[mr butterson]

Ive been looking at possibly getting a sony ebook reader but im in two minds about it really. Here is my thoughts on them anyways. On one hand it seems a brilliant idea, you can digitize your library and carry it around in your pocket and read whatever whenever which is very appealing. But on the other hand you lose out on actually having a physical book, which is something i quite like and have a small library of them myself, so i dont really want to lose that.
Ive heard just scanning forums and reading reviews etc that it seems to be hard to get some books in electronic format, especially new ones, and that somehow ebooks can be more expensive than the real thing!? The other main worry ive got is that i dont know how big the whole ebook thing is going to get, i dont want to buy one to only find it then goes the way of hd dvd and disappears.
Just wondering on other peoples opinions about them and whether they would recommend them if they have got them.
Cheers

[Astra]

mr butterson, on 24 January 2010 - 07:40 PM, said:

Ive been looking at possibly getting a sony ebook reader but im in two minds about it really. Here is my thoughts on them anyways. On one hand it seems a brilliant idea, you can digitize your library and carry it around in your pocket and read whatever whenever which is very appealing. But on the other hand you lose out on actually having a physical book, which is something i quite like and have a small library of them myself, so i dont really want to lose that.
Ive heard just scanning forums and reading reviews etc that it seems to be hard to get some books in electronic format, especially new ones, and that somehow ebooks can be more expensive than the real thing!? The other main worry ive got is that i dont know how big the whole ebook thing is going to get, i dont want to buy one to only find it then goes the way of hd dvd and disappears.
Just wondering on other peoples opinions about them and whether they would recommend them if they have got them.
Cheers

A few topics we had over here:
Kindle
The end of the bookshop?
e-Book readers is it worth it?
Kindle anyone?
Malazan Series on the Kindle?

Don't get scared of Kindle name. The topics are mostly about different readers including Sony. Please have a look at them. If you still have any questions, ask

[Jusentantaka]

Coulda sworn we just had a thread on this, but I can't find it, so whatever... maybe some other forum. *edit* HA! it was here

For me, it was a bit of a convenience thing which turns out to be a waste of money, since I don't go anywhere anymore. When I traveled for work the crappy first gen ones were wonderful; on the plane, bus, taxi, office meetings whatever, I could ignore people and read a book. If you don't travel or otherwise go somewhere it would be inconvenient to carry a book or two around, then there are probably better uses for 2 or 300$.

The format is probably going to stay though, whether or not specialized readers stay (instead of being replaced by an all purpose phone) is another matter.

Not sure about availability, I don't read much fantasy, though I saw the main malazan series as ebooks on B&N, with regular fiction it seems pretty easy to find an ebook, even recent publications, though they don't get released the same day, maybe not until after the paperbacks go out even. As for price, I bought the latter 6 ebooks for the wheel of time for the price of any one of them in hardback. Whether that holds true across the board or is just an example of popularity=availability=low price I don't know, but I have yet to pay more than half of the price of a book for an e-version.

This post has been edited by Jusentantaka: 24 January 2010 - 08:10 PM

[Imperial Historian]

From my experience the ebook reader is pretty good for digitising a collection and being able to carry it around (though mainly achieved by downloading scans of books i own, rather than scanning them myself), but purchasing ebooks at least in the UK is almost an impossible chore, with books being either more expensive than a hard copy and generally hard to find copies of books I'm interested in. From what I've seen the US ebook market is much better... whenever I try to find a book I find it at a US store which doesn't let me download it which is frustrating to say the least.

That said I do love being able to carry my library around with me, the sony reader I got supports quite a large range of standard formats such as pdf, .doc, .lit, .epub etc as well as the sony proproetary format, and if the book is not sold in the right format its usually not difficult to convert to a format that it can read. Kindle books seem to be the exception, which is annoying as amazon seems to have one of the widest range of ebooks.

Oh and I posted a topic about the lack of access to ebooks in the UK just this afternoon.

[Use Of Weapons]

My monthly PC mag, Custom PC (generally about modding, building and cosutomising PC builds) had an article reviewing the different eReaders available in its last issue. Interesting comparison of the differences, features, and ease-of-use of the main competitors.

http://www.bit-tech....ebook-readers/1

[mr butterson]

Cheers guys il have a look at those links

[kcf]

Well, I can't recommend ebooks until publishers and (most) ebook manufacturers wise up a bit. The two problems are DRM and propriatary format. DRM infecting ebook files basically keeps you from owning and controlling what you have purchased. It limits the ability to transfer and ebook from your computer to an ereader to a phone etc. It doesn't really account for the potential of someone buying a new ereader, computer, etc. and generally reduces flexibility. And Amazon DRM in particular allows Amazon to delete any ebook in the Kindle at any time without your permission. Propriatary format is also a problem - a kindle ebook can't be read on any reader but a Kindle (there are ways around this but they are a pain in the ass). So, I'm waiting for a universal format that is DRM-free before I jump into the ebook/ereader market (I suspect I'll be waiting a long, long time).

[Darkwatch]

Some one know an ebook store that has their books available in Canada?
Because I'm trying to get Reynold's stuff and it's only available in the bloody U.S.
Which is quite odd since I bought Revelation Space from a store that now marks it U.S. only when it wasn't.

[QuickTidal]

I am gonna be taking the E-Reader plunge in the next few months. I'll still buy hardcover books of my fave authors (Butcher, Abercrombie, Sanderson ect.) but a lot of my paperback reads are gonna get shifted to the e-Ink format for shelf space, ease of use, price point and weight issues.

Plus I hear that even diehards like me who LOVE their printed books as an aesthetic.....end up LOVING their e-Readers after a book or two. There is a certain excitement about having my whole collection at my fingertips, and the ability to get books on the fly that the store could be sold out of...there's too many pluses NOT to switch and it seems like 2011 is my year.

[QuickTidal]

Darkwatch, on 19 August 2010 - 04:25 PM, said:

Some one know an ebook store that has their books available in Canada?
Because I'm trying to get Reynold's stuff and it's only available in the bloody U.S.
Which is quite odd since I bought Revelation Space from a store that now marks it U.S. only when it wasn't.

Amazon.com has it in Kindle form...can you not order it from them? I mean, I can order books end get them shipped from amazon.co.uk (Britain) using my Canadian .ca account...so why not ebooks? I can't see why it wouldn't work. Or maybe a rights issue...but that seems silly.

[alt146]

QuickTidal, on 13 January 2011 - 02:51 PM, said:

Darkwatch, on 19 August 2010 - 04:25 PM, said:

Some one know an ebook store that has their books available in Canada?
Because I'm trying to get Reynold's stuff and it's only available in the bloody U.S.
Which is quite odd since I bought Revelation Space from a store that now marks it U.S. only when it wasn't.

Amazon.com has it in Kindle form...can you not order it from them? I mean, I can order books end get them shipped from amazon.co.uk (Britain) using my Canadian .ca account...so why not ebooks? I can't see why it wouldn't work. Or maybe a rights issue...but that seems silly.

Because when a hardcopy book is sold, the point of sale is the location of the store - in this case amazon's offices in the states. However eBooks are classified as 'software', meaning the point of sale is the location of the buyer. Don't ask me why this is, apart from the obvious publishers and importers protecting themselves from being majorly undercut. It's very silly and quite frustrating. The various stores used to be quite lax about enforcing the law, until several publishers threatened to boycott if better checks weren't put in place. It's a bit of a pain, because by default amazon will take you to the US ebook store, it's only at checkout store do they tell you you're in the wrong place and you have to start over. Amazon has pretty much the only international store, and while it does have a fair number of books, there aren't quite as many as in the US store and they are generally a couple of dollars more expensive. Still, they're about the only option for international clients.

To answer DW's question - I think B&N have extended their rights to Canada too, but I'm not sure. If Amazon doesn't have the rights for your region it probably isnt available yet.

[QuickTidal]

alt146, on 13 January 2011 - 03:39 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 13 January 2011 - 02:51 PM, said:

Darkwatch, on 19 August 2010 - 04:25 PM, said:

Some one know an ebook store that has their books available in Canada?
Because I'm trying to get Reynold's stuff and it's only available in the bloody U.S.
Which is quite odd since I bought Revelation Space from a store that now marks it U.S. only when it wasn't.

Amazon.com has it in Kindle form...can you not order it from them? I mean, I can order books end get them shipped from amazon.co.uk (Britain) using my Canadian .ca account...so why not ebooks? I can't see why it wouldn't work. Or maybe a rights issue...but that seems silly.

To answer DW's question - I think B&N have extended their rights to Canada too, but I'm not sure. If Amazon doesn't have the rights for your region it probably isnt available yet.

This is true, I know someone with a B&N Nook Color in Canada and she has no trouble ordering ebooks from the US B&N site. So that's an option.

[Aimless]

I used to be very skeptical. When I got my Nook Color, I was really only after a cheap (and fantastic ) honeycomb tablet. It's a great tablet, but to my surprise I've used it as an e-reader almost as much as I've used it as a tablet.

For those who don't have the obsessive hoarder drive (I kid, I kid!) to own books, the advantages are numerous. The ability to take all books with you almost everywhere is an obvious advantage. The ability to format those books to suit your tastes is another great advantage--I prefer to use a slightly larger font with greater line-spacing, for example. It's also nice to be able to read without a lamp, something that is greatly appreciated by the missus. Finally, I can dig up new books when I'm in the mood, rather than having to waste time actually physically going down to the library or to a book-store. I hope libraries find it easier to loan out e-books as the market continues to figure itself out. I've always preferred borrowing books to buying them, and e-readers are the most convenient way for me to borrow them.

Other impressions: I find it easier to really focus on and immerse myself in a book on the Nook, perhaps because I'm always very comfortable with it--no need to bend to the restrictions imposed by lights and size and weight and uncooperative pages etc.

[Cause]

I have had a Kindle for 6 months or so now and I have got to say it is simply the greatest invention of modern times. Yes you can digitize your library. Carry that that whole library anywhere. I read more these days since I read on my lunch breaks at university and can take several books on holidays etc. Its thinner then a pencil and weighs less than a paperback.

I also have to admit like you I thought I would miss having actual books, and planned to buy favourites still in hardcover and the like. This never happened. E-ink is like reading real paper. Only now my books are lighter, thinner and most importantly cheaper. I have even considered selling off my library but still cant quite bring myself to go that far.

[QuickTidal]

I got my Kindle just over a week ago.

I own TCG in Hardcover but I had issues with hauling that fucker around with me and trying to read it without hurting my hands from the thickness and my arms from the weight (if I was laying down), so I re-bought it for $9 for my Kindle...

...and holy shit if there isn't a huge reading difference! It's light, easy to read, and e-ink is perfectly amazing...seriously, looks better than some of my real books on the e-ink screen. It's thin, easy to store and travel-ready. That's not all though as reading at home becomes as easy as...I can prop the goddamned thing on my chest laying down with ONE FINGER. Or sometimes I prop some covers up beside me and stand it up without touching it and read (only clicking to turn the page). I have NEVER been this comfortable reading in my life.

Beyond that. the fact that with eBooks, amazon can never "run out of", or "not have in stock"...an ebook. I can get it, the minute it comes out in SECONDS. Save it on my computer, burn it to a CD or DVD as a backup if I want, and have it forever.

Having a huge book collection wherever you go is simply amazing. Remember how people used to feel about iPods and digital music...it used to be a computers only thing and people still bought CD's in droves....well I ask you...when was the last time you looked at buying a CD? Yeah, me too. MOST of my music is digital now and that transition was fairly painless.

The thing about the price point...Big publishers don't like eBooks. They don't want to change a business model that has been working and dumping trucks full of money on their doorsteps for like a century...they need to be dragged kicking and screaming into the future. They need to rethink this outmoded business model and accept that eBooks are not only here to stay, but are on the rise! Their way of dealing with it right now, in this transition period (did you know hardcover and paperback sales have slumped in January and February..and eBooks climbed higher?) they are trying to make eBooks look like a poor choice by making them either the same amount or more expensive than their physical counterparts...trying to make us think that it's cheaper to buy the physical book. I'm sure they realize this, but while it takes longer (longer than with digital music anyways) to transition the public...these bigger publishers are going to gouge every last red cent out of the consumer. That said, this is starting to wane recently in 2011...Last year I saw WISE MAN'S FEAR ebook listed at damn near the same price as the hardcover on amazon...now it is down to half that price....and not all Publishers are doing it either, so don't think I am condemning all of them, I'm not. Eventually the big guys who are gouging are going to find that more than half the reading world will have switched..and at that point they will HAVE to stop gouging and accept the rethinking of the old model...becuase the masses won't accept it.

As to the selection. I'm in Canada, and I bought a Kindle. the Kindle selection available in Canada is about 600,000 books....amazon US residents have access to 730,000....so while the margin is smallish, that's still a chunk of books. That said, I haven't come across many that I wanted to buy that weren't available to me in Canada. In fact the only one so far is James Patterson...and this comes down to a rights issue. Chapter/Indigo (Canadian bookseller and rival eReader Kobo dealer) have purchased exclusive rights to his books. Am I sad about that? I read only his Bird-Kid YA books and I'm not that upset about it.

I also think that there is going to be a flip in exclusivity in the next few years...amazon (like Apple and iTunes) will have to normalize their system so other readers can use their eBook format and vice-versa....that's likely a little futher off though.

I'm a total bibliophile and love physical books, the smell, feel, spines, art ect...but I love my Kindle and will likely purchase the majority of books in the future for it...

[Astra]

I have been reading solely on Sony ebook readers for 4 years.

All of the following and more:

Quote

I also have to admit like you I thought I would miss having actual books, and planned to buy favourites still in hardcover and the like. This never happened. E-ink is like reading real paper. Only now my books are lighter, thinner

[alt146]

I checked out a Kindle earlier his week (they really aren't that common in SA) and my first thought was that it's really... small. I was always under the impression it was slightly bigger. It's also a bit slow, but I understand that is just the nature of e-Ink. The size was a a bit disconcerting, but I regularly read off my much smaller phone so I doubt it would be an issue once I am into a book. At the same time though, I've gotten used to how fast the kindle app runs on my phone. Do you stop noticing the lag after extensive use?

[QuickTidal]

alt146, on 19 March 2011 - 07:04 AM, said:

I checked out a Kindle earlier his week (they really aren't that common in SA) and my first thought was that it's really... small. I was always under the impression it was slightly bigger. It's also a bit slow, but I understand that is just the nature of e-Ink. The size was a a bit disconcerting, but I regularly read off my much smaller phone so I doubt it would be an issue once I am into a book. At the same time though, I've gotten used to how fast the kindle app runs on my phone. Do you stop noticing the lag after extensive use?

What lag? What Kindle version was it? The first generation was slower, but the Kindle 3G (latest version) is fast as shit. Seriously, less than a second to turn a page. I couldn't physically turn the page faster than my kindle can. there is no lag on the latest one.

[alt146]

QuickTidal, on 19 March 2011 - 08:48 PM, said:

alt146, on 19 March 2011 - 07:04 AM, said:

I checked out a Kindle earlier his week (they really aren't that common in SA) and my first thought was that it's really... small. I was always under the impression it was slightly bigger. It's also a bit slow, but I understand that is just the nature of e-Ink. The size was a a bit disconcerting, but I regularly read off my much smaller phone so I doubt it would be an issue once I am into a book. At the same time though, I've gotten used to how fast the kindle app runs on my phone. Do you stop noticing the lag after extensive use?

What lag? What Kindle version was it? The first generation was slower, but the Kindle 3G (latest version) is fast as shit. Seriously, less than a second to turn a page. I couldn't physically turn the page faster than my kindle can. there is no lag on the latest one.

It was the newest one - like I said I'm used to the kindle app. Less than a second is still a lot more than the instant page turn on an LCD screen. Judging from your reaction it seems it's something you stop noticing

[Chaeone]

I got a Kindle at christmas from my girlfriend, and she also got me the leather cover with the light on it, which makes it feel like a real book. Honestly, best present ever.As for the exclusivity thing, its never going to be a problem, check out a program called calibre, converts loads of different formats to loads of other different formats. this was awesomely handy as i had some books i downloaded for free (i think it was from the baen free library? not too sure) and i was able to convert them and throw them on to the kindle, as i said, awesome :Pa friend of mine got the sony e-reader as a gift and was pissed off it wasn't a kindle, cos she loved mine :Phaving said that, the availability of e-books in ireland is scarce, and for some very strange reason i can't buy them off amazon.co.uk cos i'm in ireland