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Nearly all of us have their holy ritual, their bulwark against the world or the perennial fluctuations that affect our society. For some, it's a model railroad, others have their phonograph record collection. For me, it's books, the ever-lasting constant. Some have been with me for decades, traveled with me on every relocation and are full of tattered and yellowed pages. Others are still in mint condition and awaiting their first read. All that is supposed to change now thanks to technology - at least on a trial basis.
E-book readers are nothing new, they've been on the market for over 10 years. And even though testing novel gadgets is part of my job, I have so far refused to take up one of them. The thought of having such a device with me in my cozy reading armchair seemed to alien to me. Then again, isn't it ignorant to reject something you know next to nothing about? Well, here's my chance to break new reading grounds with Amazon's Kindle Voyage 3G, an e-reader believed to be top of its class.
Unboxed, the device is as thrilling as a test image: black, quite small (6 inches) but very light, below 190 grams. There are various options to get books onto the Kindle: connect it via USB to your PC, use the built-in WLAN or (surprisingly) through mobile connectivity as the device comes with a SIM card that is usable free of charge (for this model). Naturally, Amazon's virtual bookstore is prominently featured but you can also purchase books through other sources.
Once turned on, you can't help but nod in acknowledgment. It's a solid piece of technology with a high-resolution 1080 x 1440 display that displays even small fonts crisply and sharply. The built-in lighting is well thought out, the screen stays readable even in direct sunlight. As for the battery: I wasn't able to drain it. Other tests have determined about 24,000 page turns on a single charge which is more than respectable.
Usability wise: If you've ever held a tablet or cellphone you'll already know how to handle this device. Everything is intuitively laid out, menus are clearly structured and the system itself runs smoothly. Since the Amazon Kindle Voyage comes with a capacitive touchscreen (comparable to modern cellphones), all it takes is a brief tap or swipe to navigate. 4 GB of storage space will easily get you through the longest vacation and with AZW, PDF and MOBI support, three important e-book formats are onboard. All that's missing is the classic EPUB format, maybe this is an attempt at keeping eager competitors at arm's length.
The software interface is smart - they really try to offer more than a simple reading experience. For example, it remembers your reading speed and tries to predict the time it will take you to reach the end of the current chapter. Different font sizes are also available, perfect for people with bad eyesight. "Smart Lookup" displays additional information on locations, persons or selected words without leaving the page, the system uses Wikipedia for that. Gently pressing the edges of the device turns pages, a smart feature implementation. All's well? Yes and (for me) no!
Reading is a highly subjective experience. I dare say that many will find the Kindle Voyage 3G to their liking - I won't. To me, all this feels like an imitation of a book, comparable to the difference between a driving simulator and the real thing. The e-reader always stays the same, there's no feeling of weight or venerability that comes with an old weighty tome, no mighty cover that is part of any decent hardcover edition and no smell of old, yellowed pages. Except for maybe holding the device and the occasional swiping, your hands have little else to do, no tangible page turns, no rustling and no way to quickly glance at the cover or the blurb. It's sensory deprivation, all that remains are visible letters which, to me, only make up a part of the reading experience.
Which is why I will continue to hunt for new releases on the Internet and then visit my trusty bookseller to order the latest gems. Or I'll venture into an antiquarian bookshop, deeply breathe in the scent that makes older books so special and take home a few venerable editions. Technology may have entered my beloved pastime activity with Spotify as background noise and bright LED lights, yet books prevail. I seldom get called old-fashioned but this may be one of those times.
What I would like to know: Are you staying faithful to paper, have you already jumped on the ebook bandwagon or do you use similar apps, e.g. on your tablet?
Because of poor eyesight, I have been forced to use a Kindle reader if I want to continue to read. While I love my collection of Science Fiction First Editions, I can no longer read them, so must resort to the Kindle.
My wife and I are both avid readers and have been since we were kids, both of us building up our personal libraries. I embraced technology before there were tablets, doing my reading on a "Palm Pilot", later upgrading to the Palm Tungstun and the Palm Centro phone. While nothing is like a physical book I enjoy the portability and storage of an eReader or tablet. I have been able to thin out my collection (to my wifes relief). She is looking for more bookshelves!
When ny Sony e-reader died, I had just gotten a tablet and now I just use that for all my reading. The reason is that I almost never buy books - I read privately circulated papers and Project Gutenberg stuff almost exclusively - and so the ability to sideload is of paramount importance to me, and most brands of reader simply don't have that. Sony does, but I find that my tablet just loads books up a lot faster than my old ereader. A newer, more expensive reader might be different, but for me that would be redundant since I can use my table for all my reading.
I must admit I feel the same. E-books are convenient if you only feel like waving a finger once you have loaded a book, but the heft and smell of a book is more satisfying. Also you can't throw a pad at someone for a smart-arsed comment and then continue reading where you left off afterwards!
I don't own a Kindle, but I have an Android tablet with the Kindle app on it. I have always loved books and currently have over a dozen boxes full, still waiting to get a bookshelf so I can put them up, but I now have Fibro and find my hand cramps when I hold books larger than a certain size so I have been using my tablet for reading. I love that I can read as long as I want without pain anymore, besides I also love the storage since I am a speed reader so I don't have to carry so many books with me. As for the person who mentioned about tablets falling on the floor, I bought a bumper for mine and I haven't had any issues from it falling on the floor when I fall asleep and knock it off my bed.
Books, books, books. They are the real deal in my view and offer something the electronic media can't or may even prohibit - transfer-ability.
I'm an inveterate collector and one thing I'm proud of is, amongst other books, my "Star Wars" collection. I have about 140 of them - many hard covers and most now out of print. Mostly in pristine condition with colourful covers.
These I can pass on the my nephew when the time comes. I doubt a Kindle will even come close to the joy of owning complete sets of books, colourfully displayed o the library shelves.
As a person with chronic arthritis I find my ereader invaluable. It's light and easy to hold. Yes,I still read paper books but my health really needs technology.
I have one of the first Kindles and love reading from it. I read paper books for many years. But I find the eReaders so much easier & convenient for me..I'm looking at the Voyage time will tell
Marshall McLuhan said "the medium is the message", and when it comes to books I entirely agree. A proper, paper book is the medium that - for me - gets its message across in a way that looks, feels and smells right. I can forget that I'm holding a book and become completely engrossed in what I'm reading.
I have tried a Kindle tablet, but I just can't immerse myself in the content in the same way that I can with a book. I can't explain this - perhaps it's my advanced age.
I also have tendency to fall asleep while reading in bed and often find my book on the floor the next morning. I'm not sure how much of that mistreatment a tablet could take!
I shall stick with paper.
I'm staying faithful to paper. Primarily because i have trouble reading text on the screen. I'm far more comfortable with the printed word.
I have a Kindle Fire that has capabilities almost matching the device mentioned. But it's a subsidiary device, convenient for reading when on trains (or in hospital). REAL reading can only be experienced with REAL books.
A well-designed and well-produced book contributes significantly to the reading experience. Also if you wish to go back and check on an earlier portion, it's much easier and faster to be able to flip back. The binding, the paper, the weight; these are all positive factors in the reading experience. An inexpensive paper-back contributes much less, but is still preferable to a digital device. (Although, trying to convince younger people whose experience has been primarily with ereaders can be difficult.)
I am a veritable glutton for technology in most things, but technology is not a preference for reading! [Hope I caught most of my typos!]
I have the kindle fire hd and bought it to not just read books but to watch films too but the films take a Hugh amount of space and the fire I have can't be expanded so I stick to books now I have hundreds of books and keep buying new ones! Amazon ask me to give a rating for the books but I can't until I have read them but it's going to be a while! Books on bookshelves take lots of room but on the kindle it saves space as hundreds of books don't weigh anymore than the kindle you use and is no bigger than a small novel it's handy and for me I won't buy any more books apart from special books like readers digest! not novel books! And of course if I get a first print book that I would buy as it can be worth lots of money in the future so I can pass them on to family when I have gone
I am addicted reader and hoarder of books. My family call it an obsession. I am also addicted to my Kindle Paperwhite for many reasons. It's convenient to take anywhere and is a boon to have at hand while waiting for appointments. It goes with me on trips and has been a wonderful for hospital stays. The main reason I really like it is because it has opened access to many books I would not be able to buy. Many are not available here in Australia and are usually very expensive if they are. However I never stop hunting for real books that I really must have.
I have the Kindle Fire but haven't used it for book reading. I got hooked onto audio books (CDs from the library or mp3 format from Audible) and do all my "reading" that way. My daily commute is almost an hour each way of driving so I consume books this way. Otherwise I do like the hard print books. On the other-hand I am trying to convince my aging mother that an e-reader would be so much easier for her to hold, but have failed so far in that pursuit.
Although I prefer 'real' books, I find my iPad very handy for reading on holiday, it saves dragging extra weight around on aeroplanes!
Have a Nook e-reader that's nice, too ... BUT books will always come 1st to me. There's no contest !
So pleased to find so many others who prefer the feel of a physical book. Have been an avid reader for over 60 years.
I obtain most of my books from the second hand bookstore run by the SPCA. So am contributing to one of my favourite charities.
My family keep pushing me to "unclutter" my living room and go electronic, but I love that familiarity and comfort of bookshelves.
I understand and agree that portability and space constraints certainly are a plus for electronic gadgetry. Oh well maybe I'll change one of these days.
Regards, Peter
My wife and I use both. For new expensive books by established writers we often visit our local library but for older books and new published authors we visit Amazon Kindle, book stores and various sales. My reader is an older one that does not have a light so that limits the places you can use it but my wife has a newer one with a back light and that my friends is the only way to go.
Here's the thing: you don't have to decide for one over the other - they can have parallel & respected lives for the very same user.
My [physical] library is counting almost 20K books (science, reference, art, atlases, history, belletristic in some nine languages and much more). Quite a few of them are bibliophile-oriented (special anniversary or first editions, leather bounding with golden leaf margins, ...).
I DO love the feel of the book in my hands, through all the human sensors that G_d provided.
And still, if I need to check-up something FAST, no paper book can compete with the easy access to information provided by the digital media (Kindle or other). The sheer quantity over physical volume the digital environment offers, as well as the speed of direct access and search, put these wonder devices in a league of their own.
One more thing: at times, one doesn't have the option to chose: for years I've been reading the printed versions of PC-Mag & Newsweek. A few years back, both moved to the digital format. I resisted making the switch for quite a long time, until I decided the penalty of not having access to information weighs-in heavier then my personal joy of handling the magazine.
As a result, I am now a subscriber of the online version of PC-Mag and an assiduous reader of the PRINTED version of Time Magazine (which replaced the need for Newsweek for me).
I read the printed version of National Geographic too, but also enjoy the additional online goodies (short movies, pictures, ...) that NG provides to its loyal customers.
So, to sum it up: love goes to the old good printed books, while efficiency & diversity is the domain of the digital space.
On a side note: I too am occasionally using the PC version of Kindle, but I really don't like the fact that there there appears to be no way to access a page by its actual number, just as any "normal" book (or even a PDF) would enable you to do; so much for emulations ...
Guess that Amazon, Barnes & Noble, The Book Depository, Abe's Books and many others won't be put out of business soon by the technological advances that affect us all, but rather go along with them and complement each other.
I don't have a tablet or an e-book reader. But I do have an e-book reader app on my cell phones. While the app works fine, I don't enjoy as much reading on it as I do reading an actual book.
However, I do keep 2 apps each on my cell phones for the Bible, and use those every week at church instead of a big Bible that is not lap friendly.
Love my print books but unfortunately I have no choice, if I want to read it has to be an e-reader or tablet. My eyes haven't allowed me to read normal print for almost 30 years and now my arthritis won't allow me to hold heavy paper books which leaves large print (when & if I can find any) out of the question. This Kindle model sounds very good. Right now I'm using a tablet which is not so good for bright outdoor (and even some indoor) light. I tried a Kobo Aura but it didn't work out because using the interface/menu to get to my books was just about impossible. Can anyone who has a Kindle tell me how customizable that part of it is? It wouldn't be much good to me if I have to go hunt for a sighted person every time I want to find something to read on it or load my books. And since I'm the only tech-savvy person in my family, well ...
I agree, when we are travelling e-readers are amazing but paper books are real, plenty of life and feelings, either if it's a collection of short stories, a novel or an essay or thesis. I don't have an e-reader, only apps from Kindle and Kobo on my iPad and my Android Phablet. I venerate printed books, both new or old. I live at São Paulo in Brazil and I buy printed books over physical bookstores, in bookstore sites and in second hand bookstores. I have a library of over 5000 books. The problem with paper books are the space necessary to store them, the extreme weight of them and the Master Problem with paper books is when we must move to a new home. But it's a Master Fact than e-books are icy, lifeless and soulless. Printed books are amazing and nothing compares to the smell from an old book. I live in an apartment and my master problems with my library are my limited space to store books, magazines and comics and the heavy weight of them. But, repeating when we are in the move e-readers are sensational and they stay on my pocket.
I was a die-hard paper book guy, but after moving multiple times, packing up and lugging all my books from house to house and having left my physical book behind often enough when I really wanted to read my book convinced me to give e-books a try and now I'm hooked. I will always retain my hardcover copies of classic novels or maybe one or two of my favorite authors but e-books is the way to go. You can carry thousands of books with you on your phone, tablet or computer. I use Android phones and tablets and I have a Nook Color e-book device but for someone who wants to stare at a screen that looks most like a real book I would suggest the Amazon Kindle devices with the "Paper" option. I've seen people reading these things in intense sunlight with no glare and great resolution. I'm not an expert but I do know some of the earlier Amazon devices are not back-lit so reading at night in bed with the lights out will not work. I believe their newest, most expensive options offer the "Paper" effect for reading in bright light and a back-lit option for reading at night in low light.
I'm with you, I'm a bibliophile. I'd rather hold and read a book than look at a screen. However, I can see the value for a frequent long distance flier. Not being one of those, it's not for me.
PDC
I have used e-books for many years, and still have my venerable Nook sitting on my desk. I also use the Kindle app on my desktop, as well as my android phone. And my wife and two adult children have Kobo -glo ( a great device IMO ). The e-ink devices work much better in bright sunlight than LED displays, albeit no color. Getting e-books books from the library is a snap! I recently donated my medical library to my Alma Mater. It took up a whole section of my library, and weighed over 500 kg to move. Now I can carry it all in my pocket!