E-readers

Ma · Guru

E-readers

Clare46 · Senior Member

Ma

I have a Sony Ereader with a 5" screen and love it. I bought it for the size and also the fact that it did not have any preloaded books as I found the pre loaded ones were all very old ones that I would not read in a fit.

I have now loaded 555 bools most of which I have bought from

www.smashwords.com

They have a lot of free ones and also a lot that start at 99c and seem to bring out new ones fairly regularly. I'm and avid reader and before I had ny Ereader I used to start stocking up on books months before I went away mainly when I saw them 5 for $20. On my 2009 trip I left home with 55 books, imagine the extra weight and still had to buy quite a few while I was away

I bought my reader from Angus & Robinsons book store and paid $169 in early 2011

You can also buy a cover and they have one that includes a book light but I have the seperate cover and book light

I would not go back to carrying books again

Ma · Guru

Thanks Clare, I am like you and read all the time.

I friend has one which has it's own inbuilt light but I can't contact her at the moment to find out what's what.

The extra weight, whilst it doesn't seem like much on the face of it, adds up quite dramatically when you are carrying 30 + books and then adding to them in your travels

Landfall · Guru

Hi Ma,

I have a Kindle e reader Wi-Fi without 3G.

I purchased mine direct from Amazon in USA, saved a bundle and it comes without the historic pre-loaded books.

Fantastic cover is also available, during my very recent trip to hospital the nurses wanted to know where I got the cover from.

The main difference between the types is that the Kindle is an eInk, this gives you the realistic look af a traditional book and is very easy on the eyes. Because it has no backlight it does not consume battery power at an alarming rate.

The other type have an LCD screen, use more power, thus need recharging more and are harder on the eyes.

Downside of eInk is that you need light to read it by, upside is ease of use and long battery life.

Public libraries also have the ability to loan books out onto an ereader.

Make sure whatever type and brand you go for, the format is readily available for downloads.

Cheers

Dusty

PS: Were are you in Tas at present?

Ma · Guru

will send you a PM in a minute Dusty. Oh and thanks for the heads up on the e-readers

milo · Guru

the kindle e readers are quite popular, also ipads can read books too with the kindle app etc..
but there more expensive than an ereader , dick smiths have the kindles rather cheap,
theres 2 versions ,one a wifi and and one with 3g, which is free , and the kindles run from amazon,
im not sure if amazon books are US dollars or aussie though ..

03_troopy · Guru

Here's a good comparison of different specs on each. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_e-book_readers

-- Edited by 03_troopy on Monday 9th of January 2012 04:06:50 PM

Ma · Guru

Thanks Milo and thank you too Troopy. Will get the other half to have a look at the link with me as I'm not what you would say techno savy at all and get rather confused very easily.

This should make things a bit easier to choose too.

03_troopy · Guru

You can find heaps of books to download for free on the web (of varying degrees of legitimacy) and you can use a program called Calibre to convert between different formats. Some formats don't support reflow when you resize the text (view) too, like pdf files, which means that if you want to see larger text on the screen you have to pan around the screen to see the whole page. So if you do download books pdf isn't always a great choice.

Firefly · Guru

I bought my little grandaughter an ereader last Xmas and it was a corker. You could load music and videos as well and it had hours of battery life as well.

It was not an expensive one but it has been really good mate.

Ma · Guru

What brand etc., Fly please.

Thanks for the info troopy will get Blue to decode it all for me.....

NeilandRaine · Guru

We have a KOBO and SWMBO loves it for the reasons above, somehow we still have a van full of books.
For a very good choice of books email: ebook.hq.fl@gmail.com and ask for a list.
These books come in PDF format but you can download Calibre (free) and convert to epub. It works out very cheap. we got 49 JD Robb books for about $10
At the moment we are devouring Janet Evanovich books.......... 41 books $8

Ma · Guru

That is a good deal Neil. Will definitely be looking into that

Mr Red · Veteran Member

Hi Ma,

For Kindle reader look at www.readershop.com.au.

Mr Red.

Ma · Guru

Thanks Mr R

jimricho · Guru

Recently (last week in fact) I purchased the Kindle Wi/Fi + 3G with keyboard. Also the cover with the built in light. The screen emulates a normal printed page very well and is easy to read from. The Kindle is not backlit and can be read in bright sunshine. This may apply to some other readers as well, don't know.

Hylda&Jon · Guru

Don't forget http://gutenberg.net.au/ for a great spot to download out of copyright novels

Cheers

Jon

-- Edited by Hylda&Jon on Monday 9th of January 2012 06:44:25 PM

Ma · Guru

You people are a wealth of information. Thanks to you all I have plenty of information to do some homework with.

Dougwe · Chief one feather

Hi Ma, I have a iriver, e reader and download ebooks from a couple of different sites. I got it from Harvey Norman. I like it as you don't have to carry heaps of books around. The only thing with my model anyway is it doesn't have a back light or if it does I am unaware of it. I get by with a small head light.

Delta18 · Guru

Another Sony in this home .. the new PRS-T1 (6 inch E-Ink Pearl screen) -

http://www.sony.com.au/product/prs-t1/sku/prs-t1_bc+++cew

and video clip

http://www.sony.com.au/productcategory/bk-reader

-- Edited by Delta18 on Monday 9th of January 2012 07:49:07 PM

Pejay · Guru

Last February I purchased a Pico e-reader from JB HiFi - couldn't be happier - and it was under $100.

cannylass · Senior Member

My daughter bought a Kindle for her dad for xmas she got it from Dick Smiths and he loved it out got the books in the van

Landfall · Guru

The complete collection of Harry Potter, Clive Custler and Dan Brown - Free!

A few other books I have purchased from Amazon for .99c each.

Torrents site gives you music, books and movies, Project Gutenburg is Ok for books.

Plenty of othe sites, just Google Free eBooks.

Dusty biggrin

Elle on Wheels · Guru

I have a kindle with 3g. It's great and lasts for weeks if you don't have the online function turned on. Thanks for all the tips on cheap sites. I've downloaded a few free or cheap ebooks such as While the billy Boils - Henry lawson - and am enjoying re-reading it immensely. I could not live without books so an ereader is a wonderful invention.

The Gnome · Senior Member

Delta18 wrote:
Another Sony in this home .. the new PRS-T1 (6 inch E-Ink Pearl screen) -

Gave Caz one of these for Xmas.
I have an older Sony the PRS - 600.

Esmeralda · Guru

Ma - I have a Kobo e-reader with wi-fi - bought it on Ebay (new and unused). Still getting used to it but so far so good. My brother in law has a Kindle and loves it.

Cheers, Helen

donnybabes · Veteran Member

Im a kindle user,got mine from Amazon online saved a fortune.I use several websites for free ebooks and havent bought a book in over 12 months.The books I download are currently available in shops.Its well worth the money any no heavy baggage carrying books around with you,they are all on your ereader.

rosco · Senior Member

donnybabes wrote:
Im a kindle user,got mine from Amazon online saved a fortune.I use several websites for free ebooks and havent bought a book in over 12 months.The books I download are currently available in shops.Its well worth the money any no heavy baggage carrying books around with you,they are all on your ereader.

I've also got the kindle and get books from Amazon only.

What are the other websites where you can get free ebooks?

Connie · Veteran Member

I was lucky enough to get a Sony eReader for Christmas. SWMBO had a Kindle which lasted 15 months, Amazon's response was....tough, it's out of warranty! So far I've downloaded 8 books, only one of which I had to pay for. The (paid for) Tom Clancy was a PDF which couldn't change the font, all the others came in ePub format and are much easier to get a comfortable font. I have been able to get some of my old favourite titles, which means I can dice the printed copies, and there is always the file on my computer as backup if the Reader karks.

Pam · Guru

Are e-readers easier on the eyes than a laptop?