There are not quite 451 puns in that headline.

I bought a Handspring Visor when it was new and learned my lesson. I'll wait about five more years before I look into ebook readers...

In a office outside Washington DC....

"Hey, Joe! Got the latest pieces of propaganda that subversive Another Government Employee has been reading. b>'Best of Fark'. Let's run it up to DOJ. Should be good enough for a warrant."

EvilEgg: It would be nice if they actually made the ebooks cheaper. I mean you've eliminated the publishing, transportation and storage costs why not knock off a couple of bucks at least?

For the most part they do, NYT bestsellers are all $9.99 as compared to $27 for the hardcover. Most older books I've bought were at least a few bucks cheaper than the paperback version. $3-5 on Kindle as opposed to $5-8 in the store.

I think all the non bestseller prices are set by the publisher anyway.

The DRM was just cracked too.

LOVE my kindle. Where I live, I can't get ANY books, so it's been AMAZING.

How can a Kindle help me fill up my empty book shelf so I can pretend I read a lot of books?

It can't!

Subby should've slapped a cherry on top of that headline by using the "Cool" tag.

Anyway ...

Don't have a Kindle and have no plans as yet to acquire one. I still like the feel of plain ol "book" books. That said, anything that encourages reading is a plus in my book (so to speak). You can't go wrong with a well-read populace.

The Kindle is a great idea, but what I want is fewer things to carry around. I've managed to get things down to a phone, wallet, and keys. The more those things can be integrated into one item to carry, the more likely I am to buy something that does that.

I think that is why tablet computers are going to wipe out the Kindle, unless it gains a lot more functionality. A tablet will be able to do everything a Kindle can, plus about 1000 things the Kindle can't do.

I purchased 3 Kindles since September since everyone in my family wanted one.

I'm the oddball out right now...I've got a V1, and my husband and parents have a V2.

/Family gatherings are fun, we all sit around and read on our Kindles.
//Love them--best things ever--especially great for travel.

WoWgirl: /Family gatherings are fun, we all sit around and read on our Kindles.

Why, exactly, do you all need to get together to do essentially a solo activity?

Sounds like a fun crowd!

Seth Brundle has a Kindle.

ecmoRandomNumbers: EvilEgg: It would be nice if they actually made the ebooks cheaper. I mean you've eliminated the publishing, transportation and storage costs why not knock off a couple of bucks at least?

Baaaaaaaaaaaahahahahahaha*gasp*aaaaaaaahahahahaha!

^--- that.

/unfortunatly

OSULugan: WoWgirl: /Family gatherings are fun, we all sit around and read on our Kindles.

Why, exactly, do you all need to get together to do essentially a solo activity?

Sounds like a fun crowd!

Because then you can drink without feeling like an alcoholic.

I really wanted one, but after borrowing one for a week I just couldn't convince myself to buy it. I just can't get past a) actually holding the book and b) adding it to my library when I'm finished.

The technology is great, it's no more or less difficult to read than a paper book, and I love the instant download feature, but I guess I'm just too old fashioned.

/obligatory get off my lawn slashie

EvilEgg: It would be nice if they actually made the ebooks cheaper. I mean you've eliminated the publishing, transportation and storage costs why not knock off a couple of bucks at least?

Buy directly from the publisher, not from Amazon.

DevideByZer0: I think that is why tablet computers are going to wipe out the Kindle, unless it gains a lot more functionality. A tablet will be able to do everything a Kindle can, plus about 1000 things the Kindle can't do.

The thing is, its slightly backwards nature gives it a major advantage that tablets and smart phones don't have - long battery life. You can read for hours a day, daily, and have the battery last for two weeks. You can just throw it in your bag and go, which is an attractive notion for a lot of people.

So there are some advantages to using dedicated devices.

Shrugging Atlas: I really wanted one, but after borrowing one for a week I just couldn't convince myself to buy it. I just can't get past a) actually holding the book and b) adding it to my library when I'm finished.

The technology is great, it's no more or less difficult to read than a paper book, and I love the instant download feature, but I guess I'm just too old fashioned.

/obligatory get off my lawn slashie

These were my reasons as well. I received a Kindle as a present this year, and debated whether to use it or not. I ended up re-gifting it because I'd rather retain a physical copy to add to the home library which I might read later, years down the road when Kindles are as useful as 28.8 modems.

I'm actually pretty surprised by this. I am completely uninterested by any sort of e-Reader. I don't see a reason to have a collection of books on a portable reader, or many situations where I would want my entire book collection with me. Even if you go on vacation or a long trip... do you really need more than 3 or 4 books (if that)?

Maybe it's just not for me.

The Kindle is Krap when you compare it to the Nook. Color Screen, Touch Screen, WiFi and web browse, MP3 player, Videos too. Just about the same price.

If your product is pretty much a battery powered book then your gonna lose out to something that can be a couple of other things at the same time.

/love real books better
//not a Nook fanboy...just sayin' is all

Until they manage to put the back of cereal boxes on them, I aint buying one.

whistleridge: Or someone needs to figure out a really solid hack, so that ebooks can become easily traded by P2P the way mp3s are.

That's been done.

Books are traded that way.

nesler: The thing is, its slightly backwards nature gives it a major advantage that tablets and smart phones don't have - long battery life. You can read for hours a day, daily, and have the battery last for two weeks. You can just throw it in your bag and go, which is an attractive notion for a lot of people.

So there are some advantages to using dedicated devices.

Maybe, the Kindle is also facing some heavy competition from similar products.

It's really hard to say whether Amazon should go ahead and dump billions into this product to make it stand out from the pack, or whether V3 should be more of a tablet itself.

Pope George Ringo: I bought a Handspring Visor when it was new and learned my lesson. I'll wait about five more years before I look into ebook readers...

And what, pray tell, was wrong with the awesome Handspring Visor?

OSULugan: WoWgirl: /Family gatherings are fun, we all sit around and read on our Kindles.

Why, exactly, do you all need to get together to do essentially a solo activity?

Sounds like a fun crowd!

It's like the answer to the weird family gathering--when you have nothing to talk about, instead of wandering around the house, you read. At least in my house no one disturbs someone with a book (we're all avid readers), and it's a definite improvement over the TV that my father never seems to turn off -.-

Plus trying to explain to my mom what I did at work is just too damn complicated..and anything regarding technology is a challenge...

LouDobbsAwaaaay: AnubisMan: I received a Kindle as a present this year, and debated whether to use it or not. I ended up re-gifting it because I'd rather retain a physical copy to add to the home library which I might read later, years down the road when Kindles are as useful as 28.8 modems.

THIS. Also, they pull the built-in-obsolescence bullshiat. A book is a book; once you've purchased it, there is no more "bookiness" to get out of it. The Kindle is on, what, the third version already? How many times do they expect me to buy the thing? I'm sure versions 4-6 are already prepared for production, and eventually you'll have to repurchase the damn thing to remain compatible.

So your theory is that they are 5 years ahead on the technology, rather than that they are developing it as they go? Right.

Oh, and the Kindle reads standard eBook formats. The books themselves should be compatible. (It's the DRM you'll need to worry about... but in theory the books are tied to your Amazon account, so they should work on newer Kindle versions too. In theory anyway.)

whistleridge:

Or someone needs to figure out a really solid hack, so that ebooks can become easily traded by P2P the way mp3s are.

lolwut

Mentat: I won't buy a Kindle, but the Kindle girl is hot.

That commercial pinpoints hipster culture. Stop motion animation, annoying girl singing a stupid song with only a piano, mustaches... ugh. make it stop.

DevideByZer0: The Kindle is a great idea, but what I want is fewer things to carry around. I've managed to get things down to a phone, wallet, and keys. The more those things can be integrated into one item to carry, the more likely I am to buy something that does that.

I think that is why tablet computers are going to wipe out the Kindle, unless it gains a lot more functionality. A tablet will be able to do everything a Kindle can, plus about 1000 things the Kindle can't do.

See: Kindle for PC/Mac/iPhone/BlackBerry(soon) (new window)

Goban: The Kindle is Krap when you compare it to the Nook. Color Screen, Touch Screen, WiFi and web browse, MP3 player, Videos too. Just about the same price.

If your product is pretty much a battery powered book then your gonna lose out to something that can be a couple of other things at the same time.

First of all, only the touch sensitive screen/keyboard at the bottom of the nook is a color lcd. The main screen is strictly e-ink, meaning it can only display grayscale text and images, and is not touch sensitive.

You are correct in the fact that both the Nook supports Wi-Fi, and the Kindle doesn't. But they both have 3G access, and the Kindle actually does something interesting with that 3G access by offering the use of a web browser, which the Nook does not. I wouldn't really care to browse the internet on either, but if you need to, only the Kindle can.

Both the Nook and Kindle can play mp3s (even the first generation of Kindle offered that), and the Nook does NOT support video playback. Neither does the Kindle. No dedicated ereader that emphasizes battery life could pull that one off without raising the price significantly.

whistleridge: aYes, you can get some books on P2P. But you can't use them on the Kindle, which negates the point of the reader.

Or am I wrong about that?

Because if I am, I may have get one eventually.

Yes, you are wrong. You can fill your Kindle with free .txt files from Project Gutenberg if you want. If you can get the book in a compatible format (.txt, .pdf, and others), from P2P or elsewhere, you can read it on a Kindle.

whistleridge: This is why I think ebooks need to be a LOT cheaper. Or someone needs to figure out a really solid hack, so that ebooks can become easily traded by P2P the way mp3s are.

Umm... yeah... I know nothing. NOTHING. (Mobipocket Creator is very useful for converting HTML, docs, txt and PDF documents that you may have just happened to acquire.)

whistleridge: Yes, you can get some books on P2P. But you can't use them on the Kindle, which negates the point of the reader.

The Kindle supports drag and drop through the USB connection (it comes with a USB cable, and has a standard mini USB port). Refer to the above regarding conversion between file formats.

LouDobbsAwaaaay: THIS. Also, they pull the built-in-obsolescence bullshiat. A book is a book; once you've purchased it, there is no more "bookiness" to get out of it. The Kindle is on, what, the third version already? How many times do they expect me to buy the thing? I'm sure versions 4-6 are already prepared for production, and eventually you'll have to repurchase the damn thing to remain compatible.

They're on the second standard version of the Kindle. They did upgrade that version to allow it to download content anywhere in the world, but it's the same hardware. The third version of the Kindle is an over-sized version aimed at the textbook market.

whistleridge: someone needs to figure out a really solid hack, so that ebooks can become easily traded by P2P the way mp3s are

Dude, welcome to, like 1997!

I'm gonna credit many of these sales to Ipod Touch apps.

LouDobbsAwaaaay: AnubisMan: I received a Kindle as a present this year, and debated whether to use it or not. I ended up re-gifting it because I'd rather retain a physical copy to add to the home library which I might read later, years down the road when Kindles are as useful as 28.8 modems.

THIS. Also, they pull the built-in-obsolescence bullshiat. A book is a book; once you've purchased it, there is no more "bookiness" to get out of it. The Kindle is on, what, the third version already? How many times do they expect me to buy the thing? I'm sure versions 4-6 are already prepared for production, and eventually you'll have to repurchase the damn thing to remain compatible.

That's just not close to right, actually.

I have about 40,000 ebooks from various sources, and in various file formats. I also have software that lets me translate from one format (say, PDF or HTML) into another format (say, regular plain old ASCII text files or MOBI pocket reader, or whatever). There's also software available that strips the DRM off of files that are in proprietary formats.

What does this mean?

It means that as long as I can translate a document from one text file format into any of about a dozen other open, standardized formats that exist today, I'll be able to read things on an original Kindle (assuming it is still operational).

Unless you think there's going to be some kind of global infopocalypse, whatever text files you have will be perfectly readable for the forseeable future, assuming you make some effort to retain them, just as you would have to make with regular books.