Has anyone switched from Kindle to another ereader?

[hannahi]

I've been using the Kindle eink device and various Kindle apps since April 2010 and have found it to be a great reading experience. For reasons I can't totally explain, I don't want to buy books from Amazon any longer.

If you were in this situation would you keep the Kindle 3, buy books elsewhere and strip the drm to make them readable on the Kindle, or buy a different reader (for instance the Sony reader that will be released soon, which allows wireless downloading of library books/books from the Sony store) and transfer old books as needed from my Kindle archive? Because I pick up a lot of freebies and sale books, I have quite a collection in my Kindle archives--1,000+ books at this point. I suppose I could also keep both devices...I already have a Sony Pocket reader that I bought last fall when only epub books were available through libraries. I've read only a handful of books on the Sony since the screen is small and it's a pain to transfer books, plus the only computer that I have the reader software is a slow, ancient laptop (the others are running Linux).

I don't like the idea of DRM but at the same time, I like the convenience of having all my books stored in the cloud and synching across devices. I also understand that Amazon is releasing an update for the Kindle 3 that allows you to sync personal documents across devices which I think I could take advantage of if I stripped the DRM and converted books to .mobi format.

[pidgeon92]

I started with a Kindle, but now own two Kindles, a Sony 950 and a Boox M90, and I did own a nook.

I think you're best option is to keep the Kindle. Sure, you can strip the DRM, and convert, but why bother when you have a perfectly good working Kindle, which isn't going to be worth much 2nd hand. Nothing wrong with having two ereaders.

[jbcohen]

Second vote for the keeping the Kindle, although its more work I would add Calibre and some of the plugins to download books elsewhere, strip the DRM and translate to the appropriate format. Why buy a new gaget when the old one will do perfectly well, why spend the dollars.

[Pomtroll]

Well if you don't want to buy from Amazon & are willing to strip DRM then keep the Kindle.

Personally I prefer reading with my Sony PRS 350 but we each have our own preferences. Since you have an epub reader already & don't prefer reading on it, & you don't want to buy from amazon then your other choice is other readers. Prices are more reasonable than a couple of years ago.. BUT many of the readers are locked into stores if you want easily purchase books. Like the new Sony though it sure looks promising.. I'm keeping an eye on the reviews once people get their hands on them..

So to me the most practical thing to do is keep the Kindle.....But if you want another reader See I'm no help. That is why I have 3 readers. Just got to try a few of the out.

[jocampo]

I don't get it.

You like Amazon cloud, but you don't want to buy books from Amazon, is that correct?

If you do not read computer books, on which case moving away from Amazon is a bad idea, in my opinion, I would sell the Kindle and get a different ereader, like a Sony or a Nook.

The reason for that is that even though I am not a big fan of DRM protection, I don't find it ethical keep removing DRM from a book to read it on a different reader. I think is easier and faster to buy an ereader that reads and works out of the box. It will be a lot of work and your only choice if you want to use the Kindle as reader. Also, no ones warranty you that the script(s) will stop working on the road or in a few months.

Removing DRM in order to convert to a different format, let's say ePub, is one thing. But to read on a different hardware than the one supported for that ebook, is a different story.

But ... that's my decision, I respect yours. If I move away from Amazon, I would purchase a different ereader.

[BrowseTheStacks]

If you do not like DRM do not take it out on Amazon. They will sell any ebook DRM-free. It is the publishers who require the DRM. Be mad at them.

[Andrew H.]

Is there a particular store that you want to buy books from? Why not buy stores from there and just transfer the books to your Kindle?

[Josieb1]

Most of the books on my ereaders (I have a Sony 650 and a Kindle) have come from other stores. I read my Amazon books on my Kindle as well as PRC and MOBI books from other stores and my PDFs on the Sony. I don't see anything wrong with having two different readers.

Only the Amazon books have DRM, everything else is DRM free, and my entire library which is over 2500 books is stored on my PC in Calibre, whilst its nice Amazon storing them for me i don't consider that a proper backup.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by hannahi

I've been using the Kindle eink device and various Kindle apps since April 2010 and have found it to be a great reading experience. For reasons I can't totally explain, I don't want to buy books from Amazon any longer.

If you don't want to buy ebooks from Amazon then why bother to keep the Kindle?
It's a nice enough reader but its main virtues all derive from its ties to the Amazon store and cloud.
It doesn't sound like de-drm'ing and converting you kindle ebooks will be an issue so just sell the Kindle and buy another reader that connects to whatever store you want to give your money to.
If Amazon offends you, just ditch'em.
No need to over-complicate matters.

[pidgeon92]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

If you don't want to buy ebooks from Amazon then why bother to keep the Kindle?

Because the OP already has a significant number of books from the Amazon store?

[fjtorres]

He said he knows how to dedrm and convert.
Whether one or one thousand it makes little difference in effort with current tools.
There's really need to agonize over the migration.

[SmokeAndMirrors]

Originally Posted by hannahi

I've been using the Kindle eink device and various Kindle apps since April 2010 and have found it to be a great reading experience. For reasons I can't totally explain, I don't want to buy books from Amazon any longer.

If you were in this situation would you keep the Kindle 3, buy books elsewhere and strip the drm to make them readable on the Kindle, or buy a different reader (for instance the Sony reader that will be released soon, which allows wireless downloading of library books/books from the Sony store) and transfer old books as needed from my Kindle archive? Because I pick up a lot of freebies and sale books, I have quite a collection in my Kindle archives--1,000+ books at this point. I suppose I could also keep both devices...I already have a Sony Pocket reader that I bought last fall when only epub books were available through libraries. I've read only a handful of books on the Sony since the screen is small and it's a pain to transfer books, plus the only computer that I have the reader software is a slow, ancient laptop (the others are running Linux).

I don't like the idea of DRM but at the same time, I like the convenience of having all my books stored in the cloud and synching across devices. I also understand that Amazon is releasing an update for the Kindle 3 that allows you to sync personal documents across devices which I think I could take advantage of if I stripped the DRM and converted books to .mobi format.

There isn't any particular reason to get rid of your Kindle, though I'm sure you could get a pretty penny for it - but you do have plenty of great reasons to move to another e-reader.

And you don't need the Kindle to have a streamlined experience.

What you're getting at here, is that the Kindle attempts to put users in a "walled garden," preventing them from using any other file formats, any other device, or being able to do what they like with their own content.

With the Kindle this comes from a variety of places. The biggest is that they use a basically proprietary file format. It also comes somewhat from publishers and authors who use DRM.

Here's something to consider, though. Your "convenience" factor only applies for as long as the DRM company exists, or as long as the Kindle exists. As soon as either one of those things goes under, your content and/or your cloud service is suddenly unusable. This has happened before, and it will happen again. You don't own your books - they do. And they can take them away at any time.

Here's the deal though. There's no reason you can't have cloud service and easy syncing while at the same time not putting up with Kindle and DRM's attempts to limit your ownership and use of your own content.

If you want to get out of this cycle, I would not recommend the Sony. While it's true they do use the more common EPUB format, they also force DRM on authors and publishers who sell through their store. Even Kindle isn't that restrictive.

Unfortunately, I had no such luck with Apple or Sony. True to my earlier experience with Apple’s iTunes store, Apple has a mandatory DRM requirement for books offered for sale for the iPad. I know many Apple fans believe that because Steve Jobs penned an open letter decrying DRM that the company must use DRM because they have no choice. But this simply isn’t true. Sony has the same deal.

http://www.teleread.com/copy-right/c...sony-hold-out/

While it is true Sony will let you use EPUB's from other places, the ones from their store are still very restrictive, and what Sony is doing is a huge disservice to authors and readers alike.

There are plenty of other good ereaders that are fairly open-format, and whose stores are not so draconian.

If I were you, I would look into the PocketBook series, or the Kobo Touch. I got the Kobo Touch - it was more in my price range for the other things I wanted. They do have a Kobo store. They allow authors and publishers to choose to DRM or not (like Kindle and Nook do).

I didn't go for the Nook because although they do allow authors and publishers to choose whether or not they DRM, they refuse to tell the customer whether or not the book is DRM'ed. Basically, they won't tell you what you're buying.

But I've never used the Kobo store. I set up KT Desktop to get the reader set up, and then went straight to Calibre and never touched it again. I use Calibre as my only ebook library program. You can also use Calibre to shop many different stores at once for the best price, and it will tell you if a book is DRM'ed or not.

I also use Dropbox, which is a free cloud service up to 2gb, with plenty of ways to earn more free space. I can access my library on my computer, my smartphone, and my KT (which has wifi). It is just as convenient as what you're doing now if not moreso, and you don't need to rely on restrictive walled gardens to have that kind of convenience.

Once DRM is removed, you can convert all your MOBI's on Calibre - it will probably take a few minutes for 1000+ - and your problem is solved. It's worth the extra few minutes to own your content.

[Latinandgreek]

If you don't plan on purchasing books from Amazon and want an ebook reader with wifi the new Sony reader would probably be a good choice. I plan on getting one, preferable tomorrow if I can get my hands on one!

[Laura81]

How can Amazon take your books away as SmokeandMirrors says? I'm not being sarcastic, genuinely asking. Even if Amazon went under... which I can't see happening, if you d/l your books to your computer and strip DRM, then how can they take that copy away from you?

[pidgeon92]

Originally Posted by Laura81

How can Amazon take your books away as SmokeandMirrors says? I'm not being sarcastic, genuinely asking. Even if Amazon went under... which I can't see happening, if you d/l your books to your computer and strip DRM, then how can they take that copy away from you?

They won't, even if you leave the books on Amazon's servers. It's called fear-mongering.