Returned my Kindle today...

[widgeon13]

SI should have used the swimsuit edition!

How do you use it on a plane? If no wifi and no 3G.

[Erakad]

I got a Kindle for my wife, mostly to avoid the collection of paperbacks she acquires. While overseas, Iphones, touches, pads, won't be an option. I don't have a need for another cell, and don't need the premiums. The Kindle is smaller than books, netbooks, and the wifi feature (to hotspots and home network) adds to the convenience. So far it's working out.

[Dottore]

Originally Posted by Erakad

I got a Kindle for my wife, mostly to avoid the collection of paperbacks she acquires. While overseas, Iphones, touches, pads, won't be an option. I don't have a need for another cell, and don't need the premiums. The Kindle is smaller than books, netbooks, and the wifi feature (to hotspots and home network) adds to the convenience. So far it's working out.

Agreed. I use the Kindle only for travel—but there I use it a lot. Great to just throw the Kindle into the bag, instead of a stack of books. And also great to download my favorite paper every morning wherever I am. It's a very specific tool for me, but one I will probably continue to use for the foreseeable future.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Aside from the interface, how is it any better than just putting .pdf versions of you books onto a laptop which does all that other stuff you like anyway?

[Laneco]

My mother is completely enamoured with the Kindle (wants me to buy her one). I looked at them and really felt they were a rather redundant piece of technology.

The idea of a Kindle is good, but the problem is, why wouldn't I just load a book onto my laptop? I'm already carrying it. I'd probably be better off just buying an extra battery for the laptop instead of spending $300 on a Kindle.

angela

[Joeaksa]

Am an old fart. Like books that you can hold in your hand. More personality.

[m21sniper]

I never even heard of a kindle.

[stomachmonkey]

With Joe

I like books also.

But that's the major diff between an ereader and laptop, ergonomics. Not a trivial thing.

[Dottore]

Originally Posted by Porsche-O-Phile

Aside from the interface, how is it any better than just putting .pdf versions of you books onto a laptop which does all that other stuff you like anyway?

In all kinds of ways.

1. It much smaller and lighter than any lap top.

2. The screen is not backlit—so you can read it outside in sunlight.

3. Downloads take seconds.

4. You download anywhere (any WIFI point) without codes or passwords or credit card numbers etc.

5. The machine is purpose built for reading. You can mark text. Save text. Cut and paste text to your computer.

6. It works brilliantly—ergonomically—as a reading machine.

7. Because the screen is not back-lit the battery life is phenomenal. You can read War & Peace without recharging.

I like books as well, but read and travel a lot—and love the Kindle. It's completely eliminated that extra "book bag".

PS: One more thing: You probably wouldn't take your laptop to the beach. I took the Kindle and my dog to the beach yesterday afternoon, and spent a few hours reading and playing fetch with the dog. There's definitely a role for this piece of technology in my life.

[9dreizig]

I bought my mom one and she loves it.. It's for books and magazines no more no less. Laptops are a bit more cumbersome. She like it for when my stepdad is driving.. I think it's good for what it's intended

[Joeaksa]

Difference is that I have to carry a laptop for my work, so nothing will eliminate the laptop. Paperbacks do not weight that much so almost always have 1-2 in my bag.

[imcarthur]

Originally Posted by Joeaksa

Am an old fart. Like books that you can hold in your hand. More personality.

Agreed. I like to fold back pages, spill crap on them, kill bugs with them. I like physical books.

And besides, I already carry too much technology on the road. Blackberry, small laptop, TomTom & mount & chargers & cords for all. Any more & it would be totally out of control.

Ian

[island911]

Originally Posted by Dottore

...

2. The screen is not backlit—so you can read it outside in sunlight.

...
PS: One more thing: You probably wouldn't take your laptop to the beach. I took the Kindle and my dog to the beach yesterday afternoon, and spent a few hours reading and playing fetch with the dog. There's definitely a role for this piece of technology in my life.

Really good point. I see quite a few Kindles on the beaches of Hawaii. Whereas my little LED (bright) backlit display (tablet or phone) are tough to read, esp if I'm wearing a white t-shirt. ....Bright reflections are really annoying on even the best B/L displays.

[enzo1]

McMillan(the largest publisher of books in USA) has been pulled from the Amazon.com site, guess Jeff got pissed

[911boost]

I too have a Kindle that I use soley for business travel. It takes up a lot less room that paperbacks, and like others, I have a huge growing stack of them accumulating.

What I like the best about it is not having to worry about buying whatever the airport newstand is selling. Even in some of the larger airports, the selection can be dismal. If I finish a book in the hotel room, I just download another one.

Some folks love Apple and purchase whatever they sell, I'm cool with that, I just don't see the need to get rid of something I already have that does what I want it to do perfectly.

Bill

[VINMAN]

I prefer the feel of an actual book also. I tried one of those book reader thingys, just couldn't get used to it. I'm old school. I prefer the feel of paper in my hand. I hate the new trend of user and repair manuals on cd's. I like paper catalogs over shopping on-line. Hell, if there was a way to put Pelican in magazine form I'd do it!

[enzo1]

Mcmillan got it's way, its back on Amazon

[fxeditor]

I love my Kindle! I know it may not be for everybody but for my needs it's almost perfect.

I really like the form factor of the device itself.

I find that I read much faster with the one page only display.

I like that when I travel i can throw the Kindle in my bag and not have to bother with a charger because the batteries last for weeks!

I like the fact that I can adjust the font size because my eyesight isn't getting any better.

I don't mind the refresh rate of the page changes. It gives me a little time to reflect on what I just read.

I LOVE the fact that things I highlight are available to me from any computer, anytime, without having to do any sync operations.

If I want to I can read all my Kindle books on any PC.

I am always getting great books for free via the Kindle and have found some terrific authors I would have otherwise never read (Charlie Huston for example).

These are just some of the reasons I love my Kindle. It's a simple device for doing one thing, not a "all in one" wiz bang gadget that doesn't do anything particularly well.

Just my opinion,
Michael

[jyl]

99% of all books ever published are out of print. I love used bookstores. Electronic books have the potential to make more older books available than even a huge used bookstore, and Google's book search has the potential to send people looking for those long of out print books. It's a good thing. As between Kindle and iPad, one is a special purpose reader and the other is a omni purpose device, so the Kindle needs to be way better as an e-reader. I don't know if it is, we'll see when the iPad comes out.

[dd74]

Currently reading "Atlas Shrugged" on the Kindle. Great instrument. Easy to read, easy to "turn" the pages, and much easier than toting around a book that is almost 1,100 pages long. In short, it does exactly what I expected it to do.