Reading e-books on your phone - why do it?

[RCR]

Originally Posted by rhadin

Me, I hate my cell phone. There is nothing wrong with it -- I just hate having to have a cell phone. I dislike it enough that I often forget to take it with me when I leave the house or even to turn it on. If I could get rid of 2 things in my life, the top 2 would be TV and telephone.

As soon as I retired, the two things I immediately got rid of - my cell phone and my car. Freedom!!!

[MickeyC]

Originally Posted by MaggieScratch

Oh, sure you can. Embrace the man-purse! Errr, European Carry-all!

I do carry my Cybook almost everywhere, but I still keep some books on my Treo just in case. Just in case the lights go out; just in case the battery runs out on my Cybook; just in case.

My rationale exactly. I want a book or two on my iPhone just in case I get stuck somewhere. I always have my cell phone with me but don't always have ny Sony 505 at hand.

[nekokami]

I ended up having to wait at a doctor's office today without knowing that was where I was headed before leaving the house, and I didn't have my iLiad with me. But I still don't think I'd load books on my cell phone, even if it had a decent screen (mine really doesn't).

[montsnmags]

Originally Posted by RCR

As soon as I retired, the two things I immediately got rid of - my cell phone and my car. Freedom!!!

I hear that! I replaced my work PDA-phone with a small, Nokia candybar when I "retired" last year, but I think it's been about two months since it left the bedside, and I've no intention of renewing the contract. As for the car, well, I don't have a licence (and never have).

Cheers,
Marc

[nekokami]

Replacing my cell phone with a candy bar sounds like an excellent idea!

I've been looking into adding an electric assist motor to my bicycle, to further reduce my need for a car, but they seem to be quite expensive and I can't find anyone in my area who sells them so I can try one. Anyone here have any experience with them?

[MickeyC]

I'm not retired yet but, when I do, I expect I'll hold onto my cell phone since I can switch it to silent. Then I can use it to make calls and ignore incoming calls.

[ahintz]

I started reading ebooks on a black-and-white iPAQ, then moved to a color iPAQ, then a couple of Dell Axims, and then a series of HTC Windows Mobile phones. I loved it, mainly because I always had my PDA (and then smartphone) in my pocket, so I could always pull out the book I was reading no matter where I was.

Last year I moved to an iPhone when it was released, and there went my ability to read ebooks on my phone. I ended up buying a Sony Reader, and love the device. I have used it extensively over the last year, and carry it with me a lot in my laptop bag. However, the one problem with it is that it isn't always in my pocket. I ended up splitting my time between carrying the Reader with me, or just using my iPhone to read webpages rather then books when I was in places where I couldn't have the Reader with me.

Now, with the iPhone 3G and apps, I have eReader and Stanza on my iPhone, and can read books on the go again. However, the problem is figuring out what I want to have on the Reader and what I want to have on the iPhone, since there is no LRF reader for the iPhone. I am still playing with how I will end up using the two devices, and am not sure which one I will end up reading on most.

[mye01]

i love reading novels on my mobile..i downloaded tequila cat bookmaker for my k810i..its so good that i can now read books on my phone.i find it really convenient..

[marvmax]

I do all of my reading on a stand alone PDA. I personally can't stand phones and cell phone seems like a especial abomination. The flexibility of the PDA is what I really like. I also carry an extra battery with me for those time I get to read enough to drain the battery.

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by marvmax

I do all of my reading on a stand alone PDA. I personally can't stand phones and cell phone seems like a especial abomination. The flexibility of the PDA is what I really like. I also carry an extra battery with me for those time I get to read enough to drain the battery.

I do the same. I have a cell phone, but it's a tiny low end Nokia on a prepaid plan. All it does is place and receive calls, and that's all I want it to do. While it's vaguely possible I could get a Java bases reader that would run in it, the tiny screen would make trying to read books on it painful.

I'm not interested in convergence. I'm quite happy to carry a PDA and a cell phone. All I need them to do is share address books, and they can.

But I won't carry a PDA, a cell phone, and a reader. I need a device that supports color (which current dedicated readers do not, because color eInk isn't available), and I need it to do more than display books.

My PDA is my ebook viewer, with about 3,500 volumes in a variety of formats, and the fact I can handle almost all formats is a plus. It's also my PIM, handling my address book, calendar, and scheduling, an MP3 player, a video player, can create and edit documaets and spreadsheets, holds databases on a broad variety of topics, can connect via Wifi and surf the web or get email (though not terribly well, and I do so only in a pinch), can be programmed in an assortment of languages, and oh, yes, it plays games.

I'd like a larger screen, and would use a larger device that had one. I couldn't carry it in a pocket, but I don't carry my PDA in a pocket now. If I find a device that does everything my PDA does, as well or better than the PDA does it, I'd consider switching. Thus far, I haven't. (The Nokia Internet Tablets come closest, but lack the PIM functions.)

But I can read comfortably on the backlit LCD screen my device has, and have for years. eInk screens are lovely, but are not in themselves sufficient incentive to switch.
______
Dennis

[marvmax]

...and oh, yes, it plays games.

LOL

I hate cell phones but I pay for my wife and daughters to have them because I like to be able to get hold of them. As I tell my daughter that is still at home "Yes I do believe in double standards." My wife does send me to the grocery store with a cell phone however — to call and keep adding to the shopping list which I have written on my PDA.

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by marvmax

LOL

Well, my particular device was designed to be a hand held gaming platform as well as a PDA, so it better play games...

I hate cell phones but I pay for my wife and daughters to have them because I like to be able to get hold of them. As I tell my daughter that is still at home "Yes I do believe in double standards." My wife does send me to the grocery store with a cell phone however — to call and keep adding to the shopping list which I have written on my PDA.

I avoided a cell phone for a long time, and got my first because my then employer decided I should have one. "Fine, boss. You want me to have a cell phone? You pay for it." I had no real need for one in my personal life. they later got me a Blackberry, which pretty well described how close a touch I didn't want to be in with the office...

As for standards, Herman Kahn (of _Report from Iron Mointain_) once described a conversation with his teenage daughter. He told her if he ever caught her doing anything beyond holding hands with a boyfriend, she was in trouble, but if he thought she wasn't doing more than that, he'd conclude she was imperfectly socialized and send her to a shrink. When she complained it was a double standard, he said it certainly was, but is was also the way the world worked, and she better get used to it and learn to deal with it sooner rather than later.
______
Dennis

[Lemurion]

I have a Nokia flip phone with a 320x240 screen. It's small but crisp so I keep a few eBooks loaded just in case. I normally read on my TX but this does in pinch.

[erwin]

If the question is if I prefer to read on a *backlighted* pocket-sized and always with me item instedad of carring another bulky and sigle-use item... the answer FMPOV can only be yes. I know to be in a minority in this forum, but frankly I still find using the e-ink dedicated readers around today as a form of victory of show-offness and snobism on the substance and the praticity that the ebook revolution should incarnate. I don't want to seem unecessarily provocative, but really don't see any advantage of a Sony Reader or Kindle over, eg, the Toshiba G900 (with a screen with a resolution of 800x480 points) I'm using now as my phone.
Beside this, at everyone, intended as at every specific person, its tastes obviously.

[Alisa]

Originally Posted by erwin

I know to be in a minority in this forum, but frankly I still find using the e-ink dedicated readers around today as a form of victory of show-offness and snobism on the substance and the praticity that the ebook revolution should incarnate. I don't want to seem unecessarily provocative, but really don't see any advantage of a Sony Reader or Kindle over, eg, the Toshiba G900 (with a screen with a resolution of 800x480 points) I'm using now as my phone.
Beside this, at everyone, intended as at every specific person, its tastes obviously.

Personally, reading on a backlit screen for long periods strains my eyes. I find e-ink more comfortable. I do read on my phone (HTC 6800) sometimes for short periods but I wouldn't want to do it for very long. I'd have a headache and a dead battery. I don't think people even notice my Kindle when I use it in public so I'm hardly showing off with it. It's not like I'm waving it around. People would just see the non-descript brown case unless they looked really closely. Besides, most folks seem to think the Kindle is ugly so I'm not sure who I'd be impressing and aside from that most of my reading is done at home, anyway. My husband has his own and the cats, while occasionally liking to nibble the corner of the case, remain unimpressed.