Kindle/nook and ebooks

[EastTexas]

I was curious. Anyone use these devices? What's your opinion on ebooks?

Seems like the ebooks are getting a push and becoming more popular.
I hate reading on my desktop and laptop. Anyone here spent the $300-$400 on one of those devices meant for reading ebooks on?
Like it? Does it feel the same as reading it at a desktop/laptop?

If you don't have one, would you want one over an actual book?

[DudeEMETIB]

I have a huge collection of e-books in various types of files, some are word documents, some are .pdf, etc.

I don't really like having to read them off my computer screen, but I don't see why a computer screen would be any worse than a portable screen. My problem isn't the lack of portability, it's just staring at a screen for that long...and if I really want to sit down and read an e-book, I just dim the brightness of my laptop.

I never choose e-books over real books, the only thing that makes e-books useful is how easy it sometimes is to find them.

I have several hundred philosophical works because I found a huge torrent and thought it'd be neat to have all those works of Spinoza, Kierkeguaard, Hume, Locke, etc.

I also have several hundred "classics" from the Ancient, Medieval, and Modern era, again because of a huge torrent.

I don't have any e-book reading machine and I have absolutely no intention on ever buying one, the things seem like a complete waste of money.

[DWarrior]

Don't own one, but look into e-ink if screen reading bothers you.

I used my 9" convertible laptop/tablet to read on a couple of years ago and thought it was convenient (then it fried because I left it on under a pile of laundry). As a student though, I don't have enough disposable income and don't enjoy reading enough to spend $400 on an ebook reader.

[EastTexas]

e-ink?
What is it?
A quick google and even a look at eink.com don't tell me what it is.

[bluecrucial]

It can display a static image and then quickly change to another and another. The idea is:

#1 Once the image is displayed it doesn't need to use power again until the image changes. So if you are reading a book the battery life lasts for a very long time because it's "only on when it needs to change to the next page"

#2 Many are in side of a plastic device but the tech outside of the unit is flexible. Esquire Magazine made a limited run of their 75th Anniversary with an e-ink display in the cover which you can see here.

#3 Because it's not back lit it doesn't strain people's eyes. A good example is a demo of how you can read the New York Times:



Might look a bit like an old school palm pilot but the power usage is usually what is cited as the big benefit. The wiki of how the tech works is here.

[EastTexas]

That Esquire thing is pretty cool.
The second video just looks like another ebook reader.

So without a power source it only displays one thing. You have to put it in a reader to change pages. Doesn't seem like much of an improvment other than the lower power use.

[starfalsh]

since it hasnt been mentioned I figured I might as well.

the iPad isnt more of a kindle type product than any other laptop/computer. Cannot figure out why they said it was one other than the fact that the idiots who buy apple products will believe them.

Let alone no one should consider purchasing an iPad in the first place

[brennok]

My problem is depending on what you buy, ebooks can actually work out more expensive than the physical copy and you lose out on the ability to sell or loan them out or donate them to the library.

I priced 4 of the books I recently bought which were 7.99 paperbacks. For the Kindle editions, the average price was 6.79. For the paperbacks, the average was 5.99 because they were also available as part of the buy 4 for 3 sale on Amazon. If they hadn't been cheaper, it would take around 215 e-books at that average price before I covered the cost of the reader and started saving money.

Now if you buy new hardbacks they can save you money since Amazon usually charges 9.99 but it seems publishers want $15 according to some of the news with Apple's pricing. At 9.99 you would still need around 50 hardbacks before you cover the kindle cost assuming a savings of around $5 per kindle copy which it can be less depending on where you buy.

I would only be interested in e-books if they were free with purchase of the physical book or for $1 more. It should work the same way DVDs and Blu-rays are now coming with digital copies. I already bought the book so just give me a digital copy with it. If Amazon announced this, I would buy a Kindle the same day.

[DudeEMETIB]

That's very true, I would NEVER pay money for an e-book unless a physical copy of the book just DOES NOT EXIST.

All the e-books I have are from free downloads and torrents, an e-book is never going to be anywhere as useful or worthwhile as a physical book.

You can't flip easily through an e-book, you can't highlight or annotate, you may or may not be able to share with friends, it's just not as good in any way.

[spooky]

The average comic reader spends around $150 a month on comics, last time I checked the current demographic figures(late 2008, I think).

What is the resolution like on these things, is it good enough to display comics?

The comic world is buzzing about the iPad potential, are there color screen ereaders in the works that could meet that sort of market?

Also, how broad is the color gamut?