviews on them yet, so as far as I'm concerned, the Fire is pure hype. Anything that pretends to be the next iPad Killer for less than half the same price needs to be seen to be believed.

For actual reading black and white e-ink readers are best.

If you like color the Nook Color or Kindle Fire, fine. For something more pocketable theres the Samsung Galaxy Media Player or the iPod touch as rival devices; the Acer 7" Iconia and the 8" Samsung Galaxy Tab. Then you get into the actual tablets and thats a very big field of contention but iPad is still the market leader.

For a black and white though the Kindle with 3G is the best option.

LumpyGravy

Confab wrote: »

It's silly buying a Kindle or whatever when most phones have book reader apps. Phones do everything nowadays. Why carry extra shit around?

The kindle has a battery life of up to 4 weeks and some have free 3g almost anywhere in the world.

Battery on smart phones last two days tops with huge roaming charges.

Yakult

Buying one for myself and the mother as she read's all the time. She isnt mad into technology so I hope it clicks with her!

Lady von Purple

I have a Reader- it was a Christmas present. I don't want to sound ungrateful, it has its benefits and all, but I just like actual books a lot better. I like being able to physically turn the page instead of pressing the 'page' button. Maybe I'm too much of a traditionalist- These Readers and Kindles have many many benefits but speaking as someone who loves having a full bookshelf (and books strewn randomly around the apartment too) I just don't like this newfangled space-saving technology. /Rant.

Einhard

Bah humbug. :mad:

flahavaj

Will be getting one of these from the Missus for Christmas.

I think the Kindle with 3G looks the best for what it offers. Tesco, Currys and PC World have them now as well so no need to get stung on shipping and tax froim the US.

Iang87

nope. pretty much the end of that

bryaner

flahavaj wrote: »

Will be getting one of these from the Missus for Christmas.

I think the Kindle with 3G looks the best for what it offers. Tesco, Currys and PC World have them now as well so no need to get stung on shipping and tax froim the US.

Save your money and don't bother with the 3G one..

pmcb

I got one for my birthday. I can now purchase an eBook that i'd like and download it immediately. eBooks take up less space.They don't use up trees! Much more portable on holiday, for example if you want to read on the beach, you can read any book that you fancy. They really are a great piece of technology and the screen is like reading from a normal book. Highly recommended.

Eve_Dublin

Nope. And I've made a huge song and dance about not getting one in front of family and friends so I have to stick to my guns :mad:

I was a trainee librarian for a year and a half and was supposed to do a Masters in Dublin to qualify (yes...qualified Librarians have Masters degrees...it's not just about stamping books and looking cross/sexy and saying shhh in a cranky/sexy way to users you know!) but changed my mind at the last minute, so I'd be a massive supporter of public libraries and I'd hate to see libraries as we know them disappear. Thing is, I've been suspended from my local library here for another week for bringing a book back late and books in English are ridiculously expensive here, so one would probably come in handy...

I'll try and not succumb for as long as I can. I like books and don't fancy staring at a screen to read but I'm not looking forward to the stage where reading paper books becomes pretentious and hipster-like...like people who insist on listening to music only on record.

Damn technology making even the most simplest choice some kind of statement!

nibtrix

I've had an ereader for the last eight years or so - as in I had a palm handheld computer that I could read books on. About two years ago I got an Astak EZreader, as it's open format, so there was no crap about only being able to download books from certain sites. If I was starting from scratch I'd probably get a kindle but until I can convert the 500+ ebooks I have now I won't switch.

The Jammy dodger

Eve_Dublin wrote: »

Nope. And I've made a huge song and dance about not getting one in front of family and friends so I have to stick to my guns :mad:

I was a trainee librarian for a year and a half and was supposed to do a Masters in Dublin to qualify (yes...qualified Librarians have Masters degrees...it's not just about stamping books and looking cross/sexy and saying shhh in a cranky/sexy way to users you know!) but changed my mind at the last minute, so I'd be a massive supporter of public libraries and I'd hate to see libraries as we know them disappear. Thing is, I've been suspended from my local library here for another week for bringing a book back late and books in English are ridiculously expensive here, so one would probably come in handy...

I'll try and not succumb for as long as I can. I like books and don't fancy staring at a screen to read but I'm not looking forward to the stage where reading paper books becomes pretentious and hipster-like...like people who insist on listening to music only on record.

Damn technology making even the most simplest choice some kind of statement!

yeah but I was told Libraries have an Ebook system also in which you can download books. Choose paperback or E-Book format.

The screen thing worried me as the eyes be poppin out of my head just hours after being on the internet but I'm told that the screens are like reading a real book and dont hurt the eyes.

The Jammy dodger

nibtrix wrote: »

I've had an ereader for the last eight years or so - as in I had a palm handheld computer that I could read books on. About two years ago I got an Astak EZreader, as it's open format, so there was no crap about only being able to download books from certain sites. If I was starting from scratch I'd probably get a kindle but until I can convert the 500+ ebooks I have now I won't switch.

So with an E-reader you can only download certain books from certain sites depending upon the make of your reader? thats sounds crap.

Eve_Dublin

The Jammy dodger wrote: »

yeah but I was told Libraries have an Ebook system also in which you can download books. Choose paperback or E-Book format.

I suppose I like libraries themselves as places to go and browse for books and a place for people to go and read in silence. Especially for old people or the unemployed who perhaps want to study on their own with the resources a library provides. It'll all be online before we know it...everything we do will be online eventually and we won't have any reason to leave our houses. I don't like that. Just my own personal feeling though after spending a year and a half working in one (and working in book shops previous to that).

kowloon

Battery life on a Kindle is good but the screen is a bit small for me. I just stick my netbook on its side and read it like a book for the same effect.

I tend to print things out unless there's a searchable text layer. For searchable docs and word docs I have a monitor that swivels onto its side.

Einhard

pmcb wrote: »

eBooks take up less space.

That's one of the reasons I dislike them. I could never get rid of a book I've read. I love having books lining the walls. My dream is to have one of those fancy walnut paneled, two-storey libraries with the sliding ladder on it! And all the books will be hard back, without their duskjackets, and there'll be a massive antique globe in the middle of the room, beside the whiskey cabinet with crystal decanter.

Sigh. A man can dream.

The Jammy dodger

I'm not sure E-books will wipe off the traditional paperback at all. Libraries being that quiet kind of place to read a book wont change either as there will always be that division in the public between the E-book and traditional paperback.

You've made a great point though. I'm only doing it because I need to save space.

MagicMarker

Confab wrote: »

It's silly buying a Kindle or whatever when most phones have book reader apps. Phones do everything nowadays. Why carry extra shit around?

That's retarded, I could say the same for laptops, games consoles and televisions.

Aishae

I don't know about with other e readers but with kindle you can convert books to mobi format (the format kindle likes) with a programme called calibre. Free to download to your pc.

Eve_Dublin

Einhard wrote: »

That's one of the reasons I dislike them. I could never get rid of a book I've read. I love having books lining the walls. My dream is to have one of those fancy walnut paneled, two-storey libraries with the sliding ladder on it! And all the books will be hard back, without their duskjackets, and there'll be a massive antique globe in the middle of the room, beside the whiskey cabinet with crystal decanter.

Sigh. A man can dream.

Sounds wonderful. No sitting room is complete without some book shelves. They make a room. Plus how can you judge someone on the kind of books they read or whether they read at all if they've got an ebook?