Why we shouldn't buy ereader - Page 2

Ervserver · 10-06-2010, 12:09 AM

Much ado about nothing

GreenMonkey · 10-06-2010, 12:33 AM

I still read paper books more often than e-books. But I hate DRM.

It sounds like this guy has been talking to the people that don't read a whole lot. Like your average American who reads like 2 books a year. Duh. Of course they aren't going to use it a lot.

doreenjoy · 10-06-2010, 01:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RoboRay

Prior to today, I've never seen anything remotely useful or relevant posted on CNET... and nothing has changed today.

This is the funniet thing I've ever seen on this forum.

sabredog · 10-06-2010, 01:19 AM

Quote:

Carnoy likes to alternate between writing useful, advice-oriented pieces or thought-provoking columns with inflammatory headlines designed to elicit commentary from readers

True to his word on this article.

Jakie · 10-06-2010, 01:55 AM

Although I enjoy articles that are thought provoking, and force me to analyse my motives for doing things, this is not one of those articles. I can justify my using the ebook reader, or the two netbooks I use to read books, because they are multiuse devices, save trees, (and I like oxygen) and as a non bandwagon shopper, I am still deciding on the best ebook reader FOR ME, that has the best utility for the price. The twenty or so books I have purchased since my girlfriend and I have started ereading, are not lost, as I still have them in my storage....somewhere in electron land.

Sweetpea · 10-06-2010, 02:10 AM

Why you shouldn't buy a MP3 player.

I have a MP3 player, and I hardly ever use it. My mother also has a MP3 player, and she only ever uses it to listen to the radio at night. And I bet there are more MP3 players doing nothing than that there are e-readers ever sold...

lene1949 · 10-06-2010, 02:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

Why you shouldn't buy a MP3 player.

I have a MP3 player, and I hardly ever use it. My mother also has a MP3 player, and she only ever uses it to listen to the radio at night. And I bet there are more MP3 players doing nothing than that there are e-readers ever sold...

I'm sure you're right... I never use mine, and I rarely use my ipod for other than reading... I also have a digital recorder that I never use, my mobile phone is only for emergencies, my PDA is collecting dust..

My main reader (kindle 2i) I use for several hours on a daily basis... Best gadget I've ever bought.

dsvick · 10-06-2010, 02:41 PM

Maybe he'll report on the results of his poll that currently show the people that use their readers all time are beating out people that own them but use them less frequently by over 2 to 1.

Right now (1430 on 6 October) he has 2448 responses, of which 31% (759) use their readers all the time, 11% (269) use it occasionally, and only 5% (122) never use theirs. Which means that of all the people that have them, 1150, nearly two-thirds use them all the time, and only 10% never use them.

Which means that he needs to find a better base to use as the examples in his articles.

SneakySnake · 10-06-2010, 05:55 PM

Still a one post wonder! Suspicious.

kevinp · 10-08-2010, 03:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

Why you shouldn't buy a MP3 player.

I have a MP3 player, and I hardly ever use it. My mother also has a MP3 player, and she only ever uses it to listen to the radio at night. And I bet there are more MP3 players doing nothing than that there are e-readers ever sold...

I have two iPods--my Shuffle I use when I go running, my Nano I mainly use for listening to Podcasts in my car. I use one or the other everyday.

My Sony Reader sits on the shelf while I use my PDA for most of my reading. It fits in my pocket and has a backlight for night reading.

cfrizz · 10-08-2010, 07:04 PM

I use my mp3 player almost every single day. It is attached to my main system playing music all day long which saves me from having to getting up to change cds.

Depending on my mood, I will either read on my pc or I will use my reader.

macminer · 10-08-2010, 08:13 PM

I've had so many portable electronic devices that I lost count of them. The ones that I really used and carried on me shared some features:
- they were really portable, that is fairly light and compact
- they were durable
- their start time was instant-on or almost that fast
- the menu was straightforward and responsive

So, for example, out of some 5 different mp3 players I owned, I really took to Sansa Clip+, because it is so small and unobtrusive (thanks to the clip), because it remembers where I left off and because when I want to change the song, pick a different folder etc., the delay is hardly noticeable, so it is a real pleasure to use.

Contrarily, I don't use my Jetbook e-reader as often as I thought I would, mainly because of the delays in the menu. If I just read a single book, that wouldn't be a problem, but I like to read a couple of pages from one, than check something in another, then come back to the first one - Jetbook is certainly not up to the job in such scenario, as the time needed to switch books is way too long.
Maybe I got spoilt by the Mobipocket Reader on my PC, where you could create a "reading list", that is to choose several books you are currently reading and then by just clicking the "back" key, you are back to the list and can pick a different book from the list (it opens where you left off) - all this takes about a second.

David71 · 10-09-2010, 08:27 PM

I use my Kindle 2i a lot. I've always loved reading and it allows me to have a number of titles from which to choose wherever I might be. I can't help but think that if you don't read many books then a reader would be a waste of money. In my case, it was a great purchase. As has already been pointed out this could be applied to almost any purchase.

As for music players, I get a lot of use out of my 160 GB iPod Classic. I love listening to (and playing) music as much as I love reading and it enables me to listen to the music from my CDs and vinyl easily when I'm at work. I can take most of my collection with me anywhere I go and listen to my physical collection at home. I must say 256 AAC sounds just fine when I'm on the go; I'm still amazed at how much music I can fit on a relatively small device like this.

Not that many years ago readers and personal music players were the stuff of science fiction. I still can't buy a flying car like I wanted when I was a kid, but things like these are just as wonderful. Plus, they're certainly more practical for my lifestyle.

theducks · 10-09-2010, 10:15 PM

I have gift clothes in my closet and drawers that have never been worn (and I no longer would fit

).
I have Gift books that were not my "type" of Science-Fiction
same goes for Music, Video discs.

My chosen reader gets a workout.
If someone had given me a Kindle or Nook => drawer ballast, probably.

My simple MP3 player get sued when riding (noisy) Transit.The C-Net poll is probably not the venue for a meaningful poll. Those viewers probably use a higher end device

for their entire Media fix.

GhostHawk · 10-10-2010, 07:29 AM

I'm sorry but in ever single case I've seen personally, once a person makes the switch to an ebook reader, they never go back to paper. My wife is about as hard core as they come, its taken her about 6 months with a ereader but even she is wishing she could just find everything she wants as an ebook.

In order to finish a big series of books she had to read the last 2 in hardcover.
She was constantly complaining about the weight, etc.

My father in law, he was hooked after half an hour. Sat down with it, figured out the majority of the buttons, menus, etc. Got up and gathered up every paper book of his in the house, gave it to me. Said "I don't need these anymore". End of story.

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10-06-2010, 12:09 AM	#16
Ervserver Wizard Posts: 2,624 Karma: 1008294 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Iowa, USA Device: Nook Simple Touch	Much ado about nothing

10-06-2010, 12:33 AM	#17
GreenMonkey DRM hater Posts: 945 Karma: 2066176 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Michigan Device: Nook ST glow, Kindle Voyage	I still read paper books more often than e-books. But I hate DRM. It sounds like this guy has been talking to the people that don't read a whole lot. Like your average American who reads like 2 books a year. Duh. Of course they aren't going to use it a lot.

10-06-2010, 01:55 AM	#20
Jakie Connoisseur Posts: 52 Karma: 225544 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Keremeos BC Device: Kindle PW5, Kobo Libre2	Although I enjoy articles that are thought provoking, and force me to analyse my motives for doing things, this is not one of those articles. I can justify my using the ebook reader, or the two netbooks I use to read books, because they are multiuse devices, save trees, (and I like oxygen) and as a non bandwagon shopper, I am still deciding on the best ebook reader FOR ME, that has the best utility for the price. The twenty or so books I have purchased since my girlfriend and I have started ereading, are not lost, as I still have them in my storage....somewhere in electron land.

10-06-2010, 02:10 AM	#21
Sweetpea Grand Sorcerer Posts: 9,707 Karma: 32763414 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Krewerd Device: Pocketbook Inkpad 4 Color; Samsung Galaxy Tab S6	Why you shouldn't buy a MP3 player. I have a MP3 player, and I hardly ever use it. My mother also has a MP3 player, and she only ever uses it to listen to the radio at night. And I bet there are more MP3 players doing nothing than that there are e-readers ever sold...

10-06-2010, 02:41 PM	#23
dsvick Wizard Posts: 2,737 Karma: 635747 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Northeast Ohio, USA Device: PRS-900	Maybe he'll report on the results of his poll that currently show the people that use their readers all time are beating out people that own them but use them less frequently by over 2 to 1. Right now (1430 on 6 October) he has 2448 responses, of which 31% (759) use their readers all the time, 11% (269) use it occasionally, and only 5% (122) never use theirs. Which means that of all the people that have them, 1150, nearly two-thirds use them all the time, and only 10% never use them. Which means that he needs to find a better base to use as the examples in his articles.

10-06-2010, 05:55 PM	#24
SneakySnake I'm watching you! Posts: 6,113 Karma: 22344652 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Sunny Coast Qld, OZ Device: Sony PRS-900(unused lately) iPadAir2, want me Kindle Oasis	Still a one post wonder! Suspicious.

10-08-2010, 07:04 PM	#26
cfrizz Wizard Posts: 1,569 Karma: 36389706 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Quincy, MA Device: Samsung 54A, Kobo Libra H2O, Samsung S6 Lite	I use my mp3 player almost every single day. It is attached to my main system playing music all day long which saves me from having to getting up to change cds. Depending on my mood, I will either read on my pc or I will use my reader.

10-08-2010, 08:13 PM	#27
macminer Connoisseur Posts: 98 Karma: 660420 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Poland Device: Boox Nova 3, Lenovo Tab 4 8" (formerly many others)	I've had so many portable electronic devices that I lost count of them. The ones that I really used and carried on me shared some features: - they were really portable, that is fairly light and compact - they were durable - their start time was instant-on or almost that fast - the menu was straightforward and responsive So, for example, out of some 5 different mp3 players I owned, I really took to Sansa Clip+, because it is so small and unobtrusive (thanks to the clip), because it remembers where I left off and because when I want to change the song, pick a different folder etc., the delay is hardly noticeable, so it is a real pleasure to use. Contrarily, I don't use my Jetbook e-reader as often as I thought I would, mainly because of the delays in the menu. If I just read a single book, that wouldn't be a problem, but I like to read a couple of pages from one, than check something in another, then come back to the first one - Jetbook is certainly not up to the job in such scenario, as the time needed to switch books is way too long. Maybe I got spoilt by the Mobipocket Reader on my PC, where you could create a "reading list", that is to choose several books you are currently reading and then by just clicking the "back" key, you are back to the list and can pick a different book from the list (it opens where you left off) - all this takes about a second.

10-09-2010, 08:27 PM	#28
David71 Enthusiast Posts: 29 Karma: 12 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Ashland, AL Device: Kindle Touch	I use my Kindle 2i a lot. I've always loved reading and it allows me to have a number of titles from which to choose wherever I might be. I can't help but think that if you don't read many books then a reader would be a waste of money. In my case, it was a great purchase. As has already been pointed out this could be applied to almost any purchase. As for music players, I get a lot of use out of my 160 GB iPod Classic. I love listening to (and playing) music as much as I love reading and it enables me to listen to the music from my CDs and vinyl easily when I'm at work. I can take most of my collection with me anywhere I go and listen to my physical collection at home. I must say 256 AAC sounds just fine when I'm on the go; I'm still amazed at how much music I can fit on a relatively small device like this. Not that many years ago readers and personal music players were the stuff of science fiction. I still can't buy a flying car like I wanted when I was a kid, but things like these are just as wonderful. Plus, they're certainly more practical for my lifestyle.

10-09-2010, 10:15 PM	#29
theducks Well trained by Cats Posts: 31,009 Karma: 60358908 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: The Central Coast of California Device: Kobo Libra2,Kobo Aura2v1, K4NT(Fixed: New Bat.), Galaxy Tab A	I have gift clothes in my closet and drawers that have never been worn (and I no longer would fit ). I have Gift books that were not my "type" of Science-Fiction same goes for Music, Video discs. My chosen reader gets a workout. If someone had given me a Kindle or Nook => drawer ballast, probably. My simple MP3 player get sued when riding (noisy) Transit.The C-Net poll is probably not the venue for a meaningful poll. Those viewers probably use a higher end device for their entire Media fix.

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10-10-2010, 07:29 AM	#30
GhostHawk Data Privateer! Posts: 586 Karma: 62887 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Fargo ND Device: Ectaco Jetbook& Jetbook Lite	I'm sorry but in ever single case I've seen personally, once a person makes the switch to an ebook reader, they never go back to paper. My wife is about as hard core as they come, its taken her about 6 months with a ereader but even she is wishing she could just find everything she wants as an ebook. In order to finish a big series of books she had to read the last 2 in hardcover. She was constantly complaining about the weight, etc. My father in law, he was hooked after half an hour. Sat down with it, figured out the majority of the buttons, menus, etc. Got up and gathered up every paper book of his in the house, gave it to me. Said "I don't need these anymore". End of story.