To Kindle or not to Kindle? Or Nook or whatever
#21
Posted 23 December 2010 - 07:26 PM
I received a Barnes and Noble Nook as an early Christmas gift from the fiancee (I'm typing this on her early Christmas gift a new laptop) and I absolutely love it. The screen is just like reading from a paperback and considering the size of some of the paperback copies of fantasy and science fiction the weight is a hell of a lot less. I asked for the Nook over the Kindle due to not wanting to be tied to Amazon for purchases or having to covert over to their format. B&N may not have as large as a selection as Amazon but that's not the only place you can get books from. Granted there are still authors that I'm going to bet hard copies of but that's a personal choice. I say go for it especially if you're running out of room for the storage of books.
@yellow, where do you sail the seas at, I've been in port for a rather long time and have no idea where to set sail from to get digital copies of the hard copies on my bookshelf.
@yellow, where do you sail the seas at, I've been in port for a rather long time and have no idea where to set sail from to get digital copies of the hard copies on my bookshelf.
#22
Posted 23 December 2010 - 07:32 PM
@Obdi: Right on, brother. This is probably the one area where Star Trek got it right. eBooks may never replace paper, but they can be a joy to read and much more practical, especially for the kinds of door-stoppers our fave genre is famous for. There's just not enough space, captain!
By the way, Alt, you might find these threads of interest/use as well (and I'm quoting the resident expert
)
By the way, Alt, you might find these threads of interest/use as well (and I'm quoting the resident expert

Astra, on 24 January 2010 - 07:56 PM, said:
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
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

Don't fuck with the Culture.
#23
Posted 23 December 2010 - 08:13 PM
I have a Kindle and it is awesome. I've read over a dozen books on the thing and I love it.
#24
Posted 24 December 2010 - 07:01 AM
Read through all the old threads, it's interesting to see how many people's opinions on ereaders have changed 
I found out last night a friend of mine is going to be in the UK for a couple of days, I'm thinking of having him pick up an ereader for me while he is there and saving me the cost of shipping. My question now is which one...
I really dislike the thought of being stuck with one bookstore depending on which ereader you buy, although it seems stripping DRM is possible albeit a bit of a pain. Pretty much every big online store is linked to a certain ereader though, so it seems there is no avoiding it
I really like the look of the Nook, but it seems that it is only available in the US. The Kindle can only be ordered from Amazon and I don't really want to post stuff to my friend's family. I'm also worried that it won't be delivered in time. The 6" Sony reader will probably be the easiest to get hold of, but it's a fair bit more expensive than the Kindle. Any thoughts?

I found out last night a friend of mine is going to be in the UK for a couple of days, I'm thinking of having him pick up an ereader for me while he is there and saving me the cost of shipping. My question now is which one...
I really dislike the thought of being stuck with one bookstore depending on which ereader you buy, although it seems stripping DRM is possible albeit a bit of a pain. Pretty much every big online store is linked to a certain ereader though, so it seems there is no avoiding it

I really like the look of the Nook, but it seems that it is only available in the US. The Kindle can only be ordered from Amazon and I don't really want to post stuff to my friend's family. I'm also worried that it won't be delivered in time. The 6" Sony reader will probably be the easiest to get hold of, but it's a fair bit more expensive than the Kindle. Any thoughts?
[url="http://www.alt146.zzl.org"]MafiaManager[/url]: My Mafia Modding tool - Now at v0.3b
With great power comes a great integral of energy over time.
With great power comes a great integral of energy over time.
#26
Posted 24 December 2010 - 10:52 AM
dktorode, on 24 December 2010 - 09:25 AM, said:
I have been buying my books from Take2 prices are mostly well below what the book stores are charging over here.
Their prices look about the same as what the exclusive books website has, although it is a fair bit more user friendly.
[url="http://www.alt146.zzl.org"]MafiaManager[/url]: My Mafia Modding tool - Now at v0.3b
With great power comes a great integral of energy over time.
With great power comes a great integral of energy over time.
#27
Posted 24 December 2010 - 11:01 AM
Interesting to note that more Erikson/Esslemont books have recently been added to the Kindle store.
So it can't just be me pressing the 'I want to see this title on KIndle' button on Amazon...
So it can't just be me pressing the 'I want to see this title on KIndle' button on Amazon...
So that's the story. And what was the real lesson? Don't leave things in the fridge.
#28
Posted 24 December 2010 - 11:12 AM
alt146, on 24 December 2010 - 10:52 AM, said:
dktorode, on 24 December 2010 - 09:25 AM, said:
I have been buying my books from Take2 prices are mostly well below what the book stores are charging over here.
Their prices look about the same as what the exclusive books website has, although it is a fair bit more user friendly.
well anything thats just come out will be a certain price and there is not much we can do about it.
But you can pick up older titles for 60 - 70 bucks and those books are 150 - 200 sometimes in exculsive.
I dunno what you are comparing.
Compare something like the Dresden files novels. big difference in price between the two stores.
...┌∩┐(◣_◢)┌∩┐...
Why dont they make the whole plane out of that black box stuff?
Why dont they make the whole plane out of that black box stuff?
#29
Posted 24 December 2010 - 11:33 AM
dktorode, on 24 December 2010 - 11:12 AM, said:
alt146, on 24 December 2010 - 10:52 AM, said:
dktorode, on 24 December 2010 - 09:25 AM, said:
I have been buying my books from Take2 prices are mostly well below what the book stores are charging over here.
Their prices look about the same as what the exclusive books website has, although it is a fair bit more user friendly.
well anything thats just come out will be a certain price and there is not much we can do about it.
But you can pick up older titles for 60 - 70 bucks and those books are 150 - 200 sometimes in exculsive.
I dunno what you are comparing.
Compare something like the Dresden files novels. big difference in price between the two stores.
I was looking at new books. The prices on the dresden files was about the same too though - R70 at take2, R80 at exclusives. Prices on older books is hit and miss - sometimes they're cheap and sometimes they aren't. I think it depends which editions are in stock. All the books I've gotten for under R100 from exclusives are all older copies and are only available off their website. I will also check take2 from now on too. Digital copies of older books aren't really that much cheaper, but they definitely tend to be cheaper on new releases, at least compared to prices here.
[url="http://www.alt146.zzl.org"]MafiaManager[/url]: My Mafia Modding tool - Now at v0.3b
With great power comes a great integral of energy over time.
With great power comes a great integral of energy over time.
#30
Posted 24 December 2010 - 11:46 AM
you know...been looking at the exclsuive website now and they have changed quite a bit.
prices arent as bad anymore.
havent used them in over a year...so.
Well i want to get a new MOI as my old one is fucked beyond recognition.
Exclusive have it for R121
Take 2 its R71
But yea for the most part take2 is cheaper be it by only 10 bucks or 50
Im also looking into getting a kindle though.
You save money in the long run.
But there is nothing like having the real thing though.
prices arent as bad anymore.
havent used them in over a year...so.
Well i want to get a new MOI as my old one is fucked beyond recognition.
Exclusive have it for R121
Take 2 its R71
But yea for the most part take2 is cheaper be it by only 10 bucks or 50
Im also looking into getting a kindle though.
You save money in the long run.
But there is nothing like having the real thing though.
This post has been edited by dktorode: 24 December 2010 - 12:01 PM
...┌∩┐(◣_◢)┌∩┐...
Why dont they make the whole plane out of that black box stuff?
Why dont they make the whole plane out of that black box stuff?
#31
Posted 24 December 2010 - 12:19 PM
I was dead against the Kindle. Considering I'd never seen one in the flesh, I could be accused of forming unfounded opinions!! Mainly as someone who has migraine's occasionally (see migraine thread!) I didn't want the hassle of more screens in my life. I saw my sisters Kindle the other week though and I seriously want one now. The battery life is good, it's a nice weight, the selection of free books is quite good particularly since I want to read up on more "classics". I can't see anything wrong with it. Hopefully there will be one in my Christmas stocking this year but I might have left it too late.
Burn rubber =/= warp speed
#32
Posted 24 December 2010 - 05:01 PM
I'm going to get my missus to buy me one for...just the hell of it

souls are for wimps
#33
Posted 24 December 2010 - 05:35 PM
Can you get mrs frookie to buy me one too?
...┌∩┐(◣_◢)┌∩┐...
Why dont they make the whole plane out of that black box stuff?
Why dont they make the whole plane out of that black box stuff?
#34
Posted 25 December 2010 - 04:41 AM
Received a Kindle today despite being hesitant about e-readers before, and it's pretty damn cool. I still plan to be a hard copy of anything that has a map, because it's a hassle to flip to the map on a Kindle and zoom in on it. Or I'm just not very skilled at it.
#35
Posted 25 December 2010 - 09:39 AM
Does it not have a bookmark function? Anyway, enjoy

Don't fuck with the Culture.
#36
Posted 25 December 2010 - 03:01 PM
Further research indicates there are a whole bunch of restrictions using any ereader outside of the US/UK. The Nook doesn't work outside the US at all and the international Kindle stores have a much more limited selection. Apparently you only need to change your Kindle's address (and not your credit card address) to unlock the US or UK stores, although if you use 3G to purchase a book outside the country you have registered in you get charged an extra $2 roaming fee. Still haven't tried it myself but I thought some of you might be interested. The whole thing is pretty silly though, amazon will send you a hardcopy of any book anywhere in the world, but not a digital one...
[url="http://www.alt146.zzl.org"]MafiaManager[/url]: My Mafia Modding tool - Now at v0.3b
With great power comes a great integral of energy over time.
With great power comes a great integral of energy over time.
#37
Posted 25 December 2010 - 04:26 PM
The Kindle reading experience is very good. The main advantages are that it weighs very little, which will help when I retreat to my man cave and devour CG, and that I will be able to download it right away.
Things that bug me: I resent that I cannot transfer my rights to someone else, as I could with a physical book. The electronic edition is not that cheap -- it probably reflects the absence of paper. I do not want to be able to copy anything, just hand my book to a friend.
Things that bug me: I resent that I cannot transfer my rights to someone else, as I could with a physical book. The electronic edition is not that cheap -- it probably reflects the absence of paper. I do not want to be able to copy anything, just hand my book to a friend.
#38
Posted 25 December 2010 - 05:48 PM
Yellow, on 25 December 2010 - 09:39 AM, said:
Does it not have a bookmark function? Anyway, enjoy 

I think it does, I'm just not very good at navigating yet.
I'll have to look in to getting TCG from amazon.co.uk when it comes out, since it will take a while for it to ship to the US. Hopefully the address changing thing will still work.
#39
Posted 25 December 2010 - 06:21 PM
I have a kindle now! Woot...
Love it so far...picked out a oberon designs case it rocks!
Ill tell you how reading goes as I got 50 dollars with it and am trying to locate some books for it.
Love it so far...picked out a oberon designs case it rocks!
Ill tell you how reading goes as I got 50 dollars with it and am trying to locate some books for it.
-If it's ka it'll come like a wind, and your plans will stand before it no more than a barn before a cyclone
#40
Posted 27 December 2010 - 02:24 PM
I have always been extremely sceptical about touch screen on ebook reader.
On Christmas Eve we were invited to visit our friends.
She has Sony PRS-505 and she bought her husband Kindle 3 for Christmas. It was my first hands-on experience with Kindle. We laughed to tears a couple of time because after having Sony PRS-650 for only 6 weeks, I kept on trying to turn pages, translate a word, go to the menu by tapping the screen
Anyway. Kindle and Sony are very different hardwarewise. My experience the other night proved all my fears and doubts about Kindle I have had for 3 years. I just cannot accept hardware keyboard beneath screen on eBook Reader. Just cannot. Not my c..piece of gadget. Maybe I am not enough a gadget lover, I don't know. I found Kindle 3 (that is much better than its predecessors by the way) clunky, unwieldy in comparison to any Sony Reader I have owned (500, 505 and now 650). Touch screen on eInk rocks. Because it is not LCD it doesn't leave fingertips smudges or at the very least they are not that much visible. You also have a stylus if you really want to. Turning pages with a slight swipe of my thumb whether I hold the reader in my right or left hand is awesome. Accessing dictionary with double tap on a word is a fantastic feature. There are 12 dictionaries? American/American, British/British and 5 couples French, German, Italian, Spanish and one more don't remember. You can choose whichever you like. Pity, they don't have English/Russian couple.
Anyway, regardless what reader you use, if it is eInk you know it the best!
On Christmas Eve we were invited to visit our friends.
She has Sony PRS-505 and she bought her husband Kindle 3 for Christmas. It was my first hands-on experience with Kindle. We laughed to tears a couple of time because after having Sony PRS-650 for only 6 weeks, I kept on trying to turn pages, translate a word, go to the menu by tapping the screen

Anyway. Kindle and Sony are very different hardwarewise. My experience the other night proved all my fears and doubts about Kindle I have had for 3 years. I just cannot accept hardware keyboard beneath screen on eBook Reader. Just cannot. Not my c..piece of gadget. Maybe I am not enough a gadget lover, I don't know. I found Kindle 3 (that is much better than its predecessors by the way) clunky, unwieldy in comparison to any Sony Reader I have owned (500, 505 and now 650). Touch screen on eInk rocks. Because it is not LCD it doesn't leave fingertips smudges or at the very least they are not that much visible. You also have a stylus if you really want to. Turning pages with a slight swipe of my thumb whether I hold the reader in my right or left hand is awesome. Accessing dictionary with double tap on a word is a fantastic feature. There are 12 dictionaries? American/American, British/British and 5 couples French, German, Italian, Spanish and one more don't remember. You can choose whichever you like. Pity, they don't have English/Russian couple.
Anyway, regardless what reader you use, if it is eInk you know it the best!



This post has been edited by Astra: 27 December 2010 - 02:27 PM
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