Kindle or Sony ebook reader ... or the Nook? (1 Viewer)

[Craig S]

Why should a new eBook cost pennies?? Are you saying the author & publishing house should receive no remuneration at all? I simply don't agree with that notion.

Now, I agree that eBooks should be cheaper than physical books. Most of the titles I've checked out on Amazon are. The $9.99 price is, as I've mentioned before, for new books & best-sellers.

And if we're talking about an eBook version of a physical title you already own (or are purchasing), then yes - I would like to see that be a nominal add-on fee (or nothing).

 

[Chris]

If the Kindle were $99, I'd snap at it. A perfect place to grab "pulp" books that I don't want to own the hardbound of. I'll always own the hardbound copies of things I really treasure (Harry Potter as a recent example), but for something that's airplane reading "pulp" stuff, probably perfect.

$400 is too steep. I know it's the early adopter price. All I have to say is: early adopters on this are suckers.

Amazon has to be making some money on everything they sell for the Kindle, a little cut of every book you buy for the Kindle, etc. So, why shouldn't the thing be much cheaper to get more people to buy so they can make more money on the sell-through of product to it?

That's the way it could (should) work. At the same time, I understand it's a costly device and they can't lose a ton of money on it. But it seems as though the first generation is overly spendy.

This is the same problem as the PS3 ran into.. though, apparent by the sell numbers, not as bad. The target price for this needs to be sub $200. My target may be $99, but sub $200 will get a lot more business adopters (those like me who fly frequently... which is where this thing strikes me as potentially very interesting).

 

[Patrick Sun]

Time will tell if the kindle proves reliable, else we'll see testimonies of people bemoaning a cracked screen rendering their new $400 toy useless. To get people to "buy into" the kindle revolution, Amazon is going to have to come up with an inexpensive warranty replacement program so that people get accustomed to kindle reading, and aren't faced with pouring more money into the product than absolutely necessary to keep the people interested in buying the kindle books as Amazon's revenue stream, i.e., don't make the hardware price-prohibitive to use the software (kindle books) for a long time, since books don't 'expire', is it too much to ask for a long life for kindles. If the product takes off, I would see the kindle hardware being treated like "free" cell phones that are used to get people hooked on the service (software - the book files) provided that the user agrees to a contract of purchase (like a book/month) for some duration that makes it profitable for Amazon/etc.

 

[Johnny Angell]

I'm not an early adopter, but I don't think they are suckers. People buying the kindle now, most of them must know it will eventually drop in price. It is "worth" it to them to pay extra to have it now. If I could afford it, I think I would too.

They're not suckers just because they made a decision you wouldn't make.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Maybe Bezos will pull a Jobs and issue kindle book credits once the price of the kindle drops, like the iPhone did after a few months.

 

[andrew markworthy]

And I don't like papyrus - put it near a lamp flame and it burns. I'll stick to reading runes carved on rocks

 

[DaveF]

That's my point. I want a digital magazine replacement. Not a gray-scale, text only replacement. I like the permanence of books. But magazines are ephemera -- read it this week, in the trash the next week. So they're perfect for a transient e-reader. But I want full color, high resolution magazine replication. I also want to be able to quickly "flip" pages; my understanding is that current e-readers are pokey and so would not encourage browsing.

This reminds me of early digital cameras, when they could capture 12 photos at 640 x 480. It was so much worse than traditional cameras, except for the few people that loved gadgets for their own sake, or would benefit despite the huge flaws. But now, digital cameras are superior in almost every practical manner to film cameras.

So it may be in a few years; these e-readers are nowhere near replacing books in general. But for some, even these initial crude devices are worth having. But I don't see much point for most people until they've improved a great deal.

 

[Greg*go]

I hope they don't choose that route. I hate that about US cell phone companies. Right now, the Kindle is an expensive upfront cost, and you are under no obligation right now to purchase anything through Amazon. You can use google books, or Project Gutenberg or any other method as other alternatives to putting your info on the Kindle. And they currently give you free internet access!

I don't have a Kindle, but as someone who currently has a 50 minute train ride each direction for work, I'm very interested in one.

Did anyone else find it odd that you can subscribe to Time Magazine, but it was Newsweek that had the 8 page article about it? We can only guess that Newsweek will soon be available on Amazon.

 

[JohnRice]

I'm reviving this thread hoping someone has some more current feedback. The price of the basic model is now $250, but the thing that really got my attention is that I mostly read classic literature, and most of them are free. That is really hard to resist. I downloaded the Kindle for Mac app along with about 20 free books, just so I could see what I got. I'm not going to read on the computer, but the small Kindle now sounds very intriguing.

 

[Walter Kittel]

I did not see this thread earlier, but I've owned an original Kindle since July of 2008 and subsequently purchased a 2nd generation Kindle shortly after they were released. Personally I can only recommend E-ink devices for long format reading. I find that reading on a computer screen or LCD/LED screen for any extended period creates a bit of eye strain.


In terms of free literature, such as the numerous classics, I'm not certain that the Kindle distinguishes itself from other e-readers since IMHO, the chief advantage of the Kindle is its integration with amazon (in terms of purchasing books either from amazon or via the Kindle itself.) While I have not compared some of the free versions vs. copies available on amazon - I have purchased any number of classic works from MobileReference on amazon. The strategy being that for only a few dollars I have a better chance of proper formatting / less errors in a commercial release vs. a free copy. The Mobile Reference editions offer a great value for the reader in terms of content vs. price.


Some of the works that I've purchased include:


The Works of Charles Dickens.

The Works of Fyodor Dostoevsky

The Works of Edgar Allen Poe

The Works of Henry David Thoreau

The Works of Joseph Conrad

The Works of Mark Twain

The Complete Illustrated Novels of Jane Austen


All for very reasonable prices ( < $5.00 each IIRC) If you go to the Kindle Books section on amazon and perform a search for Mobi you can get a feel for what is available.


As to whether or not it is the right time to purchase a Kindle - I honestly don't know. I'm sure that the Apple iPad and a host of competing E-Readers is likely putting pressure on amazon to continue to drive improvements on the Kindle platform. Recently version 2.5.2 software was released that permits users to organize their books into collections. Something that Kindle users have been requesting for the past few years. I'm sure there will be a newer version of Kindle within 18 months; but - When will it be available? What features / upgrades will it provide? What will it cost? Also, I would expect an increase in contrast ratio with the next generation model. I think the current screens are quite readable; but more contrast is always welcome.


Kind of hard to recommend right now; but if you do purchase one - I'm sure that you will enjoy using it. I value quality over quantity in terms of my possessions and the Kindle is something I use almost daily and it is one of the neatest things I own.


Forgot to add - I've been pursuing de-cluttering and a more minimalistic life style for the past 15 months and one of the areas that the Kindle really helps in this reqard is the ability to possess hundreds of books in no more space than a small notepad. IMHO, a great way to still satisfy the desire to read a variety of works at any time while maintaining a more streamlined and less cluttered living space.


- Walter.

 

[JohnRice]

Walter, Thanks for the info on the mobile reference editions. Good to know.

 

[Walter Kittel]

Good luck with whatever decision you make, John.


BTW, just saw this on Gizmodo...


http://gizmodo.com/5569025/kindle-now-just-190-as-ebook-reader-price-wars-get-heated


- Walter.

 

[JohnRice]

Ooh! $70 price drop.

 

[nolesrule]

The NOOK is now available for $150 Wi-Fi only and $200 Wi-Fi/3G.

 

[JohnRice]

OK, the Nook definitely looks nice. Does it interact with a computer like the Kindle seems to? Such as download books to the computer then move them to the Nook and so on? I don't see anywhere it describes this feature.

 

[Walter Kittel]

Commercial books are downloaded directly to the Kindle from amazon via the Wireless connection, regardless of whether you purchase them from the Kindle or via a web browser on amazon's site.


Transfers to the Kindle from a computer are typically performed for "freeware" titles that you download to your computer via the web and then transfer to the Kindle via USB.


Not really that familiar with the Nook.


- Walter.

 

[Walter Kittel]

One individual's comparison. Admittedly I don't know where the Nook software is currently at in terms of development. Any Nook owners on the HTF?


Googled this:


http://www.evilgeniuschronicles.org/wordpress/2010/01/14/kindle-vs-nook-my-experience/


- Walter.

 

[nolesrule]

I don't own a Nook or any ereader and have no experience with them (otherthan that I want one). I just brought it up because of the new product and price points that were just announced.


I do have a friend who owns a Nook and she loves it.

 

[JohnRice]

I finally broke down and ordered a Kindle. It'll be here tomorrow. It occurred to me, when choosing a reader, you are also choosing the provider and I'd rather it be associated with Amazon than B&N, mainly because I have an account with them already. The fact is, as I look at book prices, I will probably use it almost entirely for classics, so I won't be spending much on the actual books. I have gotten several free ones as well as a few Mobile Reference collections and I'll see which I like. I do like that the collections are all one file, which keeps things nice and neat.

 

[DaveF]

Visited the local B&N this weekend, and they had a large, front-of-store display touting their Nook with a staffer there to answer all questions and sell you one on the spot. I don't know if it was a holiday week push, but it seems B&N is working hard to sell their eReader against the Kindle.


I don't read enough to justify a digital book reader, but friends with them all love 'em.