silverthunder | (no subject)

So, who all has a Kindle? Is it any good? Easy to use? Durable? How do you think it holds up against Sony's new PRS-600?

I really hate the touchscreen Sony loves so much (particularly since it makes the screen reflective and that would bug the crap out of me), but their non-touchscreen models apparently aren't as good (someone correct me if I'm wrong about this). However, Sony has the advantage of supporting the format used for library books (Kindle does not). I also don't care about wireless networks and downloading books immediately to the device, so that feature doesn't give Kindle any particular advantage in my opinion.

I don't know if I'd actually end up using up the space on the Kindle (3GB is a lot for books, and I can always keep a backup on my PC and swap books in/out if I somehow end up with that many of them), but the Sony has SD slots that allow you to expand the memory, which is another plus. Unfortunately, Sony starts out with only 512MB.

Another nice thing about the Kindle is the price. It's about $60 cheaper than the Sony. Even with the shipping cost added to that, it's still going to be less expensive.

Small instant-gratification issue: I could buy a Sony from Future Shop and have it immediately, but Kindle is temporarily sold out and won't be shipped before Sept 20th according to Amazon. I am not a patient person. It is tempting to go with Sony just so I can have it now.

One of my co-workers just got the new Kindle and loves it, and one of my friends has a Sony PRS-700 (very similar to the 600, I understand) and loves it. I'm kind of wavering between them - which would I like better? I don't know.

Any thoughts or insight?

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The Kobo does hold your place in the book. What I want is the ability to bookmark additional places in the book and return to them later. Also the ability to skip to a specific page in the book. XD Unfortunately, it doesn't offer either of those things. Otherwise I'd probably be going for a Kobo right now, since our local Chapters sells them.

As far as I can tell, the Kindle has provided support for pdf files in the Kindle 2, Kindle 3G and Kindle Wi-Fi (this is the one I'm looking at). It's ePub that they don't support.

From what I've read, the Kindle, Kobo, and new Sony are very quick to switch pages, so the technology is coming along. The old Sony e-readers (the ones that are cheaper and don't have touchscreens) are slower.

I'm not too concerned with fonts; I can read a number of different fonts and it doesn't bug me too much. Maybe I should consider a Jetbook Lite, even though I'm iffy about the LCD screen. XD I'll look it up. Do you add files and folders to it like you would a USB drive or does it have its own system?

Anyway, new Kindles won't ship until Sept 20th according to Amazon, so I have some time to look into alternatives.

The problem with pdfs is that they don't show up well on screens smaller than the files are designs for (so if the pages are A4 sized when loaded to the e-readers they get shrunk and can't be read easily) - so other formats are usually preferred

Oooh didn't know that! I had looked up youtube demos of the e-readers so haven't seen the page switching in person for the latest versions

Am very nitpicky about fonts lol but reading on the JBL isn't a problem in any case :) It's pretty much just files/folders so its super easy (none of that installing additional software to set it up, just transfer the ebooks and you're good to go)

I know some sites have sales for the JBL for $99.99 but not sure about the jetbook itself - youtubing the e-reader will let you see how it runs though :D

I found the page switching to be fairly quick - I have to admit, after checking out the JBL on youtube, it is quicker, and if you're annoyed by the black flashing every time the page turns... yeah, that's still there on the others.

I will probably have to see when I try out the Kobo if this is going to be an issue for me or not.

It actually sounds like the JBL has everything I need... (I could probably still buy books from amazon and transfer them onto this device, right? If not, no biggie, I can buy them elsewhere, but it'd be convenient since I already have an account with Amazon and like to buy from them) Even the batteries are probably not that much of an issue. Unfortunately, I probably wouldn't find it in-store to test out, but maybe I'll try out the ones I can and do a little more review-hunting and checking things out on youtube and see how I feel.

Like I said, I really am just looking for something that's going to mimic a real book for me as much as possible. And the price is very attractive on this one, too.

Just out of curiosity, where did you get yours?

Kindle's Mobi format should work without a problem but if its DRM-ed AZW, then it probably would need stripping and then converting >_> There are some ebook stores (fictionwise and smashwords) that most people seem to default to if they're not using the Kindle

I got mine off of Newegg Canada but Buy.com and Amazon.com are cheaper usually if you can get it from USA - the JBL goes for $99 while the Jetbook is about $135 I think.

Eh, I'd probably just order from another ebook store. Not like it's that big a deal, and I'd rather be spared the hassle.

I'll check out Newegg Canada. :) Better if I can see the price in Canadian funds right off the bat. But if worse comes to worse, I can always go Amazon (too bad their CA site doesn't carry any ebook readers).