War Ebook Available!
We see the final battle between the new gods and the old gods, and Kate and Daniel are trying to keep their secrets hidden, or they risk losing all their allies.
Well, it’s happening. I was oohing over the Nook yesterday at B&N, just in window-shopping mode. Then last night, my (1st generation) Kindle started acting up the way it has been. Don’t know if I’m not using it enough and it’s punishing me, but it’s refusing to wake up on occasion, and the pretty screen saver thingy is staying on screen when I turn it off. It’s turned… recalcitrant.
So without doing a ton of research on it, my thought goes “maybe I’ll replace with a Nook.” Color, touch screen, apps, reasonable price, etc. Then I realized; this is how they get you. My current library of ebooks are in Kindle formatting. I can’t move them to the Nook.
All is not lost, of course. My ipod can read Kindle books (admittedly, that’s how I read most of Mockingjay) and so can my phone. But it is my goal, eventually, to reduce the number of gadgets in my life. (iPod Touch and phone and Kindle and Nintendo DS and camera and video camera… sometimes it frightens me when I realize I’m carrying over $1000 worth of tech and DS games in my purse. If I was carrying a grand of cash, I’d be more careful with it…) I will have access to my books, through the Kindle app available on multiple devices if not my Kindle. But it does make me mad that if I buy another ereader, I can’t read my ebooks I already own on them.
So is the Amazon tablet a reality? Anyone? And will it be worth it? And should I be an early adopter or wait? My Kindle is close to kaput now, I’m guessing. It might be time to start saving up.
Or I could just let it die and remove one gadget from my life. Hmmm….
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12 Responses to The eBook Conundrum
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Google around a bit and find one of the tools that lets you rip the DRM off of a Kindle book, and take your books to whatever device you want. And because some dipstick will think I’m advocating piracy otherwise: Obviously, you’d only do this for books you paid for!
If you don’t mind breaking warranties, just root the Nook and install the Kindle app for Android.
How old is the Kindle? Mine quit working after a few months, and I had a new one a day after I called Amazon to report it broken. Amazon customer support was great.
But I totally agree. Even working in the industry, this is one big thing that really bugs me. That, and my relative inability to share my books with others without buying more Kindles. Love reading on it, though.
What about getting the Kindle 3 so you don’t have to worry about reformatting your current ebooks? They’re a lot cheaper nowadays than when the Kindle 1 first came out.
I came here to say what Colin said. I rooted my Nook Color and, along with other apps, I installed the Kindle app on it. However, I’m not sure it voids the warranty because you can return it to a factory state.
I really think that specialized ebook devices like the Kindle and the Nook are very temporary solutions. They remind me of portable cassette and CD players, but with the increasing pace of technology I don’t think they’ll be around for anywhere near as long. I have no inside info on the Amazon tablet, but I think a general-purpose gadget like that is a much better bet.
I know you don’t want to deal with Apple, but iPads can use Kindle books without a problem, and an awful lot of people are very, very happy with theirs….
I’m one of those terribly annoying iPad fans. I use it to read my kindle books and comic books, to make notes and reply to posts just like this one!
Once you’ve ripped the DRM from your books, use the free and excellent Calibre application to convert your library into whatever format you want.
I agree with Michael. Back when Palm Pilots were hip, I bought hundreds of books from Fictionwise in their proprietary eReader format. I hated DRM even then but I thought it would be ok because they encrypted to my personal info not some random device id. Too bad their software is suffering bit rot. So I spend days washing my books and now only buy DRM free. Besides I suspect that a lot of the software required to read encrypted books is also spyware. Especially Kindle.
Epub is the mp3 of ebooks as long as your software or device supports it you’re good. But look more for well made hardware. Ebooks are easy to convert once you’ve disinfected them. Only buy from stores that tell you if the book you’re about to buy is encrypted before you pay for it. Google Books failed that test last time I tried it.
I use a Sony prs-600 reader. I don’t have to install any closed source software on my computer to use it, and it doesn’t have wifi so it can’t phone home like the Kindle. I use to manage my library.
I’m a NOOK lover myself, but not the color version. I don’t have anything against it, but the point of my NOOK purchase was to have something with e-ink that was easier on my eyes. Before that I read plenty of books on my phone. The color NOOK seems more like an inbetween e-reader/tablet. If eyestrain isn’t an issue for you, I’d just read using apps on your phone (I have Android but I imagine the apps would be available for iphone too) until tablet prices come down a bit. Either that or get a non-color NOOK. They aren’t that expensive. The battery lasts for something like 10 days, the e-ink is easier on the eyes, you can still download directly from the bookstore. I don’t think you can use your Kindle books on the non-color NOOK either, but as you mentioned in the post you can use the phone apps.
Incidentally, I didn’t want an ereader for exactly the reason you stated – I didn’t want to carry around a bunch of devices. However, if eyestrain is an issue, the e-ink definitely helps. That’s the reason I broke down and bought one.
Good luck with whatever you decide.
I concur with the others in this post – the Nook is a great Android tablet with only a little work and almost zero risk if you are even the least bit technically inclined. Get the best of all worlds – Kindle App for Amazon/.mobi, Aldiko or Nook_for_Android for Epub.
Good luck.
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