From N Texas, have not yet bought e-reader device

f00l · 05-25-2008, 05:41 PM

I came here after a google search for Kindle reviews. I never really wanted an e-reader device before, since I really *like* physical books so much (I suspect I have that in common with most or all of you. (Except for the storage problem we all have :>)

I am so taken with the quality of your discussions that I have decided to join.

I *might* buy a Kindle, or perhaps something else. Amazon....of course one worries about giving them too much power and market share, seeing they have already become the "Microsoft" of the book trade, if not of publishing.

But I have always been happy buying books from Amazon. Perhaps 20 or so a year, usually hard-to-find stuff.

I am not in a tearing hurry to choose what e-reader to buy, since I have so many unread books and unlistened-to audiobooks and audible.com purchases waiting for attention and piling up in the office. I understand the logic of "buy whatever and use it now", but I also have several palms, several computers, several Ipods (my 4th and 5th, and I adore them), in addition to the piles of books and audiobooks I trip over every day.

I actually buy most of my books that get shipped here either off Ebay.co.uk or off Amazon.co.uk, rather than Amazon.com or Half.com, as I am partial to BBC (Chivers) versions of audiobooks over the locally published versions, even when the US publisher uses a native of the UK as the narrator. Esp, the unabridged Le Carre novels narrated by Michael Jayston.

(I will make an exception about US vs UK versions for the astounding Jim Dale narrated Harry Potter series, even tho I think the Stephen Fry UK versions are superb also. Both Mr Fry and Mr Dale are UK natives.)

I am also fortunate to be "local" to about 20 Half-Price Book stores. They are my official `favorite' places to shop and to there lose all sight of any budget. And since I am getting completely insane, I suppose I must brave the cost of gas and drive to Archer City to spend way too much $ at Larry McMurtry's Booked Up.

My house foundation complains. And I have lots of serious and less serious stuff to keep me busy. :>

Regarding e-readers:

I love the idea of Whispernet and constant access to wikipedia or online purchases w/out having to boot the laptop. That's the reason I started looking for reviews, tho I now understand using the Kindle this way will eat the battery. As for other issues - Kindle format vs others - can live with whatever.

Surely the Kindle format is hackable like every other format in history, for those who want to read on their 22" monitor or whatever....or xfer to another device. Come on, what hasn't been hacked so far? OK, it's prob against the license. But reading on the Kindle is nice enough that you would only want to hack the format if your Kindle was lost, stolen or damaged, or if Amazon stopped making and supporting the device. Or no? Since I don't own one, I am only guessing.

Is an extended warranty available for most of these devices?

Palm Centro or Treo as a reader: since I always have the Ipod handy, I only read on the Palm when I need something specific in text format. Screen too small, and uses up the battery. And a well-read audiobook is almost a whole new book, even for something I've read repeatedly.

Other issues: The Kindle, and every other device, needs to have a large library be easily navigable by the clueless user. And one possible reason to wait for purchase: to let more devices come out with 16-grayscale e-ink. (Given that I have lots to keep busy with for the meantime.)

Anyway, I love this site, hope to stay entranced by all of you. (You are keeping me happily away from my library *right* *now*!

Read forth :>

f00l

NatCh · 05-25-2008, 06:00 PM

Welcome to MobileRead, f00l!

How I miss good ol' Half Price Books.

One of the several things I do miss about Texas. Texas proper that is: life here at the Embassy does have its privations.

You sound like you're in a good position to wait, actually. Usually my advice is to decide whether getting the "next" set of new features is worth the cost of not having the use of the device is in the meantime ... actually that's my advice in your situation too, it's just that the answer in your case is probably different from what it would be in most cases.

One note on the Kindle, the wireless (EVDO) function can be turned off when it's not in use so you can, nominally, get about a week's worth of use out of the battery, mileage will vary, of course.

Regarding the Kindle format, it's just a variant on the Mobipocket format. Since you asked the question: it's one of the very few formats which haven't really been hacked yet. Given its popularity, that's actually fairly impressive. It's also a testimony to the aggressiveness of Mobipocket's legal team.

Lately, though, the hacking efforts have been aimed at allowing reading of "regular" (as opposed to Kindle) secure Mobi files on the Kindle, not getting stuff out of either format variant.

Anyway, we're glad that you decided to join us.

Pull up a chair and make yourself to home.

Elsi · 05-25-2008, 07:04 PM

Hello f00l. I am a proud owner of a Kindle, also living in N TX. If you'd like to meet someplace, I'd be glad to bring it along for you to try out. Or, PM me with your phone number and I'd be glad to chat with you about it. You can also walk into a large Border's store and handle the Sony PRS 505 if you'd like to compare the two. After holding the Sony, I know I could have been happy enough with it (and it is cheaper), but I figure that the less-expensive books at Amazon will offset the higher cost of the Kindle in a very short time.

So -- your reading patterns seem to be a bit like mine. I am a regular shopper at Half-Price Books and Records; but I'm particularly fond of Recycled Books on the square in Denton. Such a delightful place to shop and a very cooperative and helpful staff. I order from Amazon.co.uk and purchase some books from the Oxfam shop in Winchester whenever I travel to England -- I'm fond of some of the British authors who aren't easily available here in the USA (such as Mavis Cheek and Rebecca Shaw). And, I swap books through BookCrossing and BookObsessed, BookMooch and PaperBackSwap.

So -- I received my Kindle in mid-February. Since then, I've read 19 books on the Kindle and 20 in paper. I've also "read" one book on unabridged CD and am 1/2-way through another. I've only bought a hand-full of Kindle books from Amazon. I bought some from Baen/WebScriptions, from Steve Jordan, and from Fictionwise. But, the majority of books I've read so far were free downloads from here, Feedbooks, Baen and Manybooks.

One reason why I wanted the Kindle was to help me get my TBR stack under control. This is what it looked like on the day I unwrapped my Kindle:

Now the stacks on the floor are even higher!

I also have a large TBR "stack" of electronic books, but they only take up space on a USB "thumb" drive. My hubby is much happier. And a happy hubby is worth the price of the Kindle

Quote:

Surely the Kindle format is hackable like every other format in history, for those who want to read on their 22" monitor or whatever....or xfer to another device. Come on, what hasn't been hacked so far? OK, it's prob against the license. But reading on the Kindle is nice enough that you would only want to hack the format if your Kindle was lost, stolen or damaged, or if Amazon stopped making and supporting the device. Or no? Since I don't own one, I am only guessing.

The Kindle supports non-secure MobiPocket (both .prc and .mobi formats). Non-secure books can be moved to any number of devices, including your PC. (You can download MobiPocket Reader for Windows and read these books on your PC if you like.) The secure format for the Kindle is .AZW -- a version of secure MobiPocket, and only available through Amazon. Amazon makes your secure books available to a second (or third or fourth ...) Kindle if you add one or more to your account. Also, if you replace your Kindle, you deregister the first one, register the replacement, then re-download the books you've already bought and you can then read them on the new Kindle. I suppose there's some risk that Amazon would go out of the Kindle business, but I'm counting on that not happening.

MickeyC · 05-25-2008, 08:09 PM

Hi f00l and welcome to the Forum

f00l · 05-25-2008, 11:00 PM

Thanks to all who replied.

To the expat Texan NatCh, I suppose perhaps it's a bit cooler at your embassy this time of year than here at home!

To Elsi: Do you live near Denton? I have heard of, but never visited, Recycled Books in Denton. I must go, and prob leave poorer. I would love to see your Kindle sometimes, perhaps pay for the viewing with a latte or some such. I am in FW, work pretty long hours, but would love to feed some nice soul caffiene at night, thus keeping you awake so that your Kindle does not get too lonely during the long nights :>

To cassidym, I love the Borges quote.

I rarely post at message boards, but this site seems a "cut above."

Now I must venture forth into the forums at large.

Thanks!

f00l (and a bad typist)

NatCh · 05-25-2008, 11:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by f00l

To the expat Texan NatCh, I suppose perhaps it's a bit cooler at your embassy this time of year than here at home!

Yep. And the humidity is much lower here than it was in Houston, but probably higher than DFW.

It gets downright pleasant after about 7pm.

f00l · 05-26-2008, 10:10 AM

To NatCh at the TN embassy:

So far an unexpectedly cool and rainy spring. Fingers crossed, wet spring usually means a cooler summer due to the ground not being so parched that neither it nor the air cools off at night, come July.

I have never seen a horrible summer in N TX follow a wet spring, and of course DFW, with less rainfall and humidity is always hotter than Houston.

Given a choice of low/med humidity and 100+F temp day after day, vs high humidity and 95-98F temp in July or Aug, I'd prefer the cooler and wetter clime.

Of course, like any native Texan, in the summer, when not in a rural area, I'll take (or take back) Colorado, just as soon as someone offers it to me. :>

Why don't we invade and conquer them anyway? We could use a few captive environmentalists and +14000ft pebbles. :>

Have fun.

f00l (of a typist)

05-25-2008, 05:41 PM	#1
f00l aka bad typist Posts: 29 Karma: 197836 Join Date: May 2008 Location: Republic of Texas Device: Oasis, iphones, android, old kindles, fire phoned	From N Texas, have not yet bought e-reader device I came here after a google search for Kindle reviews. I never really wanted an e-reader device before, since I really like physical books so much (I suspect I have that in common with most or all of you. (Except for the storage problem we all have :>) I am so taken with the quality of your discussions that I have decided to join. I might buy a Kindle, or perhaps something else. Amazon....of course one worries about giving them too much power and market share, seeing they have already become the "Microsoft" of the book trade, if not of publishing. But I have always been happy buying books from Amazon. Perhaps 20 or so a year, usually hard-to-find stuff. I am not in a tearing hurry to choose what e-reader to buy, since I have so many unread books and unlistened-to audiobooks and audible.com purchases waiting for attention and piling up in the office. I understand the logic of "buy whatever and use it now", but I also have several palms, several computers, several Ipods (my 4th and 5th, and I adore them), in addition to the piles of books and audiobooks I trip over every day. I actually buy most of my books that get shipped here either off Ebay.co.uk or off Amazon.co.uk, rather than Amazon.com or Half.com, as I am partial to BBC (Chivers) versions of audiobooks over the locally published versions, even when the US publisher uses a native of the UK as the narrator. Esp, the unabridged Le Carre novels narrated by Michael Jayston. (I will make an exception about US vs UK versions for the astounding Jim Dale narrated Harry Potter series, even tho I think the Stephen Fry UK versions are superb also. Both Mr Fry and Mr Dale are UK natives.) I am also fortunate to be "local" to about 20 Half-Price Book stores. They are my official `favorite' places to shop and to there lose all sight of any budget. And since I am getting completely insane, I suppose I must brave the cost of gas and drive to Archer City to spend way too much $ at Larry McMurtry's Booked Up. My house foundation complains. And I have lots of serious and less serious stuff to keep me busy. :> Regarding e-readers: I love the idea of Whispernet and constant access to wikipedia or online purchases w/out having to boot the laptop. That's the reason I started looking for reviews, tho I now understand using the Kindle this way will eat the battery. As for other issues - Kindle format vs others - can live with whatever. Surely the Kindle format is hackable like every other format in history, for those who want to read on their 22" monitor or whatever....or xfer to another device. Come on, what hasn't been hacked so far? OK, it's prob against the license. But reading on the Kindle is nice enough that you would only want to hack the format if your Kindle was lost, stolen or damaged, or if Amazon stopped making and supporting the device. Or no? Since I don't own one, I am only guessing. Is an extended warranty available for most of these devices? Palm Centro or Treo as a reader: since I always have the Ipod handy, I only read on the Palm when I need something specific in text format. Screen too small, and uses up the battery. And a well-read audiobook is almost a whole new book, even for something I've read repeatedly. Other issues: The Kindle, and every other device, needs to have a large library be easily navigable by the clueless user. And one possible reason to wait for purchase: to let more devices come out with 16-grayscale e-ink. (Given that I have lots to keep busy with for the meantime.) Anyway, I love this site, hope to stay entranced by all of you. (You are keeping me happily away from my library right now! Read forth :> f00l

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05-25-2008, 06:00 PM	#2
NatCh Gizmologist Posts: 11,615 Karma: 929550 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Republic of Texas Embassy at Jackson, TN Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3	Welcome to MobileRead, f00l! How I miss good ol' Half Price Books. One of the several things I do miss about Texas. Texas proper that is: life here at the Embassy does have its privations. You sound like you're in a good position to wait, actually. Usually my advice is to decide whether getting the "next" set of new features is worth the cost of not having the use of the device is in the meantime ... actually that's my advice in your situation too, it's just that the answer in your case is probably different from what it would be in most cases. One note on the Kindle, the wireless (EVDO) function can be turned off when it's not in use so you can, nominally, get about a week's worth of use out of the battery, mileage will vary, of course. Regarding the Kindle format, it's just a variant on the Mobipocket format. Since you asked the question: it's one of the very few formats which haven't really been hacked yet. Given its popularity, that's actually fairly impressive. It's also a testimony to the aggressiveness of Mobipocket's legal team. Lately, though, the hacking efforts have been aimed at allowing reading of "regular" (as opposed to Kindle) secure Mobi files on the Kindle, not getting stuff out of either format variant. Anyway, we're glad that you decided to join us. Pull up a chair and make yourself to home.

05-25-2008, 08:09 PM	#4
MickeyC Grand Sorcerer Posts: 16,731 Karma: 12185114 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Florida Device: iPhone 6 plus, Sony T1, iPad 3	Hi f00l and welcome to the Forum

05-25-2008, 11:00 PM	#5
f00l aka bad typist Posts: 29 Karma: 197836 Join Date: May 2008 Location: Republic of Texas Device: Oasis, iphones, android, old kindles, fire phoned	Thanks to all who replied. To the expat Texan NatCh, I suppose perhaps it's a bit cooler at your embassy this time of year than here at home! To Elsi: Do you live near Denton? I have heard of, but never visited, Recycled Books in Denton. I must go, and prob leave poorer. I would love to see your Kindle sometimes, perhaps pay for the viewing with a latte or some such. I am in FW, work pretty long hours, but would love to feed some nice soul caffiene at night, thus keeping you awake so that your Kindle does not get too lonely during the long nights :> To cassidym, I love the Borges quote. I rarely post at message boards, but this site seems a "cut above." Now I must venture forth into the forums at large. Thanks! f00l (and a bad typist)

05-26-2008, 10:10 AM	#7
f00l aka bad typist Posts: 29 Karma: 197836 Join Date: May 2008 Location: Republic of Texas Device: Oasis, iphones, android, old kindles, fire phoned	To NatCh at the TN embassy: So far an unexpectedly cool and rainy spring. Fingers crossed, wet spring usually means a cooler summer due to the ground not being so parched that neither it nor the air cools off at night, come July. I have never seen a horrible summer in N TX follow a wet spring, and of course DFW, with less rainfall and humidity is always hotter than Houston. Given a choice of low/med humidity and 100+F temp day after day, vs high humidity and 95-98F temp in July or Aug, I'd prefer the cooler and wetter clime. Of course, like any native Texan, in the summer, when not in a rural area, I'll take (or take back) Colorado, just as soon as someone offers it to me. :> Why don't we invade and conquer them anyway? We could use a few captive environmentalists and +14000ft pebbles. :> Have fun. f00l (of a typist)

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