Amazon Kindle

[Deadpool]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FI73MA/ref=sv_kinc_0/104-8846955-2148721

It looks nice and seems great except for the price. Once the price goes down I can see this doing good

 

[Brynthe2]

My concerns with this electronic ink device are the same as they are for the Sony Reader.. lack of compatibility with most major formats. Though, to be honest, it doesn't really say what formats it will read, but it only mentions being able to email picture files to the unit. If this device can read all major formats from my current library, in addition to new downloads, wirelessly through the unit, then I'd be interested in picking one up. Otherwise, I'd have a hard time spending any amount of money on a piece of hardware designed only to read specific, or proprietary file formats.

I'm glad to see more of these devices coming on the market, but I can't wait until we finally see one at a decent starting price that is a bit more capable. But good find.. I'll have to keep an eye on the review for this thing.

 

[Sisko_is_my_captain]

If they really want to hook people, they should start with students and offer the unit free or discounted with the purchase of text books. I'd have had no problem paying $300 or less on a unit that I could have loaded my texts onto a light-weight device. Perhaps they can offer similar devices at a discount to the public school system. The idea being that the kids get the device, don't have to lug schoolbooks around any more, and then let the kids keep it (or buy their own) and then go off and buy pleasure reading material for the unit.

I predict that I'll own something like this in <10 years.

 

[JD]

^ If they did something like that I would be very tempted to pick it up.

 

[TerriO]

Sisko_is_my_captain said:
If they really want to hook people, they should start with students and offer the unit free or discounted with the purchase of text books. I'd have had no problem paying $300 or less on a unit that I could have loaded my texts onto a light-weight device. Perhaps they can offer similar devices at a discount to the public school system. The idea being that the kids get the device, don't have to lug schoolbooks around any more, and then let the kids keep it (or buy their own) and then go off and buy pleasure reading material for the unit.

I predict that I'll own something like this in <10 years.

I've actually been suggesting that for at least a year now. Hell, the boon to college engineering students alone would be worth it. I still have the notch in my shoulder from the sheer weight of the books in my backpack my first year as an engineering student at Purdue.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Thanks, but no thanks. I much, much prefer having a real book in my hands.

 

[OmahaStar]

Emh said:
Thanks, but no thanks. I much, much prefer having a real book in my hands.

How do you define "real"?


"This isn't reality, this is fantasy."

 

[Christopher]

You know, this is probably the ancestor of those clipboard thingies that yeomen were always handing to Captain Kirk...

 

[BrotherBenny]

This might finally convert me from dead tree format - when it becomes available in the UK

 

[VanCardboardbox]

Can't say I like the look of the Kindle.

Those interested in simple eInk readers (i.e. not multi functional PDAs) may want to check out the newly released Cybook Gen3 from Bookeen. There are already several positive reviews. I will likely pick one up in the new year.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

OmahaStar said:

Emh said:
Thanks, but no thanks. I much, much prefer having a real book in my hands.

How do you define "real"?


"This isn't reality, this is fantasy."

Paper pages bounded by hard cardboard.

 

[Brynthe2]

VanCardboardbox said:
Can't say I like the look of the Kindle.

Those interested in simple eInk readers (i.e. not multi functional PDAs) may want to check out the newly released Cybook Gen3 from Bookeen. There are already several positive reviews. I will likely pick one up in the new year.

Thanks for the link to the Cybook.. this device seems to cover a large variety of formats as well. Can't wait for these devices to start coming down in price (Cybook is $350 or $450 for the deluxe model.)

Unlike Emh, I have no aversion to fake books aside from the inability to share them with my friends if I'm trying to get them into an author or book series, without having to give up my device (not going to happen). But then again, within the past 10 years I think I can remember loaning out maybe 3 books, so I guess that's not really a substantial issue for me.

 

[JD]

How many eInk readers are there now?

 

[TerriO]

Emh said:

OmahaStar said:

Emh said:
Thanks, but no thanks. I much, much prefer having a real book in my hands.

How do you define "real"?


"This isn't reality, this is fantasy."

Paper pages bounded by hard cardboard.

Emh, you've actually managed to offend me with this. Just thought you should know.

You know, I had a rather lengthy angry rant in reply to this, but I was getting far more worked up than I needed to be about something that so few people apparently give a damn about anyway. Sometimes, the angry rant is just spitting into the wind.

I will say this. Consider how you'd feel if you finally got the chance to write a Trek story and get paid for it. You've got the publishing contract. You've been paid for the story. You've seen the copy edit. You've seen the page proofs. You've got your first professional sale. You know your story is going to kick seven levels of ass. You're ready to go online and tell everyone about it, because you're sure they'll be as thrilled for you as you are for yourself.

But you've had the misfortune of it being an eBook.

So only a handful of people are actually going to read it.

Then you're told by the talking heads online that your work isn't "real" purely because it's an eBook and not printed on paper.

How would you feel?





Oh, BTW, does anyone happen to know what the next eBook after the Slings and Arrows miniseries is?

 

[Brynthe2]

JD said:
How many eInk readers are there now?

This makes 3 that I'm aware of:

• The Sony Reader
• The Amazon Kindle
• The Cybook

But I know there have been others that were shown at trade shows, but just haven't shown up on the market yet (one of which had a screen that rolled up into the unit, kind of like a projector screen does - though obviously much smaller) In addition, there were one or two others that seem to have already come and gone, never really catching on, or putting forth any market presence.

TerriO said:
Oh, BTW, does anyone happen to know what the next eBook after the Slings and Arrows miniseries is?

Not sure if you were asking that just to prove a point or if it was a legitimate question in which you were curious about the answer. But, I'll take a whack at it and say your ST:CE book is the next ebook after Part 2 of Slings and Arrows, followed by Part 3 of Slings and Arrows in December.

I can understand your frustration with not having enough people read your stories because of the format they are in and can doubly understand your frustration at those who are unwilling to even give the ebook format a chance. I think alot of that has to do with the lack of availability in portable ebook readers and the price of the current readers on the market. Right now, this is a lot of money for a person to spend on a device that will allow them to read ebooks in relatively the same comfort that they read paper books, already. But don't let it work you up too much, there are those of us who look forward to this technology and look forward to reading those authors whose material is available on that format, otherwise, the topic starter wouldn't have posted this thread at all.

 

[captcalhoun]

well, i'm sorry but if'n it ain't on a printed page it pretty much ain't a book. basic definition of a book is written words on pages bound together. the stuff you done is E-books.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Terri, my opinion is simply that: an opinion.

 

[Brynthe2]

captcalhoun, Considering that the writing process isn't any different when writing a short story that is to be printed in a book, vs writing a short story that is to be released as an ebook, I'm not really sure I understand the relevance of your point.

And based on your signature, if you're willing to read/write fan fiction on your computer and read a blog, why would reading an ebook be any different?

 

[Rosalind]

okay, everyone, we've been down this road before: Some people like and read ebooks, some people for various reasons can't read ebooks (which is not the same as reading message boards), and some people are just old fashioned and prefer paper (says the person who uses fountain pen ). So let's leave the debate for ebook vs. deadtree, and get back on topic please.

 

[Smiley]

While I agree that "ink-and-paper" would be a more accurate term, I took "real" in EMH's post to mean a description of the format, not a value judgment of stories in eBook form.

As things stand now, if the same story is available in eBook and paper formats, then I will choose the paper format every time. There are still too many advantages of paper that eBooks need to overcome. However, that does not stop me from reading a good story if it's only in eBook format.