eBook Formats and Readers ?'s

[Snaploud]

My only disappointment is the way books are organized. Is there a way to organize my "collections" alphabetically? The formatting is probably the same as on the kindle 2, so feel free to answer based upon your experience with the earlier device. [Part of the trouble was that some of my kindle books (free books from baen.com) don't have author labels.]

 

[JWolf]

My only disappointment is the way books are organized. Is there a way to organize my "collections" alphabetically? The formatting is probably the same as on the kindle 2, so feel free to answer based upon your experience with the earlier device. [Part of the trouble was that some of my kindle books (free books from baen.com) don't have author labels.]

Mobi2mobi can be used to sort out the metadata of your Mobipocket eBooks.

 

[JWolf]

I happen to like the new Sony readers. Sure, they may cost a little more, but the build quality is better. I have read stories ofSony Readers taking spills that would make a Kindle break. The aluminum case really can make a difference when your reader takes a spill and not just a simple drop. Also, Amazon should be shot for their new TV commercial. It shows people reading using a naked K3 which is a really bad idea. The K3 is plastic and a drop without a cover can end up with broken K3 a lot easier then you think. Because the screens still use a glass substrate, the aluminum used by Sony does actually give much better protection then plastic.

So really, the build quietly of Sony is just that much better then the plastic based K3. And a sleeve is a waste of money.e you need a proper case for any ink based reader.

Also, for those who need markup capabilities, the new Sony Readers do it very well and much easier

 

[Snaploud]

My only disappointment is the way books are organized. Is there a way to organize my "collections" alphabetically? The formatting is probably the same as on the kindle 2, so feel free to answer based upon your experience with the earlier device. [Part of the trouble was that some of my kindle books (free books from baen.com) don't have author labels.]

Mobi2mobi can be used to sort out the metadata of your Mobipocket eBooks.

Thanks for the tip. Mobi2mobi helped.

 

[ST-One]

Thank you to all those here who recommended the B&N nook
I've looked it up and bought on a few weeks ago and I'm really happy with it.
I like it even better than my KindleDXi.

 

[Ktrek]

Thank you to all those here who recommended the B&N nook
I've looked it up and bought on a few weeks ago and I'm really happy with it.
I like it even better than my KindleDXi.

So glad you are enjoying your nook! I really love mine and use it every day. The Kindle and the Sony ereaders are nice as well but I'm glad I bought a nook instead.

Kevin

 

[JWolf]

What I like about Sony and the nook vs the K3 is that as far as DRM goes, you are not locked into just one eBookstore. With the K3, you are locked into Amazon for eBooks with DRM.

 

[crotig]

Amazon DRM is pathetically easy to remove. I won't detail how but a google search will turn up what you need.

I'm glad amazon have starting selling new books as ebooks here in the UK and provided a free kindle for PC app. I bought my first ebook from them at the weekend, Peter F Hamilton's Evolutionary Void, had the DRM off in about 30 seconds and converted to EPUB for use on my Windows Mobile phone. I paid for the damn book Amazon so I'll read it in whatever format I like, OKAY!!!.

Even though they are also offering a free Kindle app for Android and I'll be getting a Galaxy S in a couple of weeks I'll still be ripping and converting the books I buy to have a backup format in case anything goes wrong with Kindle.

Ebook prices still seem a bit off though. £11.20 for the hardback version of the book I bought and £9.59 for the ebook, REALLY!!. If it wasn't for the fact I really wanted to read it(final part of trilogy) I may not have ordered it.

Having said all that I'm really happy reading books as ebooks now.

 

[BriannaLee]

I spent a half a year looking at all ebook readers on the market. I chose Barnes and Noble's Nook.

 

[reech]

For the UK lot, I have had my Sony eReader for a year and loved it. The only thing I didn't like; eBooks. ePub may well be the 'format of the future' but that's no good if all the online bookstores charge more than I'm prepared to pay for eBooks (and I mean that I only want a couple of quid off a paperback; say £5 for a eBook version instead of £7) - but no, in the UK we have many 'the same as' prices. This happens in all the mainstream stores we're allowed to use (Waterstones. Basically.) since many other online retailers are blocked to the UK market.

I've gone for the new Kindle, because the book prices of things I read (star trek, sci-fi, short stories, etc.) are all what I can consider as fair prices. I don't care that I can only read 'em on that device, that's what I want

The Nook intrigues me, but sadly Amazon are doing their 'buy-a-book-behemoth' thing quite well...

 

[JWolf]

Amazon DRM is pathetically easy to remove. I won't detail how but a google search will turn up what you need.

It's not as easy as you think. You can no longer remove the DRM using the Kindle itself. You need to use KindleForPC and you need one of the supported versions and the proper tools. And there is only one tool that will work for AZW all the time. So really, it's not all that easy to get setup to strip DRM.

 

[crotig]

Amazon DRM is pathetically easy to remove. I won't detail how but a google search will turn up what you need.

It's not as easy as you think. You can no longer remove the DRM using the Kindle itself. You need to use KindleForPC and you need one of the supported versions and the proper tools. And there is only one tool that will work for AZW all the time. So really, it's not all that easy to get setup to strip DRM.

I guess I got really lucky then. I downloaded a tools pack that had everything I needed in it. KindleForPC now has a GUI interface as well which simplifies things a lot.

 

[JWolf]

So given that the Star Trek eBooks (new and fairly new) are now more expensive then the paper versions, who is going to buy the eBooks and who is going to go back to the paper editions?

I'm still buying eBooks. From iBooks.

It's convenient, and I consider the prices reasonable. That's the end of it, really.

You are helping the enemy and the prices are not really reasonable when the eBook prices are higher then the paper prices. You really do need to stop buying from Apple since that helps them keep helping the Agency 5.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ Apple is not the enemy TO ME.

 

[JWolf]

^ Apple is not the enemy TO ME.

Apple and anyone who buys eBooks from Apple are the enemy.

 

[Joel_Kirk]

Interesting thread. (And, no, I didn't read all 11 pages).

I was talking to two friends about getting an eReader, since my pile of books is huge...and I know I will be doing lots of reading in the future for my writing projects and film ideas.

The biggest concern was that, for out of print books, there is no kindle or eBook option. For example, if I wanted to put James Blish ST log books on Kindle...or my Pippli Longstocking collection...(yes, I grew up watching Pippi Longstocking!)

Even books that are in print are not available in eBook format (ex: Silver Metal Lover by Tanith Lee, which I had interest in reading)...

Too, I probably would rent books from a library before actually committing to buy anything.

 

[starrchild]

Yes, that is a problem. I, too, have out-of-print books I'd like to read on my eReader. I've done a little Googling, and from what I've been able to find, it looks like if you want them on an eReader, you have to either scan the whole book into a PDF file (and convert in Calibre), or re-type it into a text document () and convert to EPUB. Neither option looks like much fun to do.....

 

[garoo1980]

Interesting thread. (And, no, I didn't read all 11 pages).

I was talking to two friends about getting an eReader, since my pile of books is huge...and I know I will be doing lots of reading in the future for my writing projects and film ideas.

The biggest concern was that, for out of print books, there is no kindle or eBook option. For example, if I wanted to put James Blish ST log books on Kindle...or my Pippli Longstocking collection...(yes, I grew up watching Pippi Longstocking!)

Even books that are in print are not available in eBook format (ex: Silver Metal Lover by Tanith Lee, which I had interest in reading)...

Too, I probably would rent books from a library before actually committing to buy anything.

That's a limitation for sure. But in a few cases it works the other way. Ask David Mack about getting all the Vanguard novels in print and you'll get the story, but they are not all available in print but are in ebook format.

 

[Smitty]

I bought a K3 a week ago and love it to death. I have many out of print books as well, some I have not read yet. I do not see the K3 or any ebook reader being my only way of reading books. There are just too many that are not on any ebook platform and may never be. But, I bought a lot of ebooks when I got my kindle and loaded it up. Just finished "The Lost Years" and sitting here currently debating whether to start Destiny, Vanguard or read Q&A.... Decisions, decisions!

 

[garoo1980]

I saw the Kobo I have (I guess we'll call it V1 now) on sale at Walmart for $119 the other day. Then the inevitable announcement of the V2 came. The good news is they're adding:

Faster processor
Better battery
Reduced weight
WiFi for buying books without having to sync
Lists for $149

Bad news is I naturally don't get to trade up for free, even though mine cost $149 6 months back. That's the way with tech I guess

Anyway, definitely shows the tech is getting better and cheaper