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Amazon Kindle
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Nasalhair
13-06-2011
Originally Posted by Gaz22:
“My lighted cover just came today. It looks really solid. Nice leather smell too. Clips were a bit hard to get in but they're secured well.

I have two questions for those who have had the cover for a while;

1) I've seen a lot of videos/pictures of readers inverting the left side of the cover and reading normally. I tried this and, after I turned it back again, I noticed some foldings down the spine. Is this "healthy" for the cover?”

It doesn't seem to do it any harm, and I fold mine back, then hold it in place with the elastic strap.

Originally Posted by Gaz22:
“2) When the Kindle is on, but the light pushed down, does it still take power from the Kindle? In theory it wouldn't but I'm wondering if the light is activated anyway.

Thanks.”

The light only comes on when it is fully extended (try it - you'll see. I actually thought mine was broken once but it turned out there was maybe another couple of millimetres I needed to pull out) but there may still be a tiny drain on the battery. If there is any drain it isn't significant, and I've certainly not noticed it at all. Put it this way - I've had my Kindle since January or February I think, a leather lighted cover on it all the time, and I think I've had to charge it three times. Granted I often go days or weeks without using it, but it is always left on "sleep" with a screen saver showing.
cathrin
18-06-2011
After umming and aahing for ages, I've just ordered a Kindle, (3G), and I'm so excited I can barely contain myself! Reading about it on this thread has really got me enthused.

Funny to see the Ubisurfer mentioned here. I had been wondering about getting one a while ago but thought better of it.

Originally Posted by ironjade:
“I wondered who the other person was who bought a Ubisurfer.
What a piece of crap that turned out to be.”

Originally Posted by spiney2:
“If my Ubisurfer finally packs up - I've met most of the staff at their Acton depot after various problems - I'll probably get one for the free - if restricted - web browser. Though who knows how long it will stay free .....”

Oh dear! Sounds like I made the right decision not getting one, then! What was it like?

Anyway, getting back on topic, the Kindle sounds brilliant. Anything I ought to know before I get it up and running?...any particularly good free stuff to look out for?
Toby53
18-06-2011
Originally Posted by cathrin:
“After umming and aahing for ages, I've just ordered a Kindle, (3G), and I'm so excited I can barely contain myself! Reading about it on this thread has really got me enthused.

Funny to see the Ubisurfer mentioned here. I had been wondering about getting one a while ago but thought better of it.





Oh dear! Sounds like I made the right decision not getting one, then! What was it like?

Anyway, getting back on topic, the Kindle sounds brilliant. Anything I ought to know before I get it up and running?...any particularly good free stuff to look out for?”

List of foc books on amazon uk. you just need an account. Enjoy
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s?ie=UTF8&no...&redirect=true
lotty27
19-06-2011
I love my kindle!

I was a dyed in the wool, I'll never have one of those, I like the feel and smell of proper books etc etc etc until I went on holiday last time lugging 5 paperbacks on my shoulder (I do a serious amount of reading on holiday) saw several people with a kindle and thought 'now THAT looks easier!'

Anyway, mentioned to my hubby that I might buy one JUST for holidays so he got me one for my birthday at the end of last month - and I am now officially a kindle addict! Absolutely obsessed with it and I've already got 34 books on it I drove my family mad going on about what colour cover to get, what books to get and and they groan every time I mention it now

I'm not saying I'm never going to read normal books again, but at the moment I'm in love with my kindle. What I find so amazing is that you really do forget you're not reading a conventional book, the turning of the page isn't disruptive at all and it's easy on the eye. It's also very easy to hold, MUCH easier than a book if you're in bed. The light also means that you're not keeping a partner awake when you're reading - a huge bonus for me. The battery life is incredible - I've read it to death and I've still got a quarter of the battery left from the original charge.

I'm definitely a kindle convert
jazzyjazzy
19-06-2011
I'm another Kindle convert until I find 2 books for £7 in Asda and just one of them costs almost £7 for the Kindle.
cathrin
19-06-2011
Originally Posted by Toby53:
“List of foc books on amazon uk. you just need an account. Enjoy
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s?ie=UTF8&no...&redirect=true”

Brilliant! Thanks for the link. I can't wait for my kindle to arrive!
ironjade
19-06-2011
Originally Posted by cathrin:
“After umming and aahing for ages, I've just ordered a Kindle, (3G), and I'm so excited I can barely contain myself! Reading about it on this thread has really got me enthused.

Funny to see the Ubisurfer mentioned here. I had been wondering about getting one a while ago but thought better of it.





Oh dear! Sounds like I made the right decision not getting one, then! What was it like?

Anyway, getting back on topic, the Kindle sounds brilliant. Anything I ought to know before I get it up and running?...any particularly good free stuff to look out for?”

For the unwary Ubisurfer is a tiny Linux based (although there are now Windows versions) netbook which enables you to surf the net, access e-mails etc. from just about anywhere, either via Wi-Fi or 3G (which is included in the price).
The only things in its favour are the size and the price: it's tiny and costs about £150.
Everything else about it is dreadful: it's heavy (relative to its size), it's slow to do anything (including booting up, loading pages, scrolling), the keyboard is fiddly and over sensitive, the battery life is poor and updates are a trial.
Being Linux based, it locks you out of any way of personalising anything or installing additional software but I think this is intentional to prevent punters messing it up.
Eventually I only used it as a e-reader (as which it served quite well) but Kindle has replaced it completely. Avoid.
ChrisE
19-06-2011
Originally Posted by lotty27:
“I love my kindle!

I was a dyed in the wool, I'll never have one of those, I like the feel and smell of proper books etc etc etc until I went on holiday last time lugging 5 paperbacks on my shoulder (I do a serious amount of reading on holiday) saw several people with a kindle and thought 'now THAT looks easier!'

Anyway, mentioned to my hubby that I might buy one JUST for holidays so he got me one for my birthday at the end of last month - and I am now officially a kindle addict! Absolutely obsessed with it and I've already got 34 books on it I drove my family mad going on about what colour cover to get, what books to get and and they groan every time I mention it now

I'm not saying I'm never going to read normal books again, but at the moment I'm in love with my kindle. What I find so amazing is that you really do forget you're not reading a conventional book, the turning of the page isn't disruptive at all and it's easy on the eye. It's also very easy to hold, MUCH easier than a book if you're in bed. The light also means that you're not keeping a partner awake when you're reading - a huge bonus for me. The battery life is incredible - I've read it to death and I've still got a quarter of the battery left from the original charge.

I'm definitely a kindle convert ”

^^This.

I find myself going into, what my son calls 'Kindle Salesman Mode', at the drop of a hat.:yawn:

Best gadget I've ever bought (well this year anyway).
ironjade
19-06-2011
Originally Posted by ChrisE:
“^^This.

I find myself going into, what my son calls 'Kindle Salesman Mode', at the drop of a hat.:yawn:

Best gadget I've ever bought (well this year anyway).”

It's almost impossible to talk about Kindle without sounding like a sales rep.
JulieD
20-06-2011
Mine gives me a migraine - now consigned to the junk drawer until the next charity clear out.
ImaPlum
20-06-2011
Originally Posted by JulieD:
“Mine gives me a migraine - now consigned to the junk drawer until the next charity clear out.”

Blimey, they never have good stuff like that at our local charity shops! Could you post it to my local charity shop in Oz?
Nasalhair
20-06-2011
Originally Posted by JulieD:
“Mine gives me a migraine - now consigned to the junk drawer until the next charity clear out.”

I suffer from migraines myself but I'm fine with my Kindle. The screen isn't reflective so the trigger can't be light reflections, and you can't be straining to read it as you can change the text size and spacing etc.
harry*half*pint
20-06-2011
Like a lot of people, I have been humming and hahing for ages - finally took the plunge and ordered the 3G version from Amazon at the weekend! (also went mad and bought a cover and light - in for a penny ....... )

Now can't wait!!! Already had a good look at what's available and got my list ready - just need the bloomin' thing to arrive now. Been undecided for ages and now that I have I want it NOW
badcompany3004
20-06-2011
Originally Posted by jazzyjazzy:
“I'm another Kindle convert until I find 2 books for £7 in Asda and just one of them costs almost £7 for the Kindle.”

Kindle prices are not always better, sometimes they are a pound cheaper, but a lot of books I have looked to buy on the kindle are more expensive to their paper counterparts. What helps with the pricing is the numerous books that can be obtained for free.

I recently checked the price of a book someone mentioned on these forums and found that it cost about £1.50 more than the Hardback version. I am a strong supporter of the Kindle, but pricing wise I don't think it always beats books, this could be the VAT or the publisher price fixing. I just hope this doesn't lead to huge amount of piracy.
Nasalhair
20-06-2011
Originally Posted by badcompany3004:
“Kindle prices are not always better, sometimes they are a pound cheaper, but a lot of books I have looked to buy on the kindle are more expensive to their paper counterparts. What helps with the pricing is the numerous books that can be obtained for free.

I recently checked the price of a book someone mentioned on these forums and found that it cost about £1.50 more than the Hardback version. I am a strong supporter of the Kindle, but pricing wise I don't think it always beats books, this could be the VAT or the publisher price fixing. I just hope this doesn't lead to huge amount of piracy.”

Agreed. I know paperbacks have a negligible cost to the publisher (about 30p I think) but I object to paying more than £5 for a Kindle book. I know there are lots of the "classics" out there for free, but to be honest I've read all the classics I want to read, and as for the likes of "Smashwords" I'm frankly not interested as I'm pretty picky in what I like to read, sticking to certain authors and avoiding genre fiction (e.g. thrillers, horror, crime, SF, fantasy...) The authors I enjoy are either not releasing digital rights for their books, or when they do they're costing more than the hardbacks.

As it looks like Kindle book prices will remain high for the foreseeable future I'll still buy just as many paperbacks as I do now as they're often cheaper, but when I see a bargain I'll get the Kindle edition. There will always be authors whose work I collect though, and for those I'll still buy the hardback.
buffyslay
20-06-2011
Originally Posted by ChrisE:
“^^This.

I find myself going into, what my son calls 'Kindle Salesman Mode', at the drop of a hat.:yawn:

Best gadget I've ever bought (well this year anyway).”

my husband says i "am evangelical" about my eReader (Sony)
cathrin
20-06-2011
Originally Posted by harry*half*pint:
“Like a lot of people, I have been humming and hahing for ages - finally took the plunge and ordered the 3G version from Amazon at the weekend! (also went mad and bought a cover and light - in for a penny ....... )

Now can't wait!!! Already had a good look at what's available and got my list ready - just need the bloomin' thing to arrive now. Been undecided for ages and now that I have I want it NOW ”

I'm in exactly the same boat! Mine's due to arrive for collection at Tesco tomorrow, and I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve! Reading this thread has doubled my impatience....I can't wait to enter this exciting new world...
poppycat
20-06-2011
Good luck to all you Kindle newbies! You'll love it.

I never thought I'd get one, was quite happy with a proper book. Then I relented and got mine a couple of months ago.

I wanted a particular book, it was £4.99 for Kindle or I could get a second hand copy for just over £1 with free postage. No contest, obviously.

Then I started reading the 'proper' book and hated it!! I've got so used to my Kindle that I found it cumbersome and just not right at all! I almost looked for the 'off' switch when I'd finished reading!

So I've just coughed up the £4.99 for the Kindle version, with the paperback version right her next to me, but I know it was worth it because I just love reading from my Kindle and I'll give the paperback version away to a relative.

I'm definitely converted!
badcompany3004
21-06-2011
Originally Posted by Nasalhair:
“Agreed. I know paperbacks have a negligible cost to the publisher (about 30p I think) but I object to paying more than £5 for a Kindle book. I know there are lots of the "classics" out there for free, but to be honest I've read all the classics I want to read, and as for the likes of "Smashwords" I'm frankly not interested as I'm pretty picky in what I like to read, sticking to certain authors and avoiding genre fiction (e.g. thrillers, horror, crime, SF, fantasy...) The authors I enjoy are either not releasing digital rights for their books, or when they do they're costing more than the hardbacks.

As it looks like Kindle book prices will remain high for the foreseeable future I'll still buy just as many paperbacks as I do now as they're often cheaper, but when I see a bargain I'll get the Kindle edition. There will always be authors whose work I collect though, and for those I'll still buy the hardback.”

I have just looked at a pre-order out later next month. And the price difference is £2.50 in favour of the hardback. I can imagine more people are likely to buy it for 12.50 rather than 15.00, everyone likes a bargain.

And some publishers have a laugh when transferring books to Ebook format. One book I recently bought, should contain maps at the beginning of the books to depict the world it is set. They don't contain them - which is annoying as they are included for a reason. And worse of all there are spelling mistakes in the book too. It is really sub par what some of the publishers decide to fob off as E-books.

In my mind if I am paying prices over the cost of actual books I should get a near damn perfect replica of the book, not something that looks like they have knocked together on notepad.

As I said I am a Kindlehead, absolutely love the device - it goes everywhere with me. But the book publishers are the only niggling part that threatens to ruin my joy. They need to pull their finger out. Even if the prices don't drop I want a decent E-book created.
Nasalhair
21-06-2011
Originally Posted by badcompany3004:
“I have just looked at a pre-order out later next month. And the price difference is £2.50 in favour of the hardback. I can imagine more people are likely to buy it for 12.50 rather than 15.00, everyone likes a bargain.

And some publishers have a laugh when transferring books to Ebook format. One book I recently bought, should contain maps at the beginning of the books to depict the world it is set. They don't contain them - which is annoying as they are included for a reason. And worse of all there are spelling mistakes in the book too. It is really sub par what some of the publishers decide to fob off as E-books.

In my mind if I am paying prices over the cost of actual books I should get a near damn perfect replica of the book, not something that looks like they have knocked together on notepad.

As I said I am a Kindlehead, absolutely love the device - it goes everywhere with me. But the book publishers are the only niggling part that threatens to ruin my joy. They need to pull their finger out. Even if the prices don't drop I want a decent E-book created.”

Absolutely. I still maintain that the Kindle edition should be considerably cheaper than the paperback as you're getting a "lesser" product - the words may be the same but the "build" is different. Think of it in terms of a hardback costing £20, then the paperback - same words, poorer binding - costs £10. Why can't the Kindle edition therefore cost £5, or less? It's also like comparing a CD of an album to an MP3 version of the same thing - the songs are the same, and the artwork sometimes comes as a PDF, but the price is much lower than the physical edition.
mocha-latte
22-06-2011
Had my Kindle nearly a year, and it just get better, this year instead of trying to choose which books to take on holiday I'm taking them all .. over 200

Paid on average £4 to £6 for a new book, loads at around 49p £1 £2 and tons of Free ones, ... not to forget the offers

Love laying on the sofa browsing Amazon and buying a book, and starting reading it a few mins later amazing, and enjoy putting my photo's on it...
Has its own email too.

My best buy ever, also have the Lighted leather cover which I love ..

Brilliant Love it !!!



.
katkim
22-06-2011
Originally Posted by badcompany3004:
“I have just looked at a pre-order out later next month. And the price difference is £2.50 in favour of the hardback. I can imagine more people are likely to buy it for 12.50 rather than 15.00, everyone likes a bargain.

And some publishers have a laugh when transferring books to Ebook format. One book I recently bought, should contain maps at the beginning of the books to depict the world it is set. They don't contain them - which is annoying as they are included for a reason. And worse of all there are spelling mistakes in the book too. It is really sub par what some of the publishers decide to fob off as E-books.

In my mind if I am paying prices over the cost of actual books I should get a near damn perfect replica of the book, not something that looks like they have knocked together on notepad.

As I said I am a Kindlehead, absolutely love the device - it goes everywhere with me. But the book publishers are the only niggling part that threatens to ruin my joy. They need to pull their finger out. Even if the prices don't drop I want a decent E-book created.”

I don't know how ebooks are created, but surely they have all the text in digital format already for the printed book? It's not like they have to type it all out again...or do they?

But yes, spelling mistakes in any format is inexcusable!
Nasalhair
22-06-2011
Originally Posted by katkim:
“I don't know how ebooks are created, but surely they have all the text in digital format already for the printed book? It's not like they have to type it all out again...or do they?

But yes, spelling mistakes in any format is inexcusable!”

Not necessarily - some ebooks (particularly older ones) are scanned from the printed text and converted via OCR.
rwould
22-06-2011
From speaking with an author apparently the issue as not as black and white as Amazon would have us believe re: publishers setting prices.

The publishers objections is because of the way Amazon charges and makes money itself. They set a percentage of the sale that will go to them based upon the sale price, and this is higher if the price is over a tenner. So if you want to guarantee a particular royalty figure you need to set a price based upon that. It's not like other areas of retail where a straight cost price is paid and then the seller makes their profit on top of that so can decide what they want to charge.

I hope that makes sense! It certainly gave me a better understanding of the problem, and it makes me wonder if they need to look at moving on from royalties in terms of book sales and look at a different business model that can fit in better with the more modern ways of selling.
pickwick
22-06-2011
Originally Posted by Nasalhair:
“Absolutely. I still maintain that the Kindle edition should be considerably cheaper than the paperback as you're getting a "lesser" product - the words may be the same but the "build" is different. Think of it in terms of a hardback costing £20, then the paperback - same words, poorer binding - costs £10. Why can't the Kindle edition therefore cost £5, or less? It's also like comparing a CD of an album to an MP3 version of the same thing - the songs are the same, and the artwork sometimes comes as a PDF, but the price is much lower than the physical edition.”

It's actually much more work to convert hardback -> ebook than hardback -> paperback, according to a mate who works in this area. It's all a lot more complex than it seems, and includes lots of departments co-operating (which always goes well!), and lots of expensive and time-consuming proof-reading and IT error checking, and so on. Involves lawyers, too, because ebooks are a separate deal from physical ones, usually. (I imagine that'll change soon enough!)

And I'm not so sure it's a "lesser" product either - I'm finding that both physical books and Kindle books have advantages. It's quite annoying that I can't make notes and highlight stuff in real books without, you know, writing on the book As well as the speed, convenience and portability improvements.
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