@wolfshades: Yeah. It's obvious we're the very last priority - so I'd suggest Sony, Hanlin/Bebook, or any of the other dozens who are willing to sell here.
Personally I don't need e-paper, so I read stuff on my iPod touch with Stanza.
There are upsides and downsides to each. It really depends on your preferences. I think as smartphones go, the iPhone is pretty good for reading since it has an excellent screen which is a little easier to read in sunlight than others. LCD has the benefit of a backlight for when it's dark, too. However, some people find that reading on an LCD for extended periods strains their eyes. I read short things on my phone but for books, I like the larger eInk screen. I also don't like wearing down the battery on my phone. EInk devices last for days or weeks even on a charge. If I were to wear it down when I was out, I would be without my book reader but that's not nearly as bad as having your phone die on you.
@weatherman:
"2) yes, you just need to hand them your kindle. Alternatively you can share the book digitally within the same household"
You can also share a book with another Kindle owner if you register their Kindle to your account, give them the book, and de-register them. This will take one of your licenses, though.
@dmtunltd: Pardon my butting in. I prefer the program Calibre written by Kovid Goyal. It converts between many different formats. The Kindle can read non-DRM-infected Mobipocket books. Most DRM schemes have been broken and there are scripts for removing the encryption.
I'm a bit confused by the way this is working internationally. They're directing worldwide Kindle customers to buy it from the US store, but then surely they'll have to pay the $2-per-item surcharge that roaming US users get?
Does the Kindle still have 'free' access to (parts?) of the web? What are the limitations in that functionality? The WP page has confusing and conflicting and out-of-date descriptions.
If I buy a Kindle can I search Wikipedia from wherever there is coverage? What about NYTimes? Blogs? Project Gutenberg, for free public-domain books?
@froo: I don't know the international deal but I'm getting the impression that it may be limited to store access. Within the US you still have free Web access. Web surfing on eInk is a bit painful since the screen is slow but Wikipedia works great. You can get free public domain books plenty of places (including many on Amazon itself). Feedbooks.com and MobileRead.com actually have catalogs that you can download to your Kindle. They're full of links to public domain books. Click on the link and the book downloads automatically. This is way easier on your battery than browsing the sites from the Kindle.
I've put together a table that lists every country in which Kindle is available along with number of books, their pricing, wireless availability etc at http://blogkindle.com/2009/10/international-release-of-kindle-...2/
I think I can speak for the rest of Australia: YAY! About time Amazon! I mean it took you two years for this!?!
But for Australia look at the coverage. Seriously, if you live in West Australia sucks to be you, if you live in Tasmania sucks to be you, but if you live in Sydney, Canberra or the Gold Coast, okay coverage.
Unfortunately, we are currently unable to ship Kindles or offer Kindle content in Canada. We are working to make Kindle available to our Canadian customers as soon as possible.
...that sucks for you guys up there. I'm not surprised though with Rogers being the only major GSM network (for the moment..the Telus/Bell thing hasn't been launched AFAIK) and their exorbitant data rates.
But I think it's even more depressing when countries like Mexico, Bahamas, Russia etc. are all ready to go while Canada still has to wait.
@inspiredEpic: You know, books are an excellent investment. And whatever you're studying right now, your textbook will probably serve as an excellent reference when you start doing that thing in the real world.
So why not quit complaining about a hundred dollar textbook? How many friggin' pairs of hundred dollar pants do you have? It's not a lot of money for all that knowledge.
@Pope John Peeps II: Number of $100+ pants I have: Zero. Heck, I don't even have any $50 pairs of pants.
And I understand your point, which is why I have yet to sell any of my books back to the school (and I do not plan on doing so). Still, some books are a bit pricey, others are reasonable though.
@USB_Humping_Dog: minus living expenses, a University education is a really reasonable price. Is anyone really going to bitch about spending a couple hundred on books when you could save that much by cutting out a couple nights of drinking every year? Or not buing that bomber jacket, or iPod touch?
Anyhow. About digital textbooks:
It's not ever going to be that much cheaper. Digital text being cheaper is a complete lie. A lie foisted on you by the people who want to bottleneck the distribution of texts so that they can make an enormous profit.
The rush to digital media isn't about anything more than controlling the marketplace at the EXPENSE of publishers. Published works cost what they're worth because of the content generated, not because they're published on paper. I don't really think publishing and distribution costs are as much of the price of a novel as anyone thinks they are.
People like Amazon and Apple are concerned with controlling the market because that way they can chisel out a huge profit from the publishers involved. Amazon is already trying to do that with major magazines and newspapers, and Apple will be no different. Taking an enormous part of the profit of selling something solely because they control the point of distribution.
It's not about generating new audiences, it's not about distribution of media, or helping sell books to an American public who doesn't really give a fuck about books. It's about taking money away from an industry that is already dying, and therefore vulnerable.
@Pope John Peeps II: while I agree with some of what you've said, I think you're missing a few things. First, I take issue with your statement "Published works cost what they're worth because of the content generated, not because they're published on paper. " That may be true in most cases, but it is particularly untrue in textbooks. Publishers issue new editions specifically because it's about the paper, not about the content, since the content doesn't change from year to year. And much of what gets used in a classroom (and that gets included in an assigned book) can be found elsewhere - these are articles, stories and reports that are merely collected together by the textbook company or professors that authored them. Heck, an entire law school education, for instance, could be had without buying a single textbook and instead just downloading the public domain cases that are in the textbooks that cost $75.
Second, I think you're neglecting the authors here - the professors and scholars who write the material. Often they are not paid well, and they are entirely under the grip of the publisher. I think widespread adoption of digital reading devices would actually encourage scholars to write and sell their works outside of the traditional publisher relationships.
Finally, professors are actually aware of how much a college education costs and that books can be a burden, both financially and physically. They will often take cost into consideration when assigning reading materials. If there's a way for them to provide materials more cheaply, they'll do that and that pressure will help drive down costs.
@ravi7791000: curious - I guess it was too hard (or to expensive) to deal with all the carriers to get a flat-rate plan in place. I wonder what they do about periodicals - are there delivery charges for that?
11/12/09
11/12/09
That and a combination lock for a secret hidey hole. #power
11/12/09
11/12/09
10/09/09
Know what they said?
"Thank you for your inquiry but we don't offer the Kindle in Canada.
I hope this information is helpful"
Why yes. Yes it was. 8|
10/09/09
Personally I don't need e-paper, so I read stuff on my iPod touch with Stanza.
10/09/09
10/07/09
10/07/09
There are upsides and downsides to each. It really depends on your preferences. I think as smartphones go, the iPhone is pretty good for reading since it has an excellent screen which is a little easier to read in sunlight than others. LCD has the benefit of a backlight for when it's dark, too. However, some people find that reading on an LCD for extended periods strains their eyes. I read short things on my phone but for books, I like the larger eInk screen. I also don't like wearing down the battery on my phone. EInk devices last for days or weeks even on a charge. If I were to wear it down when I was out, I would be without my book reader but that's not nearly as bad as having your phone die on you.
10/07/09
Can I let someone borrow a book I've bought?
Can I disable Amazon's "remote delete" feature that, no matter what's been said in the news lately, they still retain the ability to do so?
If not, then it doesn't really matter what the price is. :(
10/07/09
1) yes, you just need to convert it which is free
2) yes, you just need to hand them your kindle. Alternatively you can share the book digitally within the same household
3) yes, you can just turn off the wireless. you might also want to construct a hat out of tinfoil though, just to be sure.
10/07/09
10/07/09
"2) yes, you just need to hand them your kindle. Alternatively you can share the book digitally within the same household"
You can also share a book with another Kindle owner if you register their Kindle to your account, give them the book, and de-register them. This will take one of your licenses, though.
10/07/09
10/07/09
10/07/09
10/07/09
10/07/09
If I buy a Kindle can I search Wikipedia from wherever there is coverage? What about NYTimes? Blogs? Project Gutenberg, for free public-domain books?
10/07/09
10/07/09
10/07/09
[blogkindle.com]
10/07/09
10/07/09
10/07/09
But for Australia look at the coverage. Seriously, if you live in West Australia sucks to be you, if you live in Tasmania sucks to be you, but if you live in Sydney, Canberra or the Gold Coast, okay coverage.
10/07/09
10/07/09
...that sucks for you guys up there. I'm not surprised though with Rogers being the only major GSM network (for the moment..the Telus/Bell thing hasn't been launched AFAIK) and their exorbitant data rates.
But I think it's even more depressing when countries like Mexico, Bahamas, Russia etc. are all ready to go while Canada still has to wait.
10/07/09
10/07/09
Unfortunately, I need color for my design classes, which the Kindle cannot display with the current E-Ink technology...
booooooo. :(
10/07/09
So why not quit complaining about a hundred dollar textbook? How many friggin' pairs of hundred dollar pants do you have? It's not a lot of money for all that knowledge.
10/07/09
You know he has hundred dollar pants? Not every student is wealthy.
10/07/09
And I understand your point, which is why I have yet to sell any of my books back to the school (and I do not plan on doing so). Still, some books are a bit pricey, others are reasonable though.
10/07/09
Anyhow. About digital textbooks:
It's not ever going to be that much cheaper. Digital text being cheaper is a complete lie. A lie foisted on you by the people who want to bottleneck the distribution of texts so that they can make an enormous profit.
The rush to digital media isn't about anything more than controlling the marketplace at the EXPENSE of publishers. Published works cost what they're worth because of the content generated, not because they're published on paper. I don't really think publishing and distribution costs are as much of the price of a novel as anyone thinks they are.
People like Amazon and Apple are concerned with controlling the market because that way they can chisel out a huge profit from the publishers involved. Amazon is already trying to do that with major magazines and newspapers, and Apple will be no different. Taking an enormous part of the profit of selling something solely because they control the point of distribution.
It's not about generating new audiences, it's not about distribution of media, or helping sell books to an American public who doesn't really give a fuck about books. It's about taking money away from an industry that is already dying, and therefore vulnerable.
10/07/09
Second, I think you're neglecting the authors here - the professors and scholars who write the material. Often they are not paid well, and they are entirely under the grip of the publisher. I think widespread adoption of digital reading devices would actually encourage scholars to write and sell their works outside of the traditional publisher relationships.
Finally, professors are actually aware of how much a college education costs and that books can be a burden, both financially and physically. They will often take cost into consideration when assigning reading materials. If there's a way for them to provide materials more cheaply, they'll do that and that pressure will help drive down costs.
10/07/09
"
Low Book Prices:...When traveling abroad, you can download books wirelessly from the Kindle Store or your Archived Items for a fee of $1.99"
10/07/09
04/22/09
..and yes i have been to many different parts of india many times.
04/22/09
Country livin' FTW!