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Burn your books! [eReaders] are here!

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  • Burden of ProofBurden of Proof You three boys picked a beautiful hill to die on. Registered User regular
    I've only tried to read one PDF on my Kindle, and it was enough to convince me never to try it again

  • TychoCelchuuuTychoCelchuuu PIGEON Registered User regular
    So I've had my $79 Kindle w/ Special Offers since this morning when my Amazon delivery got here, and so far I'm quite thrilled with it. I loaded it up with some free books from Amazon and with all my academic PDF articles that I'm going to read when I get around to them, plus the articles that I needed for class today and some papers written by myself and my fellow students that I converted to PDFs. It all worked great and it saved me about 30 pages worth of printing. I guess maybe I'd be enjoying a larger, DX-style screen even more, but everything I've read so far is large enough for me and it's tough to beat the price.

  • Two Headed BoyTwo Headed Boy Registered User regular
    How's the refresh rate, @TychoCelchuuu? Are you familiar enough with any of the older models to assess how improved it is?

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  • TychoCelchuuuTychoCelchuuu PIGEON Registered User regular
    I've never owned an eReader before. I watched one review video that said the refresh rate was slightly faster, and it has an 800 MHz processor which is better than the 533 MHz processor on the previous Kindles. All I know is that it's faster than turning a page in a book or turning/flipping over a printed page, so... no complaints there.

  • XeddicusXeddicus Registered User regular
    edited October 2011
    Also, (just going by what I've read since I've never owned an E-reader and still don't yet...) PDF's are crap to read on them, so if you're happy reading those things sound good. Need to get me one of these things, crafty amazon.

    Xeddicus on
  • KalkinoKalkino Buttons Londres Registered User regular
    So, the new Sony PRS-T1 looks interesting, although I've not as yet read a detailed spec sheet

    http://www.mobiletechreview.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Number=41432

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  • CyvrosCyvros Registered User regular
    I don't think anyone else has mentioned it, but you guys might be interested, since most of you are Kindle-y fellows. Amazon has confirmed that the Kindle Touch will not allow web browsing over 3G. Except for Wikipedia. You still get that over 3G.

    The Kindle 3/Keyboard will still have 3G browsing, though.

  • Skoal CatSkoal Cat Registered User regular
    Ooooo, interesting

  • DarmakDarmak RAGE vympyvvhyc vyctyvyRegistered User regular
    To be honest, browsing on it was a pain in the ass (at least it was with the first gen Kindle, I haven't tried with the 3rd gen) and I don't know how many people will miss the feature.

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  • Skoal CatSkoal Cat Registered User regular
    I think the most interesting thing is the wiki exception

  • EvilOtakuEvilOtaku Registered User regular
    I bet it was a compromise that Amazon had to make with AT&T. AT&T probably wanted some absurd cap or more money.

  • CyvrosCyvros Registered User regular
    I was impressed they managed to negotiate free 3G access in as many regions as they did. Though there are only three companies I can think of that would have a chance: Apple, Amazon and Google. And Apple and Google have no compelling reason whatsoever to offer that.

  • KealohaKealoha Registered User regular
    Technology aspects aside - even though this is that forum - has owning an e-reader changed reading habits for any of you? I used to read a ton, but have dropped off in the past year or two. Looking into getting an e-reader but I don't want it to be a waste of money. I think I'd at least pick up the reading in the beginning, just for the novelty of using an e-reader, but who knows if it'd last.

    Also: I'd never considered buying a full-fledged tablet before, but the Fire is pretty tempting.

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  • Two Headed BoyTwo Headed Boy Registered User regular
    Kealoha wrote:
    Technology aspects aside - even though this is that forum - has owning an e-reader changed reading habits for any of you? I used to read a ton, but have dropped off in the past year or two. Looking into getting an e-reader but I don't want it to be a waste of money. I think I'd at least pick up the reading in the beginning, just for the novelty of using an e-reader, but who knows if it'd last.

    Also: I'd never considered buying a full-fledged tablet before, but the Fire is pretty tempting.

    That is very much the situation I was in. I used to read a lot, dropped off during college, and got a Kindle a month or so ago. Since getting it, I have (on average) read a book a week. The experience is so much better than a book, I look forward to reading it every night. I don't consider e-ink a "novelty" in the traditional sense of the word. Sure, when you first see it it's surprising and impressive, but the real appeal of it is that you forget it completely. If you're worried about the cost, get that $79 Kindle with offers, I've heard nothing but glowing things about it, and the offers are really unobtrusive and actually great deals.

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  • JHunzJHunz Registered User regular
    edited October 2011
    If nothing else, it's widening what I read a bit. I can't afford to buy books at the rate I go through them (and it is way too easy to buy a book on the Kindle), so I've been picking up a lot of the deals and free books. Some of them are even pretty good.

    JHunz on
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  • CyvrosCyvros Registered User regular
    edited October 2011
    Kealoha wrote:
    Technology aspects aside - even though this is that forum - has owning an e-reader changed reading habits for any of you? I used to read a ton, but have dropped off in the past year or two. Looking into getting an e-reader but I don't want it to be a waste of money. I think I'd at least pick up the reading in the beginning, just for the novelty of using an e-reader, but who knows if it'd last.

    I bought my first e-reader, the original Kobo, more as a curiosity. I was running out of space on my bookshelves and seven years of uni had started to put me off reading. Once I got it, I started going through books like never before. One decent-sized novel a week, which was faster than my usual pace.

    And since I got my Kobo Touch in August, I've been consistently going through a 200-250 page book every two days. Two or three weeks after I started using it, I checked the reading stats page and saw I'd read 23 hours in that time. I've never read so much in such a short period of time in my life. Man, I could prattle on about the convenience, too, but I won't.

    One thing, though. Get a good quality cover. A couple of weeks ago, there was flash flooding where I live. I had no umbrella and no bag because I wasn't expecting it. The cover I have (some hemp/cotton blend) got drenched. On the outside. My Kobo was completely fine, and the cover dried within a couple of hours. Get a quality cover and an e-reader is a shitload easier to protect than any book.

    Just don't drop it.

    Cyvros on
  • XeddicusXeddicus Registered User regular
    Problem with the Kindle covers is their a rip off. 40 bucks for the non-lighted version so you're better off buying a new Kindle than 2 of the stupid things. I hope some third parties step in by the time I pick one up. And/or I compile a nice list of random ones that work with it.

  • CyvrosCyvros Registered User regular
    edited October 2011
    eBay, dude. I mean, this is the case I have, and there's a series of hemp cases for the K3. Give 'em a month and there'll undoubtedly be similar ones for the newer Kindles. Otherwise, you have no shortage of alternative leather cases. I've just had really good experiences so far with my hemp case.

    Also, seriously, everyone has leather cases. :P

    Cyvros on
  • amnesiasoftamnesiasoft Thick Creamy Furry Registered User regular
    edited October 2011
    Cyvros wrote:
    Also, seriously, everyone has leather cases. :P
    Hey now, my Nook sleeve is neoprene.

    amnesiasoft on
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  • DjeetDjeet Registered User regular
    Kealoha wrote:
    Technology aspects aside - even though this is that forum - has owning an e-reader changed reading habits for any of you? I used to read a ton, but have dropped off in the past year or two. Looking into getting an e-reader but I don't want it to be a waste of money. I think I'd at least pick up the reading in the beginning, just for the novelty of using an e-reader, but who knows if it'd last.

    Also: I'd never considered buying a full-fledged tablet before, but the Fire is pretty tempting.

    IMO it's the content that hooks you, not the delivery mechanism. If you want to read a lot, the kindle (or an ereader) is a great thing cause you don't have to schlep around the books. GRRM's A Song of Ice and Fire 1st 5 books are like 5-6K paperback (probably nearly a foot thickness of book). When I read it, it was half a cm of Kindle. Really easy to transport, no worries about breaking spines. I have a shitton of free books on Kindle (public domain stuff) but haven't really cracked much of it open, cause being old they tend to be slow and dry. I read some of the Plato, but I was a philosophy minor so that might inform that. Also Sherlock Holmes is pretty solid.

  • XeddicusXeddicus Registered User regular
    edited October 2011
    Libraries need to get cracking on electronic editions. Or rather, more libraries. Or to be even more specific- my local library. I'm assuming I'm just screwed in that regard, though, seeing as how they're only open 3 days a week and that's 1 more than half the rest of the libraries in the system. Pull funding from the schools or something!

    Xeddicus on
  • CyvrosCyvros Registered User regular
    edited October 2011
    Cyvros wrote:
    Also, seriously, everyone has leather cases. :P
    Hey now, my Nook sleeve is neoprene.

    sigh

    Cyvros wrote:
    Also, seriously, everyone has leather/neoprene/silicon cases. :P

    There we go.

    Cyvros on
  • XeddicusXeddicus Registered User regular
    I'm pretty sure you can make a decent book cover out of a paper bag. I wonder if you can for the Kindle!

  • TychoCelchuuuTychoCelchuuu PIGEON Registered User regular
    I don't need a cover for my Kindle while I'm reading with it, and when I'm not using it and it's in my bag, I just keep it in the little box it came it. I figure if it's good enough to keep Kindles safe when they're shipped across the country, it should be good enough for keeping mine intact.

  • XeddicusXeddicus Registered User regular
    Ha, I was thinking that same exact thing. Thanks for confirming it works. :P

  • CyvrosCyvros Registered User regular
    I'm not talking about a cover to protect it from dust. Like I said, the kind of cover that protests from a goddamned rainstorm. That by itself justified the higher-than-usual price I'd pay for any cover. Also, a sexy cover. :P Can't go past a nice, sexy cover.

  • ahcobrasahcobras Registered User regular
    I've been lax in reading lately, due to work and family stuff, but I want to get back into it.I'm looking for some advice. I'm trying to decide between the Kindle Touch without ads or the Nook Color. I've never used either. I think that I'd like the Kindle's e-ink better than the color screen of the Nook, and obviously, the Kindle Touch is cheaper. However, I have one of those B&N rewards credit cards where I get about $75 in B&N gift cards throughout the year. As of late, I've been using them to buy gifts for others rather than myself, since I've not had a great deal of time to read.

    Any thoughts would be appreciated.



  • Jubal77Jubal77 Registered User regular
    Why not just go with the Nook touch then?

  • CyvrosCyvros Registered User regular
    Yeah, the Nook Simple Touch is probably the better choice. It's running Android and rootable, so you can run whatever Android apps you like on it.

  • bfickybficky Registered User regular
    edited October 2011
    So, $80 Kindle or $100 Kindle touch?

    It's for my wife. We went to Best Buy to check out the $80 Kindle, and she liked it, but said that she kept instinctively touching the screen to select things instead of the 5-way buttons (never handled an e-reader before). So, she wants to wait for the Touch. On the Tested podcast, the guys were kinda down on the Touch, saying that e-reader screens are hard to clean fingerprints off of, and that the Touch's IR tech is probably prone to accidental page turns. I think the lack of edge buttons would be annoying as well.

    I'm hesitant to tell her to go with the one she doesn't want though. Can anyone with Nook touch (or whatever it's called) experience say if touch is a good thing for an e-reader?

    bficky on
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  • SpoitSpoit *twitch twitch* Registered User regular
    They didn't have a nook touch demo at best buy? Try Barnes and noble then

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  • bfickybficky Registered User regular
    Spoit wrote:
    They didn't have a nook touch demo at best buy? Try Barnes and noble then

    They did, but it was stuck on a demo loop, so no way to tell how sensitive the touch was.

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  • AlegisAlegis Impeckable Registered User regular
    I think she'll get used to using the buttons, it's a lot of people's first reaction to touch the screen. You actually use the buttons on the side rather than the 5-way - wait, this is the new, smaller kindle?

    If the kindle still has buttons on the side I think she'll have no problem adapting, having to use that 5-way pad might be a different story, I'd find touch more convenient

  • ElinElin Registered User regular
    bficky wrote:
    So, $80 Kindle or $100 Kindle touch?

    It's for my wife. We went to Best Buy to check out the $80 Kindle, and she liked it, but said that she kept instinctively touching the screen to select things instead of the 5-way buttons (never handled an e-reader before). So, she wants to wait for the Touch. On the Tested podcast, the guys were kinda down on the Touch, saying that e-reader screens are hard to clean fingerprints off of, and that the Touch's IR tech is probably prone to accidental page turns. I think the lack of edge buttons would be annoying as well.

    I'm hesitant to tell her to go with the one she doesn't want though. Can anyone with Nook touch (or whatever it's called) experience say if touch is a good thing for an e-reader?

    Disclosure: I've not used any of the touch readers.

    Whenever I hand someone my Kindle to look at they also automatically touch the screen. I actually did too for a while when I first got it even though I knew that it wasn't a touch screen. Once you use it for a while though you realize the forward side button is in the exact perfect place for your thumb to rest while casually reading. Really, completely intuitive.

    I will mention this about the 80$ Kindle, it has half the battery life of the normal Kindle. It's still good, don't get me wrong, but it is half. And also less space, but really, the battery thing would get me. The Kindle 3 boasts "2 months on one charge." That's with the Wifi and 3G off and based on a half hour of reading per day. In realistic terms that's 30 hours on one charge while the 80$ Kindle has about 15 hours on a charge. With me, that would be a pain in the ass as I can read 15 hours in 2 days, but if your wife isn't a heavy reader it may not be an issue.

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  • SpoitSpoit *twitch twitch* Registered User regular
    bficky wrote:
    Spoit wrote:
    They didn't have a nook touch demo at best buy? Try Barnes and noble then

    They did, but it was stuck on a demo loop, so no way to tell how sensitive the touch was.
    The ones at barnes and noble should be fully functional. And I don't have any problems cleaning fingerprints off the e-ink screens, they're pretty resistant to fingerprints in the first place. But then again, I don't have a touch one, so...

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  • XeddicusXeddicus Registered User regular
    The new non-touch kindles do have the page turning buttons which I assume are superior to smudging your screen up.

  • TychoCelchuuuTychoCelchuuu PIGEON Registered User regular
    I would see a touchscreen as a disadvantage, what with the smudging, the extra money, the lack of the physical page turn buttons, the possible accidental page turns, the general fussiness of the touchscreen + eInk combo (which is slow to react, and which therefore feels weird compared to something like an iPhone touchscreen), and possibly the worse battery life (?) but like Elin says, every time I hand my Kindle to someone, they poke at the screen, even after I tell them that it is not a touchscreen and that they need to press the buttons to do stuff. I even show them before I hand it to them that touching the screen does nothing and that the buttons do things. First time they want to move/select something? *tap* *tap* *tap*

    Then again, it might just be something that you get used to extremely quickly. So... I guess, wait for the touch Kindle to come out, then make a friend buy it and try it out?

  • CyvrosCyvros Registered User regular
    Well, it really depends on how well they've done it. The Sony and Kobo touch readers also use IR tech for the touch, and they're really responsive. I occasionally get accidental page turns, but it's mostly if I don't lock the screen and am walking around. Also, unless you're eating fucking KFC while reading, you really aren't going to get smudges. And you don't really need a screen protector unless... well, again, unless you're eating triple-fried bacon butties.

    Also, additional physical page turn buttons would kind of detract from the minimalist aesthetic they seem to be going for.

  • Centipede DamascusCentipede Damascus Registered User regular
    the Nook Simple Touch actually does have page turn buttons in addition to the touch screen.

  • XeddicusXeddicus Registered User regular
    It looks like their damn near invisible, anyway, so having them makes sense.

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