Ragdoll Cat Forums

Hi

I know from previous threads that some of you have e-readers and I'm after some reviews please. I am trying to compare the e-readers easily available to me such as the Kindle, Sony and Elonex and wondered who had what.

My research shows so far that the Elonex is cheaper, holds most books and possibly has best battery life, it also plays mp3's. Trouble is, it's nowhere near as nice looking as the Sony and it only has a 5" screen.

What I really need to know is do they make your eyes tired like computers do and are they really economical as books seem to be priced similarly to paperbooks?

Thanks

I bought hubby Dave the Sony ereader for Christmas. Although he liked it as a gift, he did say that he wouldn't have bought it for himself. He's finding it difficult to get used to: he doesn't like the fact he can only see a third /half a page at a time and he forgets to charge it when he could use it on the train etc. He finds the books he wants to download are as expensive as hardbacks. Sorry Jane. I wish I could be more positive

A guy at the airport demonstrated his Kindle to me and I was impressed. I think if I ever get one, it will be that since I've seen it and held it myself. I haven't the others, so that's why I don't have an opinion on them.

I was dead set against using an ereader. I volunteer at the library, and I've always loved the feel of a book in my hands, the smell of the paper etc. ( That may be weird). I took out the new Stephen King, Under the Dome. I read late at night and as soon as I get up in bed. The book was too cumbersome to read lying down. So I decided to research readers. The Barnes & Noble was similar to the Amazon Kindle, but not as easy to operate. The Sony was fine, but I didn't need another device that could access the internet or do any other fancy thing. I settled on the kindle and Santa obliged me. I love it. I never thought I would. Controls are easy to operate, downloading books from Amazon takes a minute, and I find the screen very easy to see. You can set your text size from small to large print, and it's easy to scroll to the next page. When you turn it on you are immediately back to where you left off in a book. Reading Under the Dome was wonderful. Three downsides: 1.there is no back light. To compensate I ordered the little lamp that slips on the side, then found I didn't really need it for my purposes. 2.I am a little frustrated when I want to go back and look for a sentence etc. It is much easier in a book 3. It is very light which is fine for the house, but if I want to take it with me I needed a case. And the case makes the kindle (or any of the ereaders) as heavy as a book, which somewhat negates the "easy and light to take with you" concept.
On the plus side you can download hundreds of titles for a vacation or the beach and just have one thing to carry. My friend says he is reading twice as much between patient sessions because it's easy to keep in his pocket. I find I don't use it much now, but it's good to have for the beach this summer. Hope this helps somewhat.

I have the Kindle, and I LOVE it! I honestly don't know if I'll ever go back to reading regular books (and I'm a huge book lover). Like Judy said, it is so easy to operate and the books download within seconds. It doesn't have a backlight, but that's what makes it easy on the eyes, it is very similar to reading pages from paper except you can increase the text size to where it will be comfortable for you. Also, there is no scrolling on the page itself, you just click next page or previous page for more text, never up or down. The battery life lasts quite a long time (with wireless off...I keep my wireless off except for when I'm actually downloading the book itself). Hope this helps! I know Paula just got one for Christmas as well.

I have the Kindle and I simply love it and so easy to operate and as they say if I can do then anyone can. Jenny helped me alot before I got one. Thanks.

Of course, now there's the I-Pad. As if there weren't enough choices already. I want one!

The iPad is probably going to be pretty nifty, and I love Apple products (I'm writing this from a MacBook and I'm an avid user/recommender of the iPhone), but I'd probably wait for a second gen for the iPad. Also, there's a big debate going on right now with all the e-readers and the publishing companies. The publishers want the e-readers (ie. Amazon, Sony, Barnes and Noble, etc) to charge more for the books they're putting out, which frankly is ridiculous. They're not paying to put out books, just a digital format, but publishers are greedy! Right now Amazon is the only one holding out, saying they're not going to charge more. I hope they hold strong (even though I know one publisher who has taken their books off Amazon), because frankly I don't think the publishing companies can afford losing Amazon's users as customers!

MacBook here too.. and G4 in my office. I can work on a PC with a gun to my head though! LOL

WTH is with the publishers? They save cost of printing and binding books, as you said it's a digital format. This is a HUGE savings to them. Greed is not attractive, it really turns me off. I like Amazon, I too hope they hold out.

I think it's the cost of the books that is putting me off at the moment. I have looked around the internet and mostly they seem to work at between £6.00 and £10.00, This seems expensive to me as I could pick up books at the supermarket or charity shops for £3.00 and the choice is wider. So, my next question has to be - is there a cheaper source for e-books?

Thanks for all of your help, as soon as I make up my mind I'll let you know