Hey! Somebody gets it...

[Argel]

A remarkably sane and balanced article from the Guardian in the UK although, sadly, the writer appears never to have heard of Astak.

Electronic books: America's giant bookshops put the 'e' in reading

[HarryT]

I'm not so sure about the "Amazon promises to launch the Kindle in the UK by Christmas" bit. AFAIK, nobody's "promised" any such thing.

[Argel]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I'm not so sure about the "Amazon promises to launch the Kindle in the UK by Christmas" bit. AFAIK, nobody's "promised" any such thing.

I think you're mistaking the usage. The sense is not 'Amazon has promised...' but 'there is some promise that Amazon will...'

[HarryT]

Neither the Kindle nor the Barnes & Noble e-reader is readily available in the UK – the bestselling model here is currently the Sony Reader – but it's only a matter of time. (Amazon promises to launch the Kindle for Christmas.)

I'm afraid I don't agree with you .

[Andybaby]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I'm not so sure about the "Amazon promises to launch the Kindle in the UK by Christmas" bit. AFAIK, nobody's "promised" any such thing.

it's a big rumor. and the last 2 amazon kindle rumors were true within 45 days.

[JSWolf]

Amazon does not have ePub. Even if they do try it outside the USA, it won't work.

[Abecedary]

I'm with Harry. I think it's pretty clear that the author is saying that "Amazon promises to launch the Kindle for Christmas". It's a simple, direct statement, and there isn't much room for interpretation. Also, he's a professional writer--if he intended to say something else then he would've written something else.

[deltop]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Amazon does not have ePub. Even if they do try it outside the USA, it won't work.

Although I own a PRS-505 and would love to see epub adopted as a universal format, if Amazon launch the Kindle here in the uk I think it'll be every bit as successfull as in the US.

Amazon is a hugely popular retailer here too and their marketing budget and catalog of books (if they've managed to make enough deals with publishers of course) will ensure it's success.

[GeoffC]

Amazon will have to go a long long way before I will be tempted by one of their designs ....

[kazbates]

While information about the Kindle is always intrigueing , what I found interesting and a bit confusing was the following:

Quote:
Many people will hate e-reading. The screen is only a tool, and not much more, and a poor substitute for the printed page. It has none of the satisfactions of the bound book. Conceivably, e-readers will actually promote the sale of hardback books as readers, delighted by what they have browsed on the Kindle, turn to a more lasting version for their libraries.

I understand the romance factor, but why would he consider the e-ink display a "poor substitute" for paper? What satisfaction is their in holding a "bound book"? I understand the allure of collecting hardbound books, antique books, etc., but is that actually the type of books to which he is referring?

[tompe]

Originally Posted by kazbates

I understand the romance factor, but why would he consider the e-ink display a "poor substitute" for paper? What satisfaction is their in holding a "bound book"? I understand the allure of collecting hardbound books, antique books, etc., but is that actually the type of books to which he is referring?

Maybe it is the whole book that is important. Take a paper book and cut off the binding and cut off all page numbers and read the book one page at a time (and you cannot look at how many pages are left or at how many you have read). I would consider that a poor substitute for a book and is also why I like to read paper books better than reading books on my Gen 3.

[Who are you?]

It is clearly explained by his first sentence, he does not own an ereader, and probably has never even seen one of them.

[kazbates]

Originally Posted by tompe

Maybe it is the whole book that is important. Take a paper book and cut off the binding and cut off all page numbers and read the book one page at a time (and you cannot look at how many pages are left or at how many you have read). I would consider that a poor substitute for a book and is also why I like to read paper books better than reading books on my Gen 3.

You are of course, entitled to enjoy a book how ever you like . With my liseuse (see Argel, I'm still trying ), I am able to page backward and forward through my ebooks quite easily and am able to determine how many pages are left using the page numbers, just as I would a paper book. The added benefit is that I can search for a particular word or phrase if I wish to go back to refresh my memory (which, believe me, happens quite frequently ).

By the way, I have read a book where the binding was not attached and the pages were loose and wanted to pull my hair out before I even reached the middle of the book. With 3 kids and 3 dogs running around, any loose leaf papers tend to go flying.

[tompe]

Originally Posted by kazbates

You are of course, entitled to enjoy a book how ever you like . With my liseuse (see Argel, I'm still trying ), I am able to page backward and forward through my ebooks quite easily and am able to determine how many pages are left using the page numbers, just as I would a paper book. The added benefit is that I can search for a particular word or phrase if I wish to go back to refresh my memory (which, believe me, happens quite frequently ).

Searching is a big advantage. And with better implementations of reader software we will get new functionality we did not know we needed and the reading experience will be superior. But currently with most of the available readers we do not have that extra functionality.

There is also the sense of having done something when finisishing a physical book. I do not get that when reading an eBook since then the experience is more like reading web pages. But that will probably be solved by automatically updating places like facebook when you finish a book.

[Greg Anos]

Originally Posted by tompe

Maybe it is the whole book that is important. Take a paper book and cut off the binding and cut off all page numbers and read the book one page at a time (and you cannot look at how many pages are left or at how many you have read). I would consider that a poor substitute for a book and is also why I like to read paper books better than reading books on my Gen 3.

Agreed, but on the other hand, I can pack a 1,000 volume library in a device the size of a single, small hardback, weighing a quarter Kilo, and with easy access to any of the books on it. That's a point where an liseuse outshines a paper book....