Anyone have a Kindle?

[Martyd3]

I am thinking about getting one for my wife.

[seroberts]

Not try'n to hijack .....But I recently bought a Sony "Touch" eBook, I love that damn thing. I looked at the Kindle, to me it just looked like something from Radio Shack made in the '60s. The eBook has a lot of really neat usable features very durable and utilitarian looking some reviewers complain about the glare but I haven't experienced that problem. One major difference the Kindle has 3g capability the Touch is just a non Wi-Fi library. Really, there are many to chose from. You might just Google "eBook Reviews" ......If you haven't already

[panerai153]

Martyd3,

I have one and I love mine, with some qualifications. Here are some of my pros/cons

1. It doesn't feel like a book, it took me a while to get into the "feeling" of not actually turning pages. This will go away after a couple of books

2. I would love a backlit screen, like my Iphone. you must have a secondary light source to illuminate the pages

3. Price. While the price of the device has fallen, the price of books are in a state of flux. While Amazon "promised" books for 9.99, quite frequently the early release Best Sellers are now going for 14.99-15.99. This price increase has incensed some hard core Kindle readers, especially in light of the fact that Amazon and Wal-Mart are in a book price war. I just bought a pre-release novel tonight and the Kindle price was 15.99 and the hard cover was 18.99! Of course you have to add a couple of bucks shipping to the hard cover.But you have a book, which leads us to number 4.

4. Cannot share, lend or sell. To me hard cover books have some intrinsic value. You can sell them, trade them or loan them to your friends. Unfortunately, the Kindle version is only for your Kindle or others you own i.e. You and your wife both have a Kindle, you can share the books, if they are both on the same account.

5. Portability, great for trips, because if you are in a place with cell service, you will never run out of books to read (just don't forget the charger!!)I used to take a book bag on every vacation with 4-5 novels ( I can read a novel cover to cover on a transatlantic flight) Now I just pre-load my Kindle with a bunch of books and fly away!

6. Some books are not available. Certain authors/publishers have not signed on, so if your favorite author has not signed a Kindle agreement, you will be forced to buy the hardcover anyway. I would crtainly do some research on Amazon to make sure the folks she likes are available on Kindle.

I am an avid reader, and I bought the Kindle, because I felt that it would pay for itself after about 15-16 novels. Here is the math. At the time of purchase,Kindle books were 9.99 say 10 bucks to make it easy. The average Amazon or Barnes and Noble novel (Best seller released in the past 6 months) was around 27.00 with shipping and or taxes. approximately 17.00 difference. So if you divide 17.00 into 250.00 (Price of Kindle) you get 14.70 or 15. So after 15 novels, you would be saving money with the Kindle. Now that quite a few publishers are playing hardball, expect the prices to creep up. Even if they settle at 15-16 dolars you will still be saving money after around 25 Kindle books purchased.

Woukld I buy it again, absolutely. My brother has the Barnes and Noble Nook, and he isn't as happy with it as I am with my Kindle. I'm intrigued with the Apple Ipad, but it's three times as expensive, and their book selection is nowhere near as large as Amazon's