What exactly is the Kindle and other e-book readers? How does it work?

[phenal]

are there other e-book readers?
are there any free books available?
can i download books on the go or do i need the computer?
how many books can an e-book reader hold?
does it have wifi so i can download on the go?

anything else you can tell me about it would be much appreciated.

 

[brk_3]

I just got a Nook this is the ereader sold by Barnes and Noble. So that is the only ereader I know.

There are other ebooks out there: The Kindle, Sony ereader, You can use the Apple Ipad, Nintendo DSI (this is a portable gaming system but you can read books on it).

With the Nook you can download books on the go also plug the nook up to your computer and download books from your computer to the nook.

Nooks come with 2 Gb of memory and that will hold appx 1500 ebooks you can expand your memory by buying an sd memory card (I think the max memory card is 16 Gb)

B&N does have free books to download. You have to visit their site to see what is available. You can also go into a B&N and logon to their WiFi and read any book (if availble) for free up to one hour.

 

[Paulw32]

Doesn't anyone else think that it's funny that some of the makers of these e-readers are doing their best to make their e-readers look and feel like good old fashioned paper books.
If I want something that looks and feels like a book, I'll go buy.... a book.

 

[Occlith]

phenal, here are the Wiki entries for e-book and comparisons of e-readers.

 

[Gilgamesh]

Currently, Amazon is selling Kindle 3. But this explains about Kindle 2 and its e-ink technology.
Click the above link. The e-ink technology is really nice. Provides something more of paper like feel than other LCD or TV type screen. E-ink can be read under direct sunlight without glare. I believe Sony's e-reader also utilizes this technology.

Color e-ink is suppose to come out in the near future. I presume, many magazines will be subscribed in e-format when this happens.

For free books, many classics and older books that ran out of copyrights are available for free. Also, I subscribe to DailyCheapReads.com They often list free/promotional books. You can search "Free Kindle Books" in Amazon.com's search engine to see the availability of free books.

For on the go, I only have the wi-fi. But I do believe you can download books to Kindle if you have the 3G connecting Kindle. Kindle has a browser built in to browse and purchase books online, and it transfers to your e-reader via "whispernet". Not sure of if the use of whispernet is free or if there is a charge to use it.

According to Amazon.com, Kindle 3 can hold 3500 books, but I would be satisfied if it held few hundred. You can archive books you read (and purchased), and re-download them when you want to reread them.

About wi-fi, I purchase books on Amazon.com, and it downloads to my Kindle when my e-reader connects its wi-fi. Yes, it's on the go, and don't have to connect its USB connector if you download purchased books. Books from Archive.org or Project Gutenberg, which are free, you would have to connect the USB cord to transfer from a computer to the reader.

 

[Peder]

Nice summary. Thanks.

 

[TJager]

Also, many smart phones have free apps. There's a Kindle app and a Nook app for my iPhone. Of course, this is nothing like actually having a Kindle or Nook.

There are many free or cheap eBooks and lots of indie authors.

 

[sparkchaser]

I'm pretty sure phenal was a would-be spammer.

 

[Gilgamesh]

The other day, I was really busy. I wanted to read a long pdf file and an email document, but I had to take my kids to their basketball practices. I could have printed out the file, but it was about 60 pages long. Amazon provides a free service to kindle owners that lets you send word docs and pdf files to your kindle. So, I uploaded the pdf and the .doc file as an email attachment to my free.kindle account. Few minutes later, I had the two documents in my kindle and read them later at my destination. There are also pdf to doc converting programs, for a cost. Reading pdf files is bit of a hassle compared to reading .doc files. I did try a website that convert pdf to doc, but it always seem to time out before completion.

 

[garryg]

Doesn't anyone else think that it's funny that some of the makers of these e-readers are doing their best to make their e-readers look and feel like good old fashioned paper books.
If I want something that looks and feels like a book, I'll go buy.... a book.

Er, isn't the whole point of a propper e-ink e-reader that it 'looks and feels' like reading a printed page, eg. a book!?

Oh, and an ipad is not an e-reader, just like a laptop isn't an e-reader. An ipad is... an ipad! Not that I have anything against ipads, like lots of devices thay have e-reading apps, but that dosn't make it an e-reader any more than my phone's e-reading app makes that an e-reader!

phenal, here are the Wiki entries for e-book and comparisons of e-readers.

Comparison charts are all well and good...
But I think e-readers are one of those things where the look-and-feel are just as, if not more, important than the bells-and-doodas.
You will be spaending a lot of time holding and reading this, so I would strongly advise you to try-before-you-buy.
As with many other things, the one with the best sounding specs 'on paper' may not necesarily be the best filling for you!

 

[MacsBBB]

I have and love my Kindle. I am one of those people that was concerned I would miss having the "real" thing. I have found that I don't really. I have downloaded a few of my favorite books that I all ready own though so I can read them whenever I feel like. I would highly recommend getting one. They are AMAZING!

 

[amyreader]

I'm a student myself so have to use the ereader for textbooks. I'm using Sony PRS-650 (Daily Edition) and I absolutely love it. Making notes and highlighting is really easy, the screen is quite responsive (unlike other ereaders I've tried). :cool

 

[SylvieB1984]

I'm a student myself so have to use the ereader for textbooks. I'm using Sony PRS-650 (Daily Edition) and I absolutely love it. Making notes and highlighting is really easy, the screen is quite responsive (unlike other ereaders I've tried). :cool

Amy, you say you use it for your textbooks? I was not aware that textbooks were available on e-readers. I am going back to University in the fall, and having textbooks on e-reader would be great. Are they less expensive then buying the real thing?