Bitchin' Blog Posts
Digital Reader Review Week: The Kindle III
by SB Sarah | October 12, 2010 | Tuesday at 5:49 pm | 58 Comments
I write this with dismay, honestly. Despite some major faults, the Kindle does digital book reading, loading, and buying so well, and works so well for me, I’m using the Kindle. Not even the Sony Mercedes ebook reader could lure me away.
Every time I sit down at my computer, I find out about a new way to read, load or access books on the Kindle. I can sync books purchased at Amazon across six devices at this point, and I can email files to my device anywhere. Because of the way I interact with books (lots of them, in different formats, moving around towards me, all the time, pretty much always) the Kindle is the easiest and most versatile device for me.
That said, I fully recognize that (a) many folks loathe Amazon, (b) the Kindle doesn’t work as well if you’re not in the US because of digital book international rights asshattery, and (c) there are other options that would work better for different readers, particularly if you like to borrow books from the library or like to shop at different places for books - or like to go to your local Barnes and Noble store, in which case I near the Nook enables you to get free chocolate. If my local BN didn’t give me hives with the size and immensity of it, I’d consider the free chocolate option.
Anyway, back to Kindle 3. I am dismayed that the Sony, even with the file organization, didn’t work for me. I want to be lured away from Amazon’s store. I’m happy to buy .mobi files elsewhere, strip the DRM and put them on the Kindle, even though that means I can only read them on the Kindle, and not on my phone, computer, iPad, Hubby’s phone, refrigerator, vacuum cleaner, and sock drawer. But Amazon’s Kindle 3 does so many little things so easily that my ability to be on auto-pilot with this device makes it essential and hard to relinquish.
The Kindle three is smaller than K2, it’s thinner, and it weighs just a bit less. The Whispernet wireless network works in zippyfast time - I updated the name of the Kindle and changed the email address on the Amazon website, and the device was updated within 10 seconds. Now, I thought the Kindle network was Sprint, but my box said “AT&T” on it. Yet, even in the New York metro area, where AT&T blows, sucks and everything in between, I’ve had no problems.
A word about the packaging: when I received my Nook, I thought I was going to break it trying to take it out of the clear plastic claw it comes in. The Sony arrives in a box that seems like it wouldn’t protect the device, and when I ship one I have to bubble wrap it. The Kindle comes in packaging that is so amazing, it has Apple-style beauty and welcoming texture. You get that, “Oooh, what’s this?” feeling like when you open an Apple product. The Kindle packaging is all paper based and recyclable, and at the bottom it says ‘Certified Frustration-Free Packaging.” Open box, ahoy, Kindle. No clamshell plastic in sight. And I can chuck the whole mess into the recycling box. That’s awesome, Amazon. Thank you.
What do I like about Kindle 3? It’s thinner, smaller, little, graphite and different.
- I like the rubber back of K3 vs. the metal back of K2, which was so slippery I had to cover it with a sticker.
- I like the graphite color VERY much though one scrape revealed some not-graphite beneath the surface. It’s a graphite veneer!
- I like the rougher texture of the buttons, which make me feel like device is more secure in my hands.
- I like the rounded corners, which are very comfortable to hold in one hand.
- I like how little it weighs, and how easy it is to hold.
- I like the new buttons to turn pages, though I do miss the toggle, which I like better than the recessed square button on the front.
- I like having multiple ways to load the device: plugged in via USB, from the Amazon.com website, via email, or, as I just learned from Jane L, navigating using the onboard browser to my Dropbox and downloading my files.
What do I really like about the K3, and the Kindle line in general? Everyone has a Kindle story, a story of how they bought a book in a location where they never thought they’d buy a book. Why is that not their newest commercial pitch idea? My Kindle story? I read about a book in the in-flight magazine while an airplane was taxiing. I reached down, switched on the wireless to the Kindle, and downloaded a sample before the plane took off, and then read the sample in the air when I was allowed to do so. Took me all of 10 seconds. I’ve met several people who are excited to tell you what strange location they’ve been in while buying a book - at this point the bathroom is mundane. Plus, with book syncing, you don’t bring your Kindle in to the lavatory with you. You bring your phone and pray you don’t drop it.
For those who aren’t as familiar with the Kindle method of managing files, there’s one short review and one longer account I can share. The short review: Kindle file management sucks. It’s awful. It’s rudimentary and awkward and freaking annoying. Books you buy from Amazon and remove from your device are stored at Amazon, or “in their cloud,” which is different from “the” cloud because Amazon is about as much like a cloud as I am, unless by cloud you mean “air biscuit,” in which case you might see the analogy a bit better. Or smell it anyway. There’s legions of stories about books in Amazon’s Air Biscuit Cloud that have disappeared or moved or been not really supposed to be for sale oops, we’ll just take that back, thanks.
Here’s what you need to know about buying books from Amazon: you’re paying money for a book you don’t really actually own unless you download it, strip the DRM off it with some process that at this point involves neuroscience and a micron laser, and then store it somewhere else. If you buy books elsewhere, strip the DRM off the .mobi file, or are in receipt of digital files in .doc, .rtf, or .whatever format, and you convert them and put them on the Kindle, yes, you own those files and can move them around. But if you buy a book from Amazon, you don’t really own it. You get a lease on it. You can calculate the term of that lease for use using the following equation:
Take the name of the book and count the letters in it, then divide by the number of days between Facebook privacy setting updates that you have to change lest Facebook make pictures of your backside visible to the astronauts in the Mir space station, then take the derivative of that number, multiply by the cosign of pi, and that’s the term of your time to read that Amazon digital book. Maybe. Macmillan and the Good Lord willing, creeks don’t rise, etc. etc. etc.
That’s the biggest problem with Amazon: you don’t really own your books, and they’re stored in Amazon’s Air Biscuit.
On top of all that, the Amazon Air Biscuit is difficult to navigate and cumbersome to use. And when you migrate from one device to another, there can be problems. When I received Kindle 3, I hooked up K2 and K3 to my laptop to move the files over. I was in a hurry and wanted to set it up with the latest books I’d placed on K2, and didn’t want to download them individually - and to my knowledge there is no way to move a bunch of files out of the Amazon Air Biscuit all at once. In addition, some of the files I’d emailed to the device and those were obviously not going to be in the archive.
The emailed files transferred fine with no problems. But when I tried to open a book I’d already read, one that I’d downloaded from Amazon as part of a free promotion on K2 and moved physically over to K3, BOTH of which are on my Amazon account, I received the following message:
This item cannot be opened because it is licensed to a different user. Delete the item and download it from your Archived Items or purchase a copy from the Kindle Store.
What the hey now? I did buy this book. From the Kindle Store. On my account. And I only have one user account with Kindle (and, like, fourteen billion different locations to which I can download a file at this point). So what the hell went wrong? I really, really don’t want to have to click and download a bunch of individual files out of the archive, and thought bulk-moving would work. Apparently not.
What fixed it? Changing the name of K3 and K2. Once K3 had the name and email address I used for K2, those free download files worked just fine. VERY odd. And a total accident that I figured it out.
The Amazon Air Biscuit is also crappy in terms of how books are presented. You can’t sort by pub date or purchase date in the archive, and you can’t read or see a blurb in the archive listing.
The individual description page of books I’ve purchased contains precious little information and nothing additional is accessible without wireless connection to reach out to the Kindle Store and get the rest of the data. That’s bothersome in a big way, since I suck at remembering titles and plots together, and constant look up which book is which when I’m reading digitally. Is it really that difficult to include a description in the metadata that’s included on the book file housed on the Kindle?
And finally, the lack of file management outside of the device itself is ri-freaking-diculous. Unless I am using the Kindle software on the Kindle itself, and moving files one by one, I cannot organize my files in bulk or move them en masse into collections. What the ever loving hell is that? I ran this picture with my review of the Sony Touch, and really, it demonstrates so clearly what’s wrong with the library management on the Kindle using the Kindle software. I know NetGalley is working on a solution to the Number Name problem, but Amazon does not seem very interested in hearing about their file management issues and fixing them.
Oddly, the Amazon customer support is goggle-eye good. Your eyes will bug out if you use it. I can get someone on the phone within seconds to help me work through a problem, and I’ve had Kindles that were broken or not working right replaced in 24 hours. I’ve had excellent support on both new and refurbished Kindles, and I’ve never had a problem calling and telling them that a book was poorly formatted or just plain ugly on the Kindle and immediately having the book removed from my account for a full refund. It’s a very, very big plus, especially if you are the type of user who is not tech-savvy and does not know, and does not want to know, how to use a device like a Kindle.
The actual reading experience isn’t so different from the K2. The graphite body, I think, highlights the increased contrast, which I loooooove, looooooooooove, LOOOOOOOVE with every one of the points of magnification of my eyeglasses. The eInk contrast is so improved, I have no regrets about upgrading. If you have a Kindle 1, and are thinking of upgrading, I think you will be very happy if you upgrade.
I like the weight of it, the texture of the buttons and the back - not having the slick metal back made me very happy indeed. I do miss the toggle bar, as it was easier to use without looking at it. With the indented square with thin bars that move the cursor up, down, left and right, I’m having to look to make sure I’m pressing the right thing, and not about to accidentally hit the middle of the button, which functions as an enter key.
I also have to look and confirm the locations of “menu,” “home,” and “back,” though I expect I’ll have them memorized soon enough.
The thinner page turn buttons are way, way thin, and I have to check to make sure I’m at the right place when I’m about to start turning pages, sort of like checking the position of your hands before you play the piano. The on/off switch is SO loose, I feel like one good nudge and it’s going to come off. It wiggles like a loose tooth. But I love that there is a light behind it that tells me it is on or off - it glows green when the device is on.
So why, when I load so much content onto the Kindle that ISN’T from Amazon, did I ultimately go back to the Kindle? The multiple venues of loading content wirelessly made it much easier to use, and if I’m attentive I can manage collections, though the method to do so on the device sucks out loud. If the question is File Organization and Shopping Options vs. Ease of Loading, I am going to go with Ease of Loading every time, simply because of what and how much I read. If I find a book I want, one click or one forwarded email, and it’s on the Kindle - I don’t have to think about it.
That said, I am not the same reader you are, and I don’t interact with and manage my books the same as everyone else. When I’ve been asked “What device should I buy?” I almost always start with the reading habits and the tech-savvy of the person asking. If they read frequently and are not tech-savvy, I recommend the Kindle, and to a lesser extent the Nook—and I don’t recommend the Nook at all for anyone who has arthritis in their hands. That bottom LCD would be very painful after a few hours. I don’t have arthritis and it bothered me.
I’m going to continue the Digital Reader Reviews this week (or very soon) with a review of the Kobo, but in the meantime, I want to welcome the Kindle users of any model to share why they like their Kindle, and what works for them.
ETA: Christina Dodd sent me this link on how to set up RSS feeds and online content via Instapaper and Calibre to deliver to the Kindle automatically. VERY cool.
Filed: Ebooks, E-Reader Olympics, General Bitching
Tagged: sony, shopping, review, nook, macmillan, kindle, jane, ebook, books, bn, awesome, asshattery, amazon
Eva / TXBookjunkie said on 10.12.10 at 06:23 PM • [comment link]
I just bought my first e-reader recently (Kindle 3), and I’ll admit it is very addictive how quick and easy it is to buy and download a book onto it. I agree that the organization on the Kindle sucks, and the resulting multiple collections I end up with on the home page is a bit overwhelming.
Sarah, regarding organizing your files in bulk, did you know that you can pick a collection and right click on it and it will allow you to add books in bulk to that collection without having to open each book file individually?
TKF said on 10.12.10 at 06:26 PM • [comment link]
It’s actually HELLA easy (oh, my 80s roots are showing). If I was able to figure it out, anyone can. Follow the directions HERE and you’re home free in about ten minutes.
When FictionWise went tits-up, I discovered I couldn’t get a lot of books I wanted anymore for my CyBook (which uses MOBI or ADOBE, but not at the same time, and I was 200+ books into MOBI). I googled about (yes, it’s a verb) and found something that was easy and actually worked! Now I buy all my books at Amazon, strip ‘em, and sideload them to my CyBook. Easy-peasy.
Brian said on 10.12.10 at 06:29 PM • [comment link]
Good review of the K3’s ups and downs. I totally agree that the whole archive navigation thing sucks once you have a few books. Luckily DRM is a snap to remove (just dl with Kindle 4PC and drag into Calibre using the K4PCDeDRM plugin and wallah) so it can be bypassed and DRM free backups kept (and easily converted).
As far as the wireless goes the K1 and original K2 (and original Dx) use Sprint. The newer K2i’s, Dxi’s, DxG’s and K3’s all use AT&T.
Sarah said on 10.12.10 at 07:01 PM • [comment link]
OMGOMGOMG. Serves me right for not more-thorough-googling before I published. I’m going to lose hours stripping DRM today.
Thank you!
SB Sarah said on 10.12.10 at 07:04 PM • [comment link]
Ah! I see - the .azw files are crackable but the Topaz ones are still tricksy. Oh, have mercy, my afternoon schedule will be way different.
becca said on 10.12.10 at 07:11 PM • [comment link]
It’s not only Amazon books that you don’t own. You don’t really own any book with DRM, whether it’s from Borders, B&N or Amazon. So this can’t be held as a strike against only the Kindle.
That said, I have a K2, which I love. I’d rather have the k3, with it’s better screen, but my k2 was a gift.
I do wish that I could organize my books through Calibre rather than the klunky “collections” feature. Surely it can’t be that hard to make nested folders!
any75: I’ll take any 75 ebooks!
Babs said on 10.12.10 at 07:28 PM • [comment link]
I love love love my K2 which was a present from my hubby almost a year ago.
After looking at buying an e-reader for months I finally picked the Kindle because of the international 3G network which allows for downloads. My husband’s job means we spend big chunks of time outside of the US (while having a US address) and the Kindle has been a godsend. I am a voracious reader and the Kindle allows me to have easy access to English-language books at a price that is usually much less than any I can find on the local market in Europe! It makes travel so easy and saves so much luggage space that I am almost giddy whenever I have to pack and realize I don’t have to try to figure how many books to bring while not going over the luggage weight allotment.
I also have only had excellent experiences with Kindle support—both on the phone and via email.
TKF said on 10.12.10 at 07:43 PM • [comment link]
So far, I’ve only bought one book that was Topaz (by accident), and Amazon refunded it when I emailed them to complain. You can tell which format the book will be in if you look at the Product Detail section. If the size is listed in KB, it will be .awz, and you’ll be home free.
Meggrs said on 10.12.10 at 07:51 PM • [comment link]
I FLOVE my new Kindle III! I figure I can learn to strip the DRM and then I can manage my files how I prefer.
My mom has the Kindle I, and she’s SUPER-jealous that I can organize collections on the III, which was a big deal for me. I love the size, the feel, and the beautiful eInk contrast.
I’m bummed, however, by the fact that I need to buy a lighted cover (or some other light source, but the lighted cover is awfully attractive) in order to read in the dark. A backlight option in the future would be welcome.
Still, I’ve been waiting for years to have an eReader, and I am NOT disappointed by the Kindle III.
Karen H said on 10.12.10 at 07:55 PM • [comment link]
I am eagerly awaiting my Kindle 3, due by the end of the week. I did some research and went to Best Buy so I could actually touch all 3 brands. I’m happy to say that these reviews have not changed my mind about my decision, though I am very appreciative of your providing them. (I would love the red Sony but I did get the red Kindle case with built-in light so that will be close enough.)
I picked K3 because it was cheaper (way cheaper than Sony—I just do not get that they don’t have WI-FI, especially at those prices) and lighter and the screen quality looks great. I also picked the graphite since it looked as if the text popped with the contrast as compared to the white case (which I did actually like better—that was a plus with the nook). And it holds 3500 books without having to get extra memory.
I didn’t see the advantage to the touch screen at the bottom of the nook and found it difficult to use as well. I don’t know anybody else with an e-reader so sharing books wasn’t an issue and though I would like to use the library e-books, the library is literally on my way home so it’s easy enough to stop in for a print book.
The potential sticking point was PDF files as I’m actually buying an e-reader mostly to carry my book list around more easily (it’s 38 pages and getting bigger). I wanted a phone to do that but the smart phones, with the nice screens, all require a hefty monthly data charge even though I didn’t need to use the data capability! But when I read I could read PDF files on the K3, my decision was made. Plus I had credit card points so it’s basically free.
I’m probably the only person getting an e-reader for a primary reason other than just reading but I will be reading also as there are so many free books available that I haven’t read, including Gabaldon’s “Outlander”. I’ve got jury duty in a couple of weeks so the Kindle should be a big win!
Vi said on 10.12.10 at 07:55 PM • [comment link]
I’ve only had my K3 for about s month (my first ereader). I heart it so much. It’s so easy to use. The one-click is my frenemy right now. I dressed my baby up with an Oberon cover and the K3 is my best fashion accessory ever!
Stephanie C. said on 10.12.10 at 07:58 PM • [comment link]
I love my K2 ... I got it when they came out in Feb 09? At the time the only other option was Sony. I went with Kindle for the direct download option because I am constantly on the go and may not be near a computer when I want a book.
When the nooks came out they were tempting but when my local B&N got the nook in I went and played with it. It does seem bottom heavy, the led screen is distracting, and I think the color/ touch screen would cause a battery drainage problem. I also had trouble with it responding to my commands but if I had one this would probably work itself out. I very happily take my kindle into B&N and sit in the cafe and read. I also like to correct the sales pitch given to people looking at the nook (its a lot of misinformation on the kindle, sony, and nook.)
Overall I am happy with my K2. The small amount of organization it does have is much better than none at all and I have my books split into three folders, read, samples, and free. All of my purchased books I leave on the home screen so I am sure to read them first. I also love customer service and have yet to have a problem with them.
The only thing I can say is I WANT A K3! lol
Jeremy D Brooks said on 10.12.10 at 08:04 PM • [comment link]
I did a review on my site comparing MOBI to various PDF layouts on my site…required reading if you (like me) want a K3 to read PDFs on.
Spoiler: I was disappointed.
Hannah said on 10.12.10 at 08:16 PM • [comment link]
I bought a Kindle 2 last spring, and upgraded to a Kindle 3 a few weeks ago. Overall I like the Kindle 3 much better. I liked the buttons on the K2 a lot more and in general found the K2 easier to hold—I have tiny paws so I can’t guess why this is so.
I appreciate that on the K3 you can rotate PDF documents to landscape to make the text bigger. It’s still not perfect but much more readable.
I haven’t used the text-to-speech function on the Kindle as much as I thought I would. I find that because of the vagaries of the computer-generated speech, I have to pay such close attention to the words that I can’t concentrate on anything else. But it’s useful for when I want my hands free for something else (usually folding laundry) and don’t want to worry about page turns.
Jane O said on 10.12.10 at 08:35 PM • [comment link]
My husband just got a Kindle 3, the first ereader in the house, so naturally I’ve been playing with it. The stuff you can get for free is great fun. There are all sorts of old, out of copyright books that your local library probably doesn’t have. (The first thing I got was Rupert of Henzau, the sequel to The Prisoner of Zenda.
However, it doesn’t handle pdfs of old books very well — it’s easiest to read them sideways, half a page at a time.
My biggest problem with it is that I don’t find it nearly as pleasant to read as a real book. It would be useful for traveling or commuting, but I do most of my reading at home. Unless ebooks become much cheaper than paper books I don’t think I am likely to buy any.
But the free stuff is fun.
Phyl said on 10.12.10 at 09:04 PM • [comment link]
I’m another very, very happy K3 user. Yes, all those drawbacks are true, but it is such a delightfully pleasant experience to read using it, that I just can’t bring myself to care that much. I have no regrets.
Alexis Harrington said on 10.12.10 at 09:17 PM • [comment link]
I looked at the major competitors before deciding on the Kindle: Nook and Sony. The deciding factor for me was that Amazon has a huge inventory, the largest of any other seller right now. And even though buying a pig in a poke goes against the grain for me, I was willing to take the chance on Kindle. I’d heard that they were test marketing in some Targets around the country, but not near me.
Just about the time I scraped together enough money to buy a Kindle, Amazon made the jump to K3 and I was put on a waiting list. (I don’t know if their production has picked up the pace yet—I hope so since I’m giving one away on my website in November). SB is absolutely right about the fabulous packaging. It’s great. And so is the e-reader. It will do so many things and there are beta functions in the wings. I got to download a free word game to play, for example.
It’s just about impossible for curious little fingers to mess up anything, beyond unintentional buys. I was showing it to a friend and she got panicky because she feared she’d lost my bookmark in whatever I was reading. Nope, it’s easy to get back.
I’ve heard a rumor (NOTE: RUMOR) that a color Kindle is about a year away. If that’s so, it’ll be really interesting to see how things evolve.
Since Kindle has the largest library of titles available I haven’t thought much about DRM. My own e-books are DRM-free. I’ll have to check into the removal methods mentioned here!
Lynne Connolly said on 10.12.10 at 09:36 PM • [comment link]
I love my Kindle 3! It’s my first e-ink reader.
I can’t strip the DRM off the Kindle books, using the script. I get “Unsupported version of Kindle for PC.” Uninstalled, tried again, still doesn’t work. Sigh. Maybe it’s because I’m in the UK or something like that.
I’ll continue to buy my books elsewhere in the unlocked mobi format.
Now can we talk lights? Or are you doing that in another post? (I’ve settled on the Mighty Bright Twin Music Light).
Jessica said on 10.12.10 at 09:36 PM • [comment link]
Once I got the Collections feature set up on my K2 after the upgrade this summer, I really like them. I don’t keep many of any of my books in the amazon cloud (archived) because I haven’t even come close yet to hitting the memory limits which I like very much.
I think there is a way to send multiple books to a new device. When I was on amazon the other day I told it to send all kinds of books to my ipod touch that I dont use very much - when I turned it on two days later 15 books downloaded themselves to it which was pretty nice.
Have you ever checked out the blog, I Love My Kindle? That answers all the questions you could ever have and has introduced me to all kinds of nifty features. What I like best about my K2 is that when the K3 was coming they did do a huge upgrade to the K2 software to make it have nearly all the new features, which I really appreciated as an upgrade isn’t in my near future.
Brian said on 10.12.10 at 09:49 PM • [comment link]
@Lynne, some of the Unswindle scripts only work with the early K4PC, but Skindle and K4PCDeDRM-Gui (or K4PCDeDRM plugin) should work fine.
—————————————————————
I just got an email from Staples. Looks like they’re carrying Kindles now.
beggar1015 said on 10.12.10 at 10:08 PM • [comment link]
My birthday is this Friday and as a gift to myself I just got this Kindle 3. While I already had an ebook reader, there were some ebooks that I couldn’t find anywhere else but Amazon. I’m totally computer illiterate so I’m not sure at all what this DRM stuff is and how to “strip” it, but I’m willing to give it a try.
One stupid question: does this thing ever really turn off? While the pictures are nice that come up when I put the thing to sleep, I feel like I’ve left the thing on and the battery will drain. Or am I worrying for nothing?
Jessica said on 10.12.10 at 10:32 PM • [comment link]
@Beggar - don’t worry! The kindle doesn’t use any battery to display its screensaver images. Which I think is the best part of eink.
Claire said on 10.12.10 at 10:39 PM • [comment link]
I’m getting a Kindle 3 for my birthday next month (just need to tell my hubby!) and can’t wait. After downloading the Kindle for Iphone app 4 months ago for a free book i wanted to read i now own 86 Kindle books (amazons ‘buy now with one click button’ was the work of an evil genius). All theses reviews are jsut making me more excited and impatient.
Cathy said on 10.12.10 at 10:40 PM • [comment link]
@beggar1015 - when it’s in standby mode (with the picture, as opposed to fully off) it still uses no power. The bigger issue is to make sure to leave your wireless off to preserve batter life.
I bought a K2 in Feb of last year, and even at twice the price of the current model, it was worth every penny. My Kindle love even convinced my 5-books-a-year boyfriend to buy one, and he’s loving it and recommending a Kindle to everyone.
Sarah, I’m curious about the “leigons of stories” about books disappearing from the Amazon cloud - I’ve only heard of the one time last year - what other books has it happened with? I didn’t realize this was a reocurring issue, and it’s a bit worrisome if that’s still the case.
joy said on 10.12.10 at 10:45 PM • [comment link]
You know this DRM stuff is ridiculous and WRONG. I don’t plan on stealing any books or posting them on the internet or sharing them with anyone. I’m very law abiding. Computer guys love to play around with ways to crack DRM and it generally doesn’t hold up very long. Why do they bother!!!
I would actually buy a lot, LOTS more ebooks from Amazon if I didn’t have to mess around with them. I love my Kindle3 just as I did the original Kindle. I’d buy my “keepers” (and I must have hundreds!) all over again in eformat if I knew I could keep them just to save space in my house and declutter. Doesn’t Amazon and the others realize they are really hurting their business and discouraging folks from buying their lovely Kindle (or whatever). Give it up you guys. The computer geeks out there love a challenge and DRM gets broken every time. Just stop wasting everyone’s time!
Claire said on 10.12.10 at 10:54 PM • [comment link]
slightly off topic but is there any way (or website) where you can find out when books become available as Kindle editions, there are quite a lot of books i want to read but i dont want to buy paper copies and i find it a pain to check Amazon eveyr now and again to see if they are available yet.
TKF said on 10.12.10 at 10:56 PM • [comment link]
Did you make sure to load the old version that they link to and to set it to not update? A friend had that problem, but once I corrected the version of Kindle PC she was using, everything was fine.
becca said on 10.12.10 at 11:06 PM • [comment link]
To the best of my knowledge, Amazon only took one single book off people’s kindles - which had the misfortune of being 1984, so the irony was heavy in Teh Intertubes. They’ve since put processes in place to prevent that happening. Every once in awhile, someone posts a book on Amazon that they have no right posting - when this happens, they remove the book from The Cloud (the Fog Bank?), and send people an email saying why, but don’t remove it from their actual kindle.
Plus, if you buy books from places like Baen and side-load your books, Amazon has no way of knowing what you’ve got on your kindle - they only track purchases made through them (which every etailer does).
sales23: Amazon has made more than 23 sales to me since I got my Kindle.
Meggrs said on 10.12.10 at 11:15 PM • [comment link]
@beggar1015: You can also turn it off by holding the power button for 10 seconds. This well and truly turns it off until you are ready to read again.
:)
Jae said on 10.13.10 at 12:38 AM • [comment link]
I LOVE love love the K2. I’ve always been a huge reader and since I haven’t had a proper nights sleep since acquiring the Kindle, I may find it necessary to hunt out a Readers Anonymous group, if such a thing exists. I got mine last year shortly before leaving for vacation and having to bring only this one small, light device was a life saver. When I travel I usually have to bring several books with because I read fairly fast. So not adding the weight of 4 books to my luggage was an incredible relief. And not having to carry a hardcover when I’m on the subway is cooler than I don’t know what.
As far as the archive feature, it’s handy but I only have 4 items in there (3 of which are the user guides). I have more than 700 items in my K2 (incl. samples) but archiving seems to defeat the purpose of having my entire library instantly available. Plus if you edit any metadata using calibre, the changes are not saved if you archive and reload. Which sucks balls because it took days to get everything all pretty-like.
@Claire, if you use kindleiq.com you can paste the urls of books you want to see on Kindle and they’ll shoot you an email if and when it becomes available. They also have a price-drop feature which does the same thing. You specify the price threshold and they’ll track books for up to 180 days.
Daz said on 10.13.10 at 01:09 AM • [comment link]
SB Sarah, I’ve read what you said about the “cloud” and I’m a bit concerned about the whole “lack of back up” thing. When Fictionwise and eReader went to pot at least I had all my books downloaded to my PC and I could then re-upload to my device (iPhone) when I wanted to. It sounds like I don’t have much of a choice when it comes to backing up books and to have a downloaded version on my PC that I can take around with me from PC to PC. Sounds like even on the PC, I’m still downloading from the “cloud”. Do you suggest that I download ALL my books to my Kindle 3? Since both my husband and I share the same Kindle account, I don’t want to end up with all his books on my Kindle, but I also don’t want to walk around with all the books in the “cloud” and not have them all on a device. What do you suggest I do?
sandir said on 10.13.10 at 01:25 AM • [comment link]
To me the biggest difference between the Kindle and all the other ereaders is the FREE BOOKS. Not just one or two - I currently have 300 books I got from Amazon for free on my Kindle. I think I’ve downloaded about 20 in the past two weeks and I definitely do not download all the books available.
I recommend the Books on the Knob blog for listings of all the free books Amazon offers for the Kindle - grab them fast because some don’t stay free for long.
AmberG said on 10.13.10 at 01:45 AM • [comment link]
So, what exactly are the problems with the Kindle for a canadian user? Because I really want something like this, but i’m looking for something that I can use comfortably without having to deal with a bunch of annoyance due to where I live.
Chris said on 10.13.10 at 01:47 AM • [comment link]
to be fair, all the ebook stores suffer from this asshattery. Some are much worse: B&N won’t sell you a Nook or any ebook outside of the US for example.
I think Amazon should use this in their advertising - “We’re the least worst if your not in the US!”
Daz said on 10.13.10 at 01:52 AM • [comment link]
Actually, B&N is the worse. I checked out the nook before I ended up with the Kindle. At least with Amazon, they will ship the Kindle to countries outside of the US and you can buy books even if you are not in the US - all you need is a US address in your profile and you can tag that your location is in the US by linking to that address. No “asshattery” problems at all.
Batwater said on 10.13.10 at 03:23 AM • [comment link]
I LOVE (love, love, love) my Kindle 2, but my library is getting Overdrive.com’s access to ebooks soon. Overdrive isn’t Kindle compatable. I’ve been thinking about a nook, but giving money to Barnes and Noble hurts my soul.
Can anybody tell me about the Cybook (preferably the Opus). I keep seeing ads, but I’ve never seen one in person?
Brian said on 10.13.10 at 04:03 AM • [comment link]
The Opus is quite a nice little reader. It handle’s Adept DRM’d ePub’s (like what’s used by Overdrive and most stores except B&N and iBooks) just fine and being a 5” device is extremely portable. It dosn’t have a Pearl screen like the K3 or new Sony’s, but it’s Viziplex screen is still quite good. You also have the option of loading alternate firmware and having it read Mobi books instead of ePub if need be. It uses real folders as opposed to the collection/tag systems Sony and Amazon offer. You can also load your own fonts if you wish to. I primarily use my K3, but the Opus is a nice reader to have around too.
SB Sarah said on 10.13.10 at 04:11 AM • [comment link]
@batwater: I’m tracking down some Cybook/Bookeen reviews asap. Also Kobo.
@daz: this is a problem faced by many ebook fans when a store goes belly up. I think your best bet is to possibly crack the files you have and store them on a hard drive off the Kindle and not in Le Air Biscuit Cloud. I also had no idea it was easier now to tag an address in the Amazon profile to allow for Kindle usage. That’s rather awesome! Thank you for sharing that.
@becca: you’re totally right about any DRM preventing you from truly owning the book file and holding onto it with your digital hands. B&N and Amazon wrap what I think of as an additional layer of DRM on top of already-DRM’d files from DRM-supporting publishers, so that makes it extra more annoying.
Daz said on 10.13.10 at 04:19 AM • [comment link]
Yeah, it’s dead easy. Go to “Manage Your Kindle” then scroll down to “Your Country” and viola!
Kate Pearce said on 10.13.10 at 05:42 AM • [comment link]
I’ve just downloaded all the apps from Kindle, Borders, Nook and Kobo onto my iPad so that, (along with the limitations and the delights of the iBook store), I can just pick and choose the best deals for my extensive reading habit. I did try my husband’s kindle first but found it increasingly clunky in some areas as I got used to the iPad. And if I’d bought all the different e-readers and kindles over the past year or so, I’d have paid for my iPad.
Meemo said on 10.13.10 at 05:47 AM • [comment link]
When the Collections feature became available for the K2 this summer, I found it easier to load all my books from “Manage My Kindle” on the computer rather than through Archives (which is, indeed, a pain when you’re loading multiple books at once). It was extra handy because I could check the book’s description quickly. There are 4 of us on our Kindle account, so I didn’t want all the books on my K2.
I have a nook as well, I’d had a Sony but when I found out I could put Sony & Kobo books on a nook, but not B&N books on the Sony, it made sense to make the switch so I could read them all on one e-ink device. I’m now using it for library books too (turns out there are libraries you can use without being in their local area). I haven’t given B&N a dime though - all my B&N books were freebies and I got the nook on eBay. ;-)
As a device, I infinitely prefer the Kindle - it’s like nook developers looked at the Kindle and decided to add at least one extra step to any given function.
Jeannie said on 10.13.10 at 03:36 PM • [comment link]
I have a K2 and love love love it! I’ve read more books in the past 9 months than I’d read in the past 9 years probably, though I’m not entirely certain way. The Buy with 1-click button is like crack tho, I agree!
One thing I did want to point out that I haven’t seen covered: I have the Kindle for PC feature downloaded on my computer at work. When I buy a book it gets downloaded to both my PC and my K2. If I open that book and read on the PC (I sometimes have a lot of downtime at work) when I get home and turn on my K2 it will sync to the furthest page read from my PC. Or vice versa. That’s pretty cool too.
I guess one of the other things I like a lot about Amazon/Kindle is that the seem to LISTEN to their customers wants and they are constantly working to try and improve it. I was over the moon when they came out with the “Collections” feature. Now I can organize by author, favorites, read, unread, freebies, samples, I want!, etc. and one title can go in three different folders if I want.
For my birthday next year I’m getting the K3 and hopefully it will be available in Red!!
J said on 10.13.10 at 05:15 PM • [comment link]
Ok- here’s the thing. I don’t buy books. I have, for long involved reasons, lots of books in PDF form. Also, my library system has about 20K e-books. Reading PDF’s on my computer is a pain. Don’t have a smart phone or Ipod. Can’t afford I-pad. So…anyone know if the cheaper ($100 - $130) e-readers that Borders carries are any good? I’m not looking for anything other than something that can read PDFs and library books and maybe the occasional purchased book. I have no computer skills, no idea how I would do all the stuff people are talking about, no interest in doing so! Thanks!!
(expect85 - I really don’t expect 85 answers - but that would be nice!!)
Courtney Milan said on 10.13.10 at 06:33 PM • [comment link]
There is definitely a Topaz crack out there. *cough* But it will require significant google-fu to find it.
The trick is that the Topaz crack, when you find it, will give you two things: one which is the embedded text within the format (and this is suboptimal because the text embedded via crappy OCR, for search purposes, and the text would never be displayed on the device itself), and another which is sort of a series of image files of the page.
Basically, the Topaz file format is really more a series of image glyphs that are put together, and not a text file. The resulting decryption of Topaz does not result in something that is a simple e-book, and there’s no way to make it do so: the file format itself is not text, but graphics.
The place where I learned all this has since been razed to the ground by takedown requests, but suffice it to say that there *is* a way to decrypt Topaz, just not into something that is easily read by other e-readers.
becca said on 10.13.10 at 07:32 PM • [comment link]
to the best of my knowledge, nothing reads pdfs very well, except maybe the Kindle DX and iPad - things with larger screens. This is because of the nature of pdfs - they’re basically snapshots of pages. When people ask me about reading pdfs, I recommend that they convert them with something like Calibre to a better file format.
Brian said on 10.13.10 at 07:52 PM • [comment link]
On Topaz… The only problem with Topaz (besides OCR errors) is that the resulting “cracked” files also are missing any formatting like italics which makes cracking a Topaz file and formatting it into ePub or Mobi no worth the effort even on books with only a few OCR errors.
As far as PDF reading goes… Most readers do them fine when they’re formatted for a small screen. The problem comes in that most are formatted to around the page size of a hardcover or trade paperback or even letter size. I’ve made a few of my own PDF’s with the page size setup properly for a 6” reader and they look great.
@J, the cheaper readers Borders carries will work fine for ePubs from the library, but not so much for PDF because of the reasons I stated above. Some of the smaller readers will try to reflow the PDF and sometimes that makes them somewhat readable on a small 5 or 6” screen. I’m not sure if the Kobo does reflow or not, but you’ll be able to find tons of reviews and discussion on it at Mobile Read.
As far as libraries go, for folks that don’t already know about it… The Free Library of Philadelphia offers non-resident cards (even for non-US folks) for $15 a year and currently has over 3,000 ebooks (and add hundreds each month). A fantastic deal if you don’t have a local library that offers them or if, like mine, your local libraries selection sucks.
Melissa said on 10.14.10 at 12:45 AM • [comment link]
I upgraded to the K3 after having the original Kindle for about a year and a half. The K1 wasn’t quite nice enough to convert me to all digital but reading on the K3 is so nice that it has won me over. The e-ink contrast in the K3 is sooo much nicer than the K1. I know the collection format isn’t perfect, but having the folder option is so much nicer than the K1 where I had 29 pages of books that I had to click through. I have the cover with the light that runs off the K3 battery and it’s wonderful - I can read in full darkness with the light and I also like it for my low light living room because it lights up the right side of my K3 while the lamp lights the left side. I also use my iPhone to read so I love having the sync option between my iPhone Kindle app and my K3. I love the one-click buying option, I just use my iPhone to easily search the Kindle store then send it straight to my Kindle.
If you are a K1 owner thinking of upgrading - I recommend it, the increased text contrast is amazing and looks so much better. I bought the graphite version, which looks great. I highly recommend the lighted cover from Amazon, it was well worth the money.
Alexis Harrington said on 10.14.10 at 03:27 AM • [comment link]
SB said:
Oddly enough, after I wrote my first comment about my new Kindle, its eyes rolled back in its head so I had to call customer support today. And yes, indeed, a new one will be in my hands tomorrow. The CS guy worked with me to try and figure out what had happened and then said, “We’ll just send you another by tomorrow.” Yahoo! What could be better? Obviously, no problems at all would be best, but how great to have such responsive help!
chisai said on 10.14.10 at 03:23 PM • [comment link]
I love my K3. I started with the K2 and loved it, but the promise of a better screen, smaller size, and larger capacity won me over within minutes of going on sale. Literally. Five minutes after it came up, I ordered it. The lighted case for it is amazing (I have it in apple green), but I am actually tend to use an Oberon case that was gifted to me because it’s so darned beautiful. I attach a Mighty Brite lite to it at night. I’ll pull out the lighted case when winter hits and it’s dark all the time.
I’ve played around with the Nook and didn’t like it nearly as well. I found the color strips distracting, didn’t like the page turn time and really hated the touch screen.
I have no experience with Sony ereaders so have no opinion on them other than they’re really, really good looking but have no wireless.
The K3 is far from perfect. As said endlessly, and with good reason, their “collection” system sucks for set up. However, I find that once set up, it beautifully serves my needs, though folder in folder would be a great upgrade. When the new K3 arrived, all I did was go to my Amazon page and download all the books I already owned (and all of which I’d previously put in collections) which is relatively quick and easy when done that way instead of through the device itself. Then, from the actual kindle I just Hit View Archive Items. The top item is Add All Other Device collections. It’ll ask from which device and voila! Done. It’ll drain the battery with all the indexing, which depending on how many books you have (I had around 400) will take a while, but will allow you to read etc as if nothing’s happening, but then everything is done. The only thing I absolutely hate about it is the directional key. I much preferred the joystick.
Also, Amazon’s customer service is amazing. I have never had an issue with any product that wasn’t addressed immediately, and this is going back to when they first started, when the ONLY thing they carried was books.
Liz said on 10.14.10 at 06:17 PM • [comment link]
the PDF capabilities is one of the reasons I just ordered the K3. I am a grad student, and most of my assignments involve reading pdf’s. It should be here on Saturday, and I cannot wait.
I haven’t read all of the comments yet, so i’m sorry if this was already addressed. Does the K3 have an airplane mode? I’ll be hopping a 6 hour flight from Boston to San Francisco in November (my 1st academic conference), and it would be so great if i could read on my K3.
Brian said on 10.14.10 at 10:41 PM • [comment link]
@Liz, you can turn off the Kindle’s wireless which I guess would be an airplane mode. When I flew down to Disney World in April I brought my K2 and used it without problem on the plane.
Liz said on 10.14.10 at 11:14 PM • [comment link]
@Brian, thanks. this was one of my main issues with buying an e-reader.
Julie said on 10.15.10 at 01:54 AM • [comment link]
Read all the comments and basically nodded my way through. I’ve had my K2 about a year. And I’ve bought more and read more in that year than previously. And I read a lot anyway.
I love the portability, and the immediacy. I also love that I don’t have to pack tons of books when I travel.
Felix Torres said on 10.15.10 at 02:52 AM • [comment link]
Sarah: On the subject of managing Kindle collections; you’re not the only one to be disappointed. One of those disappointed decided to do something about it. You might want to check this out:
http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=94261
If you’re in the mood to try other ePub-based readers, take a look at the Pocketbook 360. It is a very fun reader to own and excels at letting you customize it and make it your own. No wireless, no touchscreen, no audio; nothing but great ergonomics and very good reading software. I actually use it more than my K2. Oh, it comes in Opalescent “white” and dark chocolate “Black”. I went with black.
Recycle said on 10.15.10 at 03:53 PM • [comment link]
I was really into the idea of getting one of these, but lately I’ve been let down by all my new technology gadgets - TV, laptop, surround sound - and all have broken in some way. Makes me think a nice paperback book will make a refreshing change.
rooruu said on 10.17.10 at 06:31 AM • [comment link]
THANK YOU for mentioning the issue of available content outside the US. Just got a Kindle 3 and am already jaded, and have hardly bought anything. The range of stuff available to Australia is approx 450,000 vs 600,000+ to the US - and I’m telling you, what you want to read is more than likely in the missing 150,000 (which is quite a big number, isn’t it?).
I don’t know if it’s authors who aren’t chivvying, agents who aren’t looking after their clients’ interests, publishers dragging the chain, or what. Either way, there are sales of Kindle-formatted books which aren’t happening because the paperwork isn’t in place.
If you look at the Kindle store’s Australia bestseller list, it’s by and large Stieg Larsson x 3 and free stuff. It’s all very nice to be able to toddle through Pride and Prejudice or Alice in Wonderland free and download them in a very short time: but I bought the Kindle to buy and read current books I didn’t want to buy in physical form, not just download freebies of out of copyright classics. I’d already bought the Larssons as print novels, and you have to scroll for ages down the bestseller list to find much more current stuff. I want to be able to read a review or find a book that sounds good, and be able to buy it.
When something I am happy to buy again is there - eg. I thought I’d buy all the Gabaldon Outlander series - hey presto, you can buy two novels from later in the series, and not sequential ones (Fiery Cross and Echo in the Bone). Which is daft.
The issue of rights and content availability for non-US residents is a huge drawback. And a dealbreaker: I wouldn’t be recommending any e-reader to Australians, unless they have a passion for out of print classics…
Note: much the same as the limited range of audiobooks available to Australian buyers. Authors, agents and publishers need to get with the program and catch up!!
Andrea said on 10.17.10 at 11:49 AM • [comment link]
rooruu: absolutely! I am from Germany and we have the same problems regarding ebooks and audiobooks. This is the reason that I am not going to get a Kindle - except maybe if I got one really cheap on ebay. But I did download the Kindle4PC because this way I can at least get the free books that are available on amazon and that I CAN download - I was going to get Outlander while it was available for free but…
I just don’t understand why they don’t have/seek worldwide distribution rights for all e- and audiobooks. I mean I can get the paperbacks etc here just fine, so why not give us the e/audioversion, too??
If it weren’t for this problem, I would consider getting a Kindle, esp with the price now.
vicki said on 10.17.10 at 04:26 PM • [comment link]
rooruu: I’m in Australia and agree! Amazon won’t let me buy any more kindle books that I want. I tried the trick of using a US address, but now they want to see a US passport or something to verify my geographic location. If I want to read certain ebooks, it seems my only option is to illegally download them. I think they should make all ebook rights international not geographical, and fix this whole mess. At the moment I have to trick stores into taking my money, the whole situation is just plain crazy.
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