Posted on 10/07/2009 11:40:10 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
(Excerpt) Read more at marketwatch.com ...
Amazing how capitalism works.
Don’t think they’re being “driven” to cut the price, it’s totally predictable behavior and probably will be less than $100 within two years.
Kindle = razor, Books = blade$
Look for companies asking the government to have a “talk” with Amazon.
Not an Apple Fanboy, but I think an app for the iPhone or iPod Touch would be more accepted than the Kindle.
And Apple already has the digital rights issues handled.
Best Buy just started carrying the Sony Reader, both Touch and Pocket models. Competition is a wonderful thing.
The issue is the screen - that is why e-book readers exist.
Thanks for the info.
I have a Kindle 2 and generally like it. However, there are two definite improvements Amazon could make in it, one farily expensive and the oher quite easy. The expensive one would be to enable it to reproduce color materials, without which it is mainly restricted to books without color illustrations. The other is to add a contrast control. Right now reading something like a battle map, for example, can be very difficult because there’s not enough contrast in the diagram.
I have an iTouch and it has a Kindle reader. I’ve been testing out a few books but haven’t bought any yet, mostly because I have access to a university library and just don’t need to purchase a lot of books when I can borrow them. My understanding is that the iTouch version doesn’t have some of Kindle’s bells and whistles, but all I want to do is read the book, so that’s fine by me for now. That said, I’m a prof and have read a number of prof’s comments on the Kindle and how they use the different features. It seems seems like a good tool, I just don’t need it now.
There are also iTouch apps that have books, mostly public domain books from what I can tell. I got one for about 2$ and have maybe 20 books that I’m working through as I sit in waiting rooms, etc. The pages look good, they look like a book, and the type is easy for these middle-aged eyes to read. I think they are a pretty nifty and would buy another one with more/different books on it.
The e-tailing behemoth cut prices only on the main Kindle, not the Kindle DX, by $40 to $259.
I’m not going to strain my eyes to read books on an i-pod, that’s insanity. Kids might be willing to do it, but no way. A magazine article, an email, a web page sure, but no way in hell I’m reading a novel that way.
I see a need for a “government option” to “encourage choice and competition!” Of course, you can’t buy one out of state, all the current models must be changed to meet the new “minimum” standards (which are the only allowed options (in other words the “maximum” standards as well - DUH)) and those that can’t afford one will get one provided at the cost of those that “can” afford it (at which point they will too broke to buy their own - see how hope and change works?)!!!
We need to get on top of this before Sony, Amazon, iPhone and all these other EeeeeVIL companies can take us to the bank!
Who is with me! Hello?!? Is this thing on?
>> Kindle = razor, Books = blade$
Zackly.
Recommendations? Anyone?
You are correct for most people reading on an i-pod
is a strain...for me though being extremly near-sighted
its not such an issue.
I use the Book Shelf app,quite good.
For s/f fans there`s a site called “Free Speculative Fiction” that has hundreds of short stories and novels
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Thanks Ernest. |
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I think you have to start there. Then there is the question of how the books are delivered....Kindle can work off wireless . I want something that I can download onto a PC...not sure if you can do that easily with Kindle. It's not a simple decision...much bigger than just which reading device. And of course everything is a moving target....i.e. changes are occurring.
I can do the research, just looking to see if any experts were lurking. Thanx!
I bought my first Kindle last December, then upgraded to the new one a couple of months ago. I also have an iphone with the Kindle reader. For a while I had a couple of friends wonder why I’d buy the Kindle when I could just read off my iphone - one of them ended up buying my old Kindle from me...
I chose the Kindle because I could download books anywhere Sprint network is available (trying to read off the iphone screen would be miserable - I’d spend all my time turning pages). I made the decision when I ran out of book one morning when I needed to kill some time, and I really wished I could just get one on the spot at the restaurant I was at. The Kindle is the only one available (so far) that you don’t need to plug into a computer, which is wonderful when you’re out and about. And yes, you can back up your books on your computer, and I think download them that way. I’ve never bothered to learn how, since that’s not important to me. But if it’s important to you, you can do it.
As to not being able to do color: that’s a limitation of the “electronic paper” technology the Kindle uses (I think that’s what it’s called). The screen is supposed to simulate paper, and isn’t backlit. So you can read it in bright sunlight, but need a booklight in low light (easily available - I have one that fits in my Kindle cover). I’d love to have color, but this particular technology hasn’t caught up yet.
Sorry for the long post, but thought I’d share my experience for those that are considering an ereader. To be honest, even though I still get teased for spending the money, I wouldn’t part with my Kindle. You’ll have to pry it out of my cold, dead hands, right after you get my guns. :-)
See #20...
Thanks scsloan01
Thanx
Thanks for the evaluation. I have been thinking about getting a Kindle and you have helped me a lot. I’m buying one as soon as I get paid.
Best regards,
SF
I’ve had a Kindle 2 for several months now. I really like it. I find the screen to be easy to read and about the right size. I really like the wireless connection to Amazon. I’ve read dozens of books on it already, and I subscribe to a couple of daily papers (Seattle Times and WSJ) and one magazine so far (Reason). The wireless makes a big difference. There’s no wireless account... the delivery is included in the price of the book from Amazon. And... the books are significantly cheaper than the hardcopy version. And the classics... Shakespeare, Sherlock Holmes, H.G. Wells and such are free or close to it.
I really don’t have much to criticize.
Yes, it’s limited to B&W due to the way the “electronic ink” works... but so are paperback books. It isn’t backlit, but neither are books. That’s what it’s supposed to be: a paperback book. And... that’s the secret to the battery life. It takes no power to display, it only takes a little burst of power to change the page. If you leave the wireless off most of the time (which you usually do) the battery lasts for a couple of weeks between charges. Sweet.
There probably won’t be a color version for some time, just because of the way it works. But that’s no handicap for what I bought it for— to read books and articles.
I recommend it. I recommend the leather cover for it, maybe an extra power cord and the little metal stand if she likes to read at a desk.
Thanx.
I’m not an Apple Fanboy either — just someone who has chosen Apple products for home use since the early to mid 1980s — but as someone already mentioned above, there is a Kindle app for the iPhone / Touch. And the Apple tablet may be out before Christmas.
WTF? I've seen plenty of paperback books with color illustrations.
Well, sure, but most regular paperback books are printed in black ink. Of course they can be in color. But they're often not.
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