Classic Now that Kindle will support Public Libraries lending, is or not an option for you?

[anamardoll]

This thread has just reinforced to me the importance of seeking opinions outside my own worldview.

I'm actually quite astonished to hear someone here say that ePub is going to die and mobi is going to be the new standard. I have a Nook and a PocketBook 360 and I will ONLY buy books in ePub format. I buy almost all my books from B&N, and I've yet to find a title that was only available on Amazon Kindle and not on B&N. (Indeed, I recently found a title that was only available on B&N and not as a Kindle book!)

I'm a supporter of Amazon in general (I should be - I'm a dedicated reviewer on their site), but I am 100% all about ePubs over mobi. I've bought over 200 books on B&N alone and I have over 700 books in Calibre library.

So if ePub fails and mobi wins, it won't be because I wasn't spending enough on ePubs.

I honestly don't know who is going to win the format war. I *do* see it as fragmentation, regardless. Different formats are not competition - different PRICES are competition. If Amazon was offering the same ePubs as B&N at different prices, that would be competition to me. A different format that tries to lock you into a certain device? That's fragmentation.

And yes I know that Amazon Kindle users aren't locked into their devices anymore, but that's because of awesome wonderful sexy conversion programs like Calibre. NOT because Amazon politely offered free epub-to-mobi conversion service on their website so that people wouldn't have to buy their books all over again when/if they switched to a Kindle device. THAT would be competition, too. As it currently stands, though, it's not.

Well, that's my opinion anyway.

Anyway, since the "back on topic" flag has been raised: no, I would never get a Kindle. Beyond anything else, I don't like the physical keyboard and I see it as a major waste of space.

[SCION]

Originally Posted by anamardoll

...

Anyway, since the "back on topic" flag has been raised: no, I would never get a Kindle. Beyond anything else, I don't like the physical keyboard and I see it as a major waste of space.

So, if the keyboard disappears it gets your interest?

[anamardoll]

Originally Posted by SCION

So, if the keyboard disappears it gets your interest?

Scion,

That's a good question - I wonder about that myself.... I do admit that I have picked up the K3 in stores many times to look at it because the device is so very pretty. I think the dark graphite case makes the eink really "pop" more (in my head, I mean), and the device IS very lightweight, especially given the screen size.

I don't know how much I like the page buttons. I'm used to the stronger "clickier" buttons on my Nook and now on my PocketBook 360. The K3 buttons are so small and look like they could be pressed by accident a lot while holding the device. I also can't really see being able to turn the pages one handed like I currently do with my PocketBook 360 - I'd have to play around to find a comfortable hold. But I'd probably get use to the device over time.

As far as the physical device, the keyboard definitely turns me off every time I look at the Kindle - I can't stand it. It seems like a criminal waste of space - I almost never use the keyboard and when I do, the "software keyboard" in my PocketBook 360 works fine. I much prefer it to the Kindle keyboard, for my needs.

And then there's the mobi/epub issue - I absolutely will not convert my entire library to mobi files. I don't care that Calibre does bulk conversions - I'd have to keep all the old epub files (since not all my readers speak 'Amazon') in addition to the new mobi ones and my library space would double. What a pain.

I also can't remember if the Kindle features SD card expansion, but I think it doesn't and that's a complete deal-breaker with me for ANY new reader/mp3 player/tablet/whatever device in this day and age.

SO, I guess what I'm saying is, if you stripped the keyboard out of the Kindle 3, made the shoulder buttons a little more convenient for one-handed reading, and gave it epub support (both reading ON the device and for buying FROM Amazon), and provided SD card expansion options, I might very well buy it - if the library management and device customizability was as good as it is on my PocketBook. But would the resulting device be a "Kindle" at that point?

[SCION]

Nice reply. Thanks.

[Rich_D]

Originally Posted by SCION

So, if the keyboard disappears it gets your interest?

If the keyboard were gone and they supported epub, I would definitely consider it. I buy almost everything through Amazon except ebooks.

[graycyn]

Several things I like about the Nook that aren't features of Kindle 3:

Memory card: I like books, a LOT of them, and I also like illustrated books that can be fairly large in file size. Further, I don't want my books "archived" I want them all available all the time. I live in a rural area, so access to wifi or 3g is not always a given.

Touchscreen: I don't care for button pushing. Bothers my tendonitis. Touchscreen can be used with either hand easily to turn pages. I can use any finger. No pain.

epub: This is minor, since I could convert, but I like to scan some of my older books and make epubs out of them. Converting to mobi format would just be an extra step. At any rate, in general, I prefer the open format of epub.

Actually, I *am* considering a second reader, but that would be a Sony 950, not a Kindle 3. But I would probably keep the Nook around as well. Both devices feel more substantial to me than a Kindle. Hubby has dropped his Nook twice now and it is still undamaged. Mine has been tromped on by a 10+ pound cat a few times and no issues.

Nook is easy to keep clean because of no keyboard.

[montalex]

I really like the keyboard on my Kindle. I use it to search in the books I'm reading, to search Wikipedia, to look up a word in the dictionary, or to look for a book on Amazon.com, and I use it to take notes. To me, it is an essential part of my ebook reading experience. I'm not a big fan of touch-screen keyboards, and I really like it that I only need to recharge once a month. I do buy some books from Barnes and Noble, because some titles are not quickly available internationally from Amazon, and I have a US B&N account.

And I am one of those who don't like reading on an LCD screen. To each his own...

[graycyn]

Originally Posted by montalex

I really like the keyboard on my Kindle. I use it to search in the books I'm reading, to search Wikipedia, to look up a word in the dictionary, or to look for a book on Amazon.com, and I use it to take notes. To me, it is an essential part of my ebook reading experience. I'm not a big fan of touch-screen keyboards, and I really like it that I only need to recharge once a month. I do buy some books from Barnes and Noble, because some titles are not quickly available internationally from Amazon, and I have a US B&N account.

And I am one of those who don't like reading on an LCD screen. To each his own...

Yes to that last... I don't care for reading on LCD either! I tried out NookColor a week ago and it was my worst reading experience ever! My eyes just HATED it, text was fuzzy, not sharp, not even solid. Page turns were fast, but otherwise, I couldn't stand to read a page of text on it. No adjustment I tried made it any better. I just hope e-ink, or something similar, lives long into the future!

And if all the other manufacturers stopped with e-ink and Kindle continued with it, then I'd no doubt gravitate to a Kindle. But until I have to, I won't, because I really don't like button pushing more than I have to.

However, I don't mind the touchscreen keyboard on Nook at all. I use it to search my library all the time. As you say, to each his own! I am glad there are choices out there for everyone!

[aagstn]

Originally Posted by MsCG1

I am a first gen Nook owner, and I have no desire for a Kindle. Never have, and probably never will. The Nook gave me everything I needed and wanted from the start. Can't imagine at this point, abandoning my Nook and all of my Nook products to jump on the Amazon bandwagon. For what?

I will definitely consider future Kindle products, but I'm very happy with the nook as my eink device and would not sell it for a kindle 3.

[Joykins]

Hm, I already have a nook but wouldn't mind adding a Kindle 3 as well. I already have a Kindle app I use from time to time and a Kindle book library (stuff not available in epub, or freebies, mostly).

On the other hand, I have the tools to put my ebooks in whatever format I want. But Kindle library lending would be nice--*IF* they will lend stuff that is now available in PDF only in AZW format because that would be a real step up IMO.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Rich_D

If the keyboard were gone and they supported epub, I would definitely consider it. I buy almost everything through Amazon except ebooks.

Then what you want is a 650 or 950. No physical keyboard and they support ePub.

[Rich_D]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Then what you want is a 650 or 950. No physical keyboard and they support ePub.

I considered the Sony's last year, but I had a lot of books in .pdb format and it wasn't supported. When the time comes for a new ereader, I'll look at them again.