eBook Readers (Sony 5" on sale for $169) - Page 3 - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

Cowperson · 02-04-2010, 12:09 PM

I am not a technology sophisticate by any stretch but I love my Kindle.

Very useful for finding older works by some favourite authors and buying them cheap.

However, I know one of my favourite authors has had a new book out since December and I still haven't seen it in the Kindle store. Not sure if that's normal or not but thought I'd mention it.

Also nice to be able to pick up the Calgary Herald on my Kindle for 99 cents while I was over on Maui last week. Easy to read and get around, search and order stuff.

Cowperson

The Ditch · 02-04-2010, 01:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cowperson

I am not a technology sophisticate by any stretch but I love my Kindle.

Very useful for finding older works by some favourite authors and buying them cheap.

However, I know one of my favourite authors has had a new book out since December and I still haven't seen it in the Kindle store. Not sure if that's normal or not but thought I'd mention it.

Also nice to be able to pick up the Calgary Herald on my Kindle for 99 cents while I was over on Maui last week. Easy to read and get around, search and order stuff.

Cowperson

Actually, at first I thought, "Man, the newspaper sucks on the Kindle", but now I love how it works, I've definitely got used to it, use the joystick to skip to the next article, can search through the whole thing easily, beamed right to me every morning. I can't believe I actually enjoy it now looking back on how negative I was during my free 10 day trial.

Burninator · 02-05-2010, 08:27 AM

So much for $9.99 eBooks...

The $9.99 Ebook Is Dead: Third Major Publisher Hachette Dumps on Amazon

Amazon's ebook pricing structure has crumbled. Hachette's the third major publisher to push for the agency model, following MacMillan and HarperCollins: They'll set the ebook prices (higher, natch) and the bookseller takes a cut. The $9.99 ebook? Poof.

It looks the pricing model reportedly first proposed by Apple to publishers—from $12.99 to $14.99 as a suggested price for hardcover bestsellers, though the publisher will set whatever price they want—is the way things are indeed going to shape up, so Steve Jobs wasn't idly riffing when he said the price difference between Kindle and iBooks would go away. MacMillan CEO John Sargent has specifically mentioned those same pricepoints as their baseline, so you can expect every other publisher will hew to that.

http://gizmodo.com/5464742/the-999-e...umps-on-amazon

kermitology · 02-05-2010, 09:49 AM

I don't understand how they're so expensive. And do the prices drop after the book comes out in soft cover?

Too much money..

The Ditch · 02-05-2010, 09:54 AM

I don't think I'll every pay $14.99 for an e-book, to me it doesn't make any sense, I'm not going to pay the same price as a physical book for an e-book. The profit margin off a $14.99 ebook must be absolutely ridiculous for the publisher considering there's not much effort/money that has to be put in as compared to the physical ones. A big blow to consumers IMO.

Burninator · 02-05-2010, 10:17 AM

Keep in mind that is US dollars so it'll be more than $14.99 a book once it hits your bank account. I recall reading something about MacMillan saying that the $9.99 "cheapened" their books, specifically the new release hard covers. Riiiiight.

One of the reason I want to go digital is to save money. Kindle books at $9.99 were already border line in saving you money because of the high cost of the device. But at least books were a couple dollars to several dollars cheaper than the physical copies. If books are going to cost the same as their dead tree paper back counterparts you will never off set the cost of the device.

Obviously saving money isn't the only reason to buy an e-reader, but it's not going to help them if that benefit is removed.

Burninator · 02-05-2010, 10:31 AM

What I am hoping for in the iPad is that authors will bypass the publishing business completely. I would like to download a Scott Sigler (of audiobook fame) iPad App where he can release all his book there and charge whatever he wants. I chose him because he already has a large following that was built completely on the internet without a publisher. I don't know if this could work for all authors but I could see it working for him and for actual big time authors (King, Steele, Grisham etc.). Although, whether or not the App store would allow this is another story.

EDIT: As I take a closer look at his website he already has a free app for his audiobooks. But it doesn't appear to have a reader function...

Slava · 02-05-2010, 11:41 AM

You can self-publish on the Kindle and do this for free as it stands.

You can also publish in a pdf form. I've got a book that I'd like to get published (and I'm in the process of trying to get that done). The thing that held me back from doing it on my own and releasing it purely digitally at first is just due to the credibility. I figured that because basically anyone can self-publish that for me it makes the most sense to get a publisher on board.

The $9.99 per book (or $14.99) isn't what sells the kindle to me though. Sure its awesome that one book I bought for $9.99 was at Chapters for $25, but its still a great price at $14.99 for the ebook. I nearly bought a book on my kindle for $70....I haven't yet and I might still go back and buy it. Even at $100 though that $70 book is a good deal compared to a) finding it in a store and (b) spending the $150ish on the hard copy.

On another note, did you notice that link beside it for the full colour touch kindle? As the one comment said below it, if that is full e-ink and no backlighting required (easy on the eyes) then I will be sold!

flambers · 02-05-2010, 01:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Slava

The $9.99 per book (or $14.99) isn't what sells the kindle to me though. Sure its awesome that one book I bought for $9.99 was at Chapters for $25, but its still a great price at $14.99 for the ebook. I nearly bought a book on my kindle for $70....I haven't yet and I might still go back and buy it. Even at $100 though that $70 book is a good deal compared to a) finding it in a store and (b) spending the $150ish on the hard copy.

I thought about buying an E-Book ... that is until I read this thread saying that the books cost $14.99 each. (that's crazy expensive).

If I was going to buy an expensive hard cover, I would goto a used book store and get it for 1/4 of the price.

Burninator · 02-05-2010, 03:13 PM

Why (and How) Apple Killed the $9.99 Ebook

Publishers joining Apple's iBooks store are turning their back on Amazon and its vision of the flat $9.99 ebook. Apple forced the music industry to charge 99 cents per song, so why are they helping publishers set their own prices?

To screw Amazon.

The difference between Amazon and Apple is this: Amazon is very much in the ebook business to sell ebooks. They want you attached to their platform. That's why the Kindle Reader is on both PC and iPhone, as well as the eponymous e-ink device. Ebooks are huge for them. They sell six ebooks for every 10 physical books. Apple, on the other hand, sells content in order to sell hardware. The iTunes Store, the App Store and the brand-new iBooks Store exist so you'll buy iPods, iPhones and iPads, which is where Apple really makes money. iTunes revenue is just a bonus, though an ever fatter one with the explosion of the App Store.

You can see that the two companies place far different values on the content they sell. A more illustrative example: Amazon has been selling books at a loss—paying $15 for a hardcover bestseller, only to turn around and sell it for $10 on the Kindle. Apple would never, ever sell content at a loss. They make a decent bit of change, but apps and music are really just a way to fill up your iPhone.

http://gizmodo.com/5465323/why-and-h...-the-999-ebook

kermitology · 02-08-2010, 09:23 AM

iPad iBook Store is going to be ePub

http://www.tuaw.com/2010/01/31/all-a...es-ibookstore/

Jagger · 02-08-2010, 11:26 AM

What lighting options are there for the Kindle?

I have a Sony PRS-700 which has the much maligned side lighting but I love this feature. There have been complaints of a fuzzy screen etc. but, given that I have crap eyesight in the first place, it looks fine to me! None of the new Sony Readers have lighting capabilities which is a big turnoff for me. What is available for the Kindle?

Burninator · 02-12-2010, 10:38 AM

Do E-Readers Cause Eye Strain?

The act of reading is going through a number of radical transitions, but perhaps none is more fundamental than the shift from reading on paper to reading on screens. As consumers decide whether to make this jump and which technology to use, one key question is how reading on a screen affects the eyes.

First of all: doctors say that reading on a screen won’t cause any harm.

“Most of what our mothers told us about our eyes was wrong,” said Dr. Travis Meredith, chair of the ophthalmology department at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. “Sitting close to a television, or computer screen, isn’t bad for our eyes. It’s a variety of other factors that can cause physical fatigue.”

“The new LCDs don’t affect your eyes,” Mr. Taussig said. “Today’s screens update every eight milliseconds, whereas the human eye is moving at a speed between 10 and 30 milliseconds.”

Mr. Taussig said consumers will pick the type of screen that makes sense on an individual basis. “I don’t think there is a single technology that will be optimum for all the things we want to do with our devices.

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/0...er=rss&emc=rss

photon · 02-12-2010, 10:54 AM

Eye strain isn't the only thing to consider as well.. you can take two websites that are otherwise identical and if you have a bad font you can get more mentally strained from reading because the font takes more mental effort to read. The brain has to work harder.

Russic · 02-12-2010, 12:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by photon

Eye strain isn't the only thing to consider as well.. you can take two websites that are otherwise identical and if you have a bad font you can get more mentally strained from reading because the font takes more mental effort to read. The brain has to work harder.

I dare anybody to try and read the showbiz section of canoe.ca for 3 minutes and tell me they don't get a splitting headache. Seriously read this: http://jam.canoe.ca/Television/2010/...enn-story.html

Drives me insane.

photon · 02-12-2010, 01:09 PM

Ow, my vision!

llama64 · 02-12-2010, 01:43 PM

Bought my wife a kindle for her birthday and she is in love with the thing. Seems to run faster then any of the Sony products I demo'd (god those things run slow, 5-8 seconds for a page refresh?).

People complain about the lighting on these devices but as far as I can tell, you just treat it as you would a normal book. How many books come with back-lighting?

And it's readable in sunlight - which can't be said for the typical LCD screen (I use my iPod touch as a reader). Just wish the things were a lot cheaper - I think I'd prefer to have the Kindle DX for the increased screen size.

photon · 02-12-2010, 01:45 PM

Yeah that's why I'm still leaning towards the Sony.. I've seen them on sale for $200 for the pocket one, so spend that now, then in 2-3 years when the 10" screen ones come down to a reasonable price upgrade.

Bobblehead · 02-12-2010, 01:53 PM

A co-worker got back from the Dominican last week and I asked him how his wife's Kindle worked. He said it was just as good as a book, even sitting in full midday sun on the beach it was 100% legible

stang · 02-12-2010, 04:41 PM

I can get the Sony reader pocket from my company (Safety points) Can someone PM me who has one? I have some questions that probally arent good to ask on here directly.