For all you E-Readers out there!

Parent Cafe
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<p>^Ohh, the Series of Unfortunate Events brings back memories. The author was smart enough to get a cool pseudonym, but unfortunately his book was packed with pseudo-dreariness/plot twists/excitement as well. It was popular though and I remember enjoying the first few books.</p>

<p>I’m not getting my Kindle until after Spring Break since my parents guessed (correctly) that I would fall head over heels and not part with my Kindle :stuck_out_tongue: I’m excited though and I enjoy reading your experiences. Despite the relatively low prices, I don’t think I’ll buy any books just yet. Project Gutenberg seems very extensive and it’ll take me a while to bulldoze through all the classics.</p>

<p>I agree with mamom. The lack of organizational tools is a setback :confused: I really wish Amazon would incorporate that. Oh, and if you do end up liking the Series of Unfortunate Events, you might want to try out The Picture of Dorian Gray (if you haven’t read it already) which is free as well. It has a ‘similar’ mood and although it might be my outdated taste speaking, I found it enjoyable :)</p>

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<p>I take full responsibility for this thread.</p>

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<p>

You can do that on the Sony Touch. It comes with highlighting tools, a notes capability and even a little stylus built into the frame so you can put handwriting in the “margins” if you wish. And then you can even search your notes.</p>

<p>

I can do that on my Touch, as well.</p>

<p>I’m also glad to see that Amazon does offer free e-books for the Kindle; I didn’t realize that.</p>

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<p>So…now I’m really confused:
Kindle, Sony, I pad, laptop:</p>

<p>I want to buy a graduation gift for one of my kids. My kid has a laptop already, but my kid loves to read…I almost bought an I Pad 32G, but my Kid told me this weekend that preferred the Kindle (Did not specify which one).</p>

<p>So between Sony, Sony Touch, Kindle, Kindle II…which one is better:</p>

<p>-allows highlighting, shows definitions of words when highlighting
-Fast connection.
-Access a lot of books free or paying.
-Easy to download and to read.</p>

<p>Who knows the difference? Sony Touch sounds good. Is Sony Touch the best? Better than Kindle II?</p>

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<p>Free books come in several formats.
[Main</a> Page - Gutenberg](<a href=“http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page]Main”>http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page)</p>

<p>

</p>

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<p>I received this message: As someone who has shown interest in Kindle, we thought you should know that Kindle now offers over 480,000 books, newspapers, magazines, and blogs, along with:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>Free 3G wireless, without any contracts</p></li>
<li><p>E-Ink screen that reads like paper, even in bright sunlight</p></li>
<li><p>Long battery life that lets you read for up to two weeks on one charge </p></li>
</ul>

<p>Kindle Wireless Reading Device (6" Display, Global Wireless, Latest Generation)<br>
$259.00 </p>

<p>Kindle DX Wireless Reading Device (9.7" Display, Global Wireless, Latest Generation)<br>
$489.00 </p>

<p>Are those prices reasonable?
Spec for new KINDLE:
Slim: Just over 1/3 of an inch, as thin as most magazines</p>

<p>Lightweight: At 10.2 ounces, lighter than a typical paperback</p>

<p>Books in Under 60 Seconds: Get books delivered wirelessly in less than 60 seconds; no PC required</p>

<p>3G Wireless: 3G wireless lets you download books right from your Kindle; no annual contracts, no monthly fees, and no hunting for Wi-Fi hotspots</p>

<p>Global Coverage: Enjoy 3G wireless coverage at home or abroad in over 100 countries. See details. Check wireless coverage map.</p>

<p>Paper-Like Display: Reads like real paper without glare, even in bright sunlight</p>

<p>Carry Your Library: Holds up to 1,500 books</p>

<p>Longer Battery Life: Now read for up to 1 week on a single charge with wireless on, a significant improvement from the previous battery life of 4 days </p>

<p>Built-In PDF Reader: Your Kindle can now display PDF documents natively. Native PDF support allows you to carry and read all of your personal and professional documents on the go.</p>

<p>Read-to-Me: With the experimental Text-to-Speech feature, Kindle can read newspapers, magazines, blogs, and books out loud to you, unless the book’s rights holder made the feature unavailable</p>

<p>Large Selection: Over 480,000 books and the largest selection of the most popular books people want to read, </p>

<p>Out-of-Copyright, Pre-1923 Books: Over 1.8 million free, out-of-copyright, pre-1923 books are available to read on Kindle, including titles such as The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Pride and Prejudice, and Treasure Island. Learn more </p>

<p>Low Book Prices: New York Times® Best Sellers and new releases from $9.99. When traveling abroad, you can download books wirelessly from the Kindle Store or your Archived Items. </p>

<p>Free Book Samples: Download and read first chapters for free before you decide to buy</p>

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<p>To all who are in the market - the great news is that everyone who has posted loves what they chose. In fact, we get a tad defensive when someone has the audacity to promote their e-reader as being better. So, it seems like there are several good choices and chances are you will be happy with whatever you decide. </p>

<p>I love my kindle (6"), it serves my purpose. I love to read and it allows me to take books with me wherever I go. It is small enough to put in my purse, I can adjust the print, I have tons of reasonably priced and free choices. </p>

<p>As I said earlier, I think at some point we will have more than one reader/household. I love the larger, flexible model that someone posted - some day when the prices come down I could see having one of those at home. The ipad - well, it is just cool and I will report after DH has his. He does not have an iphone or blackberry, so he will use it when visiting schools to check email and correspond with his advisers. </p>

<p>So, it is all good. I don’t think you can go wrong. I like my kindle because it is simple, easy to transport, and will never have to be without a book. Ah, heaven.</p>

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<p>Who knows if the first Kindle has the same following feature as Kindle II: "3G Wireless: 3G wireless lets you download books …
“no annual contracts, no monthly fees, and no hunting for Wi-Fi hotspots”</p>

<p>I can see this (“no annual contracts, no monthly fees, and no hunting for Wi-Fi hotspots”)as a wonderful feature, if what I understand is correct: You can take the device to any place and you can still download and read without the need of a connection…not sure if that is what they mean…</p>

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<p>I have Kindle II. It has its own wireless and I have been able to download books just about anywhere. What I usually do, however, is settle in for an afternoon of browsing from my computer periodically and load one or two books. It is much easier to read about books from the Amazon site, so choosing is just a more pleasurable experience. If I needed a new book, however, it would be easy to do it from the device itself. </p>

<p>Actually, I guess I can get email from my kindle, I just haven’t used it for that purpose.</p>

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<p>The Kindle makes use of cellphone towers. We have been able to download books while traveling in the car. It is an incredible feature.</p>

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<p>^^Are you able to read customer reviews on the Kindle II? I’ve also heard about the email feature, although I suspect that it’s probably very clumsy.</p>

<p>I love the 3G aspect of the Kindle. I’m planning on traveling quite a bit this summer and it’ll be very useful.</p>

<p>

Greenery, I recently went through this agonizing process myself, so I’ll offer some of my input. Your kid sounds like me :] Not many people would turn down a coveted iPad. haha. </p>

<p>If your kid just wants an e-reader that is brilliantly crisp and functional, then a Sony will do the job. All Sony e-readers are open source which means that they support a multitude of files unlike the Kindle (which created its own file type and only recently allowed pdfs). They are not 3G, but this is no problem because you can just download any free internet book out there and transfer it onto your Sony. </p>

<p>I decided against the regular non-touch Sony because it doesn’t have a highlighting/note-taking feature. As Chedva stated, the Sony Touch does have this capability. I saw a Youtube video and I was oh so tempted to buy it instead :] You can download almost any type of file onto it (just like the non-touch Sony) and it’s touch screen! It supports pdf files, ePub (most internet books like your library’s e-book offerings are in this format), Google Books, etc. However, I decided that I’m not too fond of the possibility of a glare, but a lot of Sony users like Chedva have no problem with it. </p>

<p>I don’t believe that the original Kindle version is still being manufactured. It has been said that the text on the Kindle I is easier to read, but otherwise, the Kindle II is the clear winner. I chose to get the Kindle II because of the 3G feature. I’ll be traveling a lot (three different states and another country) this summer so it’ll be very handy to have this capability on my e-reader. And I admit, I’m a sucker for aesthetics :slight_smile: The Sony Readers are also equally thin and pretty, but I guess I was just too struck by the huge difference between the Kindle I and the Kindle II. </p>

<p>Have your kid look at a review of the Sony Reader Touch Edition PRS 600 on YouTube. Their website reviews a lot of gadgets and are fairly informative and unbiased. For me it came down to these few major points:</p>

<p>regular Sony: veryy clear, very portable, can support a multitude of files, an awesome e-reader with no extra capabilities (some people don’t need to highlight)</p>

<p>Sony Touch: can support basically anything, touch screen, has a slight glare in certain situations (but is easily overcome by just tilting your screen), can take notes, has a dictionary</p>

<p>Kindle II: 3G, can still convert pdf files/Google Books/internet books into Amazon’s required format, can take notes/highlight, has a dictionary</p>

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<p>I took a long time to make this decision, and I was all about the Sony until the very end. Then I realized that the web feature of the Kindle II was the deal breaker. My public library has books that could go to the Sony but not the Kindle. However, the selection was pathetic. So as much as I hated being locked into the Kindle marketing model, I came around. Amazon doesn’t want everyone to start using the Kindle as a substitute for a smart phone (i.e. they reserve the right to someday charge for excessive use of the web browser), but if you’re without a smart phone and travel a lot, the browser is a really cool feature. You can check your web-based email, Wikipedia, and other sites that have a simple text format. And it is fun to be able to get a book instantly. So I figured the Kindle browser beat the touchscreen on the Sony, and am very happy with my choice.</p>

<p>The smaller Kindle is fine for someone reading mostly books. For the price, I just don’t think the DX is worth it unless you need the bigger format for work/school.</p>

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<p>Worknprogress, mamom, fairy, faux…all of you are marvelous.
I have reading too and your opinion and experiences are well received…now that my Kid passed on the IPAd and prefers a Kindle II, so probably that’s what my kid will get for graduation. However, I sent the information about Sony, so will wait a little bit to receive the input and then decide between those two.</p>

<p>Thanks for your answers.</p>

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<p>I found some new e-readers that are set to be released this summer (or already released, but not well known).</p>

<p>[QUE</a> proReader - the eBook Reader for Professionals by Plastic Logic](<a href=“http://www.que.com/]QUE”>http://www.que.com/)
This one is coming out in the summer (delayed because of the iPad). It looks super sleek (somewhat reminiscent of the iPad), can support a multitude of different file types, and has a really neat homepage (calendar, date, etc). It’s supposed to be business usable and looks really capable.</p>

<p>[Introducing</a> the new IREX Digital Reader | IREX USA](<a href=“http://www.irexreader.com/]Introducing”>http://www.irexreader.com/)
This one has an unbelievably fast page turn. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have a built in dictionary or a note taking feature.</p>

<p>I just ordered the Kindle, but I’m having second thoughts because it would be really nice to have all my pdf files and word docs on my e-reader without having to go through the painful conversion process. It’d also be cool to have a touch screen, but I’m still scared of the possible glare :confused: I’m wondering if I should hold back and wait for new e-readers to come out. Perhaps I jumped onto the ereader bandwagon too early since there are so many new models coming out :O</p>

<p>EDIT: How uncanny :slight_smile: My Kindle just came! I suspect that I won’t get any homework done tonight.</p>

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<p>

This is what I want, too. Would the Kindle DX meet these requirements? I think it does. A good ereader is my top priority. I have a little netbook that I really like.</p>

<p>I thought I was trying to decide between a Kindle DX (that’s the big one, right?) and an iPad but there are other options too. I am feeling overwhelmed. :o This is supposed to be my mother’s day present from hubby and kids, but I am supposed to choose the one I want. Augh!</p>

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<p>And now I am trying to decide between a Kindle DX and a Kindle 2 because a friend said how nice it is to carry a small, light Kindle 2 in your bag and pull it out whenever you are stuck waiting in line…</p>

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<p>One more try: suppose you read quickly, skimming the boring parts of your books. (I do. Don’t worry, I am not reading great literature. I may miss some clues in some of the mysteries I read, though.) Is it equally easy to read quickly on either size Kindle?</p>

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<p>I find turning pages on the Kindle 2 no different than turning pages in real life book. This is coming from someone who never would have bought a Kindle for herself, it was a gift that I originally thought was a waste of money. I now always carry it in my pocketbook.</p>

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<p>I know I have seen the Nook on display in B&N. I haven’t seen the Kindle 2, but it must be available somewhere. All the issues,so far, that I have with the Kindle 2 (lack of folders) is suppose to be taken care of with the new updated software.</p>

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<p>Thanks for your thoughts on this. I am warming up to the idea of a Kindle 2 in my purse.</p>