Thinking about an ebook reader...

[selenay]

Aah, the dilemmas that the modern geek can face.

I have plans to buy an iPod Touch, but I am holding out for information on the 4th generation. The official announcement about it is expected within the next couple of weeks, which is when I will know whether the new features are sufficient to keep me waiting for it (rather than buying the 3rd gen now) and when it is likely to ship to Canada. The BBC now has a couple of apps to deliver news and some radio content, so I'm even more excited about the possibilities of the iPod Touch, as if apps for Skype, Twitter, LJ, newspapers, and calendar stuff in my pocket when I'm travelling weren't enough. The daily BBC headlines email has been out of action ever since the BBC News website was upgraded and I find myself rather bereft it. Who knew how much I rely on the ease of skimming through the headlines to stay in touch with the world?

In the meantime, I've been thinking about ebook readers. I intend to install all the various ebook apps on my Touch when I finally get it, but I'm also thinking about a dedicated reader. Mostly this is because the new Kindle has a version that is within what I think is reasonable for a reader ($139 for the WiFi only version) and I've had a few demonstrations over the last few days of how useful an ereader can be. Kindle is winning at the moment not just on price, but on range of books. Mum's Sony reader allows her to borrow from the library and gives her a reasonable range in the bookstore, definitely everything she's likely to want, but not as much as the Amazon store.

I haven't really spotted anything from my local library's ebook collection that I'd want to borrow and I know that Amazon still beats everyone else for range. So it's hard to justify sticking with Sony (or even trying the Kobo that works with Chapters) when the new Kindle seems to fit my needs better. I could even buy the Independent on the Kindle for that lovely Saturday afternoon with tea and a good newspaper experience. Do not get me started on how hard it is to find outside-Canada news in the main paper here.

Am I crazy to be jumping on the Kindle bandwagon? Am I crazy to be even looking at a dedicated reader? After all, I'll have an iPod Touch one day and the Indie has an app and...

I feel almost like a traitor to be so seriously considering the Kindle. It's not like I can't afford it. The money is there in my gadget fund, far surplus to what I'll need for the Touch, and it would be perfect for always having a book in my bag no matter how stupidly long the book is. Not to mention never again being in the situation of picking totally the wrong book for a long flight, because I'd have dozens on the reader to choose from. It could even make defeating the Reading Prevention Team (Kate knows exactly when I pick up a book and demands cuddles and scritchings instead every time) a bit easier. I'm not abandoning my love of the printed word in printed books with that lovely musty dusty smell, I'm just adding to my reading possibilities. And what I'd buy and put onto the Kindle is likely to be different to what I'd buy in printed copy (free classics, bad romances for when I need that fix but can't face the embarrassment of people seeing that I have them, pop fiction that I don't want cluttering my bookshelves).

I'm talking myself into this, aren't I?

Comments

[fahrenheit-f430.livejournal.com]

Don't do it!!! Remember #amazonfail!

Don't buy an iPad either. Buy something else, but for god's sake DON'T buy a Kindle! *clings*

Bonus: Only person I've seen with a Kindle was a 50+ dentist with yellowing, uneven teeth, enveloped in a beige v-neck. He kept it in a little fold-out wallet and used to look like a bespectacled bunny while squinting down his nose to read it... You're too young for that kind of uncool-by-association!

[selenay]

It's #amazonfail that's making me hesitate. I'm not intending to get an iPad at all - too expensive, too heavy for what I want and just not something that fits with what I need.

The wilds of Canada reduce my choice a little because the Kobo doesn't have a great range (insert Chapters rant here), nor does the Sony, and the Kindle is the only other real option.

[fahrenheit-f430.livejournal.com]

I think Touch & apps is the way to go with the limited coverage.

Problem with having a Kindle AND the ghost of #amazonfail is the genuine possibility you could buy an ebook, Amazon falls out with the publisher, publisher lists copies on own website, amazon deletes all Kindle downloads on remote while 'forgetting' to reimburse customers, etc.

I'd point you at the smartphone market but with the Touch+Skype combo, you're obviously trying to avoid that can of worms too.

Simple answer: run for government on a 'Canadian books should be cheap, dammit!' ticket.

[selenay]

You know the scary thing? Amazon is the company that's trying to challenge the protectionist laws that make Canadian books so expensive. It's hard to hate them when they're doing that.

There's no way I'm getting into the smartphone thing, particularly with trips to the UK and possibly US forthcoming. I refuse to get into stupid contracts that I'll barely use plus roaming charges. The cost of a Touch plus a Kindle would be less than the yearly contract for any smart phone here. Do not get me started on stupid protectionism that allows telecoms companies to rape us with jagged glass for this stuff.

I'm still leaning towards a Kindle if I buy one dedicated reader. It will be easier on the eyes than a Touch if I'm reading ebooks regularly.

[fahrenheit-f430.livejournal.com]

... That is scary. That is actually a pretty good ad for 'Kindles For Canadians (Everyone Else: PROTEST!)'.

Re: smartphones: Yowch. (I am homesick for m'beloved British Columbia... But I did do the entire experience with a UK PAYG phone. DON'T MAKE ME CHOOSE BETWEEN M'MOUNTAINS AND M'MOBILE!)

Given your geographical location... A Kindle is starting to sound sensible. The other option is to get a US buddy with a big catapult to fire books across the border.

[selenay]

But I did do the entire experience with a UK PAYG phone

Canadian PAYG isn't really PAYG. The credit expires after 30 days unless you top up before it expires, then all the credit rolls over. I use my cell as an emergencies-only thing (it's v. basic) and have $10 per month automatically going onto it. I dread to think what my balance is now. Also, you pay for incoming calls and texts as well as outgoing. Smartphone contracts (you can't use PAYG) start at $50 per month. It's the reason why Canadians pay pretty much the highest cell bills in the world.

A Kindle for my geographical location is looking pretty good. My nearest US buddy (Best Friend in America) lives in Denver. Although she may currently be in NYC doing an internship for the UN.

At least the iPod Touch plus Skype plus wireless in airports will mean that I'll never again risk being stranded in an airport in the USA with no way to call anyone including the airline who stranded me. It's been a worry.

[honorh.livejournal.com]

I have a Kindle. I live overseas, and getting English-language books is hard. The Kindle downloads books outside of America, and it has an unrivalled selection. I realize Amazon has its problems, but for me, the Kindle has been a lifesaver. Just another perspective.

[selenay]

It's the selection that's tipping me towards Kindle rather than the Sony or Chapters offerings. Nothing else quite compares and I value range over most things for an ereader.

[gaspodex.livejournal.com]

I'd recommend the b&N Nook over the Kindle. Not tied into amazon,B&N tends to be cheaper plus you can use third party adobe editions on it as well - whereas the kindle only supports books bought from amazon. Reet now has my books - I run the Nook app on my iPad and we share a single account...

[gaspodex.livejournal.com]

We have pretty much gone 100 % e books now.

[gaspodex.livejournal.com]

That should have read Reet now has my NOOK.

[selenay]

I'm planning to get all the various apps when I get the iPod Touch, so I'll grab the Nook app as well, but am seriously interested now in a dedicated reader as well.

The Nook looks great but, sadly, is not available in Canada. Nor does B&N have much Canadian content available. I'd rather not have something that I have to work a dozen work-arounds to buy and then do another half-dozen work-arounds to load books! Kindle does have the advantage of not needing to be connected to my computer to get things for it, unlike all the other options available up here.

Canada is great, but sometimes has some big techie gaps.

[netgirl-y2k.livejournal.com]

You know, I told myself I wasn't even going to think about an e-reader. I love printed books, I love the smell, the feel of the paper, the way the ink gets on your fingers. However, none of this stops me going to the shops from time to time and looking at the kindle like Gollum looking at the one ring, my precious.

Not to mention never again being in the situation of picking totally the wrong book for a long flight, because I'd have dozens on the reader to choose from.

Yes. This. I've taken to carrying two books everywhere with me in case I turn out not to be in the mood for the first one. My friends think I'm bonkers.

[selenay]

When I went to England at Christmas I had two books in my backpack for the flight. Can't go wrong with two books, right?

Arrrgh! Still did it. I haven't learned that short-story anthologies do not work as plane fodder. And I hate that bit where you're a few pages from the end of a book and have to decide whether that can be your handbag book or whether you need to start something new, risking not actually reading the final few pages due to the ooh shininess.

How awesome would it be to have 50 Agatha Christie's at my fingertips for flights? And another 100 things just in case that's not what I want?

I can't abandon printed books. They're too wonderful. I'm just thinking that an ebook reader would expand my options, particularly when I'm out and about.

There is no rabid justification here whatsoever, is there?

[netgirl-y2k.livejournal.com]

How awesome would it be to have 50 Agatha Christie's at my fingertips for flights?

That does sound kind of brilliant. The only think that's stopping me is that between an e-reader, an ipod and my mobile phone I'd be carting a small fortune in gadgets everywhere with me. I'd be a muggers dream come true.

[selenay]

When I travel to the UK I have an iPod, a camera and two mobile phones as minimum. If I have a Touch and a Kindle, then at least I won't also be carrying a super expensive laptop when I'm making short trips!

[paranoidangel]

The daily BBC headlines email has been out of action ever since the BBC News website was upgraded and I find myself rather bereft it.

I was about to say it was still working, and then I've just realised I haven't had one for ages. I wondered why I was suddenly so out of touch with the world! That's really annoying.

I can't believe how cheap the Kindle is over there - it's about £139 on amazon.co.uk! When Dad got an ebook reader last year I said I'd consider it if it was £50 and it's down to close to £100 now (from £250), so we're getting there.

What's an iPod Touch? I don't keep up with all these iPods because I don't need one (I only use my mp3 player on long car journeys and that's only because I can't change the CD on the motorway).

[selenay]

That's really annoying.

I found it out when I went to the email set-up bit of the website intending to poke it a bit and discovered the notice. It's very grrr arrgh.

The new Kindle is insanely cheap now, even with shipping and conversion to the American dollar. It's why I'm getting tempted.

The iPod Touch is kind of like a really small iPad. Or an iPhone that works through wi-fi so doesn't have the phone-i-ness, which would kill me for roaming charges if I used it when I'm in the UK. It's the size of the classic iPod, but has applications that you can install to do cool things like have calendars, read newspapers, update Twitter, read emails, browse the web etc.

Podcasts update without needing to connect it to a computer. How awesomely brilliant would that be?

When I'm doing my mad drop-in to the UK for Redemption next year I'd be able to leave my lappie in Canada without being out of contact for days.

[paranoidangel]

I have just discovered that the Guardian has a news email, though, so I've signed up to that and I'll see if something appears in my inbox tomorrow morning. Assuming I've remembered my work email address properly :)

Ah, so I can guarantee the iPod Touch is something I'll never need. The number of times I need the internet when I'm out and about is so tiny it wouldn't be worth spending more than 1p on. And I don't know how you'd be able to see anything on the screen. My dad's netbook's just a bit too small to surf on and that's a 7inch screen.

When I'm doing my mad drop-in to the UK for Redemption next year I'd be able to leave my lappie in Canada without being out of contact for days.

Heaven forbid you don't have access to the internet for a couple of days. I quite like the idea that no one can get in touch with me.

[selenay]

Hmm, Guardian you say? That looks like a decent temporary replacement for my beloved BBC News email.

The web stuff is tempting for all those times when I think "I'll just check...bugger, my computer isn't on". There's an app that gives access to the BBC News stuff without turning on my computer, which would be great in the mornings, plus another one for some of the radio stuff. Automatically updated podcasts would be awesome. Skype would be great, particularly if I'm stuck in an airport in a country where I don't have a cell phone. Being able to keep up with friends back in Canada away would be lovely. Yes, I'm not very good at being unconnected!

[evil_plotbunny]

I'll be travelling with my netbook this time, which should be much more pleasant than the laptop was last time. Except for the bit where I don't really like to write fic on it because the screen's so small.

At the moment I'm feeling like the netbook will do anything I'd want from an ebook reader and more besides. I'll stock it full of ebooks and avi files for the trip and then will probably just use it in the evenings to catch up on the day's net activity while I'm there. Plus, about six months ago, I had the brilliant idea to install my book database software on it, so I can update that on the fly if I buy books along the way. I make no guarantees with the next generation of tablets. I won't buy iAnything, but I might break down for Android or WebOS.

[selenay]

I don't have a netbook and I love the idea of the portability that the Touch would give me. Of course, I'm lucky because I'll be staying with family when I'm not at Redemption. Provided I take my portable hard drive and net-token, I can use my father's computer to work on should my flight home get delayed.

My books are all on LibraryThing. There's an LT mobile site that is basic but gives me access to my books if I'm in a wifi location. Plus I can download a spreadsheet of them and open that in a Touch app for off-line book lists when I'm in a shop with no wi-fi.

I love seeing how different people make use of different bits of technology to suit their needs!

[evil_plotbunny]

I think it has to do with when you choose to update your tech. If I hadn't got the netbook, I'd be more interested in a tablet. I've read books on my smartphone, but I'm going to run into the problem that I'll have no service in England so I'm going to start looking into renting a mobile for the ten days I'll be there - mostly because I ran into problems last time with not being able to let people know where I was.

I had this program long before there was a library thing, and my library thing database is incomplete.

I'm not sure yet where I'll be staying when not at Redemption. I should mention this on my LJ soon, I think. ;)

[jedishadowolf.livejournal.com]

I gotta say I love my kindle, for all the reasons you just mentioned but also b/c I can take PDF'ed fanfics and load them for on-the-go reading as well. :)

[selenay]

Ooh, I was hoping that would work!

[jedishadowolf.livejournal.com]

Works like a charm! I've got about 50 on mine right now.

[honorh.livejournal.com]

I love my Kindle. Being overseas, I can't just walk to the nearest bookstore and browse. Having the Kindle has turned me into an inveterate bookworm again, and I love it. Also, it means I don't have to lug the nearly 60 books I've got on it back home. Yeep!

[selenay]

I can definitely see where the Kindle would be a life-saver for you! I can't imagine living somewhere that I can't buy books in English - I'd go crazy if I couldn't find some other alternative.

[honorh.livejournal.com]

You see my dilemma--Kindle or madness. I figured it was best to just spend the money and preserve what's left of my mental health.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

I was just using my Touch in Canada as an ebook reader, among other things. Don't buy a Kindle; use the Kindle app that comes bundled with the Touch!

I was also using it for checking email, checking blogs, checking weather, syncing with my Outlook calendar, and listening to music. I even could download the latest Staggering Stories podcast directly from the Touch iTunes into the Touch without being near the master computer with the iTunes software. You can't do that with a Kindle.

Aside from the near impossibility of typing on that tiny pop-up screen, the Touch was invaluable. I intend to live with it constantly by my side... until Apple comes out with the smaller ipad (which will hopefully be able to do all of the above plus be easier to type on.)

ETA: You can read pdfs on the Touch too. I'm just sayin'...

[selenay]

I'm thinking that for reading for more than a few minutes at a time a dedicated ebook reader will be a must at some stage. My incredibly short-sighted, migraine-prone eyes will thank me.

You've just listed many of the things that I want the Touch for. It's not so much an either/or, more a "should I just get the Touch, or also get the cheapest new Kindle" and so far, both is winning for me :-)

[neadods.livejournal.com]

I'm trying to get the ultimate one-stop tech toy (see rant that just went up in my LJ about that).

FWIW, you can set the background on ibooks to "sepia" so it's not quite as bad as looking at backlit white.

[djonma.livejournal.com]

Imve been pondering an ipod touch, glad you said 4th gen is coming so I should wait.

Starting to wonder if I want one though. My phone is better and has better app potential but just hasn't caught up with the apps yet. (N900 - 32gb linux phone - unike ipod you can just write any app you want. If you can't code, it's the nice linux open source community - ask on the comm, and someone will probably take up the request)

Kindle... hmm... a friend has the Sony one and says it's good. I'd be worried about them not having the books I want.

[selenay]

The word is that Apple will be making announcements at their conference on 7th September, so it's worth waiting until then at least. If the 4th gen has some extra features that you can't live without then you'll know when you can get it, if it doesn't then the prices on the 3G will come down and you'll save some money.

I don't have a smartphone (just a very bog-standard cell) and pricing here makes me reluctant to fork out the huge monthly contract fees for a phone that I'll rarely use as a phone. Long-term, the Touch will end up cheaper for me than any smartphone.

Not having books that I want is the big reason I'm thinking Kindle: if something is legally available in ebook, Amazon is likely to have it.

[sineala.livejournal.com]

I have a Kindle, and I know Amazon is evil, but, uh, they're the evil that has the largest book selection? I love my Kindle to bits, and you can even put skins on it so it can be all pretteh. I didn't think I would love it so much when I got it, but now I'd much rather read it than paper. (Or computer screens.) I am rebuying my favorite books just so I can have them all searchable. (And you aren't locked into Amazon by any means! I have books from lots of places. Calibre (http://calibre-ebook.com/) will convert pretty much anything DRM-free to any format you like.)

I also have an iPod touch, and, honestly, while it's a perfectly serviceable e-reader with the Kindle app, I really only use it when I'm out and about and don't happen to have a book/my Kindle with me. It's too small to really curl up with, and I find the page turn swiping cumbersome (as a leftie, especially), but it is really good while you're hanging out waiting somewhere. Plus music and games. But for reading, yeah, the dedicated e-reader wins, no question.

[selenay]

I can't see the Touch being a primary reading device: the things that I really want it for can't be done on an ereader, the ability to read on the Touch was just a nice bonus. All the news checking, easier podcast downloading, calendar, email, access to Twitter at Starbucks (to check where my knitters are on knit night when everyone is late) and stuff is what I really want the Touch for.

Amazon is evil, but I buy 70% of my dead tree books from them just because they have the range that Chapters doesn't and independent bookshops are thin on the ground where I live.

[jooniper-pearl.livejournal.com]

I have my moms iPad and her kindle and I turn to the iPad each and every time b/c I can read fic on websites, with the kindle app I have access to all those books, I can natively read PDF's too. I love it.

[selenay]

I really can't justify the cost of an iPad! Not when I have a really good laptop. Kindle would give me access to books and I can either PDF a long fic that I want to read (for the Kindle) or use the Touch for anything in formats that Kindle can't handle. BBC News over my coffee every morning without booting the computer, though? That needs the Touch!

[nic]

It sounds like you really want it. ;) Just treat it as a "throwaway" device and don't get too attached to any of the books you have on it (due to Amazon's issues).

[selenay]

:-)

Anything that I know I'm definitely going to regret losing would be bought in dead tree format anyway. Kindle stuff would be for the throwaways, the free classics and the things that I probably won't want to re-read hundreds of times.

And if I love something so much that I need the dead tree version, I can put it on my wishlist for birthdays and Christmases!

[gmul.livejournal.com]

I'm talking myself into this, aren't I?
Let me help.

Display:
Kindle: 6" e-ink. Deep and crisp and even, bright sunlight included
Touch: 3.5". But colour! Which is handy when you're reading black and white books. Mostly white screen, white the colour which sucks battery...

Battery life:
Kindle: Many days, 3k page turns, seemingly plenty. Keep the wifi off when you don't need it and you could bring it on the trip to the UK and not worry about needing to charge it (but someone is bound to have the right USB cable anyway).
Touch: You'll probably need to charge it, even if you keep the wifi off. There are lots of reports of iOS4 reducing the battery life too. That will likely get fixed. If they get it back to 3.x life span you'll probably still need to charge it but from what I've read maybe only once or twice. Lots of people have iStuff so finding a charger shouldn't be too hard.

Multimedia n stuff:
Kindle: "Experimental" web browser and MP3 listening support. Does support lots of document and image formats (including doc, pdf, jpg, gif, txt, html) all displayed in glorious technimonochrome. Does what it does.
Touch: Lots and lots of apps. Want to *listen* to books? Not a problem. Play games, listen to podcasts, all that good stuff? Easy. Want Apple to break it for you at the drop of a hat? Of course! Tweet? Browse? All possible. Much more functional device, like a proper computer in your pocket.

My view, given what you're looking primarily to do? Get the Kindle. Does what you want in terms of reading material provision and when the slew of iPad competitors come out within the next 6 months or so, if there's one that really takes your fancy you can put the Kindle aside without too much guilt about the cost. Even if you decided at that point you did want the next generation Touch, you just install the Kindle app and still have access to all the books you've bought.

Stick LogMeIn on your laptop at home and I can lend you a laptop of some sort for while you're at Redemption but you can still have access to all your stuff. And if don't have the facility to download stuff as if you were in the UK from there, I'm sure we could fix that too.

[selenay]

You're doing a good job of talking me into it :-)

I think that I'm seeing these as two devices with totally different purposes. There are many times a day when I wished that I had a small device to access the Internet and do the things that the iPod Touch does. There are wifi hotspots all over this city (every mall, coffee shop, bookshop, library and pub has one!) so there's no need for me to have an iPhone.

Touch: Lots and lots of apps. Want to *listen* to books? Not a problem. Play games, listen to podcasts, all that good stuff? Easy. Want Apple to break it for you at the drop of a hat? Of course! Tweet? Browse? All possible. Much more functional device, like a proper computer in your pocket.

That's pretty much exactly what I want, a computer in my pocket, apart from the Apple breaking things bit :-)

I'm thinking Kindle now, because I know that it does what I want the Kindle to do, and keep an eye on what happens to the Touch (both in terms of features and price) over the next couple of months to pick the right time for it. I have money saved to buy both if I want to and my dilemma has been about with I should stick with Touch only or admit that it won't be a good ereader and get a Kindle as well.