Opinion on eReaders?

[Lennoc]

I really dont see the appeal personally of these Kindle or Ebooks, the only digitalised book i read recently was one of the classics on my "100 Classic Collection" game for DS! I much prefer the classic paperback book to squinting at an electronic screen and the old fashioned book will never be replaced totally.

For a certain type of person I can see this being true but consider the following:

1. People are living in smaller spaces.
2. The cost of ebooks is likely to go down while the cost of 'real' books has been increasing.
3. People travel.
4. Ebooks allow you to access foreign language books easily.

I love to travel. Last summer I took 20 books with me on a 4 weeks trip. You try carrying 20 books with you (I was discarding as I went). This past weekend I took 4 books along with me on a long weekend. If I'd had a kindle or similar I could have just carried the one, light weight thing.

If I want to buy English language books I either have to pay expensive, imported, prices or pay expensive postage. With an eReader I can download at the click of a button. I'm sure other people have similar experiences in different languages.

I love books. But I do think they'll eventually be replaced.

And you know what, I don't care all that much. The beauty of the story is still the same, regardless of the medium.

[Jp1978]

I love paper books. A few years ago I would never have considered buying an eReader. However money, space, and environmental concerns are making me think twice. A future strategy could be to buy most books in electronic forms and then buy paper versions of a few select favorites.

[Howardasherman]

In a recent article Stephen King more-or-less confirmed that eBooks is how we'll ALL be reading our books eventually.

He provided an excellent metaphor which I will do my best to paraphrase:

Back in the day people used to get up out of the chair, walk over to the TV and turn the knob to change channels.

Nobody does that anymore thanks to the advent of the remote control and nobody wishes to go back to the old fashioned way of changing channels.

He draws that parallel to eBooks; in the not too distant future an eReader is how we're going to buy and read new books.

From everything I'm seeing in the industry I have to agree.

[Cnfwriter]

I personally don't think eBooks will replace paper books. Rather, I think both can and will coexist. No reason why they can't.

I absolutely love books -- from their smell to their feel to their self-sustaining framework. I've even dabbled a bit in bookbinding and have bound a few of my own books.

I don't see the creation, ownership, and tactile enjoyment of books as something that will ever disappear. At least not in my little corner of the world.

However, I also have an iTouch, Kindle, and iPad.

Sometimes, the place and mood calls for a physical book. Sometimes an eReader. I don't see why one has to replace the other.

As eReaders go --

-- iTouch - this device shines in situations that call for compactness, discreetness, and backlighting. You can turn it sideways and zoom in the text for a read that is the approximate size of one column in a traditional two-column magazine. The downside for normal, long-term reading is the size of the screen, requiring continuous scrolling, which can be particularly wearisome to fast readers.

-- Kindle - simply the best pure reading device in my opinion. Thin and light with a typical battery life of about a month (for me). The e-ink technology is astounding. The downside of this device, however, is the lack of backlighting. You can get covers where a traditional book light can easily slip into (which I have), but my wife complains that this kind of light cast too broadly and keeps her awake at night. The device is excellent for outdoor, daytime reading however.

-- iPad - the most expensive option for sure, but more than a reading device too. This is my most-used device. Heavier than the Kindle, but with the added benefits of a wider screen and backlighting. I have about four different reader apps for different online book stores. The nice thing about this device as a reader is I can set it to night mode in which the background is black and the text itself can be different colors of variable brightness. At night I set the color to yellow and turn the brightness way down. This barely casts off any light and allows me endless hours of reading in bed w/o disturbing my wife.

The biggest complaint for me about the general eBook domain is available content. Many books are not available in digital format. However, this situation continues to improve and will soon dissolve I think.

[Howardasherman]

I personally don't think eBooks will replace paper books. Rather, I think both can and will coexist. No reason why they can't.

While I'm not wishing or hoping conventional printed books ever go away I suspect they will -- eventually. Some of us still have 8-track tapes and albums lying around (in the attic or in the basement, probably) but try and buy a new one anywhere nowadays.

[Cnfwriter]

While I'm not wishing or hoping conventional printed books ever go away I suspect they will -- eventually. Some of us still have 8-track tapes and albums lying around (in the attic or in the basement, probably) but try and buy a new one anywhere nowadays.

I see your point. But I rather think the situation is much like the visual arts.

As computer art programs became more and more sophisticated, there were those who wondered if this new medium would someday completely overtake the older methods of artistic expression. Today, both happily coexist.

In the written arts, the end product, be it paper or electronic, is simply an artistic end to a means. There will no doubt continue to be loyal consumers of both methods of delivery, with each camp having equally-valid reasons for their preferred manner of consumption.

[Howardasherman]

[quote="Cnfwriter] I see your point. But I rather think the situation is much like the visual arts.

As computer art programs became more and more sophisticated, there were those who wondered if this new medium would someday completely overtake the older methods of artistic expression. Today, both happily coexist.

In the written arts, the end product, be it paper or electronic, is simply an artistic end to a means. There will no doubt continue to be loyal consumers of both methods of delivery, with each camp having equally-valid reasons for their preferred manner of consumption.[/quote]

I hope you're right because a part of me will always be fond of a good old fashioned printed book. I just don't see it as a probable outcome of the ebook revolution twenty years down the road.

I don't plan on packing up my pbooks into boxes to sit next to my Carpenters 8-tracks and my Led Zeppelin LPs...

[Lennoc]

As computer art programs became more and more sophisticated, there were those who wondered if this new medium would someday completely overtake the older methods of artistic expression. Today, both happily coexist.

I don't think this is a good comparison. Tapes or vinyl are a much better one (or even CDs).

Artists produce single pieces of work on mediums of their own choosing. For books to continue to exist there needs to be enough of an industry to keep printing them. That's the problem. I'm sure the market for second hand books will stay round long long after they stop printing new books (in the same way you can still buy LPs) but I do think that within the next 50 years they'll stop the large scale printing of new books.

Time will tell!

[Aspasia]

I still prefer paper. Maybe it's the smell of the pages. Maybe it's the uniqueness of each book. I'm fairly techy otherwise, so I'm not sure why I am averse to the idea of having an e-reader.

[AlisVolatPropriis]

I've never tried an eReader and to be honest, I am not really interested in trying one just yet. There is just something that I find satisfying about reading from an actual printed book.

[Dragoniel]

I am reading all my life, every day, whenever I have a free moment. I got to say, eBooks reader is one of the best things that has ever happened to me. My books are always in convenient size and weight, it does not wear out, I can take notes wherever I wish, I can place bookmarks on every page if I feel like it and most importantly – I can access any of my books instantly, without even lifting a hand. I can even browse and get new books from the very same thing, since it’s connected to the internet, enabling me to read newspapers before they are show up on the streets too.

You can talk all you want that paperbacks are more pleasant to read or feels more natural. There are a lot of people who say that, but I’ve noticed one funny thing – those people are usually those who never had a good eBooks reader.

Personally I am using Kindle 3G. Screen is easy to read, does not reflect light at any angle and reads even better in direct bright sunlight – just like normal paper. The device is also very cheap and easy to maintain – for PDFs its like flash drive – connect, copypaste the file and read.

I don’t recommend those sophisticated computers that some call readers, like iPad. They are not always ergonomic enough and you will be paying for functions you might not ever use. The key things you should pay attention when buying a reader is the screen size (is it large enough? Is it too large? Will it be comfortable to carry in your bag or pocket?), screen type (is it backlit? Does it reflect light? How does it perform in direct sunlight?) the weight (you will be holding the device for hours, sometimes in not most comfortable positions) and the battery life (dedicated readers batteries lasts for months. Pseudo readers/computers and devices with backlit screens consume energy in days). Memory size, internet access and other things are largely irrelevant, for those things you got a PC. Buy an eBook reader for reading.

I did quite a research when I was looking for my reader and I don’t think you could find anything better than Kindle, unless you want jack-of-all-trades device, which I wouldn’t recommend.

[Fran]

I'm dropping hints like concrete blocks & am optomistic a Kindle is on the way from Santa (fingers crossed)

Now I have 2 concerns:

(1) Will it end up costing me a fortune in ebooks? I'm an avid library user & customer of second-hand bookshops ... I think it may be too easy to dowload books & I'll end up buying way more books electronically?

(2) How does the Kindle survive being slept on or falling out of bed as I regularly fall asleep while reading & wake up with either very squashed books or the book on the floor?

[Elphaba]

Fran, ebook price is a problem. I also used to take books from the library and started buying books when I got the kindle. Lately Amazon started charging much more for kindle books and it is very annoying. They say it is a demand from the publisher and rumors say they encourage their customers to boycott expansive ebooks but the prices are still high.
If you can send a message to Santa maybe you should consider one of the e-reader that enable borrowing books from e-library, if your library has such service. Mine does, but only Sony Reader and Nook can read these books, and not Kindle. I prefer the Kindle over the Sony reader, but maybe the Nook is as good as the Kindle, I don't know. It is worth checking. Anyway I read that Kindle now allow lending books between Kindle users. If you do get the Kindle you can contact me and I will be happy to let you borrow from the books I have.
As for surviving, I don't know, I am very careful with my kindle. You should buy a case for the Kindle that will keep it safe, maybe it will help.

[Fran]

Fran, ebook price is a problem. I also used to take books from the library and started buying books when I got the kindle. Lately Amazon started charging much more for kindle books and it is very annoying. They say it is a demand from the publisher and rumors say they encourage their customers to boycott expansive ebooks but the prices are still high.
If you can send a message to Santa maybe you should consider one of the e-reader that enable borrowing books from e-library, if your library has such service. Mine does, but only Sony Reader and Nook can read these books, and not Kindle. I prefer the Kindle over the Sony reader, but maybe the Nook is as good as the Kindle, I don't know. It is worth checking. Anyway I read that Kindle now allow lending books between Kindle users. If you do get the Kindle you can contact me and I will be happy to let you borrow from the books I have.
As for surviving, I don't know, I am very careful with my kindle. You should buy a case for the Kindle that will keep it safe, maybe it will help.

Thanks Elphaba I'll check that with my library & I'll let you know if the Man in Red lives up to expectations (he better!)

[Lennoc]

I got one! A kindle and I'm loving it.

Fran there are a LOT of free books available. Amazon has quite a lot and feedbooks is another great place to get free books. There are also lots of cheap books around (not new releases).

But really it comes down to self control. I went to buy a book the other day (for just a few dollars) and then I realised I hadn't even bothered to check the library. I did, it was there, I borrowed it instead of buying it. Exactly the same as I would have before I had the kindle.

Mine seems relatively hardy but I'd never fall asleep reading (because the light would be on) so I've never tried sleeping on it. I have dropped it though with no ill consequences.