In my line of work, I deal a lot with ebooks. I write them, I use them to research articles, and of course I read them too. As a result, I need to find a good way to store and view them.
Currently my mom is trying out the Kindle, Amazon's answer to the need for an ebook reader. The Kindle is a slim, handheld ebook reader that resembles a small pad of paper, except that it is electronic: It can store, display, and even download (for a price) ebooks from Amazon.com.
The Kindle has a lot of advantages: For one thing, the battery lasts a long time, since the screen doesn't require a lot of power. Also, the Kindle is pretty easy to read and use.
However, the Kindle also has some drawbacks. The ebooks you purchase from Amazon.com can only be read on the Kindle, because of the unique software and digital rights management (DRM) Amazon uses.
And of course, for most people carrying a laptop around to read an ebook is just not a viable alternative. Most laptops are heavy and cumbersome, and while netbooks offer greater portability, they are still awkward to pull out on, say, the bus so that you can read an ebook.
One idea I've had lately is to use my husband's iPhone as an ebook reader. There are a number of ebook reader apps for the iPhone. The iPhone and accessories that you can buy for it result in a product that can do almost anything you need — phone calls, email, organizer, music, and even ebook reader.
So I am curious — what device do you use to read ebooks, and why did you choose it over the other options available?
Saturday, June 6, 2009
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7 comments:
I really want to try out a Kindle. Aside from being useful, they're just...shiny. And cool. And novel, in a novel kind of way, if you know what I mean. It seems really cool!
Are there other comparable ebook readers out there right now? I haven't heard about anything other than the Kindle. For me, at least, it's outrageously expensive and doesn't seem to have any intention of offering cheaper versions. :-(
I am so jealous of the iPhones! My bff has one and she can read full novels on her phone no matter where she is. For a total book junkie like me, it would be totally worth it...but unfortunately I have Verizon!
How affordable are the ebooks on the iPhone? I don't really know that much about it. Do the applications have the same kind of book availability as Amazon does? That would be a big factor between choosing one over the other.
I really want to get a netbook, but I've been holding out because I'm hoping that Apple is going to put out a Mac netbook, but I'm not convinced, and it's getting to be a bit of a wait! A Kindle or an iPod Touch would be my next investment then.
iPod Touch has the same applications that iPhone does, right? I mean, if you load them up? I don't have AT&T but I'm really interested in getting a touch for things like ebook readers and games.
How's the screen on the iPhone for ebooks? I know the Kindle put a lot of research and development into the screen and its ease of reading. Is the iPhone tough to read or pretty easy?
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