e-book readers? - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

annasuave · 12-13-2008, 03:24 PM

I'd like an e-book reader. Thing is, I've heard mostly negative things about them (lame, costly downloads, clumsy, etc) but yet I still want one.

I'm waffling between the Kindle and Sony Reader. Any thoughts or opinions out there?

photon · 12-13-2008, 03:45 PM

I don't think the primary advantage of a Kindle (over the air purchases and stuff) works here in Canada, so the Sony looks more attractive to me.

The 505 is supposed to be good, the new 700 has a much glossier screen and lower contrast which defeats the whole point of an eBook reader.

The Kindle is also quite restricted as far as file formats are concerned, I don't think it supports PDF even. Whereas the Sony supports more file formats.

http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2007/1...-kindle-v.html

So if I already own a book I can go find a digital copy in a PDF file "somewhere" on the net and read it without having to buy it again.

EDIT: I don't have one yet though.

Rathji · 12-13-2008, 10:58 PM

The sony unit I saw on the ctrain was amazing, I could read over the guys shoulder with ease. I have no idea how good Kindle is though.

photon · 12-14-2008, 09:26 AM

I think the screen is pretty much the same, it's the other stuff that's the difference.

I just couldn't bring myself to buy a device that charges me 10 cents to convert and download my own files to it (even though I realize that the EVDO connection is free and they have to limit it). Let me hook up a USB cable and put any file I want on it.

Another case of a something you buy, but it isn't really yours.

burn_this_city · 12-14-2008, 09:43 AM

I like the one that I downloaded for my ipod touch. Stanza is a pretty good ebook program and its entirely free.. You just need to drop $200-$400 on a touch/iphone first

MoneyGuy · 12-14-2008, 12:13 PM

I have an iPhone and am interested in this sort of thing. If I download Stanza, does it come with free novels or do I have to buy those separately? What do the books typically cost? Can you get a really good non-fiction selection, also?

MonsieurFish · 12-14-2008, 12:13 PM

Weird I was just thinking about making a thread about these. Im thinking of buying one of these as a christmas gift for my mom, but am fairly clueless about them. How do you get books in file format to put on them? Is there a website with just thousands of free books? or do you have to purchase them online?

Are they a solid piece of equipment yet or are they overpriced and would be a better purchase in a year or so?

photon · 12-14-2008, 12:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MoneyGuy

I have an iPhone and am interested in this sort of thing. If I download Stanza, does it come with free novels or do I have to buy those separately? What do the books typically cost? Can you get a really good non-fiction selection, also?

It comes with some free stuff as well as access to ton of different free sources of books as well as some online book stores. The free stuff is mostly older stuff (stuff where the copyright has expired), or stuff that's been released under a creative commons license (which a number of current authors are doing). Newspapers too I think.

The app is free so give it a try, it is quite a nice app IMO.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MonsieurFish

Weird I was just thinking about making a thread about these. Im thinking of buying one of these as a christmas gift for my mom, but am fairly clueless about them. How do you get books in file format to put on them? Is there a website with just thousands of free books? or do you have to purchase them online?

Are they a solid piece of equipment yet or are they overpriced and would be a better purchase in a year or so?

Each one is a bit different on how to get new stuff onto them, best to check reviews on them for that. I think there's some different formats for books and I don't know if they all support the different formats across the board.

As for the price, the uptake has been very slow so the prices haven't moved much in years; I'd be surprised if they moved much in a year, unless the Kindle keeps taking off and doing well, then maybe the economies of scale will kick in and the prices can come down.

jammies · 12-14-2008, 12:52 PM

This lady on the plane beside me last month had a Kindle and wouldn't shut up about it. To be fair, the screen looked quite nice and she was quite rightly pimping the wireless aspect of it (although I didn't know that doesn't work in Canada, or I could have burst her bubble), but you'd think she was bringing fire to the savages the way she was going on and on.

I'm not sure if these devices are ever going to take off, myself. Books are already in a format that is portable, cheap, and easy to use, and best of all, encapsulated - once I have a book, I don't need to recharge its power, retrieve it from archive or redownload it, I can lend it out or sell it if I want, and I can scribble dirty pictures in the margins if I so desire. Ebooks seem like another backdoor way to try to use technology to control information past the point of sale, a doctrine which I vehemently detest.

The one real advantage I see for ebooks is that you can have one device with multiple books on it - but until they start coming with serious memory where I can actually put a whole library on one, and where I can share that library with friends (ie - probably never), I'm going to stick with paper.

*I have bought a couple pdf ebooks on IT subjects, as they are considerably cheaper that way, and I can read them on my laptop during lunch or when I have slack time during the work day, but that is different as I don't read those subjects for enjoyment and the books are definitely limited in how long they are relevant so I don't care if I can't access them 5-10 years down the road.

Rathji · 12-14-2008, 02:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jammies

I'm not sure if these devices are ever going to take off, myself. Books are already in a format that is portable, cheap, and easy to use, and best of all, encapsulated - once I have a book, I don't need to recharge its power, retrieve it from archive or redownload it, I can lend it out or sell it if I want, and I can scribble dirty pictures in the margins if I so desire. Ebooks seem like another backdoor way to try to use technology to control information past the point of sale, a doctrine which I vehemently detest.

The one real advantage I see for ebooks is that you can have one device with multiple books on it - but until they start coming with serious memory where I can actually put a whole library on one, and where I can share that library with friends (ie - probably never), I'm going to stick with paper.

*I have bought a couple pdf ebooks on IT subjects, as they are considerably cheaper that way, and I can read them on my laptop during lunch or when I have slack time during the work day, but that is different as I don't read those subjects for enjoyment and the books are definitely limited in how long they are relevant so I don't care if I can't access them 5-10 years down the road.

I would love a way to have all my textbooks on a ebook reader.

Jagger · 12-14-2008, 07:42 PM

I played with the Sony Reader a fair bit as a demo and really enjoyed it. The text is very easy to read and I like how you can change the font size with ease. Hope to get one for Christmas.

The kindle is useless in Canada so far. Sony all the way right now.....

Jagger · 12-29-2008, 05:55 AM

Bringing this back.

I got the Sony Reader PRS-700 for Christmas and it's fantastic. The screen is perfect. It's very easy to read in broad daylight and I love the built in light for night time reading.

I've downloaded/bought a bunch of books from the ebook Sony store already and it's a breeze. Prices are competitive and you can also download 100 free classic books (Treasure Island, Dickens, H.G. Wells, Austen, Shakespeare etc.) for free with registration. Nice touch. You can also buy from third party vendors like Booksonboard.com using the Adobe Digital Editions format. That is handy as they do carry some different books than the Sony store. So far I've got 70 books on the machine with tons of room for more.

All in all the Sony Reader is much better than I anticipated and is highly recommended.

Hack&Lube · 12-29-2008, 09:37 AM

What's a good place to even find ebooks? Is there a place that is not a store or corporate owned, etc? Some place with txt files or PDFs?

Jagger · 12-29-2008, 10:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

What's a good place to even find ebooks? Is there a place that is not a store or corporate owned, etc? Some place with txt files or PDFs?

Adobe has a sample ebook library with free complete books and previews:

http://www.adobe.com/products/digitaleditions/library/

www.manybooks.net has free ebooks

www.feedbooks.com is another to try.

Kipper is King · 12-29-2008, 12:57 PM

Don't forget projectgutenburg.org too!

MoneyGuy · 12-29-2008, 02:45 PM

For those of us who have iPhones, does the iPhone adequately replaced an e-book reader? I'd think so but want to ask the nerds on site.

photon · 12-29-2008, 03:50 PM

I think the big appeal of the ebook readers is the eInk screen, which has a much higher contrast ratio than an LCD and is way way easier on the eyes to read, almost to the point of print on paper. In that respect the iPhone doesn't touch an eBook reader.

Battery life is also another consideration, but iPhone users are used to charging all the time anyway.

FLAMESRULE · 08-20-2009, 08:15 PM

Bit of a bump...but I'm pretty interested in getting one of these after hauling books all over hells half acre during our holidays + adventures. Just starting to do some research and saw that Kindles o/a downloads dont work in Canada, but thats not a big deal with a bit of planning before you leave etc.

Arsenal14 · 08-21-2009, 09:13 AM

I find that the iPhone with Stanza installed can do a good job of replacing an e-book reader <removed>

BigFlamesFan · 08-21-2009, 09:20 AM

I own an e-reader. I swear by it. My wife bought it for me last christmas. About six months earlier she mentioned it and I told her to forget it. I had no interest in it and told her I would way rather have the real book. Now that she bought me one anyway, I love it. I would never go back. Mine is the Sony P505.