One of the things that is on my Christmas list for MrP is a Kindle. I've wanted one for ages, and figured it was a no-brainer in the present dept. when he asked me for suggestions
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My wife is very happy with her Kindle. The 3G wireless is definitely built-in and free, and the only accessory she's felt a need for is a battery-powered light that attached to the thing so she can read at night in the car and so forth.
But that said . . . I've not bought either a Kindle or a Nook, and don't intend to. Frankly I think all such devices will be obsolete in two to three years as tablet computers start to take over the world (think of a tablet computer as a laptop with the physical format of a Nook or Kindle and a touch-sensitive screen instead of a mouse).
I'm also quite concerned about the digital rights software (DRM) for the Kindle. Thanks to DRM software, any books you buy for the Kindle are only readable on the Kindle or follow-on devices from Amazon. There are already a number of cases where books, music or movies that are DRM-protected are now useless to the owner because the media provider either went out of business or wasn't making enough money to keep providing the DRM verification service. There's little guarantee that even Amazon will still be supporting their Kindle DRM service ten years from how.
So if I were buying today, it would be a Nook or one of the new Sony DRM-free readers. But instead, I only buy DRM-free media and drop it onto my laptop or desktop. As the tablet computers become more popular in the next couple of years, that's what I'll move to for electronic reading.
In addition to the ePub formatting, I also like that the Nook has a removable battery (so you can have an extra if you want for long trips.) I know that the technology is going to advance, and it will probably be obsolete in a few years. But I read enough that I feel okay getting a few years use out of it, then upgrading down the road if I feel a need to do so.
I CANNOT read books on an LCD screen, even if it were thin tablet sized. I know some people can, but it just kills my eyes. The e - Ink is great for just pure reading, though I realize it sucks for other general applications.
But that said . . . I've not bought either a Kindle or a Nook, and don't intend to. Frankly I think all such devices will be obsolete in two to three years as tablet computers start to take over the world (think of a tablet computer as a laptop with the physical format of a Nook or Kindle and a touch-sensitive screen instead of a mouse).
I'm also quite concerned about the digital rights software (DRM) for the Kindle. Thanks to DRM software, any books you buy for the Kindle are only readable on the Kindle or follow-on devices from Amazon. There are already a number of cases where books, music or movies that are DRM-protected are now useless to the owner because the media provider either went out of business or wasn't making enough money to keep providing the DRM verification service. There's little guarantee that even Amazon will still be supporting their Kindle DRM service ten years from how.
So if I were buying today, it would be a Nook or one of the new Sony DRM-free readers. But instead, I only buy DRM-free media and drop it onto my laptop or desktop. As the tablet computers become more popular in the next couple of years, that's what I'll move to for electronic reading.
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I CANNOT read books on an LCD screen, even if it were thin tablet sized. I know some people can, but it just kills my eyes. The e - Ink is great for just pure reading, though I realize it sucks for other general applications.
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