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eReading and the Kindle 3

Posted by on October 5, 2010 · Leave a Comment 

Amazon Kindle 3
Image by 3water via Flickr

As an avid reader and a gadget fan I have a long term interest in ebooks.  My first ebooks came from the ebookstore peanutpress.com and were read on the Philips Nino PDA in terrible grayscale!  Peanutpress.com is now ereader.com and has been bought by Barnes and Noble.  I still have an extensive library of over 100 novels with them and software readers are available for the iPhone and iPad as well as several other devices.

An alternative to peanutpress.com in the early years of the noughties was mobipocket.com.  I tended to avoid mobipocket because they were more strict with overseas licensing and frankly, more expensive.  Mobipocket were eventually bought out by Amazon and a modified form of their DRM (Digital Rights Management) file format was used for the Amazon Kindle.

The Amazon Kindle which launched in November 2007 sold out its initial production run in two and a half hours!  It was not the first ebook reader based on e-ink technology – Sony launched its first model in 2006 – but the Kindle soon came to dominate the market.

All Kindle devices have been characterised by ease of use and free access to Amazon’s Whispernet 3G data service. This allows for the bookstore to be browsed and for books to be purchased and downloaded anywhere a mobile signal could be had.  In late 2009 the second generation Kindle and Whispernet were made available Internationally.  Global book licensing issues remain annoying – but can be circumvented fairly easily if you so choose.  Regardless – an extensive library is available.

In hindsight 2010 may be the year that marks the beginning of the end for the printed novel.  I don’t think books will be going anywhere in a hurry – there remains an emotional experience in the opening of a nicely presented book – but for “pulp fiction” and perhaps textbooks, digital is the way to go

Amazon have really opened up the Kindle platform this year with software available for iPhone, iPad, Android, Blackberry, Mac and PC as well as new models of their Kindle and Kindle DX readers.  The new models have more memory, WiFi (plus or minus 3G) and a fabulous new screen.  This new screen boasts a 50% improvement in the contrast ratio and it really shows – it is much better to read even in lower light.  Amazon also set a nifty leather case to go with the Kindle which has a built in LED reading light – powered from the Kindle itself

Experience wise, I find myself using the Kindle for novels.  It lends itself well to linear reading and is easier on the eye.  Evidence also suggests that putting a backlit screen in front of your face at night interferes with sleep.  For textbooks and manuals – or anything with pictures – I use the Kindle app on the iPad.  The colour and increased screen size make it more usable.  Im still not 100% sold on e-textbooks – it is nice to have the real thing in front of you – but the cost savings can be substantial.

In summary – if you are investigating ebook readers the Kindle 3 seems to be the way to go.  They have come down in cost considerably, are high quality and have a great catalogue of content.  As a bonus, a plethora of companion software allows you to consume your content on other devices you may own – and Whispersync keeps your bookmarks consistent across all of them.

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Amazon Kindle In Australia

Posted by on November 2, 2009 · Leave a Comment 

Amazon Kindle
Image via Wikipedia
When I heard that the Amazon Kindle was going on International sale I just knew I was about to part with a decent chunk of change!  Those of you that follow Dr Gadget will remember that around 12 months ago I reviewed the BeBook – a more open source device that has served me fairly well in the interim.  Updates for the BeBook slowed down considerably in the months since – and the last major upgrade moved the device away from the Mobipocket format to the more Open Source ePub format.  Given that by this point I had purchased quite a few Mobipocket books I was not best pleased by this change – although I can see the rationale for the future given that Mobipocket is owned by Amazon.
Moving on to the Kindle – whilst still expensive it is less so than the BeBook.  With shipping and a leather case it arrived in Australia just shy of $350 – considerably less than the $499 BeBook.  Quality wise it certainly has a better finish.  Charging is accomplished via a USB cable that comes with the device.  Unfortunately it only seems to work properly when plugged into a computer – I have tried it with several USB power adaptors and none seem to work.  Once charged the battery is good for about 4 days with wireless switched on – or a couple of weeks with wireless off.
When it comes to reading books the Kindle really shines.  Amazon’s stated aim was to make the device ‘disappear’ and allow the reading experience to come to the fore.  This is certainly the case.  The page turn buttons are large and perfectly placed and the page turn process is much faster than the BeBook.  The first book I read on the Kindle was the new Dan Brown – The Lost Symbol and as promised the use of an ereader did fade into the background allowing me to engage fully with the story.
One of the key features of the Kindle is access to the Amazon Whispernet.  Basically the device comes with built in 3G networking which is available in over 100 countries at no cost to the user.  This allows browsing and buying books from the Amazon Kindle bookstore – plus the delivery of newspapers and magazines.  At the moment the range of books and periodicals available to Australian subscribers is limited by International copyright agreements – but there are ways to access the full range of books if you are crafty enough!  The absence of Australian newspapers is disappointing and is apparently due to ongoing negotiations with Australian publishers.
There are additional costs when buying books and magazines and having them delivered via Whispernet.  For books you will pay a US$1.99 premium but this can be avoided by purchasing via computer and downloading to Kindle via the supplied USB cable.  That said, even with Whispernet delivery a new release is typically US$11.99 – far less than bookshop prices.  As far as I can tell magazines and newspapers can only be delivered via Whispernet at a cost of US1.99 per issue or a flat rate of US$4.99 per week. There is a basic web browser built into the Kindle which is only supposed to provide access to Wikipedia – but my Kindle does not seem to have these restrictions so I can’t complain!
Formats wise the native Kindle format is AZW although it can also read text files and Mobipocket files that do not have DRM (Digital Rights Management).  For other files types there is a clever workaround.  Each Kindle has its own email address to which files – such as Office documents or PDF files – can be mailed.  They will be converted and sent to the device for US0.99c per megabyte.  To avoid the charge you are given a second email address whereby documents are converted and sent back to you as Kindle books to load up via the USB cable.
In conclusion the Kindle is a fabulous device that will only improve as the content legitimately available to Australians increases.  For more tips and tricks on getting the most from your Kindle visit www.drgadgetonline.com .

When I heard that the Amazon Kindle was going on International sale I just knew I was about to part with a decent chunk of change!  Those of you that follow Dr Gadget will remember that around 12 months ago I reviewed the BeBook – a more open source device that has served me fairly well in the interim.  Updates for the BeBook slowed down considerably in the months since – and the last major upgrade moved the device away from the Mobipocket format to the more Open Source ePub format.  Given that by this point I had purchased quite a few Mobipocket books I was not best pleased by this change – although I can see the rationale for the future given that Mobipocket is owned by Amazon.

Moving on to the Kindle – whilst still expensive it is less so than the BeBook.  With shipping and a leather case it arrived in Australia just shy of $350 – considerably less than the $499 BeBook.  Quality wise it certainly has a better finish.  Charging is accomplished via a USB cable that comes with the device.  Unfortunately it only seems to work properly when plugged into a computer – I have tried it with several USB power adaptors and none seem to work.  Once charged the battery is good for about 4 days with wireless switched on – or a couple of weeks with wireless off.

When it comes to reading books the Kindle really shines.  Amazon’s stated aim was to make the device ‘disappear’ and allow the reading experience to come to the fore.  This is certainly the case.  The page turn buttons are large and perfectly placed and the page turn process is much faster than the BeBook.  The first book I read on the Kindle was the new Dan Brown – The Lost Symbol and as promised the use of an ereader did fade into the background allowing me to engage fully with the story.

One of the key features of the Kindle is access to the Amazon Whispernet.  Basically the device comes with built in 3G networking which is available in over 100 countries at no cost to the user.  This allows browsing and buying books from the Amazon Kindle bookstore – plus the delivery of newspapers and magazines.  At the moment the range of books and periodicals available to Australian subscribers is limited by International copyright agreements – but there are ways to access the full range of books if you are crafty enough!  The absence of Australian newspapers is disappointing and is apparently due to ongoing negotiations with Australian publishers.

There are additional costs when buying books and magazines and having them delivered via Whispernet.  For books you will pay a US$1.99 premium but this can be avoided by purchasing via computer and downloading to Kindle via the supplied USB cable.  That said, even with Whispernet delivery a new release is typically US$11.99 – far less than bookshop prices.  As far as I can tell magazines and newspapers can only be delivered via Whispernet at a cost of US1.99 per issue or a flat rate of US$4.99 per week. There is a basic web browser built into the Kindle which is only supposed to provide access to Wikipedia – but my Kindle does not seem to have these restrictions so I can’t complain!

Formats wise the native Kindle format is AZW although it can also read text files and Mobipocket files that do not have DRM (Digital Rights Management).  For other files types there is a clever workaround.  Each Kindle has its own email address to which files – such as Office documents or PDF files – can be mailed.  They will be converted and sent to the device for US0.99c per megabyte.  To avoid the charge you are given a second email address whereby documents are converted and sent back to you as Kindle books to load up via the USB cable.

In conclusion the Kindle is a fabulous device that will only improve as the content legitimately available to Australians increases.

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