eReaders

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I don't have an e-reader, I just buy books. I just prefer having the paper, books are good for getting away from screens and having an enjoyable read, especially sitting in a field somewhere in the country alone on a sunny day, which I recently did. I can only ever see myself buying an e-reader if I wanted to carry lots of textbooks or non-fiction around, fiction is just better on paper to me. I would like to take the weight of textbooks off of my back though and for that an e reader could help.

You can create notes, bookmark pages, choose between 8 font sizes, choose between 3 line space settings, choose between 3 margin sizes, choose between 3 font types (Regular, Condensed, and Sans Sarif) on e-books without embedded fonts, look up the definition of words py placing the cursor over them, play music in the background, activate text-to-speech and have your Kindle read to you from text (not just audiobooks), download and play audiobooks, browse the web using the Kindle's built-it Webkit-based Mozilla5.0 web browser, bookmark web pages, view web history, connect to the built in Kindle book store and the web using Wi-Fi, 3G, EDGE, or GPRS (with the $189 version. You get Wi-Fi only with the $139 version), link to your Facebook or Twitter accounts, add personal data if your device ever gets lost, organize your home screen by adding collections, download many e-book formats such as .azw, .azw1, .mobi, .prc, .txt, .tpz and more, choose between 5 contrast settings in PDF files, install apps and third-party hacks and many, many more. Did I mention that the 3G, EDGE, and GPRS is free? There's so much more that I didn't tell you. And there are so many features such as 4 GB of memory space, 8.5 ounces of weight, one MONTH of battery charge and more that I couldn't mention in this post.

P.S. I'm writing this on my Kindle 3.

If you want to ask me any questions about the Amazon Kindle, then feel free to e-mail me at agaimari@sbcglobal.net.

The good thing about Kindle is that it uses e-ink, not LCD so you'll literally forget it's not paper! Kindle specializes in being able to "dissapear in your hand" and not distract you with a bright or electronic screen. Screens like e-ink actually ue charged particles of REAL ink so that the screen can re-arrange the ink particles when you turn a page, but the ink stays still and looks (and acts) like real ink when you're actively reading.

P.S. If you want to read text books, get the Kindle DX 2 with a 9.7 inch screen. Reading fiction and story books are better on the 6 inch screen of Kindle 3.

We get it, Stone, you like the Kindle. Calm down.

This thread is ABOUT e-readers like the Kindle, so I can talk about it all I want. My previous posts were in response to a question about Kindle, and the answer just happened to be rather lengthly. I'm certainly not obessed with Kindle or anything!

So, hold on, you're calling me stupid because I have a better gadget than you? WTF?

Mind linking me to this "survey"?

BTW, after looking at your other posts in this thread, I must ask... Do you work for Amazon?

I'm not calling you stupid. That was a generalization. You'd be "stupid" if you read e-books mostly on your iPad or "stupid" if you used a Kindle a a multimedia device.

Your gadget isn't "better" nor "worse" than Kindle. Kindle is much better at being an e-reader and having free internet but iPad is much better at movies and looking "sexy". If you have ever tried a Kindle (or any other e-ink e-reader), you'd know that e-readers FAR surpass the iPad in terms of cumfortable and practical reading and that e-readers suck at playing movies etc. I like to think of Kindle and iPad as optional complementary devices. You turn to one while reading or looking something up on Wikipedia and you turn to the other while watching movies or playing games.

I forget the URL of the survey.

And my "link" post was a joke. I said "but I'm not obsessed or anything" while linking the post to Amazon. I think that's an oxymoron.

No, I don't work for Amazon (I'm only 15!).

Last edited by Stonecold on 17 Oct 2010, 8:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.

My iPad is better. It has 32GB memory, it plays movies, it plays TV shows, it plays music, it displays photos, it has a browser which can actually display webpages in colour, it has over 300,000 apps, it has games, does e-mail, it has a multitouch screen, it has a whole office suite (word processor, spreadsheet app, etc), and it does everything your Kindle does - notes, calender, and other such basic stuff, and it has an e-reader with a built in book store to boot.

I have used both Kindles and Sony Readers, but I still prefer my iPad. It's a much better gadget.

If you "forgot" the URL of survey, I say it don't exist and you're just making up rubbish.

OK. I guess it's an opinion. You prefer your iPad, but you don't have to be rude. I don't remember the exact link, but you can find it somewhere in here:

http://ireaderreview.com/

You also forgot to mention that Kindle can also do e-mail, music, has an app store that's comming out, and has over 730,000 e-books and over 25,000,000 free e-books.

This is a thread about e-readers. If you are one of those people who don't like reading, then I don't blame you for attacking e-readers. Comparing iPad and Kindle is like comparing apples and oranges (or Apple and oranges ). One is a good reader, the other is a good video player. It was Apple who started the whole "Kindle vs. iPad" thing. They thought they could get away with it because Kindle looked like a tablet and it tries to "dissapear in the background" whereas iPad has lots of "iCandy" and tries to look flashy. People who like iPad are led to believe that Kindle is trying to be like iPad and is failing because it's not flashy. Kindle is built for reading, so of course it won't play movies!

The iPad has an e-reader and it has a book store. It is therefore an e-reader, it just happens to be one which also does a lot of other stuff really well.

The Kindle... Well, you can see the screen better under light and it's cheaper. You get what you pay for.

When most people say "e-reader", they mean dedicated e-readers. The iPad has an e-reader function, but it's not very good if you are an avid book reader. There are some people who are immune to LCD screens' fatigue and iStrain inducing light, like you. You don't have to attack Kindle. The Kindle can play MP3 files, but does that make it as good as a dedicated music player such as the iPod? No, it doesn't. You shouldn't attack Kindle. I'm not attacking iPad.

You're attacking the iPad, but I don't think I ever really attacked the Kindle. I just noted that it has fewer functions, is cheaper, and admitted the screen can be seen better in light. All of which are true.

I am not attacking the iPad. I admit that that the iPad is an excelent movie player and has an impressive number of apps. I believe iPad and Kindle are better as complementary devices and not as competing tablets. Most people prefer the Kindle over the iPad for reading not because it is better in bright light, but because it is more comfortable to read on and because they won't get distracted with all the eye candy (or "iCandy"). I do not want to attack the iPad. In fact, I might even get one, but not for reading - for movies and apps.

I think the fatal flaw in e-readers is the inability to transfer one's existing collection to a newly purchased e-reader. When I bought an iPod, I was able to upload all my CDs to it. If I buy a Kindle, will Amazon provide me with an e-book copy of everything I have in print? This would be an extremely important feature to me, as I have probably several thousand dollars worth of print books in my collection. Starting over with things purchased on Amazon's proprietary e-book market would be far too much hassle.

That would be impossible. It would be too hard for Amazon to find which books you have legally bought in print and give you the e-book versions. I'm sure you could find pirated e-books, but that would be unethical. You could also scan your e-books and turn them into PDF files, but that would be impractical.

Here are the main points:

-You can read more comfortably especially if you read large text books or fragile novels.
-You can change to font size as well as the margin size, the line space, and the font itself.
-You can write notes and make highlights and bookmark pages without worrying about ruining your book.
-You can search for these annotations automatically without having to flip through pages until you find a passage that you highlighted.
-You can search your book for specific words without skimming a book for ages.
-You can let your Kindle read out loud to you using its text-to-speech software.
-If you hold your cursor over a word, the device's built-in dictionary will give you the definition at the bottom of the page.
-The Kindle will remember where you last read, so the e-book will open your currant location automatically.
-You can carry 3,500 books in an 8.5 ounce gadget so you'll never go on a plane ride thinking "I forgot my favorite book!" or "I wish I could bring this book... and that one... and this one. I just don't have enough room!"
-You can buy and download e-books in under 60 seconds without having to run to a store or wait for your book to be delivered.
-You can have your periodicals delivered to you automatically.
-You can sort your books into collections.
-You can play background music while reading.
-You can use your Kindle for one month on a single charge (charging takes about 3 hours).
-You can browse the web with free 3G, EDGE, GPRS, and Wi-Fi.
-You can listen to audiobooks.

These are just some of the points of e-books on Kindle.