To Kindle or not to Kindle...

[tinkerdan]

Let me ask::

Until they make a Kindle Submersible I'm going to stick to paper, otherwise I just know I'm going to drop the thing into the bath.

:: how much better is it when you drop the paper into the bath.

 

[Michael Coorlim]

Cheaper, anyway.

 

[Brian G Turner]

Until they make a Kindle Submersible I'm going to stick to paper, otherwise I just know I'm going to drop the thing into the bath.

The Sony Xperia Z1-3 and the Samsung Galaxy 5 smartphones are waterpoof. But a lot more expensive than a Kindle.

 

[The Bluestocking]

Just adding my two teeny tiny pence:

There is no Amazon Kindle available where I am unless you import one from the U.S. and hack it. So most people here read their eBooks (in ePub or PDF format) on their tablets.

I read mine on my Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 using the Google Play Books app and set to the night background (black background, white words) so it's easy on the eyes. So far, so good - does what it says on the tin and it being a tablet means I can also play music via Spotify and occasionally check email or Facebook while I read.

I still have paperback books - still buy 'em - but I'm also getting increasingly fond of reading eBooks as my tablet is light (no more aching wrists from holding up a big fat Fantasy epic or hardcover!) and since it's Google Play books, I can sync my reading across my PC, my tablet, and my smartphone so I can read it anywhere

 

[Ray McCarthy]

I was eyeing the 6.8" Kobo Aura H2O as it's waterproof and a lot smaller than my Kindle DXG (which ships worldwide from USA) with far better resolution screen than 6" eInk readers (€179 inc 2 x books and European flight). I can test eBooks I make on the four different models of 6" Kindle and the 9.7" Kindle DXG, PC, phone and tablet. But I want a Kobo to test ePub on a dedicated reader. I'm involved now with people setting up a "Digital Press" (not a publisher but digital equivalent of a small print shop).

I'd like to get a Kindle Touch (my daughter's one is nice) as something more portable than my big DXG (€79) and sine DRM'd titles can be on up to 5 devices, having a 2nd reader of my own would allow me to loan bought DRM eBooks as well as let a beta reader more easily read my own stories and annotate notes.

@The Bluestocking
Why does an imported Kindle need hacked? They all can use USB transfer and if buying Amazon Books you can download to PC. I started about age 8 taking apart alarm clocks and worked up to radio, TV and eventually computers. I've resisted hacking my kindle. Too easy to brick a gadget that way.

I see now that online and in shops that Amazon has stopped the confusion of calling their tablet range Kindle Fire and just Fire <whatever> as the real Kindle is eInk.

Microsoft have been making this mistake since about 1993, calling everything "Windows" when many kinds are completely different incompatible things. Branding gone mad. Apple is more sensible with iOS and OSX (though OS X originally meant Mac OS 10, as it replaced 9 in 2002, since then the real version is not part of name. MS will do the same with Windows 10, except there will be incompatible different Win 10 for different things).

 

[MWagner]

I'm starting to do some of reading using Kindle on m iPad. However, I do more than half of my reading outside - at the playground while the kids are playing, in the courtyard at work, on the back deck. So I don't want my reading limited to an electronic device that reads poorly in daylight. I'm acquiring beach reading for this summer, and it's paperbacks all the way.

 

[Ray McCarthy]

Kindle on m iPad

Try a real Kindle or Kobo. Works in direct sun. You don't have an eReader or Kindle, only a Tablet with an App.

 

[Vertigo]

Yup if anything the 'real' readers, that use eInk screens, actually get better in sunlight as they rely on reflected light and shadow. The brighter the light the better the contrast.

 

[Ursa major]

I don't find the map thing a huge problem as I don't read much Fantasy, which is where I find most book maps tend to reside. So the occasional printed one I can live with.

As I think I've mentioned elsewhere on the Chrons (and some time ago), the easiest solution for maps is to put them on a website from where they can be read or even printed. This removes the need to tailor them to a specific ebook reader and also gets the readers (those interested in maps) to visit the website, which might aid marketing for the author's other books (if it's the author's website) or the imprint's (if the publisher is running it) or both (if both websites carry the maps).

 

[Ray McCarthy]

Interesting feature on eInk (a trademark, but equivalents from other makers are like earliest eInk)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/06/28/feature_epaper_technology/

eInk is still the only show in town for paper back book size display with weeks of battery life and able to to be read by ordinary room light or full sunlight. I tried reading my old screen tech Kindle DXG with just party necklace chemiluminescent glo-sticks, about six are needed.
The alternatives are Mirasol and electrowetting. But no eReaders generally available use them yet.

The claims for their electrowetting technology are impressive – fast, no need for polarising filters and low power consumption. It can be built using similar technology to a standard LCD, used for flexible displays, and is suitable for the sort of reflective display used in e-paper, as well as transmissive displays such as laptops.

Presumably Amazon likes the technology so much they bought the company with the intention of using it in a future colour Kindle: there are video demos of test devices using it. But so far – just like Mirasol – you'll look in vain for a real, shipping product. All Amazon would say is “it's still early days, but we're excited about the possibilities and we look forward to working with Liquavista to develop these displays”.

Is eInk, ePaper a niche product for those reading a lot and wanting more than 8 hours battery (weeks to a month for eInk based Kindle with 3G/WiFi off)?

E-paper certainly isn't dead. Nothing beats it for reading books, in my view. Devices like the Kobo Glo HD and Kindle Paperwhite are less distracting to read on than tablets, easier on the eyes and less likely to disturb your sleep. Could that be as good as it gets, for fans of e-paper? A general-purpose tablet is good enough for most people

 

[Mark Ragland]

Call me a fossil, but I don't see the day when I'll get a reading device. I like the feel of a book in my hands.

 

[SilentRoamer]

Kindle Fire HD in full sunlight is absolutely fine to read IMO. Much better than other tablet/app combinations. My Samsung phone for example - terrible in sunlight but the Fire has a good enough backlight - at least IMO.

 

[Ray McCarthy]

It's not a Kindle. It's just called a FireHD now, they dropped "Kindle" from branding as it was confusing people. It's not an eReader, just a tablet. There are Samsung tablets as bright in Sunlight. There is a nice one €165 inc Irish VAT at the moment.

It's really poor in sunlight (and terrible battery life too) compared to eInk real Kindle or Kobo. Comparing a Tablet and a phone in sunlight isn't a fair comparison.

 

[SilentRoamer]

Whether its called a Kindle or not is just semantics.

My Fire performs very well even in direct sunlight, I know because I use it regularly.

 

[Duncan]

I am a large eInk fan and currently use a Kindle Paperwhite. I have also previously used every Nook platform. eInk devices are superior to LCD devices for reading. You can get by with an LCD device but it hurts my eyes after a while and you can't read an LCD at the pool in Cabo, the sun will wash it out. It doesn't matter which LCD you are talking about. An eInk device works flawlessly in that regard.

ereader advantages.

1. Space. Not talked about a lot but 1000 ebooks take up a lot less space than 1000 paper books and I don't have unlimited square footage. I keep signed hardcovers in paper and older books I can't replace digitally but everything else is now digitial.
2. Seaching, bookmarking, notes - my Mother-in-law's book club turns to the "Kindle Girls" (their words) when they have questions about passages or facts. This is an over 60 crowd and they know the advantages of digital search for ebooks. Kindle's bookmarks and notes are shared on your amazon account. That means you have all of your notes, bookmarks and highlights available on all devices. You can also back it up.
3. Visibility eInk is undeniably easier on the eyes and better in sunlight. eInk is just like paper but you can change the font size and type. My wife reads without her glasses on but with a large font.
4. Connectivity - you can buy books while sitting poolside in Cabo. It is a little harder to go find an English language bookstore there and buy the next book in your series.
5. Battery Life - if you turn off wifi and lighting you get a month of battery life from a kindle. If not you get a week. Either way that blows away and LCD ereader platform which at the high end won't last a day of reading.
6. Reader Convenience - My kindle will translate foreign language passages. It will tell me about the characters, places and concepts in the book (x-ray) and has an option (which I turn off) to help with words and concepts in a book while I read (wordwise). It holds my current position in all the books I am reading or own.
7. Shelving or Collections - Kindles have a concept called collections which allows you to place books in virtual categories. I normally run with collections named "Unread", "reading","finished in (month_name)", and "abandoned". Others use genre definations, etc.

BTW you can get a fully waterproofed Kindle Paperwhite.

All in all I find ereaders generally and the Kindle in particular superior reading platforms. If I could have had all of my textbooks on an 10" eink device when I was in College I would have been a very happy kid.

 

[SilentRoamer]

Ok well I took my Kindle Fire out today on a very bright day here in the UK and I couldn't read a damn thing in direct sunlight; so I redact my earlier statement you could do so. I don't really read outdoors at all thinking about it.

When I bought it, it was called a Kindle Fire.

EDIT: I still prefer a tablet but mainly because of the overall versatility (games, music, videos, browsing, apps). However if I wanted to read outdoors in a sunny environment the Fire wouldnt cut it.

 

[Ray McCarthy]

When I bought it, it was called a Kindle Fire.

Yes, it was called a kindle Fire for quite a while, presumably Amazon realised this was causing confusion.

I still prefer a tablet but mainly because of the overall versatility (games, music, videos, browsing, apps). However if I wanted to read outdoors in a sunny environment the Fire wouldnt cut it.

Obviously the ideal situation is to have both! Actually Four things:

1. Phone that fits small suit pocket / jeans etc
   
2. Tablet
3. several eInk Readers (I'd like a Kindle Touch to loan out and Kobo Aura H2O which is waterproof, I have Kindle DXG and there are two generations of PaperWhite in the house)
4. Decent laptop with real HD screen (Video HD is rubbish for documents at only 1920 x 1080, decent laptops have been 1200 lines or more since 2002). Matte/Non-reflective, etc. Cabled ethernet. Battery acts as UPS. Not any Ultrabook / Mac Air, but basically transportable office. I have a nice laptop.

One gadget doesn't fit all.

I do have a mini USB keyboard bought for a server rack that works well on the Phone and Tablet via USB2go adaptor. The bluetooth keyboards I've tried seem poor.

I do have 3 x desktop machines too, one is server in attic on a UPS. One is media PC in outdoor workshop with extension cables to Living room TV (2 x Cat5e cables spliced to cut up 1m HDMI cable. A USB cable with repeater at middle and a Cat5e Cable for IR remote sensor and sound card in/out. It has USB DVB-T (terrestrial) and 2 x DVB-S2 cards (Satellite) as well as local 1920 x 1080p 50Hz VGA CRT on 2nd graphics port). Last "PC" is a test server to test Web packages/ Software before Internet deployment.

I am fond of paper books, we have nearly 1300 now.

 

[Stephen Palmer]

Call me a fossil, but I don't see the day when I'll get a reading device. I like the feel of a book in my hands.

Me too...

 

[Ray McCarthy]

I remember when the first eInk screen dedicated eReader came out. There were loads of brands you never heard of and the Sony PRC series. Sony and the others that existed before the Kindle are gone. Though there is still Sony's Digital Paper, a 13.8" screen Corporate/Enterprise SF like gadget reduced from $1200 to $800.

Really now there is only a handful of Kindle Models and three eInk Kobo (I think only the Tablet Nook exists now, but I might be wrong). LCD or AMOLED tablets marketed as eReaders are not ideal dedicated eReaders as they don't have paper like screens.

Kindle paperwhite and Kobo glo compared
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/07/04/review_kobo_glo_hd_vs_amazon_kindle_paperwhite/

Personally, I think the much cheaper Kindle Touch is better value unless you sit in very gloomy places, the screen is far brighter than earlier eInk.
The Kindle DXG is older, but still sold by Amazon, good for PDF (9.7")
The Kobo aura H2O is reduced to €179 and includes special offers. An interesting larger 6.8" screen of higher resolution and waterproofed. If your eyesight is good (or you have good reading glasses), it might do A4/Letter PDFs as well as the 9.7" Kindle DXG as it seems similar total pixel count.

 

[Editorinchic]

Hi Guys - Sorry if I've stuck this in the wrong section - I thought general book discussion was the way to go...

Simply - Is it worth getting a Kindle? Although I'll always prefer proper printed books, I'm finding I'm reading less these days (well it's one of the reasons anyway) because I don't get chance to read in bed anymore as my wife suffers from insomnia and I can't have the light on. And I just can't seem to get on with a reading light. So I was thinking about getting a paper white one with the lit screen. So are they any good? My wife has a Kindle Fire but it's usless to read on - too heavy and it hurts my eyes after ten minutes.

Or should I not bother...I have to say durning the day I'll be reading a proper book anyway.

What are your veiws?

Cheers

Port.

I have always loved lugging around hard copies but since I travel all the time - Kindle is the next best thing. It saves you luggage space