Basic $79 Kindle...

[GardenoftheDead]

I've read more than I ever did with physical books.

Just don't buy anything more than the basic one. S'all you need.

[DarkAxel]

Well i mean we're talking quite big differences in the means of displaying the text. the basic ones are going to have simple digital displays that'll tire your eyes pretty much the same as computers do

the more expensive ones ae going to have the fancy... what's it called.. iInk? technology that basically looks like a book... that means it's extremely pleasant and natural for your eyes

[GardenoftheDead]

Well i mean we're talking quite big differences in the means of displaying the text. the basic ones are going to have simple digital displays that'll tire your eyes pretty much the same as computers do

the more expensive ones ae going to have the fancy... what's it called.. iInk? technology that basically looks like a book... that means it's extremely pleasant and natural for your eyes

It's actually the opposite. The Kindle and Kindle touch have that non-backlit screen. The Kindle Fire has a screen like an iPad.

[DarkAxel]

Do they? oh, cool then i think you'll be alright

sorry

[McSpunckle]

I have a Kobo Touch, and I got my mom the Kindle Touch for Christmas. Both are pretty great, and will only run you $20 more.

The touch screen is great when you're typing in the name of a book or something, and faster than scrolling down to what you want to read. However, I could see how the physical buttons would be nice-- but you really just have to tap the screen to turn pages, so it's not like the action is all that different. The Nook Simple Touch has touchscreen -and- buttons, so that's neat. It's a bit bigger and weird looking, though. I feel like the touch screen helps a lot. Also, the Kindle Touch has better battery life than the non-touch one.

I like the Kobo better than the Kindle, personally, but the differences don't add up to a whole hell of a lot, frankly. The Kindle has a better on-screen keyboard, better battery life, and more newspapers and such. I haven't found a book yet you can't put on both. The Kobo is more open, though, and accepts more formats, so that's neat. But it's not like you can't convert books to go on the Kindle. Kobo updates firmware too... which is great, since apparently everything they make is super buggy at first. Heh. I like the Kobos interface a lot more.

... I got off track there for a second. Look at the Kindle, Kobo, and Nook and see which ones have the most content that you want, because that's really the most important thing. They all use the exact same screen. Sony makes one too, and I -think- books bought at the Kobo and Sony stores can go on either device, where the Kindle and Nook are more locked down (but there are ways around it).

As long as it uses the latest E-Ink pearl screen, it'll be great. I've read soooo much more since getting mine. In fact... I didn't even read before getting it.

Also, they shouldn't have called the Kindle Fire a "Kindle." Trying to convince older family members that the Fire won't be a great e-book reader is impossible, man. I think some people are intentionally obtuse...

[Schlatte]

I have a Kindle Fire.... it's NOT an E-Book reader but it's a great tablet for surfing the web, watching videos, playing angry birds, doing you e-mail stuff and so on... The battery life on that thing is amazing. The E-Ink on the "normal" Kindles is awesome! It's like reading a book- the screen does not refresh (like a normal screen does) so it's good for your eyes. And the clarity and contrast is pretty good too. As far as formats go- you can convert everything... And the battery lasts for days. It's a little bit heavy, tho. But a book isn't light either, so it isn't a big difference.

[McSpunckle]

The battery should last more like weeks on a normal Kindle, yo. They say 1 month, but I think that's reading 1 hour a day. The touch says 2 months... I guess it has twice the battery. I think you have to remember to turn the wireless off on Kindles, though.

I'd say the e-readers definitely feel more heavy than a book... not by much. It's more like they're more dense.

I just wish they'd build some sort of light into them. I get that backlighting is impossible since the screen isn't transparent like an LCD, but maybe a... front light?

[Kellanium]

I got the kindle keyboard for christmas (you can still buy it). It's nice. I read more than i did with physical books, for sure. I like having the keyboard for input and stuff, but if you don't need a keyboard, then that's cool too. go for it!

[DarkAxel]

why the fuck did i wrote iInk? i don't even own anything apple

[futuresailors]

i ink, e ink, close enough.

Totally need to get one for school though. Guess there is an upside to having to read bullshit all semester.

Spunx you ever try doing the whole conversion to epub for the kindle?

[Fuzzy Fred]

kindles are awesome man seriously don't hesitate, its so nice to be able to have like entire bookshelves in a little box

[futuresailors]

Just copped a keyboard one off the 'bay for under $100.

Since Moby Dick is the most recent publication I'll be reading all semester, that means my school books are all available for free. So basically, I spent just a little more than I would have on a bunch of shitty books and I don't have to lug them around!

Also, I fucking love shopping on ebay.

[behndy]

yeah. i don't like the Touch. the physical page up/down buttons are better, 'specially since you don't get any more screen size with the Touch, just a smaller overall device. and the Keyboard's plenty small. it's like the size of a trade paperback?

i'd just say get one with 3g if you're not constantly around hot spots, and don't get the ad version.

LOVE my Kindle. i also read way more since i always have something else if i'm just not in the mood for a book.

[futuresailors]

It's got 3g (unlocked even)!
And according to the UPC it's not the ad version.
We so excite to not have to carry a billion pounds of books to school.

[McSpunckle]

Spunx you ever try doing the whole conversion to epub for the kindle?

Nah. I've done it the other way around, though. Taken the Amazon .azw (which is just a locked up mobi), and converted it to epub.

The only problem with doing this is that each device and the books their store sells are made to fit eachother, so taking books off the Kindle means the book is a little weird on the Kobo. There are page numbers at sorta random places off to the side, changing page margins doesn't seem to work. But when reading these things don't really make a lot of difference. Maybe that's just a Kindle formatting thing, though. I think everyone else uses ePub...

But, you just use the software Calibre to convert the ePub to Mobi. Calibre will probably recognize that the Kindle is connected to the computer, and there's an option to send the book to the device. I've tried this backwards and it worked flawlessly (Although I did have to install a plugin to strip the DRM from the Kindle book).

yeah. i don't like the Touch. the physical page up/down buttons are better, 'specially since you don't get any more screen size with the Touch, just a smaller overall device. and the Keyboard's plenty small. it's like the size of a trade paperback?

i'd just say get one with 3g if you're not constantly around hot spots, and don't get the ad version.

LOVE my Kindle. i also read way more since i always have something else if i'm just not in the mood for a book.

The ads aren't bad. Some are even useful sometimes! But they're just a little banner at the bottom of the page, but they aren't there when you're reading. And there's an ad on the sleep screen... You can have the ads removed later if they bother you, too.

And the 3G version seems... expensive. Given how easy it is to just load up before you go somewhere.

But, alas, different strokes, etc.