Before a kindle

[jbcohen]

Before I bought my Kindle almost one year ago I had two Aluratek Libra Pros and a white Pandigital Novel which each died within six months of my buying them. How many of us came to a Kindle after being disillusioned with a previous electronic reader?

My experience with my libra pro's left a sour taste in my mouth about electronic readers as a whole and I almost dropped out of electronic readers entirely. However seeing as how my kindle three has outlived either Libra Pro and almost as long as both of them put together I think that I will stick with electronic readers.

I think to a large extent my problems were due to the fact that I had off brand readers.

[dwig]

I don't have much personal experience with a wide range of "modern" dedicated ereaders as my previous devices have been general purpose devices (palmtops in the jargon of the day, some tablet configuration) and spans a large portion of portable computing history. My experience with those has been rather good in terms of reliability:

HP320LX: served well for several years and retired when replaced by a subnotebook (Fujitsu). It did later develop issues with the circuit flex between the display and keyboard halves.

Fujitsu sub-notebook: still works perfectly except battery life is measured in 10s of seconds and its otherwise obsolete. It worked great as a notebook but was too big for an every day ereader.

Sony Clie T415: replaced Fujitsu as a reading device. Only "failure" was the latch/ejection mech for the Memory Stick cards, a classic Sony issue. Retired in perfect working order.

Sony Clie UX50: replaced T415 because of much better screen, larger and backlit. Served well for years and years. Serviced once to repair WiFi (bad design of chip socket, cronic UX50 failure). Retired in perfect working order, other than poorly functioning MS slot latch, due to diminished battery life (~20min) and advancing display tech.

Kindle 3: current device for the last year and a half. I'm very satisfied with this one and don't expect to replace it anytime soon. I'll probably add an Android device (probably tablet rather than smartphone) in the not too distant future, but as a replacement from my 12 ton Dell notebook rather than the K3.

I'd have to say only the Clie T415 was a general disappointment, though none were mechanical or electronic failures (I forgive the UX50 its one warranty service trip). Its reflective mono LCD was dim and too shiny making it tricky to read in many lighting conditions, particularily office lunch rooms or outdoors. None of the early devices were really usable outside, even in the shade, except the LX320.

For a long time I swore that a device had to have backlight to work for me (if you dig you may find an ancient comment or two to that effect here at MR). The eInk displays have finally advanced enough that I don't find that necessary anymore. Any adequate reading light for a paper book is adequate for my K3. That was not the case with the old Clie T415.

[HarryT]

I've lost count of how many different eInk devices I've owned. Pretty much everything that's been available in the UK, I'd guess. None has ever failed, but there have been some with VERY buggy/flaky firmware. My current Kindle Touch is without a doubt the best reader I've owned (best for me personally; doubtless other people have different preferences).

[Synamon]

Before my Kindle, I read ebooks on my laptop. I had avoided dedicated eReaders because the first ones were useless in sunlight and I do a lot of reading outside on the dock or beach in the summer (cheap secondhand books were my weapon of choice there). When the e-ink readers got good reviews for reading in sunlight I jumped aboard the train, choosing Kindle for the Amazon ecosystem. My Kindle is fantastic for reading in the sun, it has far less glare even than a paper book, no more squinting for me.

[pidgeon92]

I love my Kindles, and use one or more of them daily. My poor Boox and Sony are neglected. I really do prefer the Kindles.

[LiQuid3600]

Before my Kindle (my first ereader) I just read VERY rarely. Like a book every year or two tops. I hate carrying books around with me (especially the really gross, silly ones I read like vampire smut lol) and I always felt like I had better things to do with my free time while at home. It has been suggested to me that I might still be in the honeymoon period with it, but since I got it about a month ago I've already read as many books as I have in the whole decade+ since high school.

Much like how I realized how badly I loved having an mp3 player on me at all times after I got my first iPod, I now can't imagine life without my Kindle within arm's reach at all times.

[RDaneel54]

My first e-ink device was a Sony 505. Really good, reliable, etc. I was not impressed with the Sony ecosystem, though.

I wanted to get a Kindle, so that is what I did, Kindle 3 Wifi, then Kindle 3g and then Kindle 4 NT. Still have the last two.

[Blossom]

I started out with a netbook not a cheap one either. Now I rarely ever use it anymore. PDF and Lit were my choice of format back then.

My first eReader was a Hanlin +v5 clone called an Astak Pocket Pro. I use it for 8 months before getting a K3. Pearl was my biggest reason to switch to a Kindle. Now I have K3, K4 and Kindle Fire. I have my eye on a Kindle Touch but after the quality I got from my K4 I am leery of buying another Kindle that isn't a K3.

[Talldog]

I originally started ereading on my Palm PDAs and then Pocket PCs. The screens were just too small to replace real books. The Kindle changed everything for me and I can't imagine buying real books again, except for things like repair manuals and such.

[RainingLemur]

The Kindle SO is my first dedicated ereader. I've used other things for ebooks before (Palm, Nintendo DS, PSP, to name a few), and went ahead and grabbed a Nook Color for its ease of rooting and being turned into a tablet for cheaps. Never really looked at it as an ereader, though.

The Kindle was something that I thought "what the heck?" and never looked back.

[Figlilly]

I bought my Kindle 3 just after they were released in Australia - Oct 2010 (I think). I had already bought the IPad just a few weeks previously. I have always been a bit of a bookworm but there would have been long stretches of time when I didn't read all that much. All this has changed since I got the Kindle and I have developed a voracious appetite for books - and Kindles. I now own three of my own, another that is on my account but given to my daughter. I have also bought one for my son and influenced another son to buy one for himself and then one for his wife. Amazon should really like me.

So, to answer the question, before the Kindle, an IPad for a few weeks but otherwise, paper books.

[ucfgrad93]

I started reading ebooks on my Palm T|5. Got my first Kindle in for my birthday in January 2010. I think it is one of my favorite devices of all times.

[HappyMartin]

I started on an Irex Iliad about 5 years ago. I thought I had died and gone to heaven when I got it but it turned out to be more like purgatory.

In 2008 I bought a Cybook Gen 3. Not a bad device. Only problem was a page turn button that was a little dodgy and my wife's reader never survived a rough 4x4 trip to Namibia.

About 3 years ago I bought a kindle. Main reason was as geographic restrictions became more difficult to circumvent I found my supply of books drying up.

The Kindle has worked faultlessly. I am in the process of grading to the KT mainly for the smaller size and better battery life

[Talldog]

Originally Posted by HappyMartin

I started on an Irex Iliad about 5 years ago. I thought I had died and gone to heaven when I got it but it turned out to be more like purgatory.

At one time, I was seriously looking at one of those. What didn't you like about it?

[HappyMartin]

Originally Posted by Talldog

At one time, I was seriously looking at one of those. What didn't you like about it?

Battery life was poor and the promised updates and content never materialized.

After about 9 months the battery got very hot, so hot I was afraid the device was going to burst into flames and then it died. I sent it back and was told the battery would be replaced. I never got the reader back despite my best efforts to contact the company. After months I received an email telling me that they had sent it to me and it was now my problem. Never heard from them again and never saw the reader.

I thought their demise was well deserved.