Don't buy an iPad either. Buy something else, but for god's sake DON'T buy a Kindle! *clings*
Bonus: Only person I've seen with a Kindle was a 50+ dentist with yellowing, uneven teeth, enveloped in a beige v-neck. He kept it in a little fold-out wallet and used to look like a bespectacled bunny while squinting down his nose to read it... You're too young for that kind of uncool-by-association!
It's #amazonfail that's making me hesitate. I'm not intending to get an iPad at all - too expensive, too heavy for what I want and just not something that fits with what I need.
The wilds of Canada reduce my choice a little because the Kobo doesn't have a great range (insert Chapters rant here), nor does the Sony, and the Kindle is the only other real option.
I think Touch & apps is the way to go with the limited coverage.
Problem with having a Kindle AND the ghost of #amazonfail is the genuine possibility you could buy an ebook, Amazon falls out with the publisher, publisher lists copies on own website, amazon deletes all Kindle downloads on remote while 'forgetting' to reimburse customers, etc.
I'd point you at the smartphone market but with the Touch+Skype combo, you're obviously trying to avoid that can of worms too.
Simple answer: run for government on a 'Canadian books should be cheap, dammit!' ticket.
You know the scary thing? Amazon is the company that's trying to challenge the protectionist laws that make Canadian books so expensive. It's hard to hate them when they're doing that.
There's no way I'm getting into the smartphone thing, particularly with trips to the UK and possibly US forthcoming. I refuse to get into stupid contracts that I'll barely use plus roaming charges. The cost of a Touch plus a Kindle would be less than the yearly contract for any smart phone here. Do not get me started on stupid protectionism that allows telecoms companies to rape us with jagged glass for this stuff.
I'm still leaning towards a Kindle if I buy one dedicated reader. It will be easier on the eyes than a Touch if I'm reading ebooks regularly.
I'd recommend the b&N Nook over the Kindle. Not tied into amazon,B&N tends to be cheaper plus you can use third party adobe editions on it as well - whereas the kindle only supports books bought from amazon. Reet now has my books - I run the Nook app on my iPad and we share a single account...
I'm planning to get all the various apps when I get the iPod Touch, so I'll grab the Nook app as well, but am seriously interested now in a dedicated reader as well.
The Nook looks great but, sadly, is not available in Canada. Nor does B&N have much Canadian content available. I'd rather not have something that I have to work a dozen work-arounds to buy and then do another half-dozen work-arounds to load books! Kindle does have the advantage of not needing to be connected to my computer to get things for it, unlike all the other options available up here.
Canada is great, but sometimes has some big techie gaps.
You know, I told myself I wasn't even going to think about an e-reader. I love printed books, I love the smell, the feel of the paper, the way the ink gets on your fingers. However, none of this stops me going to the shops from time to time and looking at the kindle like Gollum looking at the one ring, my precious.
Not to mention never again being in the situation of picking totally the wrong book for a long flight, because I'd have dozens on the reader to choose from.
Yes. This. I've taken to carrying two books everywhere with me in case I turn out not to be in the mood for the first one. My friends think I'm bonkers.
When I went to England at Christmas I had two books in my backpack for the flight. Can't go wrong with two books, right?
Arrrgh! Still did it. I haven't learned that short-story anthologies do not work as plane fodder. And I hate that bit where you're a few pages from the end of a book and have to decide whether that can be your handbag book or whether you need to start something new, risking not actually reading the final few pages due to the ooh shininess.
How awesome would it be to have 50 Agatha Christie's at my fingertips for flights? And another 100 things just in case that's not what I want?
I can't abandon printed books. They're too wonderful. I'm just thinking that an ebook reader would expand my options, particularly when I'm out and about.
There is no rabid justification here whatsoever, is there?
How awesome would it be to have 50 Agatha Christie's at my fingertips for flights?
That does sound kind of brilliant. The only think that's stopping me is that between an e-reader, an ipod and my mobile phone I'd be carting a small fortune in gadgets everywhere with me. I'd be a muggers dream come true.
When I travel to the UK I have an iPod, a camera and two mobile phones as minimum. If I have a Touch and a Kindle, then at least I won't also be carrying a super expensive laptop when I'm making short trips!
The daily BBC headlines email has been out of action ever since the BBC News website was upgraded and I find myself rather bereft it.
I was about to say it was still working, and then I've just realised I haven't had one for ages. I wondered why I was suddenly so out of touch with the world! That's really annoying.
I can't believe how cheap the Kindle is over there - it's about £139 on amazon.co.uk! When Dad got an ebook reader last year I said I'd consider it if it was £50 and it's down to close to £100 now (from £250), so we're getting there.
What's an iPod Touch? I don't keep up with all these iPods because I don't need one (I only use my mp3 player on long car journeys and that's only because I can't change the CD on the motorway).
I found it out when I went to the email set-up bit of the website intending to poke it a bit and discovered the notice. It's very grrr arrgh.
The new Kindle is insanely cheap now, even with shipping and conversion to the American dollar. It's why I'm getting tempted.
The iPod Touch is kind of like a really small iPad. Or an iPhone that works through wi-fi so doesn't have the phone-i-ness, which would kill me for roaming charges if I used it when I'm in the UK. It's the size of the classic iPod, but has applications that you can install to do cool things like have calendars, read newspapers, update Twitter, read emails, browse the web etc.
Podcasts update without needing to connect it to a computer. How awesomely brilliant would that be?
When I'm doing my mad drop-in to the UK for Redemption next year I'd be able to leave my lappie in Canada without being out of contact for days.
I have just discovered that the Guardian has a news email, though, so I've signed up to that and I'll see if something appears in my inbox tomorrow morning. Assuming I've remembered my work email address properly :)
Ah, so I can guarantee the iPod Touch is something I'll never need. The number of times I need the internet when I'm out and about is so tiny it wouldn't be worth spending more than 1p on. And I don't know how you'd be able to see anything on the screen. My dad's netbook's just a bit too small to surf on and that's a 7inch screen.
When I'm doing my mad drop-in to the UK for Redemption next year I'd be able to leave my lappie in Canada without being out of contact for days.
Heaven forbid you don't have access to the internet for a couple of days. I quite like the idea that no one can get in touch with me.
Hmm, Guardian you say? That looks like a decent temporary replacement for my beloved BBC News email.
The web stuff is tempting for all those times when I think "I'll just check...bugger, my computer isn't on". There's an app that gives access to the BBC News stuff without turning on my computer, which would be great in the mornings, plus another one for some of the radio stuff. Automatically updated podcasts would be awesome. Skype would be great, particularly if I'm stuck in an airport in a country where I don't have a cell phone. Being able to keep up with friends back in Canada away would be lovely. Yes, I'm not very good at being unconnected!
I gotta say I love my kindle, for all the reasons you just mentioned but also b/c I can take PDF'ed fanfics and load them for on-the-go reading as well. :)
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Don't buy an iPad either. Buy something else, but for god's sake DON'T buy a Kindle! *clings*
Bonus: Only person I've seen with a Kindle was a 50+ dentist with yellowing, uneven teeth, enveloped in a beige v-neck. He kept it in a little fold-out wallet and used to look like a bespectacled bunny while squinting down his nose to read it... You're too young for that kind of uncool-by-association!
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The wilds of Canada reduce my choice a little because the Kobo doesn't have a great range (insert Chapters rant here), nor does the Sony, and the Kindle is the only other real option.
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Problem with having a Kindle AND the ghost of #amazonfail is the genuine possibility you could buy an ebook, Amazon falls out with the publisher, publisher lists copies on own website, amazon deletes all Kindle downloads on remote while 'forgetting' to reimburse customers, etc.
I'd point you at the smartphone market but with the Touch+Skype combo, you're obviously trying to avoid that can of worms too.
Simple answer: run for government on a 'Canadian books should be cheap, dammit!' ticket.
Reply
There's no way I'm getting into the smartphone thing, particularly with trips to the UK and possibly US forthcoming. I refuse to get into stupid contracts that I'll barely use plus roaming charges. The cost of a Touch plus a Kindle would be less than the yearly contract for any smart phone here. Do not get me started on stupid protectionism that allows telecoms companies to rape us with jagged glass for this stuff.
I'm still leaning towards a Kindle if I buy one dedicated reader. It will be easier on the eyes than a Touch if I'm reading ebooks regularly.
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The Nook looks great but, sadly, is not available in Canada. Nor does B&N have much Canadian content available. I'd rather not have something that I have to work a dozen work-arounds to buy and then do another half-dozen work-arounds to load books! Kindle does have the advantage of not needing to be connected to my computer to get things for it, unlike all the other options available up here.
Canada is great, but sometimes has some big techie gaps.
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Not to mention never again being in the situation of picking totally the wrong book for a long flight, because I'd have dozens on the reader to choose from.
Yes. This. I've taken to carrying two books everywhere with me in case I turn out not to be in the mood for the first one. My friends think I'm bonkers.
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Arrrgh! Still did it. I haven't learned that short-story anthologies do not work as plane fodder. And I hate that bit where you're a few pages from the end of a book and have to decide whether that can be your handbag book or whether you need to start something new, risking not actually reading the final few pages due to the ooh shininess.
How awesome would it be to have 50 Agatha Christie's at my fingertips for flights? And another 100 things just in case that's not what I want?
I can't abandon printed books. They're too wonderful. I'm just thinking that an ebook reader would expand my options, particularly when I'm out and about.
There is no rabid justification here whatsoever, is there?
Reply
That does sound kind of brilliant. The only think that's stopping me is that between an e-reader, an ipod and my mobile phone I'd be carting a small fortune in gadgets everywhere with me. I'd be a muggers dream come true.
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I was about to say it was still working, and then I've just realised I haven't had one for ages. I wondered why I was suddenly so out of touch with the world! That's really annoying.
I can't believe how cheap the Kindle is over there - it's about £139 on amazon.co.uk! When Dad got an ebook reader last year I said I'd consider it if it was £50 and it's down to close to £100 now (from £250), so we're getting there.
What's an iPod Touch? I don't keep up with all these iPods because I don't need one (I only use my mp3 player on long car journeys and that's only because I can't change the CD on the motorway).
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I found it out when I went to the email set-up bit of the website intending to poke it a bit and discovered the notice. It's very grrr arrgh.
The new Kindle is insanely cheap now, even with shipping and conversion to the American dollar. It's why I'm getting tempted.
The iPod Touch is kind of like a really small iPad. Or an iPhone that works through wi-fi so doesn't have the phone-i-ness, which would kill me for roaming charges if I used it when I'm in the UK. It's the size of the classic iPod, but has applications that you can install to do cool things like have calendars, read newspapers, update Twitter, read emails, browse the web etc.
Podcasts update without needing to connect it to a computer. How awesomely brilliant would that be?
When I'm doing my mad drop-in to the UK for Redemption next year I'd be able to leave my lappie in Canada without being out of contact for days.
Reply
Ah, so I can guarantee the iPod Touch is something I'll never need. The number of times I need the internet when I'm out and about is so tiny it wouldn't be worth spending more than 1p on. And I don't know how you'd be able to see anything on the screen. My dad's netbook's just a bit too small to surf on and that's a 7inch screen.
When I'm doing my mad drop-in to the UK for Redemption next year I'd be able to leave my lappie in Canada without being out of contact for days.
Heaven forbid you don't have access to the internet for a couple of days. I quite like the idea that no one can get in touch with me.
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The web stuff is tempting for all those times when I think "I'll just check...bugger, my computer isn't on". There's an app that gives access to the BBC News stuff without turning on my computer, which would be great in the mornings, plus another one for some of the radio stuff. Automatically updated podcasts would be awesome. Skype would be great, particularly if I'm stuck in an airport in a country where I don't have a cell phone. Being able to keep up with friends back in Canada away would be lovely. Yes, I'm not very good at being unconnected!
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