kindle electronic reader

[rtbates]

My wife and I just purchased a Kindle and it's the greatest gadget I've ever had. For those who don't know what a Kindle is, it's an electronic reader sold by Amazon. They have 199,000 items available. It can hold thousands of books and newspapers and is the size of a paperback. Items can be purchased anywhere a cell phone works via Amazon whispernet in about a minute.

[xirii]

You have perfect timing!  I was just researching ebook readers and was going to ask if anyone had preference.  I've been examining [url http://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/E-book_Reader_Matrix]this comparison matrix[/url] for days and can't decide!  I've seen a Kindle, played with it for 15 minutes or so, I like the easy download from Amazon (I guess it's the whispernet) feature, but I think it supports fewer formats, not even PDF.  So I'm wondering if there are others out there who have experience with any of the ebooks.  Features, irritating quirks, etc.  I think an ebook reader is a very sensible way to carry a library.    Unless I replace all food stores with books!  Passages wouldn't be too long with only space for a single can of soup.     Of course necessary reference material will be kept in paper format for eternal accessibility.  No need to worry about a battery running out when you need to double check that .......... of great importance.  But even 7000 page turns should do me, it'll have time to recharge while I sleep.     Waddaya think?  Anyone else have experience with other types?  Kindle is great I'm sure, but I want to only buy one, so want to make sure it's right! 

[AdriftAtSea]

I have read quite a few e-books on my Palm Tungsten TX.  A good source for some free ones is the Baen Free Library. They have a selection of science fiction available.  They support several readers including MobiPocket (which runs on several platforms), HTML, and I believe they just started supporting the Kindle.

I usually have about 300 books with me at any given moment...

[Auspicious]

A friend of mine -- a professional captain running megayachts up and down the US East Coast -- recently showed me her Kindle. She loves it. My girl friend was very impressed, so we bought one for her to take along on a sailing adventure we are taking next week.

It is worth noting that Whispernet has significant limitations outside the continental US.

Nonetheless it is a good deal and a great reading tool.

You can get all the books in Project Gutenberg in Kindle format from manybooks.net .

sail fast,

dave
S/V Auspicious

[Pablo]

...You can get all the books in Project Gutenberg in Kindle format from manybooks.net .

sail fast,

dave
S/V Auspicious

What a great resource thanks!

[Joe Pyrat]

Books on tape (CD) either in your CD player or load on an iPod works well too and you can listen while sailing.

[rtbates]

Books on tape (CD) either in your CD player or load on an iPod works well too and you can listen while sailing.

Absolutely. We use our ipod for audio books as well as music. The Kindle also plays mp3.

[Delezynski]

We have the Sony E-Reader that we use. We found sites with 100s of thousands of free ebooks to download. One CD we have has about 1,000 books on it.

One thing to keep in mind, if you are outside of the USA, or the country you purchase the unit it, you CAN NOT download any books (or newspapers).

They do work well.

Greg

[rtbates]

We have the Sony E-Reader that we use. We found sites with 100s of thousands of free ebooks to download. One CD we have has about 1,000 books on it.

One thing to keep in mind, if you are outside of the USA, or the country you purchase the unit it, you CAN NOT download any books (or newspapers).

They do work well.

Greg

Not true at all. Yes, you can not down load directly via Wispernet to the Kindle, BUT you can always download from the net to a PC and then to the Kindle.

[Delezynski]

RT,

Not sure how you managed it. Any time we connected to the internet from Mexico, our IP address that has to be used is viewable and we could not download to the reader or our computer.  I even tried going through an anonymizer with no success.

As a matter of fact, for about 8 to 12 months we could not listen to internet radio that was originating in the USA (we switched to a station in Canada). That has been taken care of now and US stations are back on line.

However, when we go to web sites for places like CBS or NBC, you can not view TV shows on-line like you can in the USA.

Greg

[AdriftAtSea]

Del-

You might try going through a US-based web proxy server.  An anonymizer won't generally work...but a proxy server often will...since it is in the US and it is getting the "internet feed" to a US-based IP address.

[Delezynski]

RT,

Can you provide an example of a US-based web proxy server that I can access from Mexico or....?

Not sure how it works.

Thanks for the tip!

Greg

[rtbates]

RT,

Can you provide an example of a US-based web proxy server that I can access from Mexico or....?

Not sure how it works.

Thanks for the tip!

Greg

Not a clue, sorry

rt

[Godot]

I've been wanting an ebook reader for a long time and finally broke down and bought the Kindle.  It is very cool.  I've been drastically downsizing and trying to get away from paper books.  The display is very crisp (it really doesn't look like an electronic display at all).  It is very light.  The battery doesn't need frequent charging.  And it just seems to work well.  I bought the Wi-Fi version, not the 3G version as I couldn't see much advantage to spending an extra $50 for cellular delivery (I would have done it, probably, if the difference was under $20 or so). 

So far I've only grabbed books off of Amazon; but I have a large collection of 'free' books (copyright expired) on my laptop that I will likely transfer at some point.  I do wish Kindle supported ePub.  I really prefer open source formats; but you can't have everything.  Given Amazon is my number one vendor for books (and most everything else), the Kindle made sense.

There is one feature which is cool but has bothersome implications...  There is a way to "highlight" sections of an eBook, which is cool.  But it appears that your highlights are uploaded to the "cloud" and shared with other Kindle readers.  I noticed several sections in my last books with little marks indicating that four or five other people had highlighted it.  While it appears to be anonymous I wonder, what other info is being shared?  There may be a way to turn this off, btw.  I haven't looked, yet.  But even if there isn't, given that I am pretty open about things in quite a fair amount of internet postings, I will willingly live with this literary voyeurism (or just never "highlight" anything).  Still, it makes me vaguely uneasy.

[Oldrig]

Adam,

Against my wishes (I used to write for newspapers and magazines--remember them? and once actually owned a printing business), Santa got me a Kindle this Christmas.

It is way cool, and I find myself preferring it over hardback books for must uses. It can hold a charge for a long time, and it can be recharged either with house current or via a USB connection. However, I wonder how I would charge it onboard. Would a simple inverter do the trick?

--Joe

[JWalker]

Morgan and I both have kindles with wispernet. 

The wispernet is a one time deal, no monthly charge after that, and even though the internet browser is limited (kindle 2) when we are traveling I can wip it out in a second and google directions or phone numbers or check e-mail via gmail....I understand the browser in the K3 is MUCH better.

As far as readability the e-ink screen is awesome! my eyes are a bit sensitive to computer screens but I can read my kindle for hours with no eye strain. Also its lighter than a paperback so holding it is very comfy, and with only having to hit the side button to turn the page, its easy to one hand it so I can read and drink coffee in the morning without trying to turn pages.

+1 on the kindle.

[okawbow]

A 12V charging plug is available to use with the standard USB charging cable.

[Oldrig]

A 12V charging plug is available to use with the standard USB charging cable.

Okawbow:

Thanks! Do I get it through Amazon?

--Joe

[Godot]

It's a standard cable.  Should be easy to find.  You can also charge off your laptop if you have one.   

[okawbow]

A 12V charging plug is available to use with the standard USB charging cable.

Okawbow:

Thanks! Do I get it through Amazon?

--Joe

There are 2 types. one is a usb plug, the other is like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Non-OEM-Amazon-Kindle-12v-Charger/dp/B002DWNAXM