E-Readers, do you have one?

bryaner · 07-11-2011 11:31AM

Freddie59 wrote: »

Bought the wife a Kindle for her birthday earlier in the year. She is an avid book reader, and has been for years. Pound for pound, the best present I have ever bought - she even says so herself. It is an incredible device. You can even download the first chapter of a book for free to see if it's for you. The Kindle really is a revelation. Go for it. But get the WiFi/3G unit with the keypad (which is invaluable).

Same as I got one for the missus too, she's a Librarian so I was pretty worried if she'd like it or not, she loves it but still loves her books it's like an accompaniment for books..

InkSlinger67 · 07-11-2011 11:35AM

I don't have one, I prefer the feel of a book in my hand. If good books ever come to a point where they are only available on a reader, then I'll get one.

Gummy Panda · 07-11-2011 11:36AM

I got a kindle yesterday. The e-ink is fantastic. Such a nice display to read off.

Captain Darling · 07-11-2011 11:40AM

Biggins wrote: »

Ouch! :eek:

Twas rough, I have a bad relationship with technology of late. Its bloody clumsier i'm getting.

Biggins · 07-11-2011 11:49AM

Captain Darling wrote: »

Twas rough, I have a bad relationship with technology of late. Its bloody clumsier i'm getting.

Although they are not very cheap - thank heavens they are not too expensive either for the item they are.

I originally bought one for myself, loaded it up with books and the next thing I know, the wife was using it all the time to read.
I had to buy her one just to get mine back! LOL :pac:

Captain Darling · 07-11-2011 12:22PM

Biggins wrote: »

Although they are now very cheap - thank heavens they are not too expensive either for the item they are.

I originally bought one for myself, loaded it up with books and the next thing I know, the wife was using it all the time to read.
I had to buy her one just to get mine back! LOL :pac:

They are very clever little devices. Very handy for the bed/train or wherever. Its handy to have your books condensed into one little thing.

I had my nose stuck in it full time. Going to see on purchasing another one in the coming months.

Darkginger · 07-11-2011 12:29PM

Captain Darling - before you buy a new Kindle, contact their customer service and tell them you broke the one you had. Two friends of mine have had Kindle 'accidents' and in both cases, Amazon replaced their Kindles free of charge - worth a try?

Snakeblood · 07-11-2011 12:40PM

Darkginger wrote: »

Captain Darling - before you buy a new Kindle, contact their customer service and tell them you broke the one you had. Two friends of mine have had Kindle 'accidents' and in both cases, Amazon replaced their Kindles free of charge - worth a try?

Totally worth it. I'm on my fourth replacement. I rang the first couple of times and was mystified why it broke, but they replaced it, then the third time, the guy on the other end was egging me on. 'So, while you were able to read with it, it might have been broken in the box anyway?'

Well, if you insist, man. I thought it was broken by me sitting on it.

Jimmy Recard · 07-11-2011 12:42PM

Love my kindle! been living out of a backpack in Australia last 2 years, every time I moved had to give books away until I got it. Perfect for traveling.

Captain Darling wrote: »

I had a kindle until i sat on the fcuker and cracked the screen. Twas deadly, i'd over 900 books on it.

Did you ring amazon? Cracked the screen on my 4month old kindle at the weekend. went on to amazon.com support, they give you an instant call back and after a 5 minute call they're sending out a free replacement, no questions asked, even paying postage to send back the broken one. Great costumer service!

pickarooney · 07-11-2011 12:51PM

Eve_Dublin wrote: »

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...

You Irish and your time-keeping...

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.

You should be able to batch process all 500 books into .MOBI with Calibre.

OldGoat · 07-11-2011 01:21PM

I'm a recent convertee to the Kindle. What it means to me is not having to wait (and wait and wait) for printers/publishers to put books into a pocket size format. Nothing worse for me then anticipating a new book only to find the printers have issued it in that stupid giant size format that you need a feckin rucksack to carry it around. Now all my book fit neatly into the inside pocket of my jacket and I'm no longer tearing my overfilled pockets.

To those who say that they would miss the feel of a real book I have to say that I used that argument for a long time. You very quickly become accustomed to the new format. However if you still miss the book feel them simply buy a book cover for the reader. Now all your books can be leather-bound.

Remember to check out library sites like Project Guttenberg for free titles.

Biggins · 07-11-2011 01:27PM

OldGoat wrote: »

...Remember to check out library sites like Project Guttenberg for free titles.

Here is a few more (with free books):

* http://www.mobipocket.com/en/eBooks/default.asp?Language=EN
* http://www.feedbooks.com/
* http://oreilly.com/ebooks/
* http://www.manybooks.net/
* http://www.baen.com/library/books.asp
* http://www.free-ebooks.net/
* http://www.munseys.com/
* http://www.fictionwise.com/ebooks/freebooks.htm
* http://www.smashwords.com/

...There is loads more.

Chinafoot · 07-11-2011 01:38PM

OldGoat wrote: »

To those who say that they would miss the feel of a real book I have to say that I used that argument for a long time. You very quickly become accustomed to the new format. However if you still miss the book feel them simply buy a book cover for the reader. Now all your books can be leather-bound.

In fairness, it's far more than the look of the book that people would miss. Sticking a book-like cover on a piece of hardware won't replace the feel and smell of an actual book. I've tried the Kindle and the Sony eReader and I don't like either. I can see their merits but they're just not for me.

Captain Darling · 07-11-2011 01:45PM

Jimmy Recard wrote: »

Did you ring amazon? Cracked the screen on my 4month old kindle at the weekend. went on to amazon.com support, they give you an instant call back and after a 5 minute call they're sending out a free replacement, no questions asked, even paying postage to send back the broken one. Great costumer service!

Thats brilliant. Is it easy fix them? The casing on it seems like it would just snap off.

I'm heading to Rome on Thursday, if i'd known that i would have gotten it done sooner.

Snakeblood · 07-11-2011 01:49PM

Captain Darling wrote: »

Thats brilliant. Is it easy fix them? The casing on it seems like it would just snap off.

I'm heading to Rome on Thursday, if i'd known that i would have gotten it done sooner.

When I got mine done the first time, they just sent me a new one and told me to keep the old one, not to bother sending it back.

Captain Darling · 07-11-2011 02:04PM

Snakeblood wrote: »

When I got mine done the first time, they just sent me a new one and told me to keep the old one, not to bother sending it back.

Thats brilliant. I'll give them a buzz and see if i can get it sorted. Cheers lads.

Watch this space!

Tar.Aldarion · 07-11-2011 02:40PM

Don't have one. I've read thousands of books, mostly when younger and I do love the feel of them. Still I would love a kindle, I hear there is a touch one coming out. The free 3g would be nice. I'm not sure about the non-touch one without a keyboard, looks impossible to use for typing. So many different ones around these days.

You can't compare reading on a kindle to reading on a tablet. People seem to love the e-ink so much.

Cormic · 07-11-2011 02:46PM

Yep

I have two. One Kindle for me and one for the missus. They are great!

Would have bought the 3g version cause there is a web browser in it. It's pretty crappy but it would work while on hols to check your mail.

Kirby · 07-11-2011 02:53PM

I bought my mother a Kindle last year as she is a huge reader. One book a day huge. She loves it. She can just download the New York Best sellers list and go to town....and get all the "ones she missed" from her favourite authors.

I have a Nook. It's heavier than the kindle....and its battery is slightly weaker. But it has an SD card slot, a touch screen, and most importantly....it feels better in your hands.

I find the kindle to feel plasticy and cheap. The nook feels more expensive than it is.

One thing I would recommend for anybody buying any e-reader......buy a light for it. E-ink technology is great because there is no shine....but contrast is awful. The page is grey instead of white. Do your eyes a favour and buy a light that clips to the top of it.

Frank Black · 07-11-2011 02:56PM

Snakeblood wrote: »

When I got mine done the first time, they just sent me a new one and told me to keep the old one, not to bother sending it back.

Same thing happened to me.
Kindle froze at one stage and I couldn't get it to respond, rang Amazon, tried to do a manual re-set, didn't work, so they just sent me out a brand new one and let me keep the old one.

When the old one ran out of charge (which took about 4 weeks), I re-charged it and it worked fine, ended up giving to a friend - you couldn't register it to Amazon, but you could still load up e-books on it from a computer so it was still quite useful.

Amazon are pretty good at the whole customer service end of things.

dory · 07-11-2011 03:00PM

Love my Kindle. I have the 3G version and where ever I go I have Internet when I need it. Saved my ass in India yesterday when I missed my flight and had to buy a new one. If not for my Kindle I would have had to buy an expensive one at the desk but I got a cheap one online.

Also like it for reading! And I broke mine and they sent me a new one straight away.

Dozen Wicked Words · 07-11-2011 03:05PM

My Kindle is brilliant, have the wifi only version, couldn't afford the 3g at the time sadly. Plenty of legit and less legit sites to download books and as has been said before Calibre is a fantastic way of converting various formats (the man loves a good update though, seems to be one a week!)

I find a decent cover gives it the required weight too, it is quite light without one.

Biggins · 07-11-2011 03:08PM

Kirby wrote: »

...Do your eyes a favour and buy a light that clips to the top of it.

The best light by far I have found is Mighty Bright - example: http://www.ebay.ie/itm/MIGHTY-BRIGHT-XTRAFLEX-LED-MUSIC-LIGHT-BLACK-CLIP-ON-FREE-STANDING-/360404699799?pt=UK_MusicalInstr_Access_RL&hash=item53e9cb4a97

Have two of them. Tried many others and none compare.
Longer extending arm (greater at bending into any shape you want). Easy (padded - which is great) clip. Very cheap. Powerful. Great quality

ixoy · 07-11-2011 03:40PM

Won one and left it in the book for ages. I didn't think I could read from one without the feel of the book.

Eventually took it out and changed my mind very quickly. It's a great device. The e-ink display is very different to reading off a monitor: if you don't know, you need to see it to understand.

I can now bring my books anywhere whereas previously it was a pain (I couldn't bring George R.R. Martin's latest away without injuring my back). I also have instant access to new books.

Definitely recommended - I got a nice hemp cover for it too to make it feel a little more like a book. Win win.

Tar.Aldarion · 07-11-2011 03:46PM

ixoy wrote: »

Won one and left it in the book for ages. I didn't think I could read from one without the feel of the book.

Eventually took it out and changed my mind very quickly. It's a great device. The e-ink display is very different to reading off a monitor: if you don't know, you need to see it to understand.

I can now bring my books anywhere whereas previously it was a pain (I couldn't bring George R.R. Martin's latest away without injuring my back). I also have instant access to new books.

Definitely recommended - I got a nice hemp cover for it too to make it feel a little more like a book. Win win.

Link to the hemp please?

Biggins · 07-11-2011 03:58PM

Tar.Aldarion wrote: »

Link to the hemp please?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Eco-Nique-Natural-6-inch-Amazon-Wireless/dp/B003ZUXVSK

Gophur · 07-11-2011 04:00PM

Best tip for Kindle I have received in a long time is to follow @kindleebooks and @KindleFreeBooks on Twitter.

If you go into the KINDLE store, on the device itself, you cannot filter by price (as they want you to spend as much money as possible)

I have the 3G version, which gives me free web browsing when travelling all over the world. It's crude browser, slow, no flash and monochrome, but excellent for catching up on the www happenings.

Tar.Aldarion · 07-11-2011 04:02PM

Biggins wrote: »

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Eco-Nique-Natural-6-inch-Amazon-Wireless/dp/B003ZUXVSK

Thanks, looks quite nice!

07-11-2011 04:08PM

I don't know about you lot..

But, personally I would prefer a book.

Kirby · 07-11-2011 04:21PM

Its still a book in my eyes. Just electronic.

E-Readers, do you have one?

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