Amazon's Kindle eBook Reader

[edbro]

Sony also released one recently, Ars Technica have a review of it. The price is the same, what a coincidence

-Lashiec (November 19, 2007, 12:50 PM)

Actually, Sony just updated their previous version. They have had one out for quite a while now. I own the previous version and I love it. It is very readable and very portable. I can carry around a library of a couple hundred books with me in the same size as one very thin paperback.

The only drawback to these readers is the pdf support. You can get pdfs formatted correctly for the Sony but it takes some converting. They simply are not readable as is. I don't know if the Kindle supports pdfs or not. I think not.

From what I see, the Kindle is bigger with that unnecessary keyboard. Also, the Kindle's battery life is limited. I can go weeks of lots of reading before I have to charge my Sony.

[Okke]

Personally I'd love to have ebook reader. I have tons of books and other reading material.
The problem is.....80% of the books and such I have are PDF's and the PDF format is just not
very good for the current ebook readers. It doesn't support reflowing pages and such so it will
need to scale down. The screens on the current crop of readers the screen are just too small
in that case. There's only 1 larger one out right now (the iRex Iliad I believe) but it also has a
touchscreen and some other features I don't want which makes it way too expensive.

The next generation is supposed to get much larger screens (see the Hanlin V9 that's announced,
it looks REALLY interesting). When I can easily read my pdf books I'll get one instantly. I'm getting
way too tired of reading the books on a laptop or on the pc and there are too many of them to
buy as a paperback, I'd run out of space at home

Early 2008 should be really interesting for readers.

[longrun]

I believe the Kindle does not permit reading of PDFs; Amazon ruined a potentially good idea by making the Kindle a proprietary device.

Before I tried it I would have agreed with those who think reading on a PDA is awful. However, I've found reading on a Sony Clie SL-10 to be an absolute pleasure. It's legible, quiet (I don't disturb my girlfriend), and page turning is extremely easy (slight turn of a scroll wheel with the hand holding the Clie). Unfortunately the supply or books and materials is limited.

[terribleterryc]

Kindle sold out. Price on EBay $700 to $1100.New books are $10. Text books $70-$100. I didn't see much in the 25 cent to $5 range in their 10000 books available. Browsing what books available very difficult. After seeing a video demonstration I was thinking of getting one. Now after seeing the price structure of downloads I am no longer interested. As a dedicated library user and supporter these prices scare me. Be good for executives, students, travelers and home bound individuals. And for those with money. I WOULD like to have one!

[mouser]

first impressions of new graphite kindle dx:
http://www.mobiletec...lat.php?Number=37769

[cjseymour]

The Kindle does read PDF files and with the latest version of the OS (for want of a better phrase) that was pushed out recently, does a decent job of rendering the PDF files.  Kindle 2.5 also includes some rudimentary organization tools that allow the user to create collections that books can be copied to.

~Chris

[kyrathaba]

I bought my daughter a 2nd generation Kindle, as a Christmas gift.  I've been fooling with it, getting it ready for her.  I've de-registered it from my own Amazon account, created her an Amazon account and registered the device to her account.  And, I've copied quite a few free books onto it, and one purchased book she'd requested.

I have to say, it's pretty nifty.  Very light.  Battery life seems excellent.  Love the full-screen "photo-like" images it displays when putting itself into sleep-mode. 

Thinking of getting myself one at some point.

[mouser]

I bought my daughter a 2nd generation Kindle, as a Christmas gift.

I really think these things make awesome gifts for kids.. unlike a cell phone or computer, they are purely constructive things.  there is a reasonable chance that your child will not use it much, but there is 0 chance that it will be used to waste their minds away.  And if it does catch their interest, it will open up a huge world of amazing free classic literature to them.

[kyrathaba]

And if it does catch their interest, it will open up a huge world of amazing free classic literature to them.

Yeah, I agree completely.

I've installed "Kindle for PC" on my laptop and have been downloading several free classics.

We're fortunate in my home.  Three of our five are avid readers.  We're just hoping that the youngest two children follow suit.  There is a significant body of research showing that success in later-life career endeavors is strongly positively correlated with early-start and ongoing reading.

[Curt]

Amazon Kindle for PC 1.5.0 freeware