Anyone got an Amazon Kindle?

dreamwatch

dreamwatch

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Apr 12, 2001
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Just curious about them. We've started selling these at work so I can claim discount on them. I've thought about e-readers before and had a quick play with the Sony Touch and I'm not sure what I think to be honest. My main concern is being too aware of the device over the actual story.

Anyhoo, if anyone has any thoughts on these I'd be interested to hear them. :)
 
The only point I can see to e-readers is for people who regularly need to carry around a large amount of reference material, and even then they could probably make do with a laptop.
 
Yeah, I see your point. My reading has slipped dramatically over the years for a couple of reasons and I'm really trying to change that. I've got dozens of unread books here, it's ridiculous. But there is something very appealing about having a kind of ipod for books - just knowing I have a load of different things to chose from if I'm travelling, and also not having to carry large hardbacks. On the other hand there is the satisfaction of seeing how far you're getting through one of those large books on a day to day basis.

Going shopping today and will be passing one of our stores so might have a closer look at one.
 
I can't vouch for the Kindle but I had a Kobo for a few weeks. It was fine for what it was but I didn't really use it that much. At home I just use a laptop, and on the train to/from work I found it annoying to have one more thing to carry around.

Positive notes: battery life was good, readability was great.
Negatives: scrolling is really jerky (a design issue with the e-ink display), format support was limited (couldn't even view saved HTML files), and it sorely needs a better way of navigating through books when you want to find or get to a particular part instead of just reading front-to-back.

Kindle seemed pretty much the same. The only thing that jumped out as nifty was the dictionary, but I wouldn't think that justifies the price difference.
 
I think the idea of the iPad is great as basically a Kindle rip off with an iStore's worth of shit you can buy to read on it. For that purpose, their intended purpose they seem great, but only if you are using it for that. I would prefer to read off a tablet than a laptop while commuting.
 
Blitzkrieg said:
I think the idea of the iPad is great as basically a Kindle rip off with an iStore's worth of shit you can buy to read on it. For that purpose, their intended purpose they seem great, but only if you are using it for that. I would prefer to read off a tablet than a laptop while commuting.
Click to expand...

Maybe if you don't mind reading 10 pages at a time between recharging...

The single biggest Achilles' heel of the iPad (and iPhone, and iPhail family of products in general these days) is battery life.
 
I've got an iPad. If all you're doing is using it to read on the train you'd be able to go about a week between charges, I reckon. The iPhone might not have the best battery life around, but that's not a problem an iPad has.
 
Yep, it's 3G. But that shit only matters if you use it. Like I say, if all you're doing is reading books on a train you'll be OK. If you're doing all the other things you can do with one then the battery might take a beating. Still nothing like a laptop/netbook though.
 
Bugdet defintely wouldn't stretch to an iPad, and I would be terrified of having it nicked - I can't imagine whipping it out on the bus for a quick spot of light reading. :) And I think the size and weight would put me off too.

Well, I bought one tonight for Mark so I will have a play and see what I think. Thanks for all your feedback guys! :)
 
To be honest, after fiddling around with the iPad at work and talking to people about it, it's just a bloody toy.
This 1st gen product is pretty much a step to the side from the iPhone 4 (both can't make phone calls) and the price with the 3G bundle doesn't make it worth it compared to just buying it and using it as a tablet around the house or free wifi places.
If you want an iPad, wait for the 2nd or 3rd gen ones, especially since they will be coming with webcam and the "face time" function that they put into the iPhone 4. as well as mutli-touch and other stuff that all the touch screen machines need.

I know nothing about the kindle but found some reviews to look over.
http://www.geek.com/articles/gadgets/review-amazon-kindle-2010-version-20100831/
http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/27/amazon-kindle-review/
http://ireaderreview.com/ (lists other reviews for it)
 
The only place I've found an iPad would be usefull is on a plane to watch movies (only because I was sitting next to a bloke last week using one). Other then that, I agree... useless toy. I'd sooner get a netbook if I needed something portable that I can WORK on
 
Depends on how you use it. I don't work on it, other than to occasionally check to see whether I have to get to a real computer, but that's not what I bought it for. It's great for looking stuff up quickly though, or using it in the kitchen for recipes and what not. We also use it to keep our schedules/calendars/shared documents up to date. The "instant on" nature of it makes it much more suited to that sort of task than a PC you've gotta hang around for 3 minutes while you wait for it to start up and forget about what you were trying to do. You can shove photos it to show the parents with a reasonable size. It's good for reading reference materials while you're doing something else.

I bought it expecting it to be a bit of a toy, but it's used every day. You need to stop thinking about it a "computer" and think about it as a separate consumption device. It took a few weeks of living with one before I "got it".

I'm sounding like a fan boy trying to justify his expensive gadgets. I'll stop now.
 
phlogiston said:
Yeah, I *don't* use mine for reading on the train, for those reasons. Well that, and looking like one of those tossers with an iPad.
Click to expand...

We had lunch with Paullina Simons back in May, and all she wanted in any photos were her Ipad and Iphone.
 
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