Gigi's Company discussion

Please see the following article. You may have to copy and paste it into your address line.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/24/tec...

This is an article from the New York Times online entitled, "Turning Page, E-Books Start to Take Hold." I don't think this is news to any of us, but it is interesting to read about online.

Thanks for the link, Kathleen. Interesting, isn't it?

I'm not a huge fan of the eBook, and the more we are into the future, the more I'll have no choice. There are some books, novellas, that I can only get in eBook format. And that sucks!

Meanwhile, I has started research on this a while ago. Right now, the Amazon Kindle is worthless to me - not available for use in Canada. I'd have to find something else, but I can't afford that kind of electronics. I'd ask for one for my birthday, which is in March, but I don't know if that's what I really want. I think I'd rather wait until I have absolutely no choice - by then, devices may be cheaper...

I agree Gina, I was looking at the Sony Reader, but again it was over $200 and until I can't get the books I want in paper then I guess I'll have go to the electronic ebooks. I might ask for one for my birthday in June or if they go on sale at some point. I read off a computer all day and my get tired so not sure how I feel about reading a book of a screen, but then again I would eventually get used to it I'm sure.

I was looking at the same one. But the article has the Sony Reader priced at $400. I thought that price was high, so I did a little research on Sony Canada.

I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the price is cheaper, but it's still to high to ask as a birthday present. The downside? You have to buy the recharger (AC Adapter) seperately - of course! But I like the style, very slim. The touch one is higher in price, of course. Check out this link. It'll bring you right to the page that has all the Readers Sony has to offer:

http://www.sonystyle.ca/commerce/serv...

Gina wrote: "I was looking at the same one. But the article has the Sony Reader priced at $400. I thought that price was high, so I did a little research on Sony Canada.

I was pleasantly surprised to find ou..."

I want one. I'll start to work on my family now and maybe get one for my birthday as it is over 6 months away.
I'm surprised they don't sell them a Future Shop or other electroinic stores. Maybe we'll start to see them in stores in the near future.

I would recommend restraint. These are the first two e-readers on the market. More will likely become available in the next few years.

Also, before buying any e-reader I would want to know their capacity and what happens when it fills up. Do you have to delete a book or books if the library is filled? Can you download the deleted book or books to your PC or is there an external hard drive associated with the reader to hold the excess from your library?

Will your reader accept files from another reader? Or put more simply, if you own a Sony Reader could you download a Kindle file or could a Kindle accept a file from Sony?

What volume will eventually be available for each reader? Currently Kindle has 300,000 stories ready for download. I couldn't find a figure for Sony. Will specific publishers have licensing agreements with only one reader?

I would want answers to all these questions before making a decision. Plus, more readers by other manufacturers may be available in the near future. I don't think that I will personally purchase any reader for at least two years.

Kathleen wrote: "I would recommend restraint. These are the first two e-readers on the market. More will likely become available in the next few years.

Also, before buying any e-reader I would want to know t..."

Thanks Kathleen, you have mention some really good questions here. I`ll keep watching the Sony site and see what is new and upcoming. I would really like to see one first, hold it and see how it works and what the screen print is like first to see if I would really like to read from a screen rather then a paper book.

Unless publishers stop printing on paper, which will probably occur in the long term, I think e-readers will work best for people who travel for business or pleasure or have a long commute to work. If you have to go overseas for six months, but want/have to travel light, you could download multiple books to your reader and take it with you. Men and women who commute via train/subway could easily carry an e-reader in their briefcase/purse with the latest novel from their favorite author. You can still do that now, but the novels weight a lot more. Also, if you are on the last chapter, you have to bring two books with you, or leave the almost done one at home and start a new book on the commute. The e-reader would eliminate those hassles.

The only way I would switch to downloads over print copies is if the downloads were to become substantially cheaper. On Amazon a US $7.99 novel downloads for US $6.22; that is not enough of a difference for me to switch when most of the reading that I do is at home. When e-books become as inexpensive as itunes, I may give up my paper.

Sounds good to me. I'll have to do some research before putting that kind of money out. My husband has done some, but did said he would like to look into it more, so I know it will be a while before I would be considering purchashing one.

I'm not planning on getting one any time soon. The readers are expensive to begin with, and there are too few out there. They haven't been out all that long either, so are all the bugs fixed? If there's a glitch, is it reparable by the owner or does it have to be sent in to get fixed? What's the warranty like? Lifetime or only a year?

Me, I've made up my mind. Until it happens that an author that I enjoy very much has a publisher who decides to only publish in eBook style, I'm holding off. I spend all day with my face in front of a computer screen as it is; reading off an eReader would be almost the same. I'll wait until absolutely necessary.

Meanwhile, do any of you buy audio books?

I download audio books for my ipod from itunes. I listen to them when we take a bus to hockey games. The noise on the bus is usually to loud to be able read a book, so that is when I find audio books handy to use.

Just an interesting comment: In Primal Needs by Susan Sizemore [image error] two of her characters, Sidonie Wolf and Flare Reynard, both use portable e-readers to read favorite novels.

Do they mention which ones they have? LOL, just curious, but I'm sure I'll find out soon enough. I'll be grabbing PN from my TBR pile about mid-month.

No, just a reference to the readers. Sidonie read as Joe drove through Los Angeles. Flare was using her reader as Sidonie entered the room.

Interesting article, thanks for posting it! I think those readers look cool and the gadget loving girl in me would probably love one, but part of what I love so much about reading is holding the actually book in my hands, the smell of a new book, turning the pages and I think i would miss that a lot, so I guess I will stubbornly hld on to my paperbacks for as long as I can! LOL

New article on Kindle and its expanding list of competitors. See

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/10/tec...

I agree, though, that the electronic version of a novel should be cheaper than the price of a printed book, at least the hardcover version. I can see spending $8 - $10 for a book, electronically or printed, but I can't see someone paying $30 for the electronic version of a hardcover. And until authors and publishers declare that their novels will only be available electronically, I don't even want an eReader/Kindle... whatever/whichever.

Incredible, though, isn't it, how far we've come with technology and electronics?

Thanks for the article, Kathleen!

I had a teacher about 18 months ago, who had one of the eReader/Kindle. I am not sure which one. It was cool, the screen was easy to read and you could "turn" the pages rather quickly.

What I would miss would be the conversation over the book that I am reading. I take the bus to work and everyone knows that I read everyday. People are always asking what I am reading, do I like it, can they see the book. I would become less of a "people" person once the initial curiosity of the e-book wore off. I don't know if I want that :)

I know what you mean, Colleen. I see people with anything electronic in their hands and to me, it screams anti-social. I'm not the biggest people person, but I do like conversation, even with a total stranger, and I love discussing books.

I want a book in my hand. I want to be able to feel the pages, the smell of a new novel that no one's cracked open before... I have a great relationship with the folks over at Coles and they look forward to seeing me on Friday nights just as much as I look forward to seeing them. Some of them know my tastes so well that they'll put a book aside for me and suggest it when I come in - and they're usually dead-on with their choice. If I had an eReader/Kindle, I wouldn't have that anymore. Nope, unless it happens that my fave authors start publishing in eBook format only, I don't want anything electronic.

I agree 100%

A friend on Chapters posted this on a thread. Unbelievable how much technology advances every time I turn around. Check out this link: Plastic Logic Reader

It is pretty cool, but all I can think of is that it is an easier way to bring work home :)

Great article from DVICE, the technology portion of Scifi Channel's web site, that shows and summaries all the e-readers on the market including the Kindle and the Plastic Logic Reader. It is called, "E-Reader Battle Royale."

See http://dvice.com/archives/2009/02/pro...

Incredible how far technology is getting, isn't it?

I recently purchased a Kindle and I thought I'd let you know a little about what I thought.

First off, I chose to buy a Kindle because I'm in the military and have found myself randonly sent here or there with barely enough room for two or three books, much less the 15-20 I would like to take with me. The Kindle will give me a chance to have as many books as I want with me (well, up to 1500!) and only take up the amount of space one paperback would.

It's heavier than an MMP but lighter than a hardcover. The screen is easy to look at, and most times I forget that I'm not holding an actual book in my hands. The words appear almost ink-like and the pages turn quicker than if I was manually turning pages of an actual book.

The first book I read on it was actually one of this month's BOTM's, Pleasure Unbound.

As I go farther into the book, there's a space at the bottom that tells me how far in I am percentage-wise. The only thing, so far, that I don't like about the Kindle is that it doesn't show me page numbers. I'm the kind of person who measures my progress by what page I'm on or how far into the book I am. The percent thing doesn't really do it for me. But, like I said, it's the only thing that I don't like about it.

And I like the fact that Amazon has different "Specials" every month. I bought Pleasure Unbound for just $1.00 and also downloaded 21 titles for free! This month's free title's were a mix of fantasy, sci-fi, and romance. Any book that I've really wanted and looked up has been available however I have found some titles that I was curious about that are not yet available on the Kindle. There is a spot where you can request that the publisher use Kindle but I'm not sure how well that works.

SO far I am very content in my very large purchase. I normally don't go and spend so much money on something I'm not sure I will like but I kept talking about it to my hubby (oh honey, the Kindle can have as many as 1500 titles on it.. sweetie, did you know the Kindle uses Whispernet so you can download books right from it... etc) that he purchased it for me. And now that he's seen it he's also thinking of getting one for himself.

Rachel,

You have written an excellent, informative, and detailed review. Thank-you for providing us with this information.

The Kindle would be perfect for you, especially when the military transfers you to a new assignment. Instead of packing bunches of boxes of books (say that three times quickly), your books are instantly packed when you drop your Kindle in your carry-on luggage.

What do you do when you have downloaded 1500 titles? Do you have to delete titles? Can you download those for which you have paid to an external hard drive/flash drive/SD card or another storage device?

Thanks, again, for your review.

Kathleen
Assistant Moderator

I love my Kindle! I have the 1st generation model. I bought it in July 2008. Rachael did a great job of describing the Kindle. Another feature that I love is you can download an excerpt of the book to "try before you buy". And the free books that are available are a plus too. I also like that the font size is adjustable and there are various options to enhance your reading (highlighting, dictionary, bookmarks).

To answer Kathleen's question, Amazon backs up each Kindle book that you purchase in your account on their website. If you delete a title, you can download it again from their website. I am definitely nowhere close to 1500 yet, though!

Amanda,

Thanks for your review as well as the quick response to my question. I like the idea of Amazon maintaining a record of your purchases in their accounts. It is an excellent solution to the storage problem.

Although honestly I probably wouldn't have to be concerned about the 1500 titles limit either. I would just delete the turkeys as soon as I had read them, not wanting to store something that I did not enjoy.

Currently I sell all the turkeys to Half Price Books. No reason to create a fire hazard and a storage issue for a book I would not revisit.

Thanks, again, I appreciated your input.

Kathleen
Assistant Moderator

As Kathleen said, thank you, Rachael and Amanda for your input on the Kindle. Sounds like a great devide to have. Currently, though, the Kindle is only available in the U.S., so it sucks to be me, LOL!

I've looked at other versions of eReaders, and all of them are priced quite high. While I spend a ridiculous amount on books, at the moment, I prefer actually having a paperback in my hands. Nothing like the smell of a new book, LOL! Later, in the future, I'm hoping to be able to afford something like that. Who knows? Maybe the Kindle will be available to Canadian citizens when I can afford a device like that.

Again, thank you for your insight. It would definitely help those of us thinking of getting one.

Gina

Hi All,

With all this input I may just want a Kindle one day. I will have to start telling people now, my birthday is in Ocotber ;)

Completely agree, Colleen. The dollar price for Pleasure Unbound got my immediate attention. A Kindle would pay for itself the first year and after that my book expenses would be minimal. My birthdate is also October and I am toying with the idea of asking for a Kindle as well. I'll let everyone know what I decide down the road.

You two are lucky, LOL! I hope it'll be available in Canada someday. I mean, there is an amazon.ca, which is Canadian. Wonder what would happen if I e-mailed them and asked, LOL!

Gina wrote: "You two are lucky, LOL! I hope it'll be available in Canada someday. I mean, there is an amazon.ca, which is Canadian. Wonder what would happen if I e-mailed them and asked, LOL!"

Never hurts to ask Gina. I would love a Kindle. Just think of it 1500 books at your finger tips :)

Gina, two thoughts. The squeaky wheel will more likely be greased than the one you don't hear. So, yes, I would ask amazon.ca.

Second, Whispernet uses the Sprint EVDO network (Yes, I really am a geek). Is this system available in Canada?

No, it isn't, and that's probably the problem, LOL!

I wanted to mention the article you emailed me and point something out that was posted on that article.

Amazon.com comes equipped with GPS. That's all said and good, especially if you lose it or should it get stolen. The problem I have is that Amazon can literally track you. And that's a privacy isssue with me. Should it become lost or stolen, you should be able to approach the police with the GPS co-ordinates so that it can be found, you should should be able to do so yourself if you lost your Kindle. But I don't agree with Amazon.com keeping that information. Talk about sticky situation.

Any system with GPS can usually tell its manufacturer, or someone with the correct software, where it is located. If you have Onstar, the Onstar people can locate your car. My employer can track the laptop that was issued to me using a similar system as the Kindle. The itouch and the iphone can be tracked multiple ways, as can many other cell phones. I approve of this ability to track my possessions in the event they are stolen. For me, it is another incentive to buy a Kindle. Last night when we discussed the Kindle, we discussed how easily it could be stolen. This would remove a lot of my concerns.

Yes, and with a website/software, you can find your laptop, cell phone, etc... And that's fine by me. It's also fine if your employer looks for you - especially if the equipment belongs to the employer. I get that, and have no problem with that.

Quote from the article: "As Vincent writes, "This is not a tutorial about how to use the Kindle 2's Sprint connection from your computer...I do know that abusing the Kindle's Sprint modem like that would upset Amazon a great deal. Bear in mind also that Amazon knows where you live. They know your Kindle's serial number and thanks to the built in GPS, they know where you are right now." Amazon's license terms, by the way, reserve the right to charge for excessive Internet use." Um... reserve the right to charge for excessive Internet use? What right is that? Especially when the Kindle belongs to you, and you pay for the books you download? That's like my ISP telling me they have to charge me extra for excessive use of the internet even though I already pay for that use, and it's my damn computer. And the thought that Amazon can find me anywhere? I don't need them knowing who my relatives and friends are, cause let's face it, I would carry it with me anywhere like I would a paperback. I don't need them knowing where I vacation either. "Bear in mind that Amazon also knows where you live." Sure, so does your ISP, your cell phone company, etc... But without a court order, they can't turn around and activate the GPS frequency. It's against the law. If you pay a package deal for the use of you phone, ie: so many day minutes, nights and weekend free, etc... Yes, they can charge you if you go over those daytime minutes, but I haven't heard of Amazon writing and signing, with the consumer, to charge extra for "excessive" use.

Nope, not enjoying the sounds of this at all.

Wow! I hadn't read that. I think I may have rethought my purchase had I seen that article. I'm not a big fan of other companies being able to track my wherabouts at any given moment. Yes, I know that Amazon and any other company I've bought something from or have an account with has my home address but I completey agree that that it's something else entirely for a GPS system to track me wherever I go when I have my Kindle on me. It's definitely no one's business where I go!

And I definitely better not be charged for excessive internet use when I remember reading that Whispernet Access was FREE. Oh Boy, I feel an angry headache coming on!

Maybe I won't ask for a Kindle for my birthday. I don't want to be tracked, too many people can find me now!! Sometimes technology just scares me!

For those of you concerned about the Kindle, I don't think that Amazon is tracking your movements or even would track your movements. They are too busy trying to make a profit in the competitive book industry.

Many electronic devices and non-electronic devices are chipped for security purposes. You called a certain number and the security company, manufacturer, or whoever is monitoring the chip, can tell you its location. This does not mean that Miss Jane at Onstar is personally writing down every errand that you run on Saturday morning. I honestly wish that I could have more things in my life chipped. We have had both cats chipped (the cost is worth the peace of mind). I have read articles about people who are concerned about kidnapping having their young children chipped. My children are adults, but I would certainly consider it if they were younger and I was at a level of income where kidnapping for ransom would be an issue.

Because I now know that Amazon can locate my Kindle if I call them, it increases the likeihood that I would consider a purchase. *I do not plan to take the Kindle with me if I knock over a liquor store. Even I know to leave all the electronic toys at home so the police cannot recreate my movements.

*Just FYI, this remark is in jest. I have no plans for criminal activity.

Well, if my son Ray turns out to be like I was as a teenager I just might get him chipped :)

I do not plan to take the Kindle with me if I knock over a liquor store. Even I know to leave all the electronic toys at home so the police cannot recreate my movements.

Haha!

I understand that they're not tracking my movements wherever I go, I'm just uncomfortable with the idea that if someone felt like it, they could look up my Kindle's info and figure out where I was. I'm no superstar or anything, so I doubt that's going to happen, it's just the idea of it being possible that I dislike.

My husband has worked in management for companies who have access to all sorts of sensitive data. He assures me that those companies take many steps to insure their employees do not violate customers' privacy. One can never be absolutely certain about anything, but realistically I think the risk of an individual's privacy being violated is probably minimal. Or at least it is low enough for me not to fret about it.

I think the same think, Kathleen. But just the thought that they can do so at any time is what makes me cringe. I know that, with cell phone companies, they need a court order to track GPS on your phone. I can understand, and see the advantage of, having GPS in a Kindle. Should you lose it, you can contact Amazon and have it tracked. Should it be stolen, your permission to have law enforcement contact Amazon to have it tracked would be beneficial as well. But what is Amazon's current position on the whole thing? What are they guaranteeing? Because I've read the threads and posts, and I didn't know that Kindles have GPS, let alone what guarantees Amazon has about/for it. I mean, if I hadn't read that post you sent me, Kathleen, I'd have never known that Kindle even has GPS. Rachael, when you got yours, did the paperwork mention it? And if it wasn't mentioned, how would I be comfortable carrying the thing after finding out? It kinda gives me the creeps!

Gina wrote: "Rachael, when you got yours, did the paperwork mention it? And if it wasn't mentioned, how would I be comfortable carrying the thing after finding out? It kinda gives me the creeps!"

I don't remember reading anything about it, but then again, I was so excited to get my Kindle that I kind of just browsed over everything and discarded the rest for another time. I'll have to look for it and read up on it some more.

i know my cell phone has the capacity to turn off the gps system, I wonder if the kindle does too if you are concerned about "being tracked" .

I think I'm more worried about being tracked without my knowledge than anything else. For cell phone companies, it takes a warrant to track you via GPS. I wonder what Amazon's stance is on their GPS, and what they consider an 'emergency' for them to track you. That's what I worry about.

interesting conversation!!

I think most readers like the whole physical book feeling, like a security blanket.

I wonder if you can rent one anywhere just to try it? I wouldn't mind doing that first...but I won't be buying one anytime soon. I agree with the newness of it, the initial expense, and since I don't travel (long commutes or business trips), stuffing a book into my tote bag isn't a big deal when I have a marathon doctor's visit.

And, after watching the news yesterday - Borders is suffering and many newspapers going out of business - one wonders if books will drop off as well during the next few generations...like the record and 8-track.

Will colleges start using these instead of textbooks? Will students be required to have a e-book reader?

A few weeks ago, I did look on ebay for Twilight - and pages of ebooks popped up! Too funny - I had to revise the search for paperback or hardback.

Colleges are already recommending PDF versions of some texts as a cost saving measure for their students.

Being Canadian, the Kindle isn't available to me. Some eReaders are, but I'm not in the mood to dish out $400 for one of those. Besides, they don't have the smell of a new book, LOL! Until the day comes where my fave author is only publishing in eBook format, I will never stop buying books.

I wouldn't be surprised if colleges put that piece of machinery on the list of class requirements. Laptops have been for a few years now, especially depending on the computer programs needed for that class. If you're in engineering, you'll need a laptop for sure. Architecture, same thing.

And I'm not surprised that colleges are using PDF format. It's easy to use, and Adobe is free, downloadable right off the internet.