my apologies, I must have missed the point at which books realy got going on the internet a couple of years ago... I was under the impression that the releases had only just started the journey to getting close to the availability of mp3's and video...
To be honest I'm only just begining to see books I want/need appearing on pirate sites - and still few academic books... and fewer in apropriate format - though I think this will be the year they take off.
google books is amazing though and I think is perhaps the saviour of the publishing industry (that and much lower prices...)
I'm probably the exact opposite of most of the commentators here, I hate paper books!
So much so that the last fiction book I read was probably 20 years ago!!!:|
Then, I was in a Sony store in November and stumbled across the PRS-300 and lo and behold, I haven't been able to put the dang thing down. I have read in excess of 15 books since then
I do admit, you get a bad deal on eBooks in the UK, they are overpriced and the selection of titles available isn't that great. For example, Waterstones only has 3 World of Warcraft titles, the Sony eReader Store has 12. They are also about 25% cheaper.
My solution (certainly to Sony customers) is to find a long lost relative in the USA with a credit card and ask them to credit your Sony eReader Store account regulary.
i see these as more a 'as well as' books rather than an alternative. like when i used to make a tape of my fave songs for journeys rather than taking a load with me . but it's not somthing you can compile yourself - like a mixed tape or transferring your cd collection to mp3's for your player.
been an avid reader my whole life and for me part of the joy is the book itself, (do these readers show illustrations for example?) and the physical feel of turning the pages etc. i'd probably get used to an e-reader, but for the cost it just doesn't have the appeal.
not sure i'd be able to take one of these in the bath tho! lol
Originally Posted by bladerunner168 ...
So much so that the last fiction book I read was probably 20 years ago!!!:|
... I have read in excess of 15 books since then
Wow, it must be great if you read that many books in 20 years. :p
Originally Posted by perplekks45 I love my books and there's nothing better than sitting down with a drink/coffee/hot chocolate and a good book. It's what I call quality relaxing. :)
Quote:
Originally Posted by uz1_l0v3r I've already gone on record as saying that paper books will remain popular at least until they invent a machine that feels and reads like a book.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bladerunner168 I'm probably the exact opposite of most of the commentators here, I hate paper books!
There's an interesting article over on the New York Times about the shrinking generation gaps shaped in part by the rapid advancements in technology. While some people still view a book as a physical set of pages that they can hold and manipulate, the next generation (or, as it seems, kids in school 5 years from now) may not see the distinction between paperbacks and e-books. Both have words which are read; that's about it.
In the article, the author talks about the Zhou-Zhou his 4-year-old niece received:
Quote:
And after my 4-year-old niece received the very hot Zhou-Zhou pet hamster for Christmas, I pointed out that the toy was essentially a robot, with some basic obstacle avoidance skills. She replied matter-of-factly: Its not a robot. Its a pet.
2 years ago my nephew (then 4 years old) got a FurReal pet cat for his birthday. He had wanted a cat for a while, and when he opened the package we all made an excited fuss about how he finally got a cat. He gave a confused look, then commented; "But, it's not a real cat."
The generation gaps are getting shorter and shorter. My daughter will never know a time without high-speed internet access (let alone dial-up; or, like me, the days before personal computing). Nor will she ever know life without smart phones, whereas I had to carry around spare change for a pay phone - then there were cell phones. What used to be "Back in my day..." is now a case of "Well, only 2 years ago..." Already used to the iPhone touchscreen, she tries to manipulate the objects in my wife's Facebook games by touching the LCD monitor. As with the example in the article, she expects displays to be touch-sensitive.
Is a Kindle or another e-reader a book? The results are hazy, ask again in 2 years.
I may sound old and like a dick but I feel bad for everything the young ones will miss.
I am as excited about all the new stuff they'll have to play/work/live with though yet I don't understand the thing about books.
Wait, the Sony is the best all-rounder but the small screen is a detriment? Err... wha? All of these devices are bigger than a standard novel page, and the Sony is the smallest; hence by far the most versatile and easy to carry around or hide in an inside jacket pocket. While it's nice to have an all-in-one, why not just buy a netbook? The Sony imo is the best of the three, it's small -- like a book; and that's what an eReader should be.
Originally Posted by bladerunner168 Waterstones only has 3 World of Warcraft titles
:( you read books based on computer games? sigh....you're better off just not reading.
Bad timing on the article, since there have been multiple new releases at CES. Would have made a tad more sense to wait until after the show was over and after Apple announced the impending tablet, since there will be a market shake up later in the year. Seems like you'll need to re-write this in 4 months when the market battles begin.
Oh, and it needs to be re-written anyway, the format is all wonky and disorgani'z'ed. Either go product by product, or point by point. But switching points and products every sentence or so is just poor writing. or at least makes for awkward reading.
Will we see an update when the Nook hits? This is the one that has my attention. Its sleek and pretty unlike the rest. http://www.barnesandnoble.com/nook/
I've had a Sony PRS-505 for a year now and love it, was fab on holiday.
Problems I have with e-books in general is the rediculous pricing, e-books should be cheaper than paper books. no manufacturing, no appreciable bandwidth cost to download, smaller than alot of jpg images. Yet new releases are as expensive as hardback books.
All e-books should support the one standard or open standards. I certainly don't need draconian apple like DRM.
On a (very slightly) more serious note - thinking about the way I read a book, which is often in bed, I think the Kindle looks by far the best as it has large side sections. If the text on a book is too close to the edge it can get buried in the bed so you can read it which is rather annoying!
i do almost all my reading in bed too, i have a cooler and it works great, its so light you can easily hold it up in one hand (while keeping the other one snug below the duvet on cold nights :p)
Quote:
Originally Posted by BioSniper I still can't get the books I want on them sadly (40k Novels and other such sci-fi)
Oh yes you can, piracy ftw ;)
For various reasons (price, availability, drm etc) i've found the best way to read ebooks is to pirate them and then buy the physical book.
This is why i have about 50 pristine books on my shelf that haven't been opened but have been read :D
As for everyone saying real books are better... i really dont understand that at all
for me a book is about the words not about the paper and i find reading on my cooler much more convienent than an actual book, to the point that i went and pirated ebook versions of all the books i got at christmas :p
Personally the cooler is almost the perfect device for me, i wanted something to let me read novels
I dont need annotation, i dont need a keyboard, i dont need an over-the-air store, i dont need wifi, i dont need 3g, it has mp3 playback but i dont need that either
I dont really see the point in any of those features the kindle etc have because to me they are all just gimmicks that are performed far better by a smartphone or laptop and serve simply to increase the bulk/weight of a device i want to be as light as possible
Having said that, i completely agree with the conclusion, i couldnt really recommend any e-reader right now
My mum was very interested in my cooler when i first got it and i did think about getting her an e-reader for christmas but they just arent ready for use by 'normal' people yet imo, there is no way she would manage to use any of these reader's without a lot of help
Also didnt see any mention of the cooler's firmware issues? i guess you guys didnt get to use it for long enough but the cooler firmware is not the most stable
first release was very buggy and often got stuck/crashed, they've been improving but maybe if you print some bad press it'll give them a kick up the butt ;)
I think if i was buying again right now i'd go for the PRS-600 though and wouldn't even consider anything that didnt support ePUB
PS, i have an ebook copy of Cormac McCarthy's The Road, so it is available in ebook form somewhere :p
Comments 26 to 41 of 41
Replyafter a number of years the industry will move to a rental model with micropayments to the copyright holder.
as it was for music it is becoming for video it will be for books.
/me facepalms.
Books are already available easily for free via piracy. Have been for quite a few years now.
As for 40k available as ebooks. Oh I wish black library would release them as ebooks. I'd buy em all.
To be honest I'm only just begining to see books I want/need appearing on pirate sites - and still few academic books... and fewer in apropriate format - though I think this will be the year they take off.
google books is amazing though and I think is perhaps the saviour of the publishing industry (that and much lower prices...)
So much so that the last fiction book I read was probably 20 years ago!!!:|
Then, I was in a Sony store in November and stumbled across the PRS-300 and lo and behold, I haven't been able to put the dang thing down. I have read in excess of 15 books since then
I do admit, you get a bad deal on eBooks in the UK, they are overpriced and the selection of titles available isn't that great. For example, Waterstones only has 3 World of Warcraft titles, the Sony eReader Store has 12. They are also about 25% cheaper.
My solution (certainly to Sony customers) is to find a long lost relative in the USA with a credit card and ask them to credit your Sony eReader Store account regulary.
Sorry Sis, that $200 was me :|
been an avid reader my whole life and for me part of the joy is the book itself, (do these readers show illustrations for example?) and the physical feel of turning the pages etc. i'd probably get used to an e-reader, but for the cost it just doesn't have the appeal.
not sure i'd be able to take one of these in the bath tho! lol
Pah, ize isn't an an Americanism, it's how it should be spelt.
In the article, the author talks about the Zhou-Zhou his 4-year-old niece received:
2 years ago my nephew (then 4 years old) got a FurReal pet cat for his birthday. He had wanted a cat for a while, and when he opened the package we all made an excited fuss about how he finally got a cat. He gave a confused look, then commented; "But, it's not a real cat."
The generation gaps are getting shorter and shorter. My daughter will never know a time without high-speed internet access (let alone dial-up; or, like me, the days before personal computing). Nor will she ever know life without smart phones, whereas I had to carry around spare change for a pay phone - then there were cell phones. What used to be "Back in my day..." is now a case of "Well, only 2 years ago..." Already used to the iPhone touchscreen, she tries to manipulate the objects in my wife's Facebook games by touching the LCD monitor. As with the example in the article, she expects displays to be touch-sensitive.
Is a Kindle or another e-reader a book? The results are hazy, ask again in 2 years.
I am as excited about all the new stuff they'll have to play/work/live with though yet I don't understand the thing about books.
:( you read books based on computer games? sigh....you're better off just not reading.
Bad timing on the article, since there have been multiple new releases at CES. Would have made a tad more sense to wait until after the show was over and after Apple announced the impending tablet, since there will be a market shake up later in the year. Seems like you'll need to re-write this in 4 months when the market battles begin.
Oh, and it needs to be re-written anyway, the format is all wonky and disorgani'z'ed. Either go product by product, or point by point. But switching points and products every sentence or so is just poor writing. or at least makes for awkward reading.
Nope, that was an example, I'm currently reading For Whom The Bells Toll.
And who are you to tell people what they should be reading?
And yes, IMHO, the Sony is the best out of the 3 reviewed. Proprietary formats FTL
I like the idea of an ebook but i would prefer one that can show pictures and photos properly. I also like the tactile feeling of a real book.
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/nook/
Problems I have with e-books in general is the rediculous pricing, e-books should be cheaper than paper books. no manufacturing, no appreciable bandwidth cost to download, smaller than alot of jpg images. Yet new releases are as expensive as hardback books.
All e-books should support the one standard or open standards. I certainly don't need draconian apple like DRM.
For various reasons (price, availability, drm etc) i've found the best way to read ebooks is to pirate them and then buy the physical book.
This is why i have about 50 pristine books on my shelf that haven't been opened but have been read :D
As for everyone saying real books are better... i really dont understand that at all
for me a book is about the words not about the paper and i find reading on my cooler much more convienent than an actual book, to the point that i went and pirated ebook versions of all the books i got at christmas :p
Personally the cooler is almost the perfect device for me, i wanted something to let me read novels
I dont need annotation, i dont need a keyboard, i dont need an over-the-air store, i dont need wifi, i dont need 3g, it has mp3 playback but i dont need that either
I dont really see the point in any of those features the kindle etc have because to me they are all just gimmicks that are performed far better by a smartphone or laptop and serve simply to increase the bulk/weight of a device i want to be as light as possible
Having said that, i completely agree with the conclusion, i couldnt really recommend any e-reader right now
My mum was very interested in my cooler when i first got it and i did think about getting her an e-reader for christmas but they just arent ready for use by 'normal' people yet imo, there is no way she would manage to use any of these reader's without a lot of help
Also didnt see any mention of the cooler's firmware issues? i guess you guys didnt get to use it for long enough but the cooler firmware is not the most stable
first release was very buggy and often got stuck/crashed, they've been improving but maybe if you print some bad press it'll give them a kick up the butt ;)
I think if i was buying again right now i'd go for the PRS-600 though and wouldn't even consider anything that didnt support ePUB
PS, i have an ebook copy of Cormac McCarthy's The Road, so it is available in ebook form somewhere :p
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