05-28-2011, 10:52 AM | #31 |
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Do you want a touchscreen? If so get the Kobo
Otherwise, I think you will be happy with either e-reader. The more I read about them and see people posting the more I realize that they all do a good job. There are differences but only the individual can know how important collections are or the dictionary or any number of smaller fiddly things. I love my Kindle. I don't see myself buying a different device because I love what mine does and I am comfortable with it. I can convert books easily enough but all of my books are from Amazon. Until I see a new device that does something that I think is really cool that my Kindle does not do and Amazon does not add, I will be using a Kindle. I think there are a few Sony, Nook, and Kobo people who feel the same way. My best advice to you is to make a list of features that you think are important to you and buy the device that has most of those features. |
05-28-2011, 05:49 PM | #32 | |
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I use my ereader to read novels. But this would be something to consider if you were looking to use your ereader for technical books. |
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05-29-2011, 02:31 AM | #33 | |||
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As to whether I should give this advice to someone that's learning about eReaders. Why not? This person is looking to buy books from multiple eStores. This will require stripping of DRM and converting between file formats. This might seem like easy stuff to do but is beyond the realm of a novice user. And the fact that the person is using this website and forums they have a link to a wealth of support and information if they have problems. Quote:
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Both the DRM and the proprietary azw format is what locks users. Sure you can convert using Calibre after removing the DRM but the average person won't do these things. And depending on where one lives it might not be legal to remove the DRM. Last edited by LucidDreams; 05-29-2011 at 02:38 AM. |
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05-29-2011, 10:24 AM | #34 |
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I'm confused by the simultaneous caution against stripping DRM, and recommendation to make fraudulent claims in a business agreement and violate import restrictions. If the rules lock you, the rules lock you. If you're willing to bend the rules, you're not locked.
Also, while many people are repeatedly TOLD they will be locked to Amazon, and therefore may worry before buying if they will be locked, I don't recall seeing word from ANY Kindle owner who actually felt they were locked in to Amazon in actual practice. In the poll thread on book selection, it seems of the few people who have said their reader has limited their choices, many are epub-based reader owners who were trying to get content they only found on Amazon, not the other way around. I'm starting to be convinced that, like 1 or 2 month battery life claims, the idea of being "locked" in any sense is a non-issue. Last edited by ApK; 05-29-2011 at 10:28 AM. |
05-29-2011, 03:17 PM | #35 |
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It is a non-issue if you are tech savy or read boards like this one. Had I not come here I would not have had a clue that I could buy books from other stores and convert them.
I wold imagine that a large percentage of the e-reader population does not know about Apprentice Alf's website or Calibre and honestly believes that they are locked into Amazon or BN or Kobo. I know the Nook can read EPub book from other stores and I am sure that their literature mentions that but I doubt that it is something that BN spends a ton of time walking people through in their manual or at their stores. They want people buying from BN not Kobo. The people on this board do not compromise a representative sample of the population. Being here and reading these boards means that you have developed enough information to make an informed choice regarding DRM and conversion. Kindle Boards posts a warning if two or more people mention that DRM can be removed in a topic even if no one types the words Apprentice Alf. I don't think I have ever seen a discussion of DRM stripping at Amazons boards. This site is an anomaly so I would not trust the poll results here. |
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05-29-2011, 04:28 PM | #36 | |
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Normal users, if not for being TOLD they'd be lock in on sites like this, would probably have no awareness of any 'locking in' at all. Put another way, it appears that most folks who get a Kindle are like folks who are given the keys to their new apartment. They have everything they need or want in the apartment. They come to a board like this and are told "if you go with Kindle you only get the key to your apartment. You don't get the key to the three storage lockers down the street." And they find they don't care because there is nothing they care about in those lockers, and no need to have a key to them. Judging from the posts here, it's more common that people who have keys to the three storage lockers come knocking on the apartment door (Amazon) looking for things none of the lockers have in them. OK, so maybe it's an inelegant analogy, but I hope it's clear. Last edited by ApK; 05-29-2011 at 04:45 PM. |
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05-29-2011, 05:21 PM | #37 | |
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Make no mistake, people aren't bending the rules when they remove the DRM, they're breaking the rules. So if a person is comfortable removing the DRM that's their choice. But those that are not comfortable doing this it's an issue and they're locked into Amazon, so to speak. My main gripe with Amazon's Kindle is that they've purposely left out ePub file support. I understand why they've done it. But I personally consider it an unethical practice. More so now that they're on the 3rd gen of their product. All other major eReaders support the ePub format, along with public libraries. Sadly, the average consumer isn't aware of all this when they're in the market for a eReader. |
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05-29-2011, 05:49 PM | #38 | |
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Think of it like HD DVD vs Blu-Ray. Of course you can strip the DRM and convert between file types but as I've mentioned in my last posting there are issues with that approach. |
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05-29-2011, 05:52 PM | #39 | |
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05-29-2011, 09:53 PM | #40 | |||||||
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But in the case of HD DVD (and Betamax before it) the two standards DID cause a fracture the market and cause inconvenience for consumers, so they pushed, and one format prevailed. In the case of Amazon vs ADE ePub ebooks, most folks just aren't significant bothered, or negatively affected in anyway, so, my point again, it's just not proving to be a real issue. ApK Last edited by ApK; 05-29-2011 at 09:56 PM. |
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05-30-2011, 12:48 AM | #41 | ||||
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The ePub 3 spec will at some point force Amazon to rethink it's non-ePub support. I for one don't care which eReader I use so long as it has the features I want/need and it uses a open standard eBook format. I'd like to see DRM go away but that will likely never happen or will be many years down the road. I like Amazon, I think it's a great company. But for me, until they provide ePub support they lose my business for their eReader. But if they ever add ePub support I will seriously considering buying their eReader when I'm ready to upgrade. Last edited by LucidDreams; 05-30-2011 at 01:02 AM. |
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05-30-2011, 01:09 PM | #42 | |
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Libraries hopefully won't be a concern much longer if the Amazon/Overdrive press release turns out like we hope. ePub as format is richer than mobi, I'm told, and I don't question it, and true ePub is an open standard and mobi is owned by Amazon, but in practice, it just doesn't seem make a bit of difference to most people. For the vast majority of content, the formats look the same, are both widely available and are easily inter-convertable. You are seeing the answer to "What if they threw a format war and no one showed up?" Now as for what the impact will be in the future, as people build libraries, laws are clarified and ereaders are replaced, I can only put my guess against yours. I think more people who use ereaders are tech savvy than you may think. Calibre has been downloaded over a million times. Maybe someone who knows can tell us how many times the 'tools' set has been downloaded. I think the tech savvy base is still probably larger than the tech-illiterate base, though it is clearly growing. I still don't think format or the current 'locked into one store' perception is an real issue now or will be an issue going forward. I'll offer my standard bet: Meet you back here in a few years. Loser buys the Dr. Pepper. |
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05-30-2011, 02:22 PM | #43 |
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The proprietary eBook format + DRM combined is the real issue. If Amazon used their own format without the DRM then all of this discussion would be pointless. That's why ePub + DRM is needed, since it gives users the flexibility to use eBooks on any major eReader. Even if Amazon adds support for ePub to the Kindle the Amazon eBooks will still be in their proprietary format with DRM. So I still won't use their eBook store and those that purchased books on Amazon still have the same issue as before. Instead, I'll be able to use their eReader with other eBook stores. For Amazon to really address the issue they would not only have to add ePub support for their eReader but also for their eBook store.
I don't know if you're aware or not but when you buy an eBook that has DRM you don't really own the book. Instead you've purchased the permission to use it in a manner dictated to you by the seller (from Calibre's website). That's why removing the DRM is a tricky dance, since people don't own the eBook. But I'm not here to judge one if it's right or wrong to remove DRM. I would just like to see everyone use a format where they didn't have to worry about removing the DRM. Calibre is some great software, I use it regularly to get all my news feeds. But the software is updated very often, probably 2-4x a month, so the number of downloads isn't unique user downloads for all versions. Also, Calibre can be used for devices other than eInk eReaders (iPads, iPhones, etc.) so it's kind of hard to use their download numbers as a benchmark for dedicated eReader users. Things are further compounded since Calibre doesn't remove DRM. It's just an alternative eBook management software to use for eReaders. Most use it just for non-DRM eBook management and news feeds. And one doesn't need to be too tech savvy for those purposes. It's kind of hard to bet on a moving target. Since if Amazon adds ePub support to it's eReader then the rules change. If they take it further and add ePub support to their eBook store it changes again. But why bet when the goal is so all can enjoy a cold Dr. Pepper while reading an eBook regardless of eBook store or eReader used. Last edited by LucidDreams; 05-30-2011 at 02:31 PM. |
05-30-2011, 02:48 PM | #44 | |
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05-30-2011, 05:54 PM | #45 | |
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It's possible to convert EPUB files to Kindle format (MOBI/PRC), although you may have to break DRM to do so, as has already been mentioned. I haven't felt any personal necessity to do this because I've never found a commercial ebook in EPUB format that wasn't also available for the Kindle from Amazon.com. And, most forums that offer out-of-copyright ebooks for free (including this one) offer both formats, so you don't have to convert at all. I own a Kindle wifi, but decided to buy a Kindle 3G for a recent trip to the UK. This way I could use the (free) 3G browser capability to keep on top of my e-mail etc. while I was out of Canada, since I knew I'd be in an area with very few places offering wifi. It worked like a charm; I was able to look at my e-mails, confirm my flights, check for train delays, etc. without any problems. I used the Kindle to stay in touch with friends via Facebook, too; however, it's much easier to do this on the Kindle using Facebook's mobile site (m.facebook.com or touch.facebook.com) than the standard page at www.facebook.com. For whatever reason, the "full" Facebook page often freezes my Kindle so that I have to restart or even reboot it. (And in general, I recommend using the mobile version of websites, where available, when using the Kindle's browser; they're specially designed for mobile devices and, of course, load more quickly too.) |
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