ebooks kindle amazon

Comments are fascinating related to this device, though in my opinion the interesting story here is the direction the functionality is taking. That is something to note and watch carefully. Amazons stake in the content/functionality ground is also likely significant.

To take full advantage of Flickr, you should use a JavaScript-enabled browser and
install the latest version of the Macromedia Flash Player.

Comments

cobalt123 says:

From what I heard on the NPR interview today, I think I'll pass on the $300 marvel. I must be one of those dinosaurs that will always prefer the book in hand. I miss very much the days when there was a great daily reading chapter by chapter of books on NPR for I do enjoy books presented well in audio. I wish that Amazon had thought a bit more about how to make their new "Kindle" accessible to those with disabilities. But then their Amazon website is soooo inaccessible that I suppose it goes with their corporate disinterest to put out the inaccessible Kindle.

OK, rant over, LOL.
Posted 20 months ago. ( permalink )

Celeste says:

I prefer paper
Posted 20 months ago. ( permalink )

libraryman says:

This is great feedback! Anyone else care to chime in?
Posted 20 months ago. ( permalink )

Gerry Szymanski says:

The public library I worked at bought a ton of ebooks and ebook readers back about, oh 8 years or so ago. A huge flop. I think they're using them for coasters. Or to hold up bookshelves.

Why don't people realize that the book IS the height of technology? It totally works - it's portable, tactile and crams a huge amount of information into its size. It's worked for THOUSANDS of years.

(Remember, before Gutenberg, they were writing in books that looked like books and worked like books and WERE books).

For how much paper the computer revolution has generated, you'd think all the techies would realize that that when the Egyptians graduated from clay to flat, rollup papyrus that they got into a good groove.

It's a groove that's worked for a long long time.

And interesting that we're seeing touted this where? In a magazine.

ON PAPER.
Posted 20 months ago. ( permalink )

Hidden Peanuts says:

Heh, this shot is showing up all over my contacts' photo streams today!

I am very excited about the device, but it's still out of my price range. I have an old Rocket eBook reader (bought surplus when a local library decided to ditch their pilot project copies) that I love to death. The only major drawback for me has been the lack of reasonably priced content. Amazon may have solved that hurdle, and E-Ink is just a cherry on top.

So, if they knock $100 off the price I'm in.
Posted 20 months ago. ( permalink )

cobalt123 says:

I still think that the average $9 to $12 price quoted for each audio book is too high. I am a big fan of buying new for those books I know I will want to keep and then scavenging in my local used bookstores for a far lower price. And then, get this, think about using the local LIBRARY, hehehehe.
Posted 20 months ago. ( permalink )

Sarah Mae says:

I don't have anything to add except that the creator this new e-book reader admitted on NPR this evening that they know they can't "outbook the book" but I really don't think that their quest to go "beyond the book" is going to be that successful. $300 dollars is too much for wireless updating newspaper reading.
Posted 20 months ago. ( permalink )

Citizen Pioneer says:

Paper book, hands down. Libraries are absolutely free, free, FREE!
Posted 20 months ago. ( permalink )

YorickWell says:

I use a Palm T3 and a Palm E for audiobooks and for some ebook text content. Plus they keep my calendar and some games and email. The only thing they don't do is photos and phone. I am much happier having the phone, photo, and PDA separate.

But $400 for the machine that does so much less than my Palm is not for me. (Plus I'm able to check out ebooks that I can read on my Palm, so I already have ebooks that I can borrow from the library for free.)
Posted 20 months ago. ( permalink )

libraryman says:

This conversation is great! And such quick responses, it knocks my socks off. I just added my thoughts to the photo description. Who knows, eh?
Posted 20 months ago. ( permalink )

freerangelibrarian says:

Good grief, if Newsweek loves Bezos that much, why don't they marry him. What a ghastly bit of journalistic fawning.
Posted 20 months ago. ( permalink )

fotogail says:

ok, cost and inevitable need to replace in a few years ... tech never lasts. use of electricity -- interesting to weigh that against the carbon and other impact of milling paper.

if that was not a question -- the font size adjustment idea is pretty nice. i bet it is self-illuminating for reading in bed. what about search and annotation? that seems like what a device could do for non-fiction reading especially.

but overall, why is it not just another brand of something many companies have played with?
Posted 20 months ago. ( permalink )

Philosoap [deleted] says:

I opened up an old, yellowing copy of a Peanuts comic strip paperback the other day (my daughter collects old comic strip books -- e.g. Hagar the Horrible, Family Circus, Beetle Bailey, etc. -- and puts them into the "reading basket" in the bathroom). The paper smelled a little musty, and the edges of the paper were fraying. The print quality was ...er...pitiful. But it was the tactile, low effort, low overhead, availability of the content that I enjoyed. I enjoyed holding an object that had been held by countless others. I enjoyed the age of the object and its quaint graphic design. The musty smell and "vibe."

The Book
A vehicle for delivering highly targeted content, designed with the end user in mind. Modular and interchangeable, with multiple price points, and numerous access channels.
Posted 20 months ago. ( permalink )

amy_kearns says:

Hey, this is late but I just held one for the time the other day.

Here are my first thoughts on it:

I was TOTALLY not interested in this AT ALL until I tried it.
It is very thin and very enjoyable to use. Downloading a brand new book for $9.99 took a nanosecond.

The screen is really easy and nice to read - I don't like to read books in any other way besides paper - and I don't like audio books at all. But I like this device.

You can get audio books on it too by the way.

I think libraries could be in big trouble if we don't adapt to this. I really believe that anyone could enjoy using this - even those who do not think they would like reading this way, or who think they are NOT techie enough of anti-techie - the older versions of this type of reader really were bad, but this is so much better.

And having today's issue of NYTimes, etc., showing up there every morning - wow!

I don't think it's perfect but I think we have to pay attention and I was much more impressed by it and excited by it than I ever thought I would be.
Posted 19 months ago. ( permalink )

smedley10 says:

Yes, there is a way to upload your personal documents to a Kindle without paying 10 cents. If it's in a format that needs to be converted, you just e-mail it to the same address as your Kindle, but with [your Kindle's e-mail]@free.kindle.com. It returns the converted files to the e-mail address on your Amazon account, or however many other addresses you put on your whitelist. Then you transfer them to the Kindle via USB. No extra charge.
Posted 19 months ago. ( permalink )

Tashabear says:

Anyone who says that there's no easy, free way to put their personal docs on the Kindle is on crack... or haven't done ANY research, which is worse, IMO. It's called a CABLE. You can easily convert your Word and non-DRM protected .pdf files to a Kindle-readable format by using the FREE MobiPocket software. Plus, .txt files can be transferred directly, and you never need proprietary software to manage your Kindle files. You can easily back up your Kindle files to any media you wish and reupload them at any time, plus anything you buy from Amazon is available to you for reloading via their website. Add that to the ability to buy new content just about anywhere, and you know why I'm a Kindle convert. It's an absolute boon if you travel a lot. I wish they'd had it when I deployed.
Posted 19 months ago. ( permalink )

Tanuki says:

Just some additional comments: the Kindle does not have backlighting, and it formats the text to flow, ignoring line breaks. The first is not necessarily a problem, and it definitely cuts down on the amount of power used. Battery life is great. The second is a deal-killer if you want to read poetry. It also does not handle graphics well; black and white line drawings, yes, but no colour, and tables are handled as images and are too small to see properly.

On the positive side, you can download from any place you have cellphone "bars", which is great for those who, for whatever reason, are restricted by dial-up connections at home. You can annotate, and you can search. It is also perfect for the sort of book you aren't likely to keep -- best sellers, "beach" reading, stuff you pick up at the airport to read during the flight.

They do need to re-think the pricing on O.P. books, though. They apparently peg the rates to the going price of hard copies, but anyone who wants a book enough to pay $50 or more is also likely to want the book as a physical object.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

jsl151850b says:

I used my Palm TungstenE as an eBook reader and as an MP3 player.
It supports PDFs also.
I can import plain text.
I'll be surprised if the Kindle can.
And it does have a color photo slideshow.
Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

g_cheav says:

I've had my Kindle since mid November and cannot believe the negative comments from those who have not tried it. Whenever I'm reading out in public people are fascinated and impressed. I've been an avid reader since I was five years old and have a house filled w/ books. Because I am also a rapid reader I'm constantly taking sacks of mass market paperback books to the thrift store because we have no more room for added bookshelves and because nowadays it's hard to find many books worth keeping. So many once promising authors give in to pressure to produce, produce that their works become repetitive and boring.
I don't understand the complaint about price. Both "hardbacks" and "paperbacks" generally cost less than the paper versions. Sure, you can't pass them on but see my comment about discarding so many.
As for the feeling of holding a "real book"! Come on people! I read for content not feel. I can't afford to buy expensive first editions and after a few days I found my Kindle to actually be more comfortable to hold for long periods, although it would be somewhat better if the bottom corners were rounded rather than @ right angles as in a paper book. Another benefit is the light weight. Last summer I started reading a large trade non fiction book that was fascinating but which was so HEAVY I frequently had to put it down because my hands got tired. For that and the price reason I now rarely buy hardbacks. But w/ my Kindle I can now buy most of the latest "hardbacks" . That "most" is my chief complaint. I want ALL of them available now. Just a dream! And why are you folks who dislike digital reading here getting your info from a web site?
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

Ken, KB1AWV says:

I've had my Kindle for about 3 weeks. It's probably the best investment my wife ever made in technology (she gave it to me for Christmas). I am reading all sorts of stuff that I would have had to go to the library for before. I even download brand new books, at no cost, from my public library. Access to them expires after 2 or 3 weeks. In the meantime I am reading them on my Kindle (this does require some file manuvering since the library e-books are Mobipocket format with DRM & I have to convert them to Amazon format...software free on Internet). I am also reading the news at not cost (BBC, etc.), get instant weather reports (Weather Underground), and I even check in on my Flickr site....and lots more, as the saying goes. This device is a keeper. It's not like e-books that came before it. I was waiting for this one.

Just in case you don't mind joining another group, I think this shot would go well in the Kindle group on Flickr. Please consider posting it there. Thanks.
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

Would you like to comment?

[?]

	libraryman's photostream
		3,344 uploads

Additional Information

Some rights reserved Anyone can see this photo

Taken on November 19, 2007

6 people call this photo a favorite

Viewed 2,800 times

Add to your map

Yay location removed

...

(Some formats are OK.)

Or, remove it from the map.

Go to the map

You	Sign in \| Create Your Free Account
Explore	Places \| Last 7 Days \| This Month \| Popular Tags \| The Commons \| Creative Commons \| Search
Help	Community Guidelines \| The Help Forum \| FAQ \| Sitemap \| Help by Email

ebooks kindle amazon

Comments

cobalt123 says:

Celeste says:

libraryman says:

Gerry Szymanski says:

Hidden Peanuts says:

cobalt123 says:

Sarah Mae says:

Citizen Pioneer says:

YorickWell says:

libraryman says:

freerangelibrarian says:

fotogail says:

Philosoap [deleted] says:

amy_kearns says:

smedley10 says:

Tashabear says:

Tanuki says:

jsl151850b says:

g_cheav says:

Ken, KB1AWV says:

Would you like to comment?

libraryman's photostream

Tags

Additional Information