Amph The IPad, Kindle and the possible impact on Print Media

Nat - can't give you an exact hours count, but if you turn off the wireless except when you specifically want to download books from the amazon store, it will last for days.

certainly far longer than ipod, cell phone, etc.

 

Ooo, that sounds nice. Sounds like it's great for travel, too.

Too bad there's no program where if you already bought a book, it could be converted to an ebook for free . . .

 

You mean, send in your physical book or proof of purchase and have it converted?

On the other hand, if you have a scanner, you could always um, cut up your book, scan the pages into a pdf file, and then from there convert the pdf to epub or lit or whatever...although that would be pretty time-consuming.

 

Right. A huge reason for me to avoid getting an e-reader right now (besides the price, though I might swing that) is that I don't want to re-buy all my books. If I still have to lug all those around, there's no reason to get an e-reader, since I've been a library person lately (thank you, $8 for a 300-page book).


What would be really awesome is if library books could be semt via e-reader.

 

Yea but think about all the other books there r to buy...

Now, I try to get the digital book. I know I am a convert!!!

 

Yeah, if you use the library, then that works for you. I am certainly not going to re-purchase any of my huge book collection at home, but my collection is starting to take up a little too much space.

Plus, in terms of traveling, portability, and even (arguably) the environmental factor, I no longer have a problem with continuing my collection on my Kindle.

Keep in mind, I had to move like 8 billion heavy boxes of books when I moved last year.

 

A slight negative I've discovered with the Nook: Getting it to recognize music content from an SDHC card can be a real pain. I restarted mine something like four or five times before it registered any music as being there.

The music player is a 2nd-string of course; it doesn't recognize albums or artists. I think I'll mainly be using it on shuffle, as it lists your music from newest on top to oldest at the bottom.

 

Yeah, the portability thing sounds AWESOME - I hate lugging all my books around, much as I love them. But I don't want to get and e-reader and have to drag around the beloved books I alerady have - seems a bit redundant.

 

I've discovered today that there are websites where library systems share their collections via downloadable e-books. I'm not a member of any library currently, but it's doubtless useful to the rest of you.

Here is an example:

Nassau Digital Doorway

 

That's cool, but doesn't work for the Kindle.

 

Hmm...well, if the ebook files themselves are in a non-Kindle format, you could convert em either with Amazon's conversion process-there's apparently a link to do so on the KIndle itself-or with Calibre.

 

That's pretty cool!!

 

Yeah, I just converted just about all of my Nook Ebooks to the Kindle format for my future mother-in-law today.

 

The nook takes it's digital book and ebooks and PDFs. You have a BN library and a documents library.

 

A point on price, actually: I downloaded The Silmarillion from books a million the other day. Cost about ten bucks, which is frankly impossible to beat for that unless you're buying it used from Amazon or something.

 

For my two cents I happen to like carrying around my iPod in my pocket knowing that most of my library of books is neatly stored on it so I can pull up any book to match my mood in moments. Because apps are available for it to read nearly every format of eBook, there are very few limits. About the only time I buy physical books are when no electronic copy is available. So, for me, it's really a matter of convenience. I read for the enjoyment of the story. The type of media it exists in doesn't matter that much to me.

 

Really? Wow, The Sil must be expensive. I'm worried (especially since Macmillian might be selling theirs for as much as $15) that my $8 books are going to go up.

Kelberry - that's really cool!!

 

Yes I downloaded Calibre and now I"m a happy camper.

 

I may buy a Nook.....its easier to carry a library of eBooks onto a plane than it is to lug a a few hardcovers or paperbacks in a carry on (of course, I don't fly very often, but if I did, I'd definitely take an eReader).

And I hope to someday see the early 1990s Tim Zahn star wars books in eBook format.

 

Oh, they're around.

 

hmm. I guess I'm at a point where I don't see the need for an e-reader, as I'm not going to pay twice to replace my physical library with a virtual one. On the other hand, I'm very rarely without my laptop or netbook, so having e-book copies of some of my favorite books seems like a pretty cool idea, if I'm stranded someplace without access to decent lit.

One impact I'm not looking forward to is on the used-book market: if they stop printing books, how can I waste hours and days searching for lost gems amongst the riff-raff? I was also hoping to open a book shop one day--though I might be far enough out in the sticks for it not to matter. What good is a downloadable book if you don't have an internet connection?

 

That's true. It will definitely hurt booksellers.

The only reason I'd get that right now is because it would make travel (and my life) so much easier. But as of yet, it's not worth the cost. And by cost I mean the cost of replacing my paper books, though thats one hefty fee.

 

The Dark Side is a pathway to find books that many would consider illegal.


Some more notes on the Nook:

-It does have a highlight/note feature, along with integrated "go to" features, including specific page numbers, furthest point read, or chapter.

-The supposed battery life of two weeks must mean "two weeks without reading". I left it unplugged to see how long it would last while I read; it was about five or six days. Still remarkable, though.

-The support for a micro SDHC card is abysmal. My card falls out all the time, and while it's kept inside by the back cover, taking off the back cover to reset the SDHC card is just a giant hassle.

 

That battery life still sounds pretty good - I have to charge my phone a couple times a week.

 

Well, that's just part of the difference between a phone and one of these-a phone is gonna take more battery power regardless because it has to maintain a network connection. Heck, my macbook lasts awfully long displayng an Ebook just because all it's required to do is display text.

And I really don't understand the hysteria of "omg it lasts for two weeks!!" Is it really that hard to you know, stick the USB cord into your computer or wall outlet before you go to bed?