Are ebook readers pointless?!

[iversonyin]

For the same amount of money, you can get a netbook or an itouch. Which has the same functionality (read ebook) and more. WTF is the point of these things?!

 

[dartworth]

who hurt you iversonyin...who hurt you?

 

[Farang]

reading is pointless

 

[nageov3t]

I love my kindle.

it's tons more portable than a netbook and has longer battery life than either a netbook or itouch/iphone.

 

[surfsatwerk]

I prefer paperback myself. I can get one for a couple bucks from the used book store.

 

[iversonyin]

who hurt you iversonyin...who hurt you?

stay on the topic on an offtopic thread!

 

[iversonyin]

I prefer paperback myself. I can get one for a couple bucks from the used book store.

So am I. $200 can get me like 2-3 years supply of books....

 

[Drekce]

I'm still on the fence about eBook readers. My problem is that I love "collecting" books. I love to see them in my bookcase and to easily have the ability to go reference them in the future (which is actually probably easier with an eBook Reader). I don't really sell or lend out books once I have read them, so that really isn't an issue for me.

 

[Born2bwire]

A netbook is bigger, heavier, has a poor screen for reading, puts out more heat, much shorter battery life, etc. I'm still waiting for the next generation or two before getting one. I want the pdf support on the Kindle to improve first.

 

[Crono]

Ergonomics and ease of use. Single function electronic devices are generally more reliable and have longer battery life, as well.

You try reading a display that uses e-ink or similar technology versus a LCD and tell me which is easier on the eyes after a couple hours.

 

[aldamon]

For the same amount of money, you can get a netbook or an itouch. Which has the same functionality (read ebook) and more. WTF is the point of these things?!

Have you actually spent any time researching or using them? If you did, you'd know the advantages of using a dedicated device instead of a multipurpose device for reading. E-books are the present and future. Paper books are dead IMO.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09333/1016473-44.stm

"For every 100 books we sell in physical, we sell 48 Kindle books," said Cinthia Portugal, a spokeswoman for Amazon.com. "This is up from 35 books for every 100 in May. Our customers tell us they read more with Kindle because they never have to worry about running out of books."

I prefer paperback myself. I can get one for a couple bucks from the used book store.

That's nice but with an E-book reader you can download thousands of books for free, including a ton of classics and read them on a comfortable e-ink screen. If you have the right kind of reader, you can even "take out" books from the public library digitally without leaving your home.

 

[surfsatwerk]

So am I. $200 can get me like 2-3 years supply of books....

I listen to audiobooks at work that I get through Audible. But I always prefer to read a real book. I find this whole e-book business to be utter freaking insanity.

 

[FoBoT]

i prefer audio books i can listen to on portable device/smart phone/mp3 player/computer/internet/car stereo

 

[iversonyin]

Ergonomics and ease of use. Single function electronic devices are generally more reliable and have longer battery life, as well.

You try reading a display that uses e-ink or similar technology versus a LCD and tell me which is easier on the eyes after a couple hours.

Obviously, you have a point. But I rather have the flexibility of browsing and watching videos for $200+ I'm going to fork out.

Now, if the ebook readers are like $20-50 a pop. I can deal with it. But for $200 +, its a rip-off to moi.

 

[Crono]

So am I. $200 can get me like 2-3 years supply of books....

Yeah, that's you and not everyone. $200 could get me a month's supply of books, maybe.

For people who read a lot and/or have money to burn, e-readers are useful and perform their function fairly well.

 

[Crono]

Obviously, you have a point. But I rather have the flexibility of browsing and watching videos for $200+ I'm going to fork out.

Now, if the ebook readers are like $20-50 a pop. I can deal with it. But for $200 +, its a rip-off to moi.

That's the key word. These devices are not marketed specifically to you, nor do they have to be in order to be purposeful. What is a rip-off to you may be an excellent value to plenty of people.

There's a reason plenty of people are buying Kindles at that price, and I'm sure plenty more will if the price drops even further.

 

[Drekce]

I have a question for those with a Kindle...

I generally read in bed using a small LED booklight. I find this kind of annoying, but the other alternative is to have a lamp shining in my wife's face while I read. How does the Kindle work in these low light situations? I know it isn't backlit, but are there good accessories for it that make reading like this more practical?

 

[StageLeft]

Only one I tried was at the sony store and I thought it was crap, takes forever to turn a page. I have on desire for an ebook yet.

I would definitely take a netbook over one. A bit larger but same price and then you have a full computer with wireless capabilities, too. Most people I know don't want or need portability with books anyway because they are not travelling much.

E-books are the present and future. Paper books are dead IMO.

Maybe. I think paper books are in fact going to die. Stores like barnes and noble, much like DVD video stores, are going to be anachronisms as they die their last breaths but I don't know that a stand alone reader is going to be the present considering most everything else is trying to compress into a single unit.

That's nice but with an E-book reader you can download thousands of books for free, including a ton of classics and read them on a comfortable e-ink screen. If you have the right kind of reader, you can even "take out" books from the public library digitally without leaving your home.

That does sound good.

 

[Demo24]

Honestly, if you do a lot of traveling they make a lot of sense. No more lugging around a bag full of books when you can just get a few hundred on one small very portable device. Otherwise I don't really see a whole lot of appeal. I still prefer to have a physical book.

I wouldn't be surprised to see college textbooks go this way though. I'm not sure how I feel about that, but in some cases it would make the loads a lot lighter to carry.

 

[nageov3t]

Obviously, you have a point. But I rather have the flexibility of browsing and watching videos for $200+ I'm going to fork out.

Now, if the ebook readers are like $20-50 a pop. I can deal with it. But for $200 +, its a rip-off to moi.

it's a convenience factor.

I own a kindle and a netbook... I like my netbook a lot, but I can't imagine reading an entire novel on it. it's not comfortable, not particularly easy on the eyes, and I can't see its battery life lasting a 6 hour plane ride.

there's also the convenience factor of having thousands upon thousands of books available with just the touch of a button. I spent like 2 weeks in the hospital last Christmas and would have died without it. I plowed through like 20 different novels and didn't have to walk out of the hospital lugging a giant bag of books with me.

space is another big plus in my book as well... I'd have to cram an extra bookshelf or two into my apartment if I had physical copies of all my kindle books.

 

[lokiju]

I think you're missing the point then.

E-ink e-book readers are just the same on your eyes as printed on paper text. There is no refresh rate.

The form factor is akin to real books as well. When laying in bed it'd be a bit awkward holding a netbook to read and the back lighting would kill your eyes for extended periods of reading.

Pretty much you're missing the whole point of why they exist and are selling as well as they are.

Also, I've had my Sony e-book reader since last April and have only had to charge it 3 times.

They last FOREVER on a charge due to the way e-ink functions. This is a very important factor for people who read a lot.

 

[lxskllr]

I've never used one, but I've read that Ebook readers are easier on the eyes. That would be a compelling argument for them. Personally, I'll deal with a netbook, as I like the added functionality they bring.

Ebook readers are still a young technology. Once they come down in price, I could see them being newspaper's salvation. Have a subscription that you download from the web, and you carry the paper with you. That would save a lot of resources in production and distribution, and could keep professional journalism alive. Of course, major news producers are a bunch of small thinkers, so they'll probably die anyway....

 

[surfsatwerk]

That's nice but with an E-book reader you can download thousands of books for free, including a ton of classics and read them on a comfortable e-ink screen. If you have the right kind of reader, you can even "take out" books from the public library digitally without leaving your home.

That's nice, what do I read when my batteries die if I'm camping? I see this e-book thing as another example of marketing hype trying to force people to buy more useless crap. I can think of no reason that a paper book should every be replaced by another gadget that will just break down.

 

[lokiju]

oops

 

[Drekce]

I wouldn't be surprised to see college textbooks go this way though. I'm not sure how I feel about that, but in some cases it would make the loads a lot lighter to carry.

My wife teaches at a very expensive private school, and they have begun doing some experiments with Kindles for this very purpose. There are two primary problems that they have found so far:

1. The page transitions are too slow. Think about how you flip through a textbook looking for various materials. That isn't really practical on a Kindle. Properly using the search capability would help, but it still doesn't go all the way.

2. No "margin writing" or highlighting. I did this all the time in both high school and college, and there isn't a good way to tie notes to specific passages of text with a Kindle.