MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Is being able to read on a desktop machine important to you?

JerryEF · 11-23-2007, 11:12 AM

I'm only interested in being able to read on a hand-held device.

I have been using a Dell Axim as my eReading device since Gemstar announced their departure from the ebook business. I have logged well over a hundred fictions books and a few dozen non-fictions. I received my Kindle early this week and, generally, love it. The screen size is nice. Readability under decent light conditions is a delight. It appears that battery life will be a major bonus (at least for me. I have to carry spare Axim batteries on long airplane flights.) Location of the paging controls is a bit of a pain, but I can adapt.

Reading under low light conditions is still an issue. I have developed a habit of reading in bed each night. The PDA backlight "light pollution" has never been an issue for my wife. She is not happy with the book light that I must now use with the ePaper. Who will have to adapt has not yet been determined.

Ease of purchasing and installing new titles is a breakthrough in the ebook world. While (being a geek myself) the old methods of downloading and transferring has never been an issue, I can see (looking at my family and friends) that it was not going to fly for the general public.

My dilemma is that I have found myself more tethered to my Axim that I initially realized. I use it on a daily basis for doing sudoku and crosswords puzzles. I play Gransmaster chess and occasionally hearts and spades on it when traveling. When overseas, I find foreign language dictionaries / translator software to be real handy. The latest "hot app" to appear on my PDA is SlingBox. While away from home, (access to wifi needed) I have full access to my home cable TV, local news, CNBC, 24... more of a benefit when overseas. While I have been successful in migrating the Contacts and Calendar syncing to my WM compatible cell phone, all these other apps that have crept onto my Axim life have become 'irreplaceable'. I have no expectations that any of these will appear any time soon on my Kindle.

So now the Kindle comes along and I have not been able to get rid of anything. Fortunatly, all the toys can be charged using the USB port and a single USB based charger. Not as fast as the dedicated chargers, but fewer chargers to carry.

11-23-2007, 11:12 AM	#27
JerryEF Senior Member Posts: 10 Karma: 50 Join Date: Nov 2007 Device: DellX51v / Amazon Kindle	I'm only interested in being able to read on a hand-held device. I have been using a Dell Axim as my eReading device since Gemstar announced their departure from the ebook business. I have logged well over a hundred fictions books and a few dozen non-fictions. I received my Kindle early this week and, generally, love it. The screen size is nice. Readability under decent light conditions is a delight. It appears that battery life will be a major bonus (at least for me. I have to carry spare Axim batteries on long airplane flights.) Location of the paging controls is a bit of a pain, but I can adapt. Reading under low light conditions is still an issue. I have developed a habit of reading in bed each night. The PDA backlight "light pollution" has never been an issue for my wife. She is not happy with the book light that I must now use with the ePaper. Who will have to adapt has not yet been determined. Ease of purchasing and installing new titles is a breakthrough in the ebook world. While (being a geek myself) the old methods of downloading and transferring has never been an issue, I can see (looking at my family and friends) that it was not going to fly for the general public. My dilemma is that I have found myself more tethered to my Axim that I initially realized. I use it on a daily basis for doing sudoku and crosswords puzzles. I play Gransmaster chess and occasionally hearts and spades on it when traveling. When overseas, I find foreign language dictionaries / translator software to be real handy. The latest "hot app" to appear on my PDA is SlingBox. While away from home, (access to wifi needed) I have full access to my home cable TV, local news, CNBC, 24... more of a benefit when overseas. While I have been successful in migrating the Contacts and Calendar syncing to my WM compatible cell phone, all these other apps that have crept onto my Axim life have become 'irreplaceable'. I have no expectations that any of these will appear any time soon on my Kindle. So now the Kindle comes along and I have not been able to get rid of anything. Fortunatly, all the toys can be charged using the USB port and a single USB based charger. Not as fast as the dedicated chargers, but fewer chargers to carry.