Strange Reactions to Kindle

[foreverjuly]

Originally Posted by Balerion

ONE THING THAT REALLY REALLY REALLY GETS TO ME THOUGH IS THE PEOPLE THAT ACT ALL HIGH-AND-MIGHTY ABOUT PREFERRING TO READ PRINTED BOOKS... ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY ACT LIKE THEY'RE BETTER THAN US.

Great list! Some people do react positively. As for your quote here, it's amazing how quickly a hollow sense of superiority works into people's arguments when it comes to things like this. Turning their noses up at e-readers, turning their noses up at indie authors. It says more about the people making these judgments than about what they are judging.

[cefi]

I'm new to this forum and am just learning the Kindle 2. Maybe a dumb question - can I download from mobiread to my Kindle? Do I need to download software? Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

[Alisa]

Originally Posted by thinkpadx

Going back to paperbacks when one has the Kindle is not a pleasant surprise.

I'm currently reading a book from the library: lots of pages, heavy, awkward to hold and turn pages. I find I'm reluctant to bring it along because of the wait so the only time I get to read from it is when I'm at home.

I don't think anyone having actually used an e-reader will go back to paperbacks, it's just too many downsides.

People who's never used an e-reader and still find criticism just doesn't get it.

The last book I read before I got the Kindle was 1000 pages. It was miserable to read. It should have been sold in several volumes. It took me much longer to finish than it should have because my hands would get achy and I'd have to stop. Even a 300 page paperback seems unnecessarily cumbersome to me these days.

[Alisa]

Originally Posted by cefi

I'm new to this forum and am just learning the Kindle 2. Maybe a dumb question - can I download from mobiread to my Kindle? Do I need to download software? Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

This thread may help. It lists download guides for various sites including this one.

[psycholoner]

I rarely get a good reaction for my DX, but I always love to fight for it. I'm a tech lover, and I own a psp and ds. Every time someone asks me "Why didn't you get an iPad?", I always reply with "Why the hell would I want an iPad?"

Then I go into asking, "Tell me one thing I want from the iPad". People will go "Videos, gaming, internet, etc."

But, does anyone watch videos on an iPad? Not many. The fact is, if there is wifi around, then a laptop or tablet would be a much better choice. When it gets to gaming, I start to think, "what kind of games would I want? all there is are small apps and mini-games". I carry my psp or ds everywhere anyway, so why would I play those when I have real games? And I wouldn't be willing to pay for a data plan, so internet on the go is out of the question. On top of that, its hard to read in the sun, and the battery runs out in a few hours.

They then go to ask why I would get something just to read books. I ask if the person has ever read for long durations of time on a light emitting screen. All of them have said no. My reply is:
"Then you wouldn't know that after you read for 6 hours straight on one of them. After around 6 hours, your eyes get dry and start to hurt, the white screen starts to irritate your eyes, you'll feel extremely tired, and everything you see for the next 12 or so hours will be blurry." I read a lot of manga, so I usually end up reading longer than that, and I do it consecutively day after day when I have a few days off.

[foreverjuly]

Originally Posted by thinkpadx

I get lot of stares on my way in to work when sitting on the bus or on the train. Norwegians are too shy to ask so they just stare at the device

That's interesting! Would you say Norwegians are big users of technology? I just got back from spending 2 years in Japan. They definitely have a shy streak in them too, but I think most wouldn't hesitate to inquire about some kind of new gadget.

[thinkpad]

I would say that Scandinavians are usually early adopters and love new gadgets especially when it comes to phones. As for e-readers I'm not so sure. I've seen very few people with e-readers on the train or bus and I commute every day.

It might have something to do with the Norwegian book industry holding back on investments in new technology. E-books are at the moment taxed 20-25% which makes it hard to compete with paperbacks and there is very few titles in Norway released in any e-book format.

Back in Mars there was planned a big fellow launch between the publishing houses here in Norway where they were about to commit to e-book publishing but it's all put on ice pending a shift in regulations, which for all I know can take a very long time. In the meantime very little happens.

As for the Norwegians shyness, perhaps is just a form of politeness, not wanting to disturb the reader with a lot of questions, although I would be more than happy to answer them.

[shanghaichica]

It's quite interesting because I am the only person I know who has an ereader. I dont consider myself to be an early addopter of things, I usually am in the second wave and I was aware of ereaders for several years before I bought one.

When I first took my ereader into work everyone came to ask me what it was and cooed over it. When I travel on the train to work I've never seen another person with a reader. I dont know if people stare at it because I am now too busy reading to notice what is going on around me.

[joblack]

Originally Posted by Pushka

My mother who is legally blind is now able to read on the kindle. She is 82. Her friends are all buying kindles, the latest is aged 90. They get it. And thanks to niluje who got the font large enough for them to read.

That's a great story.

I think the Kindle will sneak itself in the society by early adopters and seniors. The publishers will recognize (as the music industry before) the revolution when it's too late.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by psycholoner

But, does anyone watch videos on an iPad? Not many. The fact is, if there is wifi around, then a laptop or tablet would be a much better choice. When it gets to gaming, I start to think, "what kind of games would I want? all there is are small apps and mini-games". I carry my psp or ds everywhere anyway, so why would I play those when I have real games? And I wouldn't be willing to pay for a data plan, so internet on the go is out of the question. On top of that, its hard to read in the sun, and the battery runs out in a few hours.

They then go to ask why I would get something just to read books. I ask if the person has ever read for long durations of time on a light emitting screen. All of them have said no. My reply is:
"Then you wouldn't know that after you read for 6 hours straight on one of them. After around 6 hours, your eyes get dry and start to hurt, the white screen starts to irritate your eyes, you'll feel extremely tired, and everything you see for the next 12 or so hours will be blurry." I read a lot of manga, so I usually end up reading longer than that, and I do it consecutively day after day when I have a few days off.

You seem to be assuming that an iPad and an eInk device have to be mutually exclusive. That's definitely not the case. I have both, and use each in the situations for which it's best. When I go out, I always have my iPad with me, because "internet on the go" is what I bought it for. I also, however, use it for reading. With the Kindle App on the iPad I can read one of my Kindle books and, when I get home, because of the wireless syncing, carry on reading on my Kindle exactly where I left off on the iPad.

The iPad is very nice for reading in bed at night. Set the backlight to its minimum level, and it's great for reading in the dark. When I'm sitting in a chair in the daylight, though, I use the Kindle (or one of my other eInk devices).

Don't knock the iPad - it's a superb device, and there is plenty of room in the world for both iPads and Kindles; it doesn't have to be one or the other.

[Balerion]

First things first...

when people try to compare my Kindle with an iPad, I only have one thing to say... "chalk and cheese, my friend... chalk and cheese". The are two totally different things.

Has everyone heard about Pixel Qi ? I hadn't until yesterday (can't remember where I read about it... check out the attached screenshot... its a new LCD panel for laptops... currently released as a 10.1" for netbooks that allows the backlighting to be turned off for it to become the same as an eInk display, while still being able to display video... OMG. Looks awesome, but still won't make a netbook an effective reading device... ever tried to hold a netbook like a Kindle so that you can read it like a book?! LOL not fun I imagine.

[HarryT]

Good heavens - you must have been living at the bottom of a well for the last couple of years not to have heard of Pixel Qi . Yes, it has great potential, but it's still only available as extremely expensive samples, and I think we need to wait to see what its actual uses are.

[foreverjuly]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Good heavens - you must have been living at the bottom of a well for the last couple of years not to have heard of Pixel Qi . Yes, it has great potential, but it's still only available as extremely expensive samples, and I think we need to wait to see what its actual uses are.

I'm not extremely tech-savvy, and I've also been living out of the country for a while, so I hadn't heard of it until recently either. Seems like it could be useful, but not in the same way a kindle is. I still read on my laptop sometimes, and I use Readability to read online newspaper articles, and that's kind of similar.

[Freeshadow]

altough its not a kindle in my case, a lot of ppl gets the idea and understands when i show them the e-ink display in action, since most not knowing readers only say "I don't like to read on a computer screen"

when i then point out the power consumption bonus, as well as the fact that such a kind of device is rather a "virtual book shelf-wall" the space and weight argument makes it understandeable those who are not touche touched by it as high ammount consumption readers are.

the best reaction till now was "my ma is highly interested in those thingies since shge usualy needs the majoryty of her flight baggage limit up for books when going on vacation." the girl saying these was very thankful for the kind-of techdemo of the display. and being sent to MRs reader matrix for further info

[Yoshi 1080]

Up until now, I had rather different experiences. The other day I was waiting at the eye doctor's, reading on my iPad (sorry if that's too OT for anyone). After a while an older woman hesitatingly but admiringly asked me what it is I'm using since she has never seen one before. So I showed her my iPad, how to read eBooks on it, in portrait and pocket book mode, how to buy them online via 3G, and told her about the situation with eBooks being available from both Apple and Amazon directly on the device. She got especially excited when I showed her iBooks' page turning animations! Another woman of the same age turned to us then, too. Eventually she also asked about the price, but wasn't totally shocked about it when I told her. And at that point she was even still under the impression this was only for reading books.

So far this has been the only time foreigners have actively come in contact with me about my iPad (as a reader or not). I haven't noticed any negative reactions yet.