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| Thread ID: 122101 | 2011-11-30 20:33:00 | e-book reader advice | Zippity (58) | PC World Chat |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 1246490 | 2011-11-30 20:33:00 | My wife is wanting an e-book reader for Christmas. We have wireless broadband at home so I don't think 3G is a must. Does anyone know when Kindle Fire is going to be released in NZ? Any suggestions as to which model/brand I should buy her? :) |
Zippity (58) | ||
| 1246491 | 2011-11-30 20:54:00 | I will be interested to see what others say about this. The problem (as I see it) is that Kindle locks you into that particular platform, so I have stayed clear of it. In my research, I ended up completely rejecting only the Kindle, and looking seriously at the others. Kobo seems to have disappeared at the moment (at least I couldn't find one), and sadly the Nook Colour doesn't seem to be available in NZ. So I have recently bought the latest Sony ereader PRS-T1/BC, and thus far I have been quite satisfied. They are on sale at Noel Leeming. The Sony is very light to handle, but I haven't had a good run with their software in terms of ease of installation. When it tries to connect to the eReader Store, you get the "Coming soon" message, which seems completely slack, given you would think they would have launched the reader and store at the same time. However I have tons of free ebooks to get through whilst I await Sony's pleasure. Another criticism is that you have to set your location as Australia, which I find frankly insulting. Sony just doesn't have their act together on this one, which is surprising given how long they have been retailing ereaders in NZ. I have been researching libraries for borrowing ebooks, and (of course) our local hick library is way behind the rest as usual. However, I noticed some other libraries are saying that their borrowings will not be available on the Kindle platform. I suggest you look at the library you belong to, and see what they are saying. So, in summary, I still think it was the right thing to do to stay away from Kindle for a variety of reasons; the Sony, once set up, is nice to handle and easy to read (e-ink); the software works well in terms of syncing with the computer, but the installation drove me barmy; and I can get access to lots of different book formats, including freeing up DRM ebooks via membership of Adobe. I do miss colour, because some of the books I have been reading have maps and illustrations, that are all washed out on the e-ink screen. |
John H (8) | ||
| 1246492 | 2011-11-30 21:14:00 | I use my Pad Transformer - I have the Kindle app installed (on the tablet, as well as on my phone) and the books synchronise across both. So I can be part way through a book on one device and pick up the other device and it opens to the same place. However I also had a large number of books that I had bought (for use on my Treo 650) in ereader.com format (*.PDB) - since ereader.com were playing silly buggers with their application (it wasn't very compatible with my current phone or at all with the tablet - and they wouldn't give me an indication as to when they might be updating it), I downloaded all my purchases and used Calibre to convert them to an Android-compatible format (*.EPUB) and so I can read them using the Reader application on both the phone and tablet... What you decide on is going to depend on whether you want a light device, that ONLY does e-books, or a heavier device that can do lots of other interesting stuff (and whether SWMBO is happy to get - and learn how to use - one of these fancier devices)... |
johcar (6283) | ||
| 1246493 | 2011-11-30 21:36:00 | The Sony reader software is, to be brutally honest, a huge pile of <insert favourite word here>. Thankfully however, there is another piece of software known as calibre (http://calibre-ebook.com/). Calibre is an open source ebook management and conversion program. Calibre can't access the Sony Reader Store, but since us NZer's can't use it anyway, that is no problem. Calibre also doesn't support DRM ebooks (say, from Kobo, Whitcoulls, Amazon etc) -- at least not officially. Unofficially? Well, calibre does have a very good and flexible plugin system... [EDIT: the above info is primarily for John H] As far as readers go, Zippity, what sort of reader is your wife after? Does she want something with a bright colour LCD screen that can play various media like the Kindle Fire/Kobo Vox? Or des she just want something to read books with. If she just wants to read, I'd highly reccommend the e-ink based readers like the Kindle/Kobo touch/Sony PRS-T1. The e-ink readers can potentially last weeks on a single charge, they can be read in bright sunlight, are very light. My current reader is the PRS-650 (the predecessor to the current model), and I have been very happy with it. |
Sherman (9181) | ||
| 1246494 | 2011-11-30 22:01:00 | The Kobo Vox will be available from Whitcoulls very soon. However overseas reviews I have read don't have to much to say about it that is good! The Kobo Touch, recently received seems to be better, though lacking colour. The Sony PRS650 has been unavailable for a long time, replaced by the T1, but whether Whicoulls support this device by having books available I don't know yet. The market seems to be a bit of a mess at present and even store sales staff don't know too much. | Richard (739) | ||
| 1246495 | 2011-11-30 22:13:00 | Same as John (latest Sony) but I use Calibre as well. There are 95,000 books in the Gutenberg library and I am enjoying some reads from my youth. Downloaded all 73? of Henry Rider Haggards (1856-1925) books, most of which I never read as a youth. (If you like Wilbur Smith books, Rider Haggards Allan Quatermain will blow you away!! much better) Kindle is a no no. Did some research after a DSE guy answered my question of formats with "Kindle has the default standard format" ...bast**d. DSE are really a bunch of dorks Calibre is great for changing PDF, text etc. to EPUB format. Ken |
kenj (9738) | ||
| 1246496 | 2011-12-01 00:35:00 | Thanks to Sherman and kenj for the extra advice related to the Sony PRS-T1B/C and Calibre. I will download and try it out. This is off topic for Zip, but I have recently found this site: mebooks.co.nz As well as the commercial ebooks they are selling, they have links to the 1000 texts that have been put together by NZETC who also have their own site with links to the same texts www.nzetc.org Here is what NZETC says: "A diverse range of texts are included in this collection; however, all share in common an association with New Zealand. From works published more than a century ago, to those published within the last few years, it aims to make some of New Zealand's most important texts easily available to all. The collection includes significant works from Katherine Mansfield, Samuel Butler, Elsdon Best, Charles Darwin and Lady Mary Anne Barker, among many others." So in a sense we have our own Gutenberg Library of NZ related books for free download. I have downloaded heaps of them - many of them books that I have always meant to read and never got round to, and some 'old friends'. My wife and I have recently bought a campervan and all I will need to take as my library is my ereader, which will keep me going for a long time! |
John H (8) | ||
| 1246497 | 2011-12-01 00:37:00 | I have a Kindle without 3G. Easy enough to connect to a computer to download books. I use Calibre to change from most formats to rtf, txt or mobi, any of which the Kindle can read. Can also do pdf but is harder to change size of font with this format. One charge lasts weeks or a few books. I am more than happy with this ereader and the price and capacity is good. We are looking to buy another in a couple of years time when we go overseas. Hopefully by this time, it will have a browser on it to surf the web, rather than one which ties you to a site. |
user (1404) | ||
| 1246498 | 2011-12-01 01:26:00 | I got the basic new Model Kindle direct from Amazon, took just under a week to arrive and I'm very happy with it. I looked at local E-book stores and alternatives, but when comparing prices on the specific the books I wanted Amazon was a lot cheaper (game of thrones series) and it has a great range. It does mean I'm stuck with kindle devices if I want to keep my books, but with the android app this is fairly future proof. A few observations; E-ink is great, very easy on the eyes and very like real books to read Battery life is much better on E-ink also The non-touch, non-keyboard model I got is a bit of a pain to buy books on. I just use the website on my PC or the app on my smartphone instead to purchase them. Kindle syncs so I can continue reading on the kindle, or my PC, or my phone, and it remembers where I'm up to. Great if you use multiple devices. You can't read E-ink in the dark.... (obviously) I can on my smartphone though. Kindle fire looks nice, but will not be as good for plain old book reading In my opinion I am a convert and won't be buying real books again. In fact I'm considering getting rid of my collection due to the space it takes up. |
dugimodo (138) | ||
| 1246499 | 2011-12-01 01:37:00 | We set out to buy an e-book reader, which my husband wanted to give me for birthday or Christmas, :help: both being in December. We had discussed the pros and cons with those whom we know use KOBO, Kindle and Sony all seemed happy with whatever they have. We ended up buying an i-pad which can be used for the e-reader, when I manage to finally get my hands on it.!! | Marnie (4574) | ||
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