UK Kindle and E-Books...

thread is too long to read all. can i put my own pdf files onto an ebook reader? primarily the kindle? really like the idea of an ebook reader as i read a few pdfs every now and again when i find time but only on my laptop/pc.

some reason i feel that as it's new technology i don't really know what i'd look for in one, so i'll get an ebook reader, then see faults in it and within a few months a new one is announced and i'll have to update a year later, making it £150~ a year :(
 
My main reason for getting (wanting) an ereader is for PDFs, especially technical documents at work.
I've settled on the Sony PRS600, as it seems to have the best (of the ereaders) PDF handling ability.
I've posted a short youtube video earlier in this thread demonstrating the PRS600s PDF viewing ability
 
You can't do this with an E-Book, granted, you don't need to do this to most Fictions, but text books should be in paper form.

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Oh my. I can't even bring myself to cross things out in books let alone practically write essays. IIRC you've done the LPC - I assume that was for an open-book exam? Those amounts of tabs would get me more, not less, stressed!
 
LOL, yup, it was an open book exam, doesn't mean it was easier !

Those are basically workshop notes I had made on a separate folder, and condensed/copied across. The tabs have meanings, i.e. Blue tabs are all Professional Conduct related.

Funnily enough, i like to keep my Novels and Fictions as pristine as I can when reading them.
 
You didn't have a separate Professional Conduct manual? Pah, no wonder barristers are more trustworthy :p
 
fini said:
You didn't have a separate Professional Conduct manual? Pah, no wonder barristers are more trustworthy :p
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lol.

Oh I did, took a separate PC exam too, but those blue tabs referred to professional conduct on THAT subject / topic specifically as each individual subject has it's own professional conduct questions.
 
Chimerical said:
The arguments were the same when MP3 players came out surely?

Why would you download music/books, why would you store everything in one place, etc..
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I've had mp3 players for years now, yet have spent less than £10 on downloaded music (no, I don't download illegally). I don't like the idea of all my music being in a digital format and have all my downloaded mp3s on my pc, laptop, a pen drive and an external harddrive. The concern of data being lost isn't there with a cd kept on a shelf and it's easy enough to rip them.

I can't make up my mind about e-books. I like the theory, but would prefer there was some way to buy a "real" book and through that have access to a digital copy. That way the book can't easily be lost from your collection and both sides would be happy.
 
dangerstat said:
Well if there's a mistake in a technical book I'd rather annotate it, than make the same mistake again, seems erm sensible no?
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I can see your point but it still seems like vandalism to me,I hate getting a book from the library and finding someone has scibbbled on the pages(not the same as in your case but similar):)
 
I am completely on the fence with this. I usually embrace new technology but the argument about comparing it to MP3's is not entirely comparing apples with apples. Reading a book is a little more tactile in that respect and you are relying on more than just your eyes. I love the feel of just laying on the setee flicking through a few pages and being immersed in the experience

That said, how many of us digest our written information and entertainment through digital media nowadays be that the internet, pdf, offline electronic documents ? I for one have not bought a newspaper in a good number of years. A lot of the technical information I need for my job, I could not keep written records for because it would be dated pretty much over night and I simply do not have the space for it. So electronic info certainly does have it's place in my lifestyle.
 
Raymond Lin said:
You can't do this with an E-Book, granted, you don't need to do this to most Fictions, but text books should be in paper form.

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The video in the article is quite interesting as I wasn't aware that you could annotate with an ebook reader but apparently you can. I still don't think it's upto the standard that you would use for research though
 
I'm looking to get a sony e-reader alter this year.
I have run out of space for paper books. I literally cannot house any more, and I can't bear to throw any away. Plus having used my mum's Sony PRS-600 I am very impressed with how easy on the eye it is compared to trying to read on a netbook, or laptop screen.
From comparing the PRS-600 touchscreen with the previous model PRS-505, I think the non-touch screens seem a little sharper and that's the way I will go.

I think ebooks will become more competetive now that the market is expanding, and it will only be a matter of time until libraries 'lend' ebooks as they do normal books.

Other benefits are (as already mentioned) are that you can carry around hundreds of book with you for holidays and flights. Big big plus for me.
Also, when you pick them back up at a later point they are at the same page. Believe it or not I never have bookmarks and end up filling the spines having laid them face down open. I love books, but am at the same time a book killer!

An ebook reader won't replace books for me, but will have it's own place alongside.
 
The biggest thing that the ebook manufacturers need to get across is the fact that they are so easy on the eye. Without a backlight and refresh rate then it is just the same as reading text on any other surface.

Also I just leave my reader switched on all the time with the page up I am reading on the screen. Its on 24/7 and I charge my reader every fortnight. Its even quicker than a book to pick up and read :)

Also the page turns are that fast on the 600 that it never bothers you at all. As fast as turning a page if not faster.
 
I don't really get this at all. With CDs, it makes perfect sense to replace them with an MP3 player - people tend to want to listen to the same music more than once and listen to more than one CD in a day, and an MP3 player can be much smaller than even one CD.

With books - assuming "reading some fiction" sort of reading, none of that applies. An e-book reader is about the same size as a book and can't be made much smaller because it needs a screen. I don't need to have more than one book with me at any time, and I don't generally want to read the same books again and again.

Even the price seems insane - for all the people here considering paying ~£200 for an e-book reader, have you spent anything like that amount on actual books in the last year? There doesn't even seem to be any saving on the price of the book once you've got it, so it's a £200 expense for the sake of it. You could have bought plenty of books for that.

I don't have anything against gadgets, but I honestly can't see a single reason why I'd want one of these. It seems to be looking for an excuse to spend hundreds of pounds on something that usually doesn't cost anything at all. For flights and holidays? Given all the rest of the stuff I'd still need, losing 2 or 3 books from the weight doesn't seem like much of a big deal to me.

Either everyone else here reads 1000 times more than I do (which seems really unlikely) or I just don't get it.
 
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I use mine for 1-2 hours a day. It works for me for space and portability. I also like to read 3-4 books at a time alternating between them and the reader rocks for that.

Each to their own I suppose.
 
PP I normall spend £100+ per year on books (many second hand), and get a lot out from the library.
Of which many end up going to charity shops after being read to let me retain some space;)

The reader cost me £200, so far i've spent about £50 on books for it many of which would have cost me at least twice as much to get paperback versions* (about 30 books from baen).
I've read (so far this year) 56 books on it, and i've got another 30 or so "free" books to read on it (from the likes of baen) that I want to read, not to mention the many others i've got from other places (the CD that came with it has seen me reading some of the "classics").

Everyone's mileage will vary, but certainly for me it's broken even**, and it's proven to be much more convenient than trying to source many of the books from normal book stores.

Basically if you can find the books you like at a reasonable price for the ereader they can work out cheaper than buying the paper versions, depending on what your personal preferences are.


*OOP/Small print run/unlikely to be stocked by smaller retailers or superstores so probably RRP or near it to get then.

**For example I'm actually going to order the Novermber Webscription from Baen in the next couple of days, which will give me the latest Honor Harrington book along with 3 others, for less than the best price I can find for the HH book on the day of release (the webscription is about £10, the HH book is RRP £19, online price ~£13)
 
i dont know a lot about ebook reader and i dont have time to read all about them.

do you have to get the PDF file specially made for ebook reader?

i always read big books like CCNA,MCSE etc, they always comes with PDF files in CD
 
All pdf files will work but the small screen will mean v small text.

The Kindle DX will get round this with its bigger screen.
 
I dont get the bs about the reading "experience", if you're engrossed in a book do you really revel in the feeling of the paper? It sounds like vinyl enthusiasts who love to handle their records more than play them. I buy a book for the content, when I buy an ebook I still get the content and in a manner that is more portable and accessible for me.
Oh and please, no more comparisons to netbooks, that's just stupid.
 
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