Kindle

[LoyaltyisaCurse]

And they made sure of it. That's how the wifi and synchronizing and so on flows back and forth. Mind you, they also can do it w/o your permission. My daughter publishes e-books -- she said a year or so ago Amazon was pressured to remove a couple pretty severe porn books from their catalogue -- fine, except they also deleted the books from any kindle that had downloaded it, with no warning.

What concerns me, is that books that get forced from their catalogue by other means are subject to that, too. The book "Alms for Jihad" is one of the best-researched reference books ever written tracking the misuse of global charities to funnel millions to terrorists. It named a couple important Saudis as having their hands in several questionable charities and banks, and one sued in a UK court for libel -- the British laws make it very difficult to defend against a libel claim, so even though the source cited was official FBI transcripts and court testimony, the authors were required to get the original FBI agents who witnessed the actual transactions to testify. Not likely.

Long and short, they lost, and the publisher had to agree to recall and destroy all outstanding and public copies of the book including any e-books. I unknowingly had just bought one of the last hard copies in the world as a reference book. Had I bought it as an e-book, it would have been erased from my kindle without my consent.

And this is why I have a big problem with electronic books that are starting to spell the end of the printed versions from the end of bookstores and libraries...this is dangerous IMO...

 

[AzStevenCal]

And this is why I have a big problem with electronic books that are starting to spell the end of the printed versions from the end of bookstores and libraries...this is dangerous IMO...

It's a real problem but IMO it pales in comparison to the environmental gains.

Steve

 

[TheHopToad]

Ok, I don't have a Kindle, so I'm a little ignorant about the subject, but is there not a way to backup or transfer downloaded books to an SD card or to a computer? For instance, on my Droid, I can backup all of my apps and files so that if one of them ever gets corrupted or deleted, I can simply re-install it. I would think this would be an important feature to look for in a book reader. Last thing I would want is some failure or glitch that wipes away all my books with no way to recover them.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Ok, I don't have a Kindle, so I'm a little ignorant about the subject, but is there not a way to backup or transfer downloaded books to an SD card or to a computer? For instance, on my Droid, I can backup all of my apps and files so that if one of them ever gets corrupted or deleted, I can simply re-install it. I would think this would be an important feature to look for in a book reader. Last thing I would want is some failure or glitch that wipes away all my books with no way to recover them.

You can back them up but the next time you sync, they'll be removed again. This caused quite a stir a few years back when Amazon had to remove several titles (not just the few that have been mentioned). As for losing your entire library, Amazon maintains a free and readily accessible backup of every item you've purchased so you can always recover those items (unless the publisher makes them unavailable in the interim).

That problem notwithstanding, I love my Kindle and I can't wait for the day that everybody makes the switch to electronic books. Right now, for several reasons (none of them good), the prices are often artificially high and there are still way too many titles that are not available in this format. The industry needs to go this way for the sake of the planet and really, for the sake of everyone (namely, me!!!).

Steve

 

[vince56]

I love not just my Kindle but my kindle account. I can read my kindle books on my kindle or droid anytime, though I prefer the Kindle tablet over the phone. The phone is great in a pinch or when traveling and I've finished a few books from the phone. Amazon knows right where you left off (if you have the 3G kindle) and syncs automatically.

 

[AzStevenCal]

For those that don't know, you can now borrow Kindle books from many local libraries. I haven't tried it yet but would love to hear other's experiences regarding ease and availability.

Steve

 

[thirty-two]

Original Kindle now down to 79 bucks. Kindle Fire looks interesting.

 

[AZZenny]

Yeah, I thought the fire looked good too. I like the way Amazon just quietly percolates along doing its thing quite competently without the high drama of Google and Apple and the rest. I gather it has its own very tight, driven corporate culture, but it doesn't make a fuss.

I got a 3G kindle for my trip to Israel this past summer - the free 3G internationally is quite nice in a pinch, and in a small hi-tech country like Israel, that meant everywhere. Still needed to access wifi or the the net for large downloads, but the average book was no problem, just took a few seconds longer - and I uploaded some personal materials and then downloaded it to my kindle, which was very helpful.

 

[Kel Varnsen]

For those that don't know, you can now borrow Kindle books from many local libraries. I haven't tried it yet but would love to hear other's experiences regarding ease and availability.

Steve

It's pretty easy. The library website (at least for Phoenix) is the clunky part, but if you find a book you like for Kindle, it is smooth after that. I used to use the Overdrive apps and those were decent, but I'm glad that Amazon is in charge now.

BTW, I ordered a new Kindle last night with scheduled delivery for Saturday. It is out for delivery today. Bonus.

 

[AzStevenCal]

It's pretty easy. The library website (at least for Phoenix) is the clunky part, but if you find a book you like for Kindle, it is smooth after that. I used to use the Overdrive apps and those were decent, but I'm glad that Amazon is in charge now.

BTW, I ordered a new Kindle last night with scheduled delivery for Saturday. It is out for delivery today. Bonus.

Thanks for the info. I've put myself on the list for the Kindle Fire but I'm already starting to second guess myself. The story/rumor is that they'll have a 10 inch Fire out in 2012 and I know I'm going to prefer the extra inches (cue the viagra jokes).

Steve

 

[MigratingOsprey]

It's pretty easy. The library website (at least for Phoenix) is the clunky part, but if you find a book you like for Kindle, it is smooth after that. I used to use the Overdrive apps and those were decent, but I'm glad that Amazon is in charge now.

BTW, I ordered a new Kindle last night with scheduled delivery for Saturday. It is out for delivery today. Bonus.

Krepitch - is it the same interface with the phoenix libraries site regardless if you use Kindle apps or Overdrive apps?

I have both on my phone and see on the website that they have some in kindle format and some that align with overdrive ... looks like you could download the version you want

Although I'm very new to all of this stuff .... i definitely don't like the interface - the search is obnoxious

 

[Kel Varnsen]

Krepitch - is it the same interface with the phoenix libraries site regardless if you use Kindle apps or Overdrive apps?

I have both on my phone and see on the website that they have some in kindle format and some that align with overdrive ... looks like you could download the version you want

Although I'm very new to all of this stuff .... i definitely don't like the interface - the search is obnoxious

I'm not totally sure about that. I only tried it once when I heard the announcement from Amazon and looked specifically for one that was labelled a Kindle book. I vaguely remember seeing something that made it sound as if Amazon was "taking over" the Overdrive distribution system, but I can't recall for sure.

I did my search of the library from a pc, though, so that may have made it easier. I thought that trying to search via the Overdrive apps was very difficult, too.

I think things will improve, though. Hopefully there will be a special "Kindle Section" on a library's website, but it's hard to tell if that will happen. I guess it depends on who will pay for it. If Amazon pays for it, it will probably get done, but if the city has to do it, we might just have to deal with the clunkiness.

I hope the next step is person to person sharing. That would be pretty cool.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I'm not totally sure about that. I only tried it once when I heard the announcement from Amazon and looked specifically for one that was labelled a Kindle book. I vaguely remember seeing something that made it sound as if Amazon was "taking over" the Overdrive distribution system, but I can't recall for sure.

I did my search of the library from a pc, though, so that may have made it easier. I thought that trying to search via the Overdrive apps was very difficult, too.

I think things will improve, though. Hopefully there will be a special "Kindle Section" on a library's website, but it's hard to tell if that will happen. I guess it depends on who will pay for it. If Amazon pays for it, it will probably get done, but if the city has to do it, we might just have to deal with the clunkiness.

I hope the next step is person to person sharing. That would be pretty cool.

If you're talking about lending a book to a friend, this already exists. Amazon added that almost a year ago IIRC. The only problem though is that not all books are eligible. Eligibility is determined by the Publisher (or the right's holder).

Steve

 

[Kel Varnsen]

If you're talking about lending a book to a friend, this already exists. Amazon added that almost a year ago IIRC. The only problem though is that not all books are eligible. Eligibility is determined by the Publisher (or the right's holder).

Steve

The other problem is that you have to have friends. Maybe that's why I didn't think it was an option yet.

 

[AzStevenCal]

The other problem is that you have to have friends. Maybe that's why I didn't think it was an option yet.

LOL. We can just wait for the casual acquaintance lending library which I'm sure is coming next.

Steve

 

[Kel Varnsen]

Got to use the new Kindle a bit this weekend. Amazon did a great job with it, imo. Now that it is $79, it's much more affordable than it used to be and it works incredibly well outside. It's perfect for reading outside by the pool.

 

[Kel Varnsen]

Came across this site recently and have found some good books. It continuously updates free Kindle books on Amazon. I've been sending a lot of the cookbooks to my iPad and some of the regular books to my Kindle.

http://onehundredfreebooks.com/

 

[D-Dogg]

Came across this site recently and have found some good books. It continuously updates free Kindle books on Amazon. I've been sending a lot of the cookbooks to my iPad and some of the regular books to my Kindle.

http://onehundredfreebooks.com/

 

[thirty-two]

Thanks!

 

[Linderbee]

Thanks!

 

[Kel Varnsen]

Kindle news today! What will it be? I'm hoping for a glower.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/06/live-from-amazons-santa-monica-press-conference/

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[AzStevenCal]

I think I'm buying one of everything. Is anyone actually watching the press conference here? All I can find is techies giving live updates.

Steve

 

[Kel Varnsen]

I think I'm buying one of everything. Is anyone actually watching the press conference here? All I can find is techies giving live updates.

Steve

I don't think Amazon streams them live, for some reason. I wish they did. I'd tune in.

The new regular Kindle looks pretty cool. I'm interested in that feature that tells you how much time you have left until you finish the chapter/book. I think the weirdest part about reading on a device instead of reading a paper book is trying to figure out how much you have to left to read...there's sort of a missing sense of accomplishment, for lack of a better way to put it.

 

[Kel Varnsen]

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[Kel Varnsen]

Whoa...they just announced Whispersync for audiobooks. You can read to point x on your Kindle, then turn on the audiobook version and it will read to you starting from x. Then you listen until point y, and when you open the book to read again, it will open to point y. Cool!