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Post by thelunarfox on Dec 2, 2010 11:00:45 GMT -5
So I feel as if I'm being tempted by the whole ereader thing (not that I have any money to get one with at the moment). But I have a friend on Twitter who adores her Kobo so much that her entire family proudly has one.
Anyone here have one? Want one? Detest them?
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Post by laura on Dec 2, 2010 11:07:19 GMT -5
LOL, I've just been thinking about this lately too. I went to put a new book in my Amazon cart the other day, and I kind of wondered why I was bothering to buy a paper version, when so much of the reading I do now is electronically. I'm not sure which one I want yet, but I do want one. I think I'm leaning toward Kindle, but hubby wants me to get an iPad, lol! <--- he's just an Apple fanboy though
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Post by raquelaroden on Dec 2, 2010 11:38:20 GMT -5
I have a Kindle, and I love it.
It doesn't do everything an iPad does, but I'm fine with that. The Kindle's screen isn't back-lit, so you do have to read with a lamp or natural light, but what's nice about it is that you can read for hours without the eye strain that sometimes comes from reading screens that are back-lit. I like that I can keep a lot of books with me at one time. I have the smaller version of it, because I didn't want something as large as a magazine to carry around all the time (my purses are usually pretty small).
It's definitely better for text-only books (which I don't mind because I prefer to have paper versions of illustrated books I really love). I love the fact that I don't have to pay a subscription fee every month to have access to purchase books wherever the 3G network works--it doesn't rely on wireless internet, so that's really nice too. They send software updates over the network occasionally to expand the services. For instance, a day or two after I got my Kindle, they changed the ability to create and store pdfs on it. Before, you'd have to use an Amazon service and they'd charge you like, 10 cents or something to convert a pdf to something the Kindle could read. Now you can load pdfs on your Kindle yourself.
So, it won't allow you to check your email or surf much of the net (it has access to Wikipedia, lol), or look at pictures, but I still use mine a lot.
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Post by thelunarfox on Dec 2, 2010 12:00:48 GMT -5
Oh, thanks for that Rachel! I was checking out the Kindle too, but it's a little pricey for me I think. $189 for the new one according to the site. And it doesn't do pictures? At all? Can you get free news on it? I have been looking VERY closely at the Kobo. I tried it out last night at the book store and it's very simple and sleek. I actually almost get the feeling of holding a real book which is really weird. The texture on the back really makes a difference. It also does pictures, and it has wifi (definitely not the connect anywhere kind though). My only thing was the weird button. I didn't like it. It's all rubber and difficult to get a feel for as opposed to those with proper backwards and forwards buttons. But other than that, I liked it. And it's $139 on it's own or $169 with a bundle of books.
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Post by thelunarfox on Dec 2, 2010 12:02:07 GMT -5
Oh listen to me, I'm pretty sure I've already sold myself on it. I just need the money.
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Post by raquelaroden on Dec 2, 2010 12:08:49 GMT -5
It will show you pictures, but it just won't show them with the same clarity as some of the screens we're used to nowadays, on laptops or even on something like an iPod Touch. It also doesn't do it in color. Since a decent chunk of my reading is comic books and graphic novels, I can't really use it for that--but for other types of books it's not bad. I think the larger Kindle is much better at graphics. I think you can get free news on it...but I don't ever do that, because I'm one of those terrible people who doesn't keep up with the news unless something is practically smacking me over the head or everyone is tweeting or Facebooking about it. So I'm not the best source on info about that... EDIT: The images aren't bad, by any stretch--it has something resembling a screensaver or bookcover that comes up when you haven't turned a page in a while, and sometimes they're these nifty scenes, and other times they're pictures of famous authors, etc.. You can see an example of the image quality here. (That's one of the screensaver thingies.)
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Post by thelunarfox on Dec 2, 2010 12:16:40 GMT -5
Yeah, I'm horrible about the news too unless it's easy to access. So if I could pay a subscription and get a local paper sent to my ereader, omg I'd be sold even more than I am now. I did a lot of reading news on my Wii for a while because it's so easy to get access to with a free news channel.
I hear the Nook is pretty awesome and does color, but didn't have an app for comic books. That would be awesome if I could buy e-versions of my comic books. I saw a lot of new ones I would like to read, but don't want taking up space in my little house.
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somuchsong
Full Member
...certainement disaster
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Post by somuchsong on Dec 2, 2010 18:55:55 GMT -5
Oooh, my current favourite topic! I'm getting an e-reader for Christmas and the Kobo was the first one I considered. I abandoned the idea in the end because I played with it in Borders and I found the response time really slow. I also didn't like the feel of the buttons. It doesn't read many formats either.
I considered the Kindle but it doesn't read ePubs, which is one of the most popular e-book formats. You also can't borrow library books with it, which is something I'm interested in doing. The range of books for Australians is also smaller than the range Americans have access to. I liked pretty much everything I read about the Nook and also the Sony Reader but in the end, I decided on the Sony. We don't have any Barnes & Nobles stores here, so I didn't know how much hassle a Nook would be should I need to return it or get any sort of tech support with it. I also wasn't sure about the range of books with the Nook either. With the Sony, there are at least two online stores that have books available to Australians.
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Post by thelunarfox on Dec 2, 2010 22:58:09 GMT -5
Oh thanks, Carla. Ugh-- I hate the whole file formats things. So does that mean that some books are only exclusive to some stores then? That would stink big time.
The problem for me is that it's hard for me to visualize tech stuff unless I get to play with it and test it out. Then I can get it and understand. But I'm completely having trouble understanding why there are various file formats. I get the epub-- I use the DRM-free epubs from Project Gutenberg for my DS reader. And I understand PDFs.
So then I can only assume the other formats are propitiatory? Like Amazon has their own book formats and Sony has their own?
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somuchsong
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Post by somuchsong on Dec 2, 2010 23:52:32 GMT -5
Ugh, I know, I hate it too! I really do wish they had all just decided on a universal format so we could all just buy whatever reader we were most comfortable with and then be able to buy our books from anywhere. Getting rid of those pesky licensing issues that non-USAans have to worry about would be nice too (that's why we can't buy a lot of the books Amazon sells). And don't get me started on DRM that stops the end user from using the file as they see fit!
But yes, Amazon has its own format - AZW. Sony did have its own format - BBeB - but earlier this year, they switched all the books at the Sony Store to ePub. Which is actually irrelevant to me, because there's no Aussie Sony Store anyway. The two retailers that are connected with the Sony Reader here are Angus & Robertson and Borders (which are both physical stores as well as online).
I know people who are very happy with their Kindles and their Kobos. Surgically attached to them, even! But to be able to read the widest range of formats, neither would be my choice. I at least need ePub, which ruled out the Kindle and I wanted the option of txt and doc files too, which ruled out the Kobo.
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Post by rad on Dec 3, 2010 7:57:18 GMT -5
If you have a smart phone, you can probably get a free Kindle (and others) app to test out - it's not the same as the real e-book reader, obviously, as the screen is just your mobile screen not the special ink and I imagine (hope) using a real Kindle is less fiddly than wiping your finger across the screen every time you've read a page, but it's worth doing to see how you cope with reading outside of the book format before paying out.
I have the Kindle app for Android and a whole bunch of free books on it (classics I'd never read before). It's pretty handy when I'm out and about, if I get a bit bored or whatever I can just flip open a book on the mobile, which is nice. I don't know if I'd want to do all my reading this way (old school) but it's been great while I've been away, for instance.
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Post by raquelaroden on Dec 3, 2010 8:10:27 GMT -5
Rad is right--it's nice that you can download the Kindle app for other devices, because my husband and I actually share my Kindle, but if one of us is using it, the other can still have access to the books on the laptop, desktop, or on my iPod Touch.
I find I can't really use it for academic reading, because I'm an underliner and margin note-writer. You can make notes and mark passages with the Kindle, but it isn't the same process for me and so it never worked.
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Post by thelunarfox on Dec 3, 2010 10:54:31 GMT -5
If you have a smart phone, you can probably get a free Kindle (and others) app to test out - it's not the same as the real e-book reader, obviously, as the screen is just your mobile screen not the special ink and I imagine (hope) using a real Kindle is less fiddly than wiping your finger across the screen every time you've read a page, but it's worth doing to see how you cope with reading outside of the book format before paying out. Ha! Nah, I don't have a smart phone or anything like that. I just end up using my DS to read (Go DS Libris!), but then I'm limited to copyright free stuff from Project Gutenberg. Not that I'm complaining-- there's so many books to be read! And a lot of cool things are showing up with expired copyrights. That's how I started reading Phillip Dick's amazing science fiction short stories. I've found that surprisingly, I don't really care how I get to read. Book or electronic format, I'm okay with both. Rachel, oh that's good to know that you two can still access books from other apps if one is using the reader.
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Post by thelunarfox on Dec 4, 2010 12:31:40 GMT -5
Okay, so I did a lot of experimenting last night, trying to download free books and stuff and downloading different applications. I downloaded three applications: the Kobo Reader, Adobe Digital Editions, and Calibre. I am not kidding when I say I need to work with things to figure them out. So I'm sort of discovering that it's difficult to actually get a proper library of books. I mean, ereaders themselves are easy to use, but what if I decide that my next ereader will be by a different company. Do I lose all the books I've bought? Also, digital editions of books aren't nearly as cheap as I expected. They're still selling a lot of those books at cover price. That surprised me! Many do get a nice discount, but not enough for me. I have yet to bite the bullet and download something cheap from Amazon for testing purposes. So far that's the only one I've noticed that sells cheap stories or short stories compilations for a buck or two. Also, my other thing was that I noticed Amazon selling copyright free books that can be gotten at Project Gutenberg. So anyone who has a kindle, just watch out. You can download a lot of classics for free and with images from there. Basically, I refused to be ruled by my technology. I want to know what I can do with it or not do with it before I buy it, lol. But I'm a fiddler. I think Jay said something about that was probably why I preferred Windows. I never like taking the easy route, and I'm not sold with just basic simplicity if it means in the end I'm going to get screwed when I decide one company isn't working for me. I will also add that if you already have an ereader, Calibre is probably worth looking into. It will convert the different book formats to epub which means you can probably take your library with you if you change companies. I'm trying to use it to convert legit books into something I can read on my DS. (I'm sure it can be done-- the program does see the books but it doesn't load, so I need to fiddle with it and I may already have my ebook reader right here. *pats DS*) Calibre will also download news from a variety of sources and turn it into an epub you can read on your reader. I thought this was pretty neat, but the files can be huge. (I did the NY Times Headlines as a test and the file was over 2 megs.) I do think Calibre will split large files when converting them, but I haven't quite figured that out yet.
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Post by thelunarfox on Dec 29, 2010 11:23:35 GMT -5
I just had to add that I finally got my ereader. I went with the Kobo and I love it! It's small and light weight so it's easy to carry around. I read The Hunger Games and then started rereading Anne of Green Gables. (It's been a while since I read that one.)
It is much easier to have around. I can get books right away and I can carry them all with me. As much as I still love old used books, the ereader really makes them easily accessible so that I'm reading more now than I probably have in a while. Before it was either buy a book and then cart it around un til I was done or find time to go to the library and check out a book, which I haven't done in forever just because of my work hours and the hours of operation for the library never match up well.
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somuchsong
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...certainement disaster
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Post by somuchsong on Dec 31, 2010 19:18:23 GMT -5
That's awesome, I'm glad you're enjoying your Kobo!
I've got my Sony Reader now and am also loving it. I'm usually a one-book-at-a-time person but I can see myself switching between books now that it's so easy to have multiple ones with me at all times.
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