[LM_NET] Hit: Kindle or other eBook Reader

["Stokes, Lisa" <LStokes@ESU3.ORG>]

Colleagues,

Even though it has only been two short days since I sent out this target, I already 
have many replies.  I hope that I was able to thank each person personally for 
their thoughtful answers.  If I missed someone, I am very sorry.  Below are the 
responses I have received so far.  I copied the message without the names.  If 
anyone would like to contact one of the authors, please let me know.  And by the 
way,  the verdict is in and I have my Kindle on order!

Thanks again to everyone,
Lisa

Lisa Stokes
Librarian
Gretna Middle School
Gretna, NE
lstokes@esu3.org


1.  Our district bought some Palm TX handheld palm pilots to use as e-readers.  We 
ran a pilot last year.... I thought it was kind of fragile for student use, we had 
two screens get broken, but for personal use would probably be OK and you get all 
the other bells and whistles of a palm pilot too.


2.  You are wondering if a Kindle is a good purchase.  My personnel feeling is YES. 
 I received my Kindle as a Christmas gift from my husband.  I had not heard of it 
or read about it so was greatly surprised.  I felt it was too pricey, but a gift is 
a gift.  To date I have read 35 books on it with no problems with the Kindle at 
all.  It is very easy to use, charges up in just a matter of minutes, and is very 
portable.  Before I left for a 14 day cruise, I downloaded 5 books in just a couple 
of minutes.(I downloader ahead of time because I thought I might not be where there 
was WiFi.) One nice feature is I can buy a book anytime day or night and have new 
reading material in a minute.  I could put it in my purse and had reading material 
whenever I wanted.  I do love it.  Most items downloaded are $9.95, which is less 
than half the price of a hardback book.  If that is the case, I have now saved at 
least $350 which is enough to pay for the machine.  Internet can be used on the 
Kindle, but I have not done much of that.  It is the Ipod for books.

A couple of drawback are
1.  Some authors have not allowed their books to be put on the Kindle system  (I 
like to read off the NY Times bestseller)
2. If I have read a book and want to loan it to someone else, they would have to 
have my Kindle.

I hope this answers a few of your questions about the Kindle.

3. Yes !!!!
Yes  !!!
Problem Frozen Screen-- Amazon replaced in 48 hrs.

I love it.  So easy to buy a book wirelessly and it saves paper and
storage of books afterward. Battery lasts a long, long, time.  Love
arranging the font size for easy reading. Fits in my purse.

Take the plunge...it's worth it.

4.  The Kindle, in my experience, is very easy to use, Lisa.
I do have some issues with it, however, which have to do with the placement of the 
various buttons. Unfortunately there's not much space to just hold the thing on the 
side edges since the edges "turn the pages." This can be quite annoying until you 
get used to it.
I would definitely wait to see what the new model (coming out soon, I believe) 
<http://www.crunchgear.com/2008/07/15/kindle-20-coming-around-october-2008/> looks 
like before purchasing the Kindle.
I do know it's gone down in price since it was first released (I purchased mine in 
the first week) from $399 to $359.


5.  I love my kindle. The books download almost instantly. I have had no technical 
difficulties. I received it as a gift when they first came out. I believe the price 
has come down, and it is well worth it for an avid reader. There is a selection of 
children's chapter books available to download. The price of downloads is less 
expensive than new release books. Go green! You won't have a stack of books to 
decide what to do with . Using the Kindle saves time, space, and trees.

6.  I'm a member of the AP English list server. This has been discussed there. 
There were a few people who had purchased them. They all loved them--would buy them 
again. Found them to be the most convenient and practical way to read. I've got it 
on my Christmas list.

7.  My husband bought me a kindle for Christmas.  At first I was frustrated by 
reading one page at a time, since I'm a fast reader.  But I grew to love it, 
especially on trips.  I'm just about at the reading glasses point, so I love that I 
can change the font of the text.  If I'm reading in dim light, I can still see what 
I'm reading without having to search for reading glasses.

I also loved that on my last trip, I took 10 books in my kindle!  It has to be 
turned off during take-off and landing, but I bring a magazine for that.  For the 
first time in history, I had room in my shoulder carry-on for clothes!

I have only read one non-fiction book on my kindle, so I'm fuzzy on this, but I 
know I used it to make notes of passages I wanted to remember.

It recharges very quickly, unlike a cell phone.  Since it uses cell phone 
technology, you can purchase books anywhere.  That certainly can be a problem, when 
your kindle is close at hand while you're reading book reviews.

Most current books are $9.99, so there's a cost savings there.  I have purchased a 
few classics for as little as 99 cents.  You can read a sample of the book before 
buying, and it's a substantial sample.

I also took advantage of the 14 day free trial for newspapers and magazines on my 
recent trip, and was able to read the New York Times every morning of my trip for 
free.

If you have any problems with a download, it's easy to resolve online.  Canceling 
my free subscriptions was simple.  The downloads take about 20 seconds, which 
amazes me every time I order a book!

I'm going to send this as is--I started writing to you about 3 hours ago, and 
haven't had a chance to gather my thoughts about it since.  Let me know if you have 
any other questions.

8.  I received a Kindle from my husband on Valentine's Day, and I absolutely love 
it.  It is easy to use, and once I've found a book to purchase, it takes less than 
a minute to upload to the Kindle.  On trips, I can take lots of books with me--if I 
decide at the last minute that I'm in the mood for something different, I have 
several with me from which to choose without having to lug heavy books around.  I 
also like being able to save my favorite passages in a clippings folder, put my own 
notes in my books, and search for words in a text (it acts as a concordance, in a 
way).  The built-in dictionary is nice, too.

The only things I don't like about it are its lack of a backlight (Amazon sells a 
clip-on, but I'm not clipping on a light) and the fact that I can't load onto it 
books available from libraries--it only works for books you buy from Amazon.   
But...there are lots and lots of books available for the Kindle.  When I find out 
about a book I want to read, 2 times out of 3 it is available for the Kindle, and 
now they have a button you can click to request a book for Kindle that isn't 
currently available.
Now that I have a Kindle, I don't know what I'd do without it.

9.  My husband gave me a Kindle for xmas. Of course it didn't come until February. 
I use it all the time. It is great in the doctor's office or any where that you 
feel like reading. The charge lasts a long time so that is convenient and it fits 
easily in a bag. It is not delicate --  I have dropped mine twice on ceramic tile 
flooring. Amazon seems to be increasing the books available all the time. I have 
been able to save money buy purchasing books in series on my Kindle.
Ordering books online and then having them sent to the Kindle is great and very 
fast. I have also purchased books while on the Kindle. That is easy as well. I 
really like looking at the colorful covers and getting the extra info that you get 
online at Amazon.
One of the best things is that you can literally carry a library around with you. 
That includes documents that you send yourself through the email.
Some of the drawbacks are that you will need a book light to read in the dark.  The 
cover comes off too easily and that can be a little annoying. Some books are not 
available on Kindle yet so you might need to read the print version or just wait. 
You can't share the books you read on Kindle with your friends as you can a print 
version of a book. An odd thing that I have noticed is that some of the books for 
download sometimes have errors in them or editing marks. This only has happened 
with older books that they have online. I have been reading books in the MC Beaton 
series. Some of her books have those problems. I have not noticed it with newer 
books.
I use my Kindle all the time so I feel it was a great purchase for me.

10.   I love my Kindle. I recommend it highly. I like the "virtual ink" and the 
screen that simulates a book page. I like the size. I like the weight. I like the 
portability. I like the "wow factor." It is currently one of my top favorite 
gizmos, the other being my iPhone. Treat yourself! You deserve it!


11.  I bought the Kindle and haven't used it that much.  I originally bought it
for traveling so I wouldn't have to carry books around, but it turns out
that I don't read that much when I travel.  I read a little, but not
enough to warrant the 350 price tag.  I also thought that I would have
access to my email account, but if there is no signal available then there
is no email.  So, I got really frustrated with that feature since it seems
that I wanted to access email more than read.
I like the easy purchase and download of books, but that's it so far for
me.
I think I will pull it out and try again.  Maybe I'm missing something...


 My husband and I both have a Kindle. We thoroughly enjoy it. It is very easy to 
handle and the downloads from Amazon are very fast, It makes it so easy to read a 
large (900 plus page) book without your hands getting tired. We purchased ours this 
summer and between us we read over 10 books. The two nice features are the ability 
to change the font size and the on board dictionary. I think it is worth it.

13.  I never thought I would buy one of these devices, but after seeing my friends, 
I sat down and figured up how much I had spent on books in about six months and how 
much those books cost on Kindle.  End of the debate.  I would save money in a short 
time by purchasing the Kindle.  Most of the Kindle books are $9.99 or less.

I have vision problems, and this is one reader that I have no problems with.  You 
can enlarge the print on the books.  The battery charge lasts for hours.  I don't 
care for reading the newspaper on it, but otherwise, I find myself wishing a book 
in my lap were in my Kindle instead.  I NEVER thought I would feel this way.

It's small, lightweight, easy to tote on trips, easy and quick to download.

I wish I had bought mine sooner.


14.   I've had my Kindle for about a year now and still love it.  It's my favorite 
thing I've ever bought for myself!

No more wondering what to do with a book when I'm through reading it (My 
bookshelves are full and many of my friends don't have the same taste in books I 
do.  The public library was getting quite a book supply donated by me).  Kindle 
books are cheaper also.

It is so great to get the instant gratification of deciding to read a book and it's 
there on your Kindle in under a minute!

It's compact, easy to carry around and handle, keeping your place is a breeze.  
Keeping track of what you've read is so easy also.

Many people have seen me with my Kindle in line, waiting at the doctor's office, 
sitting at lunch, the beauty salon.  I seem to have inspired quite a few of them to 
purchase their own Kindles.  Amazon should pay me.

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