new amazon Kindle announced @ $139

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TheCollector
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new amazon Kindle announced @ $139

Post by TheCollector »

Hey folks,

I thought I'd share that amazon has announced

a new kindle for $139 available in white or graphite.

I've been on the fence about getting a kindle myself, I like the feel of actual books and I don't like the fact that paperbacks are basically the same price as a kindle version as the book.

But with my wife groaning every time she see's me come in with a bag of paperbacks to add to my already overflowing bookcases I thought this might save me some space (and grief) going forward.

I have the kindle iphone app which I've used to download SK's UR and a few other books, it's been easier to read then I thought off the iphone screen. Perhaps it would be even better off the kindle. The new lower price point makes it more tempting.

Anyone here use a kindle for reading? What are your thoughts?
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Re: new amazon Kindle announced @ $139

Post by jhanic »

I have a real problem reading longer items on a computer screen. I probably would have the same hang-up with an electronic reader. I'd like to try one (without buying one) to see.

John
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Re: new amazon Kindle announced @ $139

Post by ELazansky »

I've been debating getting the Kindle or the Nook myself. SK books aside, I usually either check books out from the library, or purchase a lot from books clubs. I also enjoy having a book in you hand as opposed to reading off a screen, which I already have to do for 8-9 hours a day at work. Plus, when I am done with my book, I either return my checked-out books to the library or, if they were purchases I don't want to keep, I donate them to the library for others to enjoy. What I am going to do with my "Kindle" book once read? I love electronics, but I still haven't gotten to the point where I have to have the Kindle.

-Eric
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Re: new amazon Kindle announced @ $139

Post by TheCollector »

Yeah those are all good points.

For me I'm a serial Star Trek and Dragonlance reader (among other things) but those two I have most of the books and I hang onto them. This probably accounts for 70-80% of my purchases each year. I try to buy these paperbacks at my local half price books. So I'm usually paying $4.00 instead of $7.99.

So the minus side for me is still cost, for say 10 paperbacks we've got
$44 (with tax) vs $88 (with tax) plus of course that initial investment for the kindle.

On the plus side there's variety, I've already downloaded a few books to my iphone kindle app that I wouldn't have bought otherwise. As a great example Borderlands Press had released a few kindle editions of books for just a buck or two.

Also there's the hardback issue. I often pass on hardbacks and wait for the paperback to come out. Both due to cost and the space it takes up compared to a paperback. Also if I have to order online I'm paying shipping which ads to the cost of the book. A kindle would help with that.

If there was a way I could mail amazon some of my paper books and exchange them for an electronic version then this would be a no brainer for me. I certainly wouldn't digitize all my books but maybe up to half of them. Freeing up some room while having access to say 200+ of my existing books on one device would be amazing.

As it is...given enough time that would still happen but it would take a few years at my current buying rate. The question is whether at the new lower price - whether I should take the plunge.
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Re: new amazon Kindle announced @ $139

Post by ur2ndbiggestfan »

A billion years from now, all our books will be dust in the wind. But I'm old fashioned in the respect that a book consists of paper and boards, and it is not a book otherwise. I know it's hard on the trees to be cut down and made into paper, but I love the actual book itself, the feel of it, the look, the pleasure of sitting down and turning the pages as you read. I'm sure in a relatively short time actual books will be as obsolete as papyrus scrolls are today, but I'm sticking with 'em to the last possible second. So no Kindle for me, thank you very much.
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Re: new amazon Kindle announced @ $139

Post by Royalecheese »

I think what scares me the most (--insert old man name calling here--) is where society is headed with this. Bear with me...

Look back at actual hand-written prose from your grandparents. How does it look? It looks like they learned calligraphy from birth. Now look at the chicken scratch and shorthand used by many that somehow passes for the alphabet today.

lol, how r u? WTF? lulz, L8r, OMG!!

Even I'm guilty of doing that with texts I send others.

I think most here agree the connection you feel when actually holding a book in your hands far outweighs the ability to read it on a computer screen, but what about the future? Will the manufacturing process and cost become such a burden on the book maker that they have no other option than going digital or go out of business? Or as Ur2ndbiggestfan pointed out, will books become like the scrolls that were rendered impotent by the printing press.

Scribes = time+money. Press = time saved+volume

Books = time+money. Kindle = programming+volume

Will the next two generations abandon books completely? They certainly are on that track right now. Why visit someone in person or talk with them on the phone when you can text or email them? Why have 10 schoolbooks around when I can have all of them on something the size of a sheet of paper? Will there come a time when it simply makes no sense to press and cut the paper, in return for getting a cheaper yet same product like the Kindle?

I am totally intrigued by new technology and how it improves my life, but I hope my days on this earth have ended before I see Kindle and their like take the place of paper. ink, glue, and leather.

/grumpy old man out.
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Re: new amazon Kindle announced @ $139

Post by ur2ndbiggestfan »

Grumpy old man, your words are like poetry to me (and I don't like poetry that much, unless it's good!). I'll be right there with you, kicking and screaming as they tie me down to the operating table and insert the port into my head where I can plug myself into Skynet, uh, I mean the internet and read books and watch movies right inside my little old brain until my body dwindles to a husk. They'll probably force me to buy a cell phone then too.
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Re: new amazon Kindle announced @ $139

Post by jhanic »

There's an article in today's Wall Street Journal stating that many if not all the suppliers of ebooks are going to start selling ads along with the books. Yet another reason for me to avoid the whole thing.

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Re: new amazon Kindle announced @ $139

Post by TheCollector »

I don't pay to subscribe to the WSJ but I read something similar online yesterday. It referenced that publishers may start putting ads in the previews (where you can download the first chapter of a book or something similar). Not in the full versions of the book.

On a related note I borrowed a kindle DX (first gen) for a couple days. It was to heavy to read comfortably with one hand; and my eyes started glossing over what seemed to be a grey wall of text.

But it got me thinking that the new Kindle Wi-Fi (aka kindle 3) might solve those issues. 50% better contrast and the smaller screen may help with the "wall of text" feeling. And the fact it's less then half the weight of the DX should make it more comfortable to hold in one hand like a book.

StuffTV has the first hands on I've seen, if the color is accurate then the contrast is significantly better then on the original DX I borrowed


I'm going to try it out and report back. I went ahead an put it on my amazon wish-list a couple weeks ago. If it doesn't show up as a birthday present I'm going to order it myself...I'll post my thoughts once I get it....Currently it's sold out until September 17th though.
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