<p>JHS - I’m more worried about the electricity to keep the post-apocalyptic Kindles running.</p>
<p>Redondo Dave you make an interesting point about text books. I can see this technology being very useful for students with learning disabilities. It would be a great way for both LD students and reluctant readers to listen and follow text at the same time.</p>
<p>Katliamom - I don’t read bestsellers very often, and most of the books I’ve looked up so far (admittedly very short time), have been in Kindle format with a price of $4-6. The ones I haven’t found were earlier books in long series, written say in 2003 - but I’ll know more after this weekend, I’m going to research a list.</p>
<p>I wish there was some way to cheaply convert my paperback collection to the Kindle - say less than a dollar a copy. I have many, many paperbacks that I’d like to have available to read again (not accessible in my local library), but I’m not willing to pay even $3 apiece for them, but the space in my house would be worth 50 cents apiece. I’m going to look up some of these this weekend, see if they are even available on the Kindle.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info, cangel. Even if I don’t get a Kindle right away (I am VERY cheap!) I welcome this new technology. It’s a brave new world for readers: and I mean that in a most positive way :)</p>
<p>My dad’s wife got one and is very happy with it. She likes the lightweight - she’s disabled - and thought the large print option was great.</p>
<p>I hope they will broaden the selections soon.</p>
<p>Totally enjoying my Kindle! Still read real books, but it’s great for new ones I’ve heard about. I’m able to download a “sample” for free, and if I’m intrigued, it takes about 10 seconds to buy the whole book. </p>
<p>I’m a big book lover and thought I’d miss holding the book, but the way the cover/kindle works, I forget in a minute that I’m not reading a book.</p>
<p>The biggest advantage has got to be in traveling - I can bring a dozen books in my purse. Biggest disadvantage might be the inability to pass a book on…something Amazon may want to consider?</p>
<p>I wish there was some way to cheaply convert my paperback collection to the Kindle - say less than a dollar a copy. I have many, many paperbacks that I’d like to have available to read again (not accessible in my local library), but I’m not willing to pay even $3 apiece for them, but the space in my house would be worth 50 cents apiece. I’m going to look up some of these this weekend, see if they are even available on the Kindle.</p>
<pre><code>Project Gutenberg, the first producer of free electronic books (ebooks).
</code></pre>
<p>
</p>
<p>Whatever MOWC said…I love mine.</p>
<p>Thanks for posting the great review, Mom of Wildchild. The issue of being able to see the text well might appeal to my husband, who is having trouble getting the right prescription for glasses. He’s been toying with the idea. I love the idea of seeing the newspaper on the kindle. I think I would miss being able to tear out the occasional article to put on the fridge, but I would not miss the endless pile of newspapers. I want him to get a kindle because we are really out of room for books and he loves to buy books.</p>
<p>emeraldkity4, are you saying that you can download the gutenberg books onto a Kindle? I did not think so.</p>
<p>I have been using a scanner and a pdf maker to cut down on paperwork saved in a volunteer job that I do. I scan articles that I want to save from magazines, but I hadn’t thought of cutting down on paperback room by digitizing parts of my collection.</p>
<p>Just want to make it clear that it is WildChild’s review. I don’t have a kindle, but it’s tempting.</p>
<p>OK, first impressions:</p>
<p>The Kindle is light and thin, start-up was very easy for a not particularly tech savvy person, downloads from Amazon are DANGEROUSLY easy - the money spent could get out of hand fast, :o.
The page turn needs a little getting used to, it is easy to hit the page turn too hard or too fast. Also, I have to hold it a little differently than I would hold a paperback, so my left thumb started to cramp after about 30 min.
I think though, these are matters of just getting used to the device, after the first 10 miute or so, I had the hang of how to turn the pages. I have relatively small hands, I think a person with very large hands (?Michael Phelps, or it just his feet???) might have more trouble using the device than I do. There is a small next page button on the left, close to where my thumb rests, and I started using that button.</p>
<p>The ability to change font size is very helpful, although there is a balance between readability and how many page turns you have to have.</p>
<p>The screen is very clear under different types of indoor lighting - I haven’t tried bright sunlight yet, that will be in the update.</p>
<p>I mentioned in an earlier post that I wanted to convert my library, and Ekity referred to Gutenberg. Unfortunately, many books that i would like to convert and get out of the house are are older mass market paperbacks that are still copyrighted, and not available through Gutenberg. Worse, though, many of them aren’t on Amazon either. The Amazon offerings are excellent for books published in the past 2-3 years, then spotty for older books and I can’t tell yet if this based on age or publisher. More later on this topic.</p>
<p>Now I’m off to download some free books that I do want, comments on that process later.</p>
<p>I get my ebooks from Powells- they offer books in Adobe/Palm & Microsoft reader format- however sometimes more expensive than the paperback- although it will save room.</p>
<p>This entry gives links to lots more info.
[Finding</a> and Reading Ebooks](<a href=“http://users.california.com/~parvin/ebooks.html]Finding”>http://users.california.com/~parvin/ebooks.html)
myself- I have been watching tvshows on my ipod- which I * never* thought I would do-
I also need the backlighting of my PDA, so until the Kindle offers that- I am holding off.
I also wish it were a tad smaller- I like to use a very small bag when I am traveling- and being able to carry around a bookshelf full of books on a digital card saves money at the airport gift shop.
;)</p>