What to get for my son?

[kgn]

Originally Posted by crich70

The Kindle 3 is good and now they are coming out with new Kindles one of which might be the right choice for you depending on availability.

The Kindle 4 is basically the same, but with no keyboard. The Kindle 3 is not really 'good'. It is adequate, basic, not too terrible. If it did not have Amazon behind it, it would be a non starter. The software is really basic. The collection system is terrible. It only supports one format, etc. The hardware is pretty good - fairly reliable, etc, so it has that going for it..

The Kindle 3 is my fall back position - if nothing else shows up, then that is what I will go for. It is a bit like the iPhone - it is really a very basic smartphone, no one in their right mind would really buy one if they wanted a good smartphone. But you do because of other reasons (peer pressure, good marketing, availability, etc).
The Kobo Touch is out - really - I have not seen a good review of it anywhere. It seems way behind the curve.
The Sony PRS-T1 seems a good unit, but almost double the price of the Kindle, so that might be out of it.
As suggested here, I have looked for other Pocketbooks on ebay - not much really. Nothing secondhand, and nothing within my budget. Shame - the Pocketbooks are really good ereaders - just a bit over priced.

[HarryT]

You have some ideas which many people would disagree with. The Kindle is a poor bookreader? the iPhone is a "basic" smartphone? You'd struggle to find agreement with these views. Still - whatever works for you.

[pidgeon92]

Originally Posted by kgn

The Kindle 4 is basically the same, but with no keyboard. The Kindle 3 is not really 'good'. It is adequate, basic, not too terrible. If it did not have Amazon behind it, it would be a non starter. The software is really basic. The collection system is terrible. It only supports one format, etc.

I've owned every Kindle since the original, and I completely disagree with your statements. All of the units I have owned have been great for reading novels, the collection system works just fine if you take the time to learn how to use it, and the K3 and K4 support multiple formats, including PDF. It just doesn't support ePub, and there are very few ePub books that are not available in a .mobi format.

If a person doesn't like Amazon, and won't buy a Kindle because of that, that's their prerogative. It's the perpetuation of the myths that a Kindle owner is stuck with only buying books from Amazon, and that it won't read other formats that I find unwarranted.

[Andrew H.]

Originally Posted by kgn

The Kindle 3 is my fall back position - if nothing else shows up, then that is what I will go for. It is a bit like the iPhone - it is really a very basic smartphone, no one in their right mind would really buy one if they wanted a good smartphone. But you do because of other reasons (peer pressure, good marketing, availability, etc).

Oh, nonsense.

The most popular smartphone and the most popular e-reader are only used because (other) people are too stupid to buy the alternative...but luckily *you* are smart enough to see through all the hype?

People spend their hard-earned money on these products because after carefully considering the alternatives, they believe that these are the best products *for them.* And they are probably right.

And the pocketbook? Seriously? Unless things have changed recently, the Pocketbook doesn't even have a Pearl display. Since these devices are meant to be read on, that's a pretty big oversight.

[shinew]

I would suggest a tablet and throw in couple of good paperback books based on your somewhat high standard for "features" in an eReader. Keep in mind that many best eInk's reader are designed to be as transparent as possible for reading a book, anything else is secondary. In other words if you find a physical book is lacking in features, you won't be too happy with most of the eReaders. I don't know about your son but if I were to lie in bed for months, I would want more entertainment than just reading plain books...

It seems that the only reason you want it to be an eInk device is because of it's battery life, but you also said your son will be next to a power outlet most of the time.
An iPad2 would be pretty decent, it has a 10hour(not exaggerated) battery life will be good for pretty much a day without charging. It'll provide plenty of entertainment from reading book/magazine to watching video, browsing the web, and playing games, etc... If it's not within your budget, the Kindle Fire which is releasing next month seems like a very capable tablet for only $199.

[Sigyn]

Admittedly my brother was in the same position as your son before ereaders were invented, but as I recall he did watch a lot of rented movies. I think that's what got my parents into Netflix. But my brother was never a large reader, more of an outside kid and video games.

If it were me - a huge reader - I would want something easy on my eyes if I'm reading it for hours. Which I could do with paper books if I didn't have interruptions. I would want to touch them and play with them and try to read a whole book or two on it. The I'd know which one I wanted. I think where you live though, that's not so much a choice unless he has a lot of friends with a variety of ereaders - which is entirely possible.

Sending healing vibes your way,
sigyn

[crich70]

Originally Posted by pidgeon92

I've owned every Kindle since the original, and I completely disagree with your statements. All of the units I have owned have been great for reading novels, the collection system works just fine if you take the time to learn how to use it, and the K3 and K4 support multiple formats, including PDF. It just doesn't support ePub, and there are very few ePub books that are not available in a .mobi format.

If a person doesn't like Amazon, and won't buy a Kindle because of that, that's their prerogative. It's the perpetuation of the myths that a Kindle owner is stuck with only buying books from Amazon, and that it won't read other formats that I find unwarranted.

Yep. In fact I've gotten some from Smashwords and Phoenix pick just to name two sites and of course there are the great PD books right here at MR to choose from as well.

[kgn]

Originally Posted by Andrew H.

The most popular smartphone and the most popular e-reader are only used because (other) people are too stupid to buy the alternative...but luckily *you* are smart enough to see through all the hype?

Getting a bit snarky there! . I disagree with your rationalization - I mentioned other reasons why people buy these products - not one had to do with my cleverness or lack of it.

Originally Posted by Andrew H.

People spend their hard-earned money on these products because after carefully considering the alternatives, they believe that these are the best products *for them.* And they are probably right.

Wrong. You might, and I certainly do. Every one else in my family though (and their spouses) have iphones. Not one of them considered any alternatives. Not one even knew what the iphone did, or compared with other phones, checked operating systems, etc. Every single one bought one because their friends had one. Mind you, I agree with you that it might have been the best product for them, but 'careful consideration' never came into the equation. Even money does not come into it - all were free on plans, so were basically 'free'.

Originally Posted by Andrew H.

And the pocketbook? Seriously? Unless things have changed recently, the Pocketbook doesn't even have a Pearl display. Since these devices are meant to be read on, that's a pretty big oversight.

Don't care. The Pearl display (or lack thereof) is a non issue to me. I agree that the kindle has a better looking screen (but not by much). But it has very poor software, and it is not touch screen. These last two problems are a killer for me personally - I would NEVER buy one for myself for these reasons alone. Just the fact that I can make any button on the Pocketbook do anything I want (via the software configuration) is a brilliant feature. Anyway, this is a not a Kindle vs Pocketbook thread. One costs $130 and one is around $450 - it is not fair to compare them and it was not my intention to do so.

So far I am leaning towards waiting for the Kindle Fire tablet. I know very little about it so far, but they have the marketing clout to put out a pretty decent tablet for a good price.

[kgn]

Originally Posted by shinew

I would suggest a tablet and throw in couple of good paperback books based on your somewhat high standard for "features" in an eReader.

I have actually done that. I bought a cheap chinese 8" tablet (for $85) and he is using that for the time being. I was going to use the tablet for something else, but I thought it would be a good way to test out a tablet.

Not too sure what you mean by "high standard for features". I would have thought my standards were fairly low.

Originally Posted by shinew

In other words if you find a physical book is lacking in features, you won't be too happy with most of the eReaders.

I actually find my Pocketbook better for reading from than a physical book. I use it for several hours every single day - it is one of my best purchases ever.

Originally Posted by shinew

I don't know about your son but if I were to lie in bed for months, I would want more entertainment than just reading plain books...

Each to their own, I guess. He is very like me - he (and I) can read books for months on end with no problem.

Originally Posted by shinew

An iPad2 would be pretty decent, it has a 10hour(not exaggerated) battery life will be good for pretty much a day without charging.

I don't like the iPad. Both because of Apple's restrictive policies and because of it's very high price. Mind you, if someone gave me one I would not refuse it! I do like the look of the Kindle Fire as you suggest - that is one of my hot favourites at the moment.

[paola]

Originally Posted by kgn

I have a Pocketbook 302 and I think it is a great bit of gear. I use it every single day and it has never played up once. One of my better purchases!

A friend of mine has the Kindle 3 and I think it is pretty poor. Very hard to get books onto it with the right organisation, even with Calibre. It does not have a touch screen. Very poor software - next to the PB302 it is a basic toy. I would never get one for myself.

The thing is I have a son (28) who is coming out of hospital for what will probably be months of recuperation in bed, and I want to get him an ebook reader of some sort. If I was made of money, I would get him the PB302 (or perhaps a newer model), but realistically I have a pretty tight budget.

I have thought of a tablet, but the battery life on those is so short I am thinking it really has to be an eInk device. But then again, he will always be close to a power outlet (lying in bed), so perhaps it is not out of the question. I will not be connecting to any online stores - all books will be copied over from a PC. Don't even need WiFi or 3G. In fact, would prefer not to have either.

The Kindle is my first choice and here in Australia it is less that $200, which I can handle. But I am thinking there must be something better out there...

Would your son be fine with a 5 inch screen? If so, I know Tatiana (tvpupsik on this forum) ships to Australia, and the Pocketbook + goes for $136. I think Dulin's books (also a user on this forum) too ships to Australia.

[Polyphemus]

I'm not sure how much it would cost to ship to Australia, but Sony is selling refurbished PRS-350 for $85.

http://tx.sel-email.sel.sony.com/tra...:102253:READER