e Readers

[jezzell19]

Soooo, do any of you own either the Sony Reader or Amazon Kindle? I'm thinking about asking my wife for one for Christmas, and I'm looking for folks who've had some hands on with either.

Also, if you have thoughts about them, I'd hear 'em...

Thanks!

[twistedblister]

Yeah i was looking at the Kindle dont have the cash but i am curious. I have quite a few hardbound and signed copys of books. nothing worth billions but favorite author type thing.

Just finished Wicked. very cool very hip very funny.

[jezzell19]

Yeah i was looking at the Kindle dont have the cash but i am curious. I have quite a few hardbound and signed copys of books. nothing worth billions but favorite author type thing.

Just finished Wicked. very cool very hip very funny.

I've been curious about that one (he's released a couple of more, most recently the story from the cowardly lion's pov). I may try to read it soon, because the play/show is coming to San Antonio next spring and I'm def. going to watch it.

Back on topic... I like the idea of the wireless ability of the Kindle, but not sure if it is a major selling point for me (don't travel all that much, and wouldn't be using the newspaper feature or really need to get daily content). I'm a pretty avid Sony supporter, and their new touchscreen reader looks very nice.

They are both very pricey, but I feel like the tech has come far enough for me to consider investing. Like you, I've go my fav books that I would buy/keep regardless, but I read tons of things that I would just as soon have electronically (I can only have so many bookcases in my house lol).

[MichaelVash7886]

I'm curious about Kindle, but something tells me half the books I'll want won't be available on there.

[WHO_99]

i haven't seen the kindle but i've checked out the reader. i thought it looked pretty cool and would be pretty useful, but i don't know what types of books you can get for it and since it is relatively new there may not be a big selection yet. but iono for sure

[jezzell19]

I've checked both Sony and Amazon's selection, and they're both pretty huge. I don't know about really obscure genre fiction (really hard to find sci-fi, etc.), but there are tons of sites that offer ebooks of all varieties and the new Sony reader and the Kindle are able to handle a variety of formats (there are conversion programs available for the older Sony readers... think iTunes and how Apple makes everything be converted to their format. Many of the eBook sites use dif. formats.).

Anything even remotely heard of seems to be available in eBook. There is even a bunch of free books available on various sites (books that have moved beyond the copyright limitations).

[MichaelVash7886]

I still like having a hard copy as well. Also the things are pretty expensive and still relatively new, so I'm hesitant to buy one just yet.

[stickcult]

Personnally, I'd wait until version 2, or even 3. There are going to be some vast improvements, and it'll only take another year for them to make it. And I like having real books instead of a screen..personally.

[jezzell19]

Personnally, I'd wait until version 2, or even 3. There are going to be some vast improvements, and it'll only take another year for them to make it. And I like having real books instead of a screen..personally.

Sony is on their 3rd version (as of November this year... I just played with the new model at the Sony store yesterday... very cool. With the touch screen, you swipe to turn the pages, made me feel like I was really thumbing through a document). I'm not sure how much more creative they can get with features and not weight down the machines, be more cost prohibative, etc.

The screens are as good as they are going to get... they have almost identical visual properties as paper (light reflectivity, etc.). You could maybe have bigger screens (and some more pricey options do), but it if you get any larger, you might as well carry a computer around.

The biggest argument for waiting imho is the price. They should get much cheaper over the next couple of years.

[MichaelVash7886]

Can I get a link to Sony's? Does it allow you to download the books via it connecting to the net like Amazon's does?

[jezzell19]

http://ebookstore.sony.com/

Right now the Sony reader doesn't connect directly to the internet. I'm pretty sure you download the books to your computer and then sync your reader to the cpu.

The Amazon Kindle has built in network ability (like a cell phone, not like wifi). I've read some mixed things about the connectivity. Apparently it uses the Sprint network and some folks don't get strong access in their areas (basically, if you own a sprint cell phone and your web browser won't work in an area, neither will the Kindle's search/library features).

I've also read a few people report that it doesn't work outside of the US at all yet. So if you live in Australia, you won't be able to use the wireless access.

If you're someone who plans on using a reader to keep up with daily content (like newspapers, blogs, etc.), and you live in the US, the Kindle sounds like a good choice. If, on the other hand, you're using it more for books and longer content I'm not sure there is much of an advantage one way or the other.

[twistedblister]

Ha cowerdly lion POV i dont know he really was more of a assistant for dorthy but i am nit picking. i picked up the one about snow white and the 7 dwarves. :_)

If you have not read " Grendal" do so it is the insperation for wicked and all others.

if you like comedy drama crime eco / sociological justice check out any of Tim Dorseys books very funny stuff.