Is Wifi a deal-breaker for you?

[Asawi]

Originally Posted by voracious71

ITo me, it's kind of silly to buy a reader that doesn't have the bells and whistles, yet costs more than one with them. This applies to some of the Sony models in regards to Kindle.

Excuse me, WHAT bells and whistles?? WHAT would I use the Wifi for? It's not like I can surf the web with it any better (or even as good) as on my phone.

I DON'T have ANY wireless hotspots outside my home for the most part.

I DON'T buy books on the go, and never will. Should I want to, there is not, as far as I know, one single Kindle book available in my language.

I DO borrow most of my books from the library. Oh wait, there's one bell (or is it whistle) the Kindle doesn't have: EPub support... Ooops!

None of this may apply to YOU, but it does to ME. So I make MY choice out of MY circumstances, as well as YOU do from YOURS. I understand that our circumstances and the choices they lead to are different. DO YOU??

[speedlever]

[quote]There is no perfect device, especially when individuals themselves have differing needs at different times. Most choices involve a trade-off.[\quote]

True. I'm still looking for the Nookindle Daily Reader.

[tompe]

Originally Posted by Asawi

Excuse me, WHAT bells and whistles?? WHAT would I use the Wifi for? It's not like I can surf the web with it any better (or even as good) as on my phone.

For example. because it is extremely more convenient to download the books instead of using an USB cable.

A lot of people say stuff like "what do I need email for?", "what do I need X for?", but when they get email or X then they fast start to wonder how they managed without it.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Since WiFi only downloads books from your device's official store, it's no big deal to me since I also get books from other sources.

Not so with the Kindle; you can use the web browser to look at anything you wish.

[Asawi]

Originally Posted by tompe

For example. because it is extremely more convenient to download the books instead of using an USB cable.

Soooo... exactly HOW would I get my library books to my Kindle, (since that's the one the poster before claimed had the bells ans whistles)? Without taking them somewhere and strip the DRM that is. How would WiFi make it any easier than attaching the USB to the computer hosting said library book? Cause I'd be beside that computer anyway.

You're not getting it are you? For ME the Kindle has nothing to offer! It may have for you, but we need different things. I don't need WiFi. You may, but I don't. I do need ePub though.

(I wouldn't be able to get my e-mail on a Kindle anyway, since I DON'T HAVE ANY HOTSPOTS TO CONNECT TO! (Yes, I'm shouting, because apparently people can't hear me.)

[faithbw]

Originally Posted by tompe

For example. because it is extremely more convenient to download the books instead of using an USB cable.

A lot of people say stuff like "what do I need email for?", "what do I need X for?", but when they get email or X then they fast start to wonder how they managed without it.

Not for me. Most of the books on my Nook are from the library or books that no longer have copyrights that I downloaded from Project Gutenburg or MR. I would have to sideload my books anyway. Plus, it really isn't inconvenient to sideload books. It's no more inconvenient to sideload books on my Nook than it is to sideload music onto my iPod as opposed to wirelessly downloading music from iTunes.

If people want wifi to download books that is fine. For me, I don't really need that instant gratification nor do I see it as being inherently better or more convenient.

[tompe]

Originally Posted by Asawi

Soooo... exactly HOW would I get my library books to my Kindle, (since that's the one the poster before claimed had the bells ans whistles)?

By putting them on yout webserver after you have removed the DRM and then just download them? If I remember correctly the Kindle can download books that way. So you put all the books on your webserver and do not have to bother with a USB cable.

[NNolan]

Over the last 2 years of using various ereaders I've discovered that, for me anyway, wifi is a nice to have, but its lack is not a deal-breaker. I never, ever buy books when I'm away from my computer, and I prefer either of my iThings to an eInk screen for web-surfing when I'm away from home. A good touchscreen, however, has become an absolute must. I've got one Sony PRS-300 that I'm keeping for nostalgia (and because it's a lovely shade of dark blue), but the rest of my ereader arsenal is now touchscreen.

[Asawi]

Originally Posted by tompe

By putting them on yout webserver after you have removed the DRM and then just download them? If I remember correctly the Kindle can download books that way. So you put all the books on your webserver and do not have to bother with a USB cable.

I said WITHOUT removing DRM. It's not really making it any easier at all. With the Sony I check out the book, download it to Reader Libary (or ADE) and plug in the reader for transfer. Done. Come expiration they expire as they should
Library books are not supposed to be stripped saved.
(And how the h** is dealing with a webserver any easier than plugging in a cable??)

[Poppaea]

Originally Posted by tompe

By putting them on yout webserver after you have removed the DRM and then just download them? If I remember correctly the Kindle can download books that way. So you put all the books on your webserver and do not have to bother with a USB cable.

Thats ridiculous! You want us to believe it is better/superior/easier or whatever to click a thousand buttons and use two different devices, a computer + a Kindle, instead of just putting a cable into your reader and load that damned book???

Let me guess: You never Hoover cause you'd have to "bother" with the cable.

Man, you made my day! I am really sitting here laughing out loud. This one I must tell at work on Monday. Will be a big success, I am sure.

[Catlady]

If I'm traveling, I take my netbook with me, so there's my wi-fi if I need my e-mail or I want to surf the web or I have a sudden book-buying emergency. Pop in my e-reader's SD card, drag and drop, and voila, book's on my e-reader.

Why do I need an e-reader that has wi-fi? Either I have a computer with me, or I will be back at a computer within a very short time.

[voracious71]

Originally Posted by Asawi

Excuse me, WHAT bells and whistles?? WHAT would I use the Wifi for? It's not like I can surf the web with it any better (or even as good) as on my phone.

I DON'T have ANY wireless hotspots outside my home for the most part.

I DON'T buy books on the go, and never will. Should I want to, there is not, as far as I know, one single Kindle book available in my language.

I DO borrow most of my books from the library. Oh wait, there's one bell (or is it whistle) the Kindle doesn't have: EPub support... Ooops!

None of this may apply to YOU, but it does to ME. So I make MY choice out of MY circumstances, as well as YOU do from YOURS. I understand that our circumstances and the choices they lead to are different. DO YOU??

Ok, first of all, calm down, lol. Sheesh, people here sure are sensitive. Wifi/3g are extras( bells and whistles), things that expand the useability of the device. Not sure why this fact should cause you to freak out, but whatever.

Secondly, I can read library books on my Kindle. Anybody can, just takes a little tweaking. Thanks to the retired Apprentice Alf, it is literally a matter of a couple of drag and drop maneuvers. Takes under 5 minutes.

Thirdly, you might want to consider cutting down on the sugar and caffiene.

[Worldwalker]

Originally Posted by voracious71

On a side note, the semi-Luddites on here are kind of funny..you are still reading books on a gadget, no? To me, it's kind of silly to buy a reader that doesn't have the bells and whistles, yet costs more than one with them. This applies to some of the Sony models in regards to Kindle.

So in order not to be a Luddite, I should have to buy something I neither want nor need? Something which, in fact, given Amazon's demonstration that they can delete books right off your Kindle over its wireless connectivity, I would prefer not to have?

I guess I'm a "semi-Luddite", then. All these years as an early adopter don't matter ... it's all about letting the number of features (or misfeatures) a vendor chooses to pile onto a device (no matter how junky and cheaply made the resulting device might be, because the price matters too) determine my buying decisions, not my needs. Gotcha.

Hopefully everyone else can read the sarcasm here.

P.S. It's you accusing people of being Luddites because they have no need for wireless access from their ebook readers that we're upset about. That's rude and uncalled-for, and you knew it when you said it.

[CWatkinsNash]

Oh, we're back to an ereader pi**ing contest. I can't help but notice the number of contention-filled threads going on at the moment. Or maybe I'm just sensitive right now.

Anyway, I wouldn't say wireless is a deal-breaker for me, but I did specifically buy the wifi+3G model because I don't have, nor do I want, a smartphone, and I knew I would be making at least two trips this year to places where wifi would be hard to come by. I have one email address that I really should check daily no matter what, so getting that model was a practical choice for me.

However, that decision came into play only after I knew I was getting a Kindle, which had to do with a nice big Amazon gift card. If I'd had a Sony gift card, it wouldn't have even been part of the process and I'd have a Sony today instead. So in that sense, it's not a deal-breaker. It's just nice to have.

Since I get books from a variety of places, my direct wireless downloads are usually limited to Kindle games and Amazon book samples. Everything else goes through calibre. I do enjoy using it with Wikipedia occasionally when I'm not next to a computer.

[bhartman36]

Like basically every discussion I've ever seen on e-readers on MR, this really depends on individual needs and tastes.

Wifi isn't a must-have for me, but it's certainly a nice-to-have. I don't particularly like having to fart around with a cable to download books to my Kindle, and I don't have to. I don't have a Web server set up like one of the previous posters, but I could see that as useful. You bookmark your Web server, you navigate to it, click the book you want, and it loads on your reader. You can have an expansive archive without having to use the cable all the time or download from some far-away website. But I can get why the one-time setup of the Web server might be more than some people want to do.

And while it's certainly possible to read library books on a Kindle, let's be honest: At best, it's a hassle. If library books are going to be a big part of your e-reader experience, there are much better choices out there for you.