Who here has a Kindle?
 

I have never actually seen or held one, but they look pretty slick from what I can see online. I guess my question is, if something goes wrong, are your purchases still loadable through Amazon if you upgrade to a new Kindle or need to replace a broken/lost one? Are you really satisfied with the purchase? I mean, I kind of like the idea of having a physical book in my hands, and the prices for Kindle versions of books aren't really that much cheaper. Considering that you gotta drop like $300 for the 9" model, you've got to buy probably 50 books before you're really cost saving. It seems like an expensive little gadget to have just for the sake of having it. It would be nice to have all your books in one small place, like having all your songs on an iPod etc. At that price it seems like you'd be further off with a more versatile tablet, no? Really the only feature I see that I like is the digital ink display they've got going on, for easy reading in all light conditions. So what do you Kindle owners think? Worth the purchase?

Shhh! Quiet in the library, everyone is reading.

I'm a geek and love any kind of electronic device, but yes, i enjoy my kindle and think it was a good purchase.

I love reading, i hate carrying a lot of books with me. In my kindle i have a ton of novels, but also a ton of html/php/mysql/unix/photoshop etc manuals in pdf that i wouldn't carry with me if not in digital format.

I was a bit skeptical on e-ink, i thought it would be like reading in a PC or IPAD but i was totally wrong, it's really easy on the eyes for long hours of reading.

About your purchased books, they are yours forever and you can sync the kindle software between your kindle, PC, Android or Apple phone or pad etc so you can also read your books in all those devices the software is widely supported by all them. If you lose your kindle and buy a new one, you just need to sync it to have all your books back in the new device.

With a 3rd party software like calibre you can port lots of different ebooks formats and transfer them easily to your kindle. You can also easily hack the kindle and to not to purchase a single book ever again... but that is your choice.

my nephew has one and it's great - it is actually the best e-book reader on the market right now

on the other hand, if you buy the latest nook and hack it, you get an e-rader and tablet all in one and with colors too

Everything I've read so far says that if you're looking for a dedicated e-reader, the Kindle is far and above the go to gadget. I'm just a little split on the decision, do I want to go for a full on tablet, or a dedicated eBook machine. Or if I really need either considering I have a laptop and a netbook already. When the eBook craps out, I might buy a tablet. the Kindle does seem like a slick little gadget, but something in me just likes having that physical book. t just seems the way to do things.

If you can hack the thing and steal a ton of books I might consider it :1orglaugh

One thing to take into consideration is the weight.... most ereaders are quite light, lighter than most books. Tablets like the ipad for example are a lot heavier, so not very easy to hold with one hand for a long time when you are reading something...

Ridiculously long battery life seems like another great plus from the Kindle.

Forever? Not exactly, from my understanding. Publishers can restrict the number of times an on-line book can be re-downloaded - that number could be a few times or even zero!

Relating to the above, for one seeking to retain a book indefinitely, strip off the DRM and save a copy or two on other different devices / media - that's the only way one can be truly be assured of being able to reload an on-line book forever.

Ron

I have a kettle in my kitchen... I think thats the dyslexic version?

I was leery of the Kindle because of liking the physical feel of a book. When I ordered mine, I got this cover for it. Though I didn't realize it at the time, that totally solved the problem (for me at least).

I have tons of pdfs on it as well, and use it on a daily basis. For me, there is zero eye strain, and that is not the case after looking at a monitor all day long.

I didn't really explore other options because I wanted a dedicated reader. When I'm using it, I don't need the reminder that I could be/should be working. I wanted something that was purely for pleasure.

I have a DX, and I would buy it again.

So its different than the ipad for reading because all I use the ipad for is reading and it gets heavy.especially when laying in bed on your side. lol

I've had one for over a year or so. It is the best machine for reading. I have about 60 books so far and I can archive them off the unit and bring them back whenever I want. Battery life is weeks. I can buy a book from Amazon at anytime regardless of where I am. It's a e-reader only and very good at what it does. If I wanted a camera, internet, video playing, toaster making, color displaying jack of all trades unit, I would get something else. Get one, you will not be sorry.

Love my kindle. 6" is the perfect size ($139 wifi, $189 3G). 9" felt too big to me. Easy on the eyes to read. If you lose a book go to the Kindle Store > Manage My Kindle > scroll down to the list of books and tell it where to deliver them. Best purchase of 2010 for me.

Have one and love it, upgraded from the US version to the world wide so i could use the whisper network up in Canada and all the books transferred though my account with out a problem. It's light and the battery is great, the best part is it's easy to read in sunlight and there is no glare, great for by the pool, beach whatever. Only drawback is no back light for night time reading, so I'm forced to actually talk with my wife in bed;-)

Not me...

it may be worth seeing what the new ipad2 is like (next wed).

It may be so light that its worth getting to use to read books.

I love the Kindle. I didn't think I would like it but I do. Hell, it's only $139 so not much risk in getting one.

I have one of the pocket ones (about 10 inches), and I LOVE it. highly recommended

Archive them where? In the Amazon Kindle cloud or do you mean on your computer?

If you're relying on the ability to re-download from the cloud, you may be in for a nasty surprise in the future - publishers have the ability and legal right to restrict re-downloads (aka. restoring).

As for restoring from an archive on your own computer, that's safer, but even that's not full-proof either due to the DRM - there's no guarantee it will be restoreable indefinitely without cracking the DRM and/or through other measures.

After the 1984 book debacle, Amazon has basically stated they would refrain from removing books already on one's Kindle device, except in rare instances, but will still continue to utilize the ability to retroactively take action, such as restricting re-downloads - that presumably could be enforced on local archives as well unless the DRM is removed and/or the device is modded.

Ron

You can put them on your PC and there is even software so you can read them on your PC.

I have one and love it. Holds tons of books and the battery life is amazing. You really can read it clearly even in the sun at the pool or beach.

Honestly in the 2.5 months I have had mine I have yet to BUY a book. I am still working though the free ones and have already read about 14 of them. Download is amazingly fast no matter your connection speed at home and the purchase is simple.

More than worth the few bucks they cost.