Ebook readers: are they useful (worth buying)?

[jagoche]

How useful are ebook readers? Are they worth buying?

I would appreciate to hear about your first hand experience... I checked some of them at the local store. But can you read an ebook for an hour on the subway without having a headache.

I am not talking about iPad, but basic ebook readers with 800x600 B&W display that cost around 200$.

[tone007]

Seems like a hassle to me, just one more thing to worry about.  At least if you forget a book somewhere, you're only out a few bucks.

[save2600]

Books are cheap, free and often a great way to meet people. This eBook thing sounds more like yet another way to contract cancer (wireless microwave technology). But if it gets you to read more, then I guess it's okay. lol

Still, if you're going to read, may as well check out your local bookstore, library or book exchange. You'd be surprised at how many hot chicks hang out there. Buy a cute one a latte and talk about how much you hate the politics of America/North Korea today. You'll not only accidentally learn something from the experience, but your chances of getting laid increase exponentially with each and every book you check/purchase or girl you ask out. I cannot stress enough though... be sure to wrap that wily bastard! Just in case said chicky is hot to trot I mean. And you never know when that will happen - so best to always be prepared.  lol

One of the greatest societal declines in history took place when the mainstream was able to afford "air conditioners". Instead of hanging out on your porch, getting to know your neighbors, you hid inside - just to stay "cool". Radio, TV, Cable, the Internet and single player video games are to blame also to an extent - but I blame air conditioning the most  

'F' the eBook thing. Unless you truly prefer wanker technology and being a loner (nothing wrong with the latter, when it's by choice) - I'd say skip it and land something REAL between your fingers. Not plastic, microwaves, shitty LCD screens and battery fussing.

[stefcep2]

I do a lot of my reading on the throne, so not sure if a touch screen e book would be agood idea, especially if i dropped it into the bowl.  And besides I prefer the user interface of a real book, very intuitive and real time.

[ElPolloDiabl]

The electronic ink doesn't strain your eyes, from what I've read. That's all I know about them.

[jagoche]

@save2600
I really didn't expect this sort of reply. But I definitely agree!

New technologies often focus on functionality but forget about the social and cultural aspect of what we do. You gave a great example.

On the other hand... Coming to a local library with a brand new ebook reader wouldn't impress anyone there?

Still curious to hear experiences from an enthusiasted ebook user.

[ferrellsl]

I bought a Kindle and I wish I had just put the money towards a netbook.  It's annoyingly slow to turn pages or any navigation.  I was looking forward to the built-in 3G service, but the web browser is so crippled that it's useless.  Not even good enough for Yahoo mail and forget trying to play any video content.  Could have got a decent netbook for the $399 that I paid for the Kindle.  Definitey not worth it.

[XDelusion]

Aside of the books I actually buy like books on Religion, Myth, Conspiracy History and the like, I get all my stuff from IRC, I.E. the Star Wars Novels and Comics I read.

For Comics you can view them on Nintendo DS via an R4i card and the free comic book reader. The same goes for Ebooks.

Otherwise if you don't want to spend much you can get a classic iPaq for around $10 off ebay, and use the free app called: Haali Reader for all your Ebook reading needs.

Either way you got book marks and all those other fancy features that those over priced devices are offering now a days, except through IRC you don't have to pay for everything, only what you can truly afford and wish to support...

...not at all unlike going to the library.

The one thing I like about digital books is that if you drop your book, you don't loose your page, plus you can read in the dark.

The down side is that I fear they are trying to rid the world of printed word, which can be a scary thing if you think about it, considering that people are already up to the act of mythologizing the past, I.E. through our School Text books. Imagine if there was not historical hard print to compare our bogus history lessons with? We'd all be lost and un-informed.

[Crisisdog]

I had to be different and got the Barnes & Nobel nook.  The iPad was tempting, but also more than double the price for the model I had in mind.  I've had it for about a month, read two books on it so far, and I like it.  If you like to read in the dark, an iPad with backlighting will work better for you.  If you like to read in direct sunlight (in the park, at the beach), then an e-ink device will work better for you.  Don't plan on an eBook device being a replacement for a nettop / laptop, they pretty much only do books well. The latest firmware has a "beta" web browser built in, but you have to remember, these things only do black and white and are slow at redrawing pages.  The browser works in a pinch, but it's painful to use.  I picked the nook as I wasn't too thrilled by the Kindle's phyical keyboard; the nook has a touch screen that also comes in handy for some of the other simple tasks it has built in, like the chess and sudoku games.  On the downside, Barnes & Nobel definitely has less of an eBook selection to choose titles from complared to the Kindle.  I read slow, so once I run out of good things to read that I've already found, their offerings will hopefully be expanded.  Battery life lasts about a week with wireless on, and of course you can order / download books right on the eBook devices.  I haven't gotten a headache reading on the device yet, but then again I have no issues with backlit LCD monitors either.

[nyteschayde]

I use the iPad as a book reader. For me it's awesome. I am a pen and paper role-player as well and I can carry my entire collection of 8.5" x 11" books with me in a very light weight package.

That being said I love the feel of a real book too. So I just end up buying more than I would've. I don't think I'd go only one route.

[pkivolowitz]

I am a great fan of the Kindle.

Battery life is measured in weeks, not hours. A backlit device cannot compete.

Weight and ease of holding are major benefits. Making the eReader larger (like the Kindle DX) negates these advantages.

Availability of tens of thousands of free books (classics) is great! Can't tell you how many classics I read since getting the Kindle.

Kindle is completely useless for technical reading. I would strongly discourage anyone thinking of a Kindle or other eReader for use with textbooks. Schools buying eReaders to replace textbooks will find they've wasted their money.

Thinking you'll surf the web with it is unrealistic.

Advances in eInk may mitigate these limitations, but they're limitations now for sure.

[XDelusion]

That is the one (minor) draw back of using a Nintendo DS is that you have to recharge every 10 hours or so. Then again, it's not like many people now a days have the time to read 10 hours straight anyhow, besides you can always power them through AC or DC.

The old $10 use iPaq's have even less battery life on them, but you get a few hours and again you can plug in and charge about anywhere.

So in the end I'd say if having weeks worth of battery power is important to you, then one of the new devices is the way to go, but again you will still have to buy nearly everything you want to read (from my understanding) and not everything has been officially converted to ebook format that you may find on IRC or what have you.

[polardark]

Kindle is completely useless for technical reading. I would strongly discourage anyone thinking of a Kindle or other eReader for use with textbooks.

Damn it. I ordered an iRex Digital Reader 800s for use mainly with technical documentation. I guess I can still use it for reading comics.

The main limitation with many of these devices seems to be the low resolution. Except for the Kindle DX, the resolution offered is rarely enough for reading a standard book page comfortably. Forget about diagrams or schematics.

[Arkhan]

No! No! No!  I had one and was like "christ this is stupid" and got rid of it like a week later...

I found that I am one of those book-readers that slouches like a gimp, and often holds the book in strange ways.  Trying to do this with a stiff piece of technology was not so great.  I found it hard to get comfortable while trying to read the books.

Libraries have books for free!

Also, I prefer being able to write in the book if it's a textbook or something.  I also like to be able to not worry too much if I drop the book or spill pop on it.

paper dries, electronics do too, but they don't work right aftwards.

I use the iPad as a book reader. For me it's awesome. I am a pen and paper role-player as well and I can carry my entire collection of 8.5" x 11" books with me in a very light weight package.

Yes but can you quickly turn to relevant pages via post-it marked pages, and stuff?  



It seems to me that real books are faster/more useful than electronic versions.    I haven't seen a fast page turning/browsing ebook reader yet.

[KThunder]

I lost my job as a printing press operator because of ebooks!!!

Just kidding it was more for stupid business decisions than anything. I think ebooks have their place. I have seen a few ebooks devices that I like a real lot, but I haven't gotten one yet. I have used ebook readers on my laptop, my wife's blackberry and my palm and they work really well.

If ebook devices are durable enough, and secure enough, I think they could replace books. I like paper as much as anyone, and I spent 15 years printing on it, but ebooks can be as portable, more durable, waterproof etc.

If the ebook setup is similar to steam or something like that if you lose your device you simply download a new copy. This makes the concept more secure in that way, I can't get additional copies of my paper books without paying full retail, for new.

Amazons problem with copyright on one book caused them to remove that book from peoples devices, but those problems will be ironed out in the future, this is still a new concept for a lot of people. http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20090717/1559425587.shtml