Anyone got a Kindle

[bokelley]

I love to sit down and read a good book. I just wonder what all this hype is about the kindle. Anyone have one of these? I just have a hard time spending 300-500 bucks when I can get books free from the library..

My mom has one and she really likes it. I think she has had it for a year or so. She travels a fair amount and likes to be able to take several books on the Kindle. It is more readable than I expected. I think there was a post about this a while ago. Angie has been using her iphone, I think?

[MarissaNicole]

Don't have one but I was talking to someone who does - he had the same issues with the price and was even weary about reading from a computer screen but after using one he got one and thinks it is great!

I was talking to him about how I was surprised by this and we discussed whether or not they will become as common as computers and cell phones....he was saying that he thinks eventually they will replace college textbooks just because the way you can take notes and search both your notes and the text - sounds really practical, efficient and better for the environment!)

Unfortunately I think it will be a while before they are more common and the price drops (but thats just my thought).

[Sheherezade]

I have one. I use it (mostly) for newspapers and magazine subscriptions. I have purchased a few impulse book buys on it as well. Nothing is more dangerous than being able to buy a new book when you are already in your pajamas, tucked under a comforter in the winter. For travel, it makes life easy. I usually carry a big fat bag of reading material. Now, I can just slip the Kindle in my purse.

I got it as a gift, so the cost wasn't something I had to consider. I did think it was a HUGE gift though. I'm not sure I'd shell out the moola myself for my situation. I love real books as well. I shell out for them all the time. The Kindle has given me a way to be less exclusive about what I buy....now, I buy more. The "good" books I get in paper - and the "maybe" books I get on Kindle. I'm sure if I loved a book on the Kindle I'd run out and buy the real version. Still, I'm a bit of a print addict. It's my post training splurge point. I am not a rational reader.

I think it will be FANTASTIC if they adapt it for school use. Imagine - no more heavy backpacks. Update textbooks with a click. Download the book for English Lit. Since the calculator I was forced to buy for my son's algebra class cost 100 bucks, I can see shelling out $350 for something that would last for 6+ years of schooling. That, and we wouldn't have all these random outdated textbooks clogging up the used book shops. We used the Kindle once at 5 PM when my daughter was sobbing because she forgot her book for homework at school. She was amazed that I could click a button and the book she needed to read was now on the kitchen table. I was thrilled that I didn't have to run from neighbor's house to bookstore trying to find a book for her to do the assignment. For me, that was worth the 4 buck charge for the kid book. YMMV. Anyway, it has i's uses. It depends on your lifestyle and your pocketbook.

There, I've killed the printing industry. And....the academic press.

There, I've killed the printing industry. And....the academic press.

It is not even 8am here. I'm impressed by all you have achieved this morning!

[Ladybug122]

I really want a kindle. A friend of mine got one a few months ago and LOVES it. Says it's not like reading a computer screen, it's like reading paper. In fact, it's easer b/c you can alter print size. I just can't justify spending the money with the new baby coming and a furnace to replace...a bedroom set for DS1...windows to replace..etc...

[medpedspouse]

I don't have one but I can't imagine reading a whole book off a computer screen. My head would explode.

I have one...I think I started a thread here before buying one. I was hesitant to plunk down the $$ and actually turned in some ccard points for an amazon gift certificate to off-set the expense. Now that I have it, I think it is well worth it. I travel a lot and constantly carry multiple books/magazines. Now, it all goes in my little purse. I haveto say that I do not like the case they sell for it for it makes it bulky. So, I just slip it in a neoprene sleeve in my purse.

#1 - It is not like reading on a computer screen. Don't know the techie stuff but it is explained on both the sony and kindle site.

#2 - They do carry textbooks. Hav e a friend who has saved loads of cash by getting them on her kindle and does not have to lug them around.

#3 - You get immediate gratification. While at the airport I spotted a new Jodi Picoult book at the bookstore for $25. I bought it for $10 and had it ready for my return trip.

#4 - I love the PDF feature. Can carry itineraries/reservations. I no longer carry a "travel folder".

#5 - Since it is in my purse I notice how much I read while waiting in line, waiting at the drs office, etc, etc.

These are just off the top of my head. Just love the thing - far better than the sony too. I returned the sony but find the Kindle more user friendly.

Oh - and - as someone who falls asleep reading all the time, I love that it bookmarks my page when it goes to snooze instead of the book closing itself and having me search for where I left off.

[Sheherezade]

No internet service fee required. The Kindle has its own network that downloads a book in about 2-3 minutes. You just press the little "home" button, look at the store, browse a category, select a book and voila. There it is. It's insanely easy. It charges it to your pre-existing Amazon account.

Amazon just came out with a new larger format Kindle that they are pushing for academic uses. I guess they realized that the charts and figures would need more space, too. It's a ten inch screen, I think.

If my mom can do it, it is insanely easy.

[bokelley]

I REALLY want one. I love the fact that you might be able to put college text books on it. Everyone buys the books, but never takes them to class because they are so heavy. My Theoretical Physics book was almost 1500 pages and weighted nearly 15 lbs. Never took it, but would have been nice to have it in class, just couldn't carry it around all day. What do books cost on average to buy from Amazon?

I'm not sure for a textbook but I think the books my mom buys are usually a few dollars less than a hardcover or paperback.

[spotty_dog]

Books like novels would be cool on something small like that but science books or anything with tables, boxes, etc would be a pain. A lot of my nursing books are like that. My laptop is great for on the go but it's always nice to be able to see the page layout in the hard copy as it was intended to read the boxes, tables, charts, etc.

It's my understanding that a Kindle displays a whole page at a time. On the original, the pages are the size of a paperback; on the new larger version, I think they're closer to the size of a half newspaper (or a textbook.) I think it also has that iPod-like technology where it detects if you turn it sideways so you can read a wider page.

I also read that the technology for the Kindle is a huge breakthrough. There's no backlight, so it's really as easy on the eyes as reading paper.

Plus it has free internet that you can use for limited browsing purposes.

Not any time soon, but one of these days, I think I'm going to be tempted to get one.

[PrincessFiona]

I got to test drive a kindle at my last book club get-together. I was pessimistic but once I held it in my hands and played with it I felt like it was a great thing. I like real books...but the Kindle was not bad at all.

The best news? Heidi showed me the kindle app for the iphone.

Yes, the screen is smaller, but it still is doable...AND...it has all of the features of the kindle like bookmarking pages. What you can't do with the kindle is use your fingers to scroll pages, etc. I like that with the iphone I can just touch the screen to flip to the next page.

Kris

[ladymoreta]

Okay, I am so tempted right now... The Kindle is down to $299 on Amazon, and I just got some money for my birthday. Should I get one?...

[medpedspouse]

Although I am cheap and could not make myself spend the moola on this gadget.....I have not regretted this purchase once.

I love it!

Beware of the kindle case - I think it is bulky. I bought a skin off of Ebay and the Kindle now slides in my little purse.