Amazon Kindle

[sonickteam2]

Hey you smart tech-savvy people.
   
   My wife is pestering me to buy her that Kindle thing from Amazon.  Anyone have it or know someone who does?  Just looking for some input cause i dont want to buy a $300 p.o.s.
 
      thankie!

[vansmack]

My brother in law, against my better advice, purchased one.
 
 It's sweet, but I still think the price is too high.  He's a heavy book reader and I figure he'll have the device paid for in about 14 months.  I figured it would take me about 2.5 years to pay for itself.
 
 I'm sure you have some specifics I can answer for you, so shoot....

[ratioci nation]

thought this might be helpful
 
 http://www.tinyscreenfuls.com/2008/07/two-month-kindle-review-and-full-text-of-my-washington-times-interview/

[vansmack]

I'm a bit surprised he reads computer books on the Kindle.  One of my chief complaints was the poor graphics rendering (this is done by the publisher, not Amazon, so it varies outrageously per book).
 
 I just can't see reading a computer book without the tables and screen shots.

[Shadrach]

Was listening to a detailed revue on NPR this morning and the basic sentiment seemed to be to wait for the next generation of lighter and easier to use readers to come out. Apparently this one doesn't have the most user friendly interface.

[OscarTheWilde]

This might seem like an ill-informed question, partly because it is, but...since one can go online with a Kindle, does that mean one can *hear* stuff from the Internet on a Kindle like Youtube, Rhapsody, Pandora, etc.?

[vansmack]

Originally posted by OscarTheWilde:
  This might seem like an ill-informed question, partly because it is, but...since one can go online with a Kindle, does that mean one can *hear* stuff from the Internet on a Kindle like Youtube, Rhapsody, Pandora, etc.?

You cannot.  The Kindle does not have wifi, instead it uses EVDO (cell phone data connection) provided by Sprint, and it's limited to receiving documents/books/magazines/newspapers.  There is no "web browser" on the Kindle, simply a browser for the Amazon Kindle Store.
 
 Nor does it have a color screen - it's back lit (read: super bright) black and white, so it's not conducive to you yube.
 
 Lastly, no sound card either, so no music.
 
 It's simply a book reader.

[OscarTheWilde]

Van, I appreciate all your help, but in a link within PDX's link above, Bancroft sez:
 
 "It doesnâ??t go widely advertised (I think theyâ??d sell a lot more if they promoted this feature), but thereâ??s a web browser built into the device, so you can use it to read websites or RSS feeds directly (Google Reader Mobile is PERFECT for this. I use the iPhone version dozens of times a day).
 
 "You donâ??t have to pay to read blogs and newspapers (in fact, Iâ??ll go so far as to say youâ??re rich and/or foolish if you do). You can look things up in Wikipedia (which makes the Kindle a magical physical manifestation of Wikipedia as a book).
 
 "You can use it for whatever else you want to do on the web (tip: use Googleâ??s Mobile products to pre-format web pages for the smaller screen). And all at no charge.
 
 I may be missing a nuance, but it sounds like he's saying Kindle doubles as a way to access the Internet to me!

[sonickteam2]

thanks for all your help people, btw. sorry to start then abandon this thread.
 
   As far as being able to access the internet...it seems that if you could do that Amazon would want to advertise that as a selling point.
 
   That said, you know those ticket scanners that some venues use to scan your bar codes? well you can get on the internet with those bad boys too. But you'll probably get in trouble if you do while you're at work!
 
   The internets are a funny thing!

[vansmack]

So I called my brother in law to verify what I read and he said I was wrong about a few things, but right in practice.  
 
 He said there is a built in sound card that can play DRM free MP3s, but the storage for the Kindle is so small (~256 MB) that it's not conceivable to use it as a music player.  He supposes that you could copy your mp3's to a Storage card and play them that way, but can't imagine why anyone would do so.  There is virtually no way to install a DRM player (or any software really) because of the Linux OS and lack of free space.  He actually turned off the sound because all it was for was telling him that he screwed something up or that his battery was dying, both of which he could see on the screen.
 
 As for the "web browser" he says it's generous that Kindle calls it that.  It's a "Text Only" browser and can't read a lot todays major web sites that rely on plug-ins (he said ESPN and the NYT are useless, unless you use RSS).  He likened it to using your cell phones web browser - he can't think of a single plug-in that works, including Java, which makes most useful internet sites work.  It's used priamrily to deliver RSS feeds and the text of those articles/blogs (which you subscribe to using the kindle service).  So it might work for your Google RSS feeds, if that's what you're looking for.
 
 But don't take my word for it.  See a kindle in your area.

[walkonby]

esquire said it looks like a fisher price, my first reader.

[walkonby]

what is better?  limiting the amount of paper used for magazines and books, hence limiting the cutting down of trees, that these types of devices were designed for in the first place, i guess.  or the filling of landfills and poisoning of the soil with all these techno. gifts after they break?  last time i checked, computers don't biodegrade. and the "recycling program" for phones, computers, etc.., is a joke.  china is a fine exaple of that.  the only thing worth "recycling" to most is the gold to be found in computer circuitry.

[ratioci nation]

Originally posted by vansmack:
  Java, which makes most useful internet sites work.

unless you mean javascript, is you crazy?

[HoyaSaxa03]

Originally posted by walkonby:
  esquire said it looks like a fisher price, my first reader.

if only GGW were around to ridicule you for reading esquire

[walkonby]

Originally posted by HoyaSaxa03:
   

Originally posted by walkonby:
  esquire said it looks like a fisher price, my first reader.

if only GGW were around to ridicule you for reading esquire [/b]

atleast i don't read gq.  now that's gay!!!!!