E-Readers

[mur11]

Hey guys

I'm looking at getting my father a e-reader for his birthday, but I'm not too familiar with the best one to get him. I'm leaning toward an Amazon Kindle 3, but I'm not sure. All I know is that the iPad is not an option (My dad hates Apple with a passion)
Anyone who has a e-reader care to weigh in?

 

[djk]

Get the kindle. End of story.

 

[PussyHunter]

Velocity Micro Cruz R101 Reader 7" Touch/Android/Wi-Fi, 4GB Memory
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7331817&Sku=V266-3029

Bought one of these from Tigerdirect. They are android based and work great. When I bought mine they had an additional 20.00 off coupon. Nice stand and carry case included with it.

For 129.00 for a colour android unit you can't go wrong. Order on online and you will have it in a couple of days.

 

[onthebottom]

Kindle is the obvious choice, gave my mother one for Christmas a year ago and she's still talking about how much she loves it.

OTB

 

[Hangman]

Get the kindle. End of story.

Agreed. You can also torrent 2500 e-books for him, and send stuff to it wirelessly through Kindle Whispernet. Also, buy a cover on eBay for like $5 from China.

 

[Tangwhich]

I've not used a kindle so I can't comment on it (or any others for that matter).. however I've started using my xoom as an ereader and was looking at getting books from the library. A kindle will NOT allow you to borrow ebooks from the library while others (such as the one that chapters sells) will. Something to keep in mind.

 

[danibbler]

I've not used a kindle so I can't comment on it (or any others for that matter).. however I've started using my xoom as an ereader and was looking at getting books from the library. A kindle will NOT allow you to borrow ebooks from the library while others (such as the one that chapters sells) will. Something to keep in mind.

That is so true; I was also looking at the Kindle for ebooks from the Toronto Public Library but it was no-go. The Kobo (and I think Sony) e-readers are fine for the TPL but, otherwise, lacking when compared with the Kindle.

The iPad 2 is probably the best device because it can not only handle ebook duties but also a lot more.

 

[Mack Bolan]

The Color Nook by Barns and Noble is the best one out there. It's half the price of the xoom and Ipad and you can break it, so that is uses android

 

[djk]

I've not used a kindle so I can't comment on it (or any others for that matter).. however I've started using my xoom as an ereader and was looking at getting books from the library. A kindle will NOT allow you to borrow ebooks from the library while others (such as the one that chapters sells) will. Something to keep in mind.

I own a Kindle and an iPad. Kindle is great for reading, especially long periods. The screen is great for the eyes, it's very light weight so holding it for extended periods of time doesn't become annoying. It's also dead simple to purchase ebooks and Amazon has added a bunch of nice features. One is you can allow popular highlights from the Kindle community to appear on your Kindle ebooks.

The iPad is great for textbooks but invest in a stand. I suspect the same would go for a Xoom or other tablets.

 

[Cobster]

Kindle, the new one is great, nice size, NOT white (like the original), so great to read.
Don't own one myself, but my Aunt does and I really like it.

 

[Cobster]

I've got a Kindle 3. It's quite good. I wouldn't say excellent though. To qualify - the ability to read on it is absolutely, bar-none, fantastic. It's light and has no glare. There should be enough titles to keep anyone interested, and downloading books is a snap.

It's the other stuff around it that leaves a bit to be desired. Keyboard, though good, is a bit awkward. Navigation and use is not too intuitive in some cases. The web-browser is also not too good - but I did not buy it for such.

I liken it to the very first iPod - you know the ones with the big touch-dial and small black and white LCD screen. It was great at playing music, but some of the other things were lacking. I suspect, however, that in 10 years, the Kindle will be exactly where the iPhone is today, and saying that, I don't think you should avoid getting one.

I think Sony has a touch-screen, and you can look at them in person to get a better sense of them. However, I'm not so sure about selection or cloud support, both of which Amazon wins hands-down.

Agreed, I can't wait to see what the Kindle will be in a few years.
I'm guessing colour, animated graphics (gifs), touch the screen for clips, sounds, etc.
It's a great, sleek, clean product as it is, it will (obviously) only get better.

 

[onthebottom]

Agreed, I can't wait to see what the Kindle will be in a few years.
I'm guessing colour, animated graphics (gifs), touch the screen for clips, sounds, etc.
It's a great, sleek, clean product as it is, it will (obviously) only get better.

I wonder, the real advantage of the Kindle is its screen is optimized for reading and it's a single purpose device. If it gets away from those two things it will have to compete with a crowded tablet market (well, crowded in terms of # of vendors, only one is actually selling a substantial # of units) that has access to it's books (that App on the iPad works great btw).

OTB

 

[basketcase]

Only negative I've found with kindle is that there are a number of books for which they don't have the licence to distribute in Canada (not an issue if you are able to register with a US address).

 

[djk]

Only negative I've found with kindle is that there are a number of books for which they don't have the licence to distribute in Canada (not an issue if you are able to register with a US address).

They ship to Canada now. That's how I got my Kindle.

 

[djk]

I wonder, the real advantage of the Kindle is its screen is optimized for reading and it's a single purpose device. If it gets away from those two things it will have to compete with a crowded tablet market (well, crowded in terms of # of vendors, only one is actually selling a substantial # of units) that has access to it's books (that App on the iPad works great btw).

OTB

Perhaps they'll do what Apple did with the iPod. Start shipping units with added features (like iPod Classic, iPod Nano) but nothing that takes away from the core functionality. Perhaps even release a separate tablet competitor (like Apple did with the iPod Touch), in addition to the existing Kindle products.

Either way, Amazon is working on something big for the Kindle.

 

[onthebottom]

Perhaps they'll do what Apple did with the iPod. Start shipping units with added features (like iPod Classic, iPod Nano) but nothing that takes away from the core functionality. Perhaps even release a separate tablet competitor (like Apple did with the iPod Touch), in addition to the existing Kindle products.

Either way, Amazon is working on something big for the Kindle.

Clearly they could move more aggressively into the HW market but one has to wonder if that's where the money is - I would think being the default book store for tablets might be a better business. If they do move into the tablet market I would think it would mean yet another OS to fragment the Apps marketplace.... unless they went with Google but then they have to compete with all the other HW manufactures.

OTB

 

[basketcase]

They ship to Canada now. That's how I got my Kindle.

I know they ship the device to canada but there a certain books that you can't but from amazon with a Canadian address. In those cases Amazon does not have the Canadian distribution rights.

I have kindle and kobo apps on my phone. Kindle is a much better interface and the books are generally cheaper but I still have had to use the kobo app for a few mainstream books that Amazon can't sell to us canucks.

 

[Cobster]

I wonder, the real advantage of the Kindle is its screen is optimized for reading and it's a single purpose device. If it gets away from those two things it will have to compete with a crowded tablet market (well, crowded in terms of # of vendors, only one is actually selling a substantial # of units) that has access to it's books (that App on the iPad works great btw).

OTB

Nothing will touch the Kindle in terms of what it does best, produce a great medium to read books and carry thousands of them with you.
I'm sure there'll be MP3 options, better email integration, etc, but their bread and butter will always be reading.
After reading a Kindle a few times, I can't stand reading on any other device BUT the Kindle.
I don't own one yet, but maybe down the line when I really NEED one I will, till then, I'll just borrow my Aunt's whenever she's not using it.
Kick ass product.

 

[Cobster]

Totally agree, books are more tangible and you can write things down and all that.
But I'm slowly converting my mindset to the Kindle because you can carry a series of books in one device, but I still prefer an actual book no doubt.
With the Kindle, you can look words up that you highlight on the spot and it gives you the definition right on screen.