OT: Should I get a Kindle?

[experiment_627]

So, it is official. I registered for my grad school classes starting in August. I have been thinking that having a Kindle might be a good investment. Most of my readings will be sent in Word or PDF files, and I don't want to have to stare at the laptop to read everything. Printing it all just seems wasteful. Do any of your have experience with sending those type documents to your Kindle?

Also, some text and/or research books could be downloaded instead of having the bulky things around.

I don't know anyone personally that owns one, and I know some of you do. Do you think it would be worth it?

 

[daneenm]

Kevin has mentioned liking his quite a lot.

 

[Carolinagal]

I have the new Kindle, and use it every day. Although I think the cost of new bestseller books is too high ($9.99 each), you can usually find quite a few around $5 or so. I am a pretty fast reader, so 2 or 3 books a week can add up pretty fast.....

The search function on Amazon website can really use an overhaul, because it is hard to browse, but that is a minor issue. I've just found a couple of books that were not available through Amazon - most everything else is there!

I regularly send documents and legal contracts to my Kindle and LOVE that feature. It costs $.10 per attachment, but the size of the document can be as big as you would like. Illustrations and charts don't work very well, though - and I have not had a lot of luck with pictures.

The new Kindle has some experimental features that are fun to try - MP3s, web access, and Text-to-Speech. I have tried the web access, and it sux! - way too slow, but the Text to Speech is awesome! I use it every day on my way to work. You can use headphones with the unit, too.

The battery life is exceptional - 2 weeks with "normal" reading, as long as you are not wireless, or 4 days with wireless access. Text to Speech also drains the battery quickly. Be sure and get a cover for the Kindle.

You can get blogs, magazines and newspapers on the Kindle, too. The format on this electronic media seems to not work well with the "book" format, so I am not a huge fan, but I see the potential for this as the format issues are resolved.

I highly recommend the Kindle, and am really impressed with the features so far. I think it would have been fabulous to have had one in college.

Good luck with your decision!

 

[DisneyKevin]

Kevin has mentioned liking his quite a lot.

I actually have a Sony Reader. It was available before the original Kindle and I have LOVED that puppy since day one.

Since my eye surgery, reading has been a bit difficult and I havent used my Reader for a while.

I now see that there is a brand new Kindle being released this summer called Kindle DX.

Where the current Kindle is approximately the size of paperback book (although MUCH thinner) the Kindle DX is about the size and shape of People magazine.

Instead of three font size settings...it has six.

I realize that I would be giving up the convenience of size....but I might be able to read again and I sure do miss it.

There is also a difference in price. The DX is $459 I believe.

You should visist Amazon.com and check them out.

The good thing about the Sony Reader is that they are available in stores. Borders carries them and I saw them at Target a week or two ago.

Do your research before you buy....but if you love to read....get one. You wont regret it.

 

[BriarRosie]

FYI

I saw the Sony Reader at Costco, and a friend in New England saw it at BJ's Wholesale Club. So I guess Sony just recently started packaging them for warehouse clubs.

I didn't pay attention to the price, as I wasn't in the market for it yet.

 

[robind]

I don't have a kindle unit, but I do have the kindle application on my iPhone and I do like it. I've seen people using the kindle on my flights and they look pretty handy.

I just don't want to have another piece of electronics to carry around. If it's not on my iPhone, I don't need it.

 

[Renysmom]

Do your research before you buy....but if you love to read....get one. You wont regret it.

Kevin you are such a good enabler!!!.. Here comes a a new trend on the boards cause everyone wants to be like Kevin, and that includes his tech tools

 

[wildfan1473]

Love, love, love my Kindle! Carolinagirl did a great job with the details, and I echo everything she said.

I have the one that came out earlier this year. I use it all the time. I am a full-time mom who is always on the go, and it come in really handy sitting at gymnastics, waiting for the kids to get out of school, etc. I bought the basic cover, too, and I would definitely recommend getting a cover for it.

I would, however, do some research on the PDF capability. I remember reading somewhere when I was debating which reader to get that one of the readers was much better than the other with PDFs. I think it was reviews.cnet.com.

 

[Chris and Heidi]

Have it! Use it! Love it!

You could probably get a good deal on a Kindle 1 right now as the Kindle 2 was only released recently. The Kindle 2 has an option to have the books read to you like audio books. Cool feature, but I didn't upgrade from the origianl Kindle. I have grown too attached to her.

 

[CDolacki2003]

I have asked DH for the new Sony Reader for my B-Day, but now I am looking at the Kindle too. I liked the new sony feature where you can read at night and our library system here in Cleveland has a link for the sony reader books to be downloaded. Since Kevin has made us all want to go out and get ipods, iphones and now readers does this make us Kevenettes??

 

[chirurgeon]

The one thing that is holding me back from the Kindle is the price. OUCH. And I just like the feel of a "real" book in my hand. I don't know enough about the Kindle, does it have the ability to download other PDF files? If for some reason Amazon stops supporting the device, is there a way to get the data file to read on another device?

Kim

 

[L.E. Ott]

===> Begins to wrap chains and padlocks around his wallet. J/K Hunny!!

 

[TAKitty]

I have a coworker with a Kindle and she loves it. I like that you can search for things which is handy for me as a teacher. I am thinking about asking for one for my b-day, but I really want to make sure I'll use if for what it costs.

 

[experiment_627]

Thanks for all of your replies!

I will definitely be doing some research before buying. I have until August...that's why I am starting now. Obsess much?

I have read about issues w/PDF files on the Kindle, and that is one of my main concerns. Other than than our books, most of the readings are .doc and .pdf files.

I appreciate all the info!

 

[*NikkiBell*]

I've been tempted, but don't like the fact that the Kindle doesn't feel like a normal book. I also love the excitement of going into bookstores and buying a book. The Kindle takes that away and I can't lose that.

 

[FairyGodmotherJen]

I have one of the original Kindles (a birthday gift). I'm sort of in the middle, I guess. As an avid reader, I enjoy using it for books that I'm not really into - I guess I just like the feel of the book in my hands!! I also like to be able to search through the pages for something I've already read without having to hit the back button ten times and wait for it to get there. But for traveling, I don't think you can beat it.

 

[minie_meese]

I am an avid NPR listener and over the last few months they have had a number of stories on the Kindle and other book readers. This one talks about the future of college textbooks and devices like the Kindle - http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103849298

Another talks about the improvements in PDF conversion software. They've also had a number of stories that interested me on the technology. There is one from early March that addresses the speech technology being used.

 

[DisneyKevin]

I've been tempted, but don't like the fact that the Kindle doesn't feel like a normal book. I also love the excitement of going into bookstores and buying a book. The Kindle takes that away and I can't lose that.

I agree with loving the feel of a real book....I even like the way they smell.

There are lots of things that are easier using a Kindle or Sony Reader.

They are easier to read in bed. You can hold it and turn pages with one hand.

Books are far cheaper. Most books are about $10.00

They are far more eco friendly as there is no paper necessary.

They are space savers. John and I live in a small 2 bedroom house. We are just about out of book storage. The new Kindle hold 1500 full length books.
I would need an addition.

If you like to read while traveling...these are the thing to have. When we vacation, I usually take a couple hard cover books with me. They are hard to pack and I always feel awful thinking of leaving an expensive book somewhere because I dont want to repack it. With the Kindle (Reader) I can take my entire library and it fits in a pocket and weighs ounces.

Being more portable than a big book, I found myself taking it with me and reading in places I normally wouldnt. I would read in the car on the way to the Podcast recording.

And finally....I can buy books in the middle of the night while in my PJs. I love book stores, but dont always have the time to go and browse.

These are the positive things for me. The only negatives I could find were the initial cost (and it's high for either product) and the fact that you dont hold a physical book.

In my opinion..the positives far outweighed the negatives.

 

[zendisney]

We love our kindles. They are awesome. We are avid readers and this was a way to protect mother earth and celebrate technology at its best. I understand there are several text books on line and you can even have your own documents uploaded to the kindle. There are a lot of papers on kindle as well. I can't say enough. Of course the big dilemma was the initial price...

 

[Ottawacruiser]

Hey experiment_627:

Be careful on your choice of product if your intention is to mostly download pdf/words file to your reader. I don't have a Kindle but I do have a Sony ebook reader.

The Sony ebook will connect directly to your laptop and you have an "iTunes-like" interface which manages what gets downloaded to the reader. It's very simple to import pdf's directly into this interface and get them into the ebook.

For the Kindle, my belief is that you have to email pdf's to Amazon and they do a conversion to Kindle format for you, which I thought was more cumbersome (which was one of the reasons I got the Sony reader).

I think the latest version of the Kindle supports pdf "natively", but I haven't looked into what this actually means.

Anyway, my free advise (worth every penny ..), is to consider how you plan to use the reader. if you are interested in downloading books and reading them, I think either the Kindle or the Sony will serve you well. However, if pdf import is more important to you, i think you may find that there are differences between the products that may be significant to you.

Regards and enjoy,
...M