Digital Reading: e-books discussion

Off-Topic Forum for things having nothing to do with Twilight or the entertainment industry

Moderators: bac, cullengirl, una, Nena

Forum rules
Click for Forum Rules
Post Reply
pennybug84
Protector of Jacob's Honor
Posts: 4087
Joined: Mon Sep 22, 2008 2:09 pm
Location: hoping 2012 is better than 2011 was

Re: Digital Reading: e-books discussion

Post by pennybug84 »

Just a quick question. I've never seen any of these devices & was wondering how big are the screens? Are they pretty easy to read from?
Image
"She doesn't know what she wants" - Jacob Black "Yeah she does!" - Rob Pattinson
corona
Ignoring Renee's E-Mails
Posts: 715
Joined: Mon Sep 13, 2010 9:37 pm
Location: Leah’s hideaway

Re: Digital Reading: e-books discussion

Post by corona »

Jen,

The size of the Kindle and Nook are slightly larger than a paperback, with a visible screen that is slightly smaller. You can check out the specs on the Amazon or Barnes and Noble websites. I would assume that the Sony e-reader has somewhat similar specs as far as viewable area, but I’m not sure. The easiest way to see it first-hand would be to step into a Barnes and Noble and check out the Nook. Then, if you still want something like that, you can shop around on the websites to compare the features and pick out the one you want. The viewing experience is basically the same for the Nook and Kindle (I own a Nook and my wife owns a Kindle).

The diagonal dimension for the viewing screen is 6 inches. The Kindle has a larger version, the DX, that has a diagonal dimension of almost 10 inches, but you will pay twice as much for it over the regular version.

The e-ink technology produces absolutely no glare. It is extremely easy on the eyes with no fatigue, and the display looks like a printed page. For pure reading pleasure, there is no comparison with devices that use a backlit display, as those will eventually tire your eyes out.
"It will take an amazing amount of control,” she mused. “More even than Carlisle has. He may be just strong enough…the only thing he’s not strong enough to do is stay away from her. That’s a lost cause.”
Snowstone
Learning to Love Green
Posts: 95
Joined: Fri Jun 12, 2009 7:11 am
Location: Portugal
Contact:

Re: Digital Reading: e-books discussion

Post by Snowstone »

With the holidays getting closer and closer, I was hoping that Amazon would make a promotion or some kindle of price-cut. The price with all the mailing expenses is around 150€ (making the conversion to Euro), and that at the moment is too much for me. If some how they drop the price for 100€ with all the expenses covered I might be able to get it.
My Twitter
Check my little stories and photos, and give me some feedback
My FictionPress Profile
My Deviantart Profile
pennybug84
Protector of Jacob's Honor
Posts: 4087
Joined: Mon Sep 22, 2008 2:09 pm
Location: hoping 2012 is better than 2011 was

Re: Digital Reading: e-books discussion

Post by pennybug84 »

Thanks Austin. I don't have a Barnes & Noble around here. But I do have a Borders & I know they sell one (not sure what though.) I've never really looked at in the store or really done much research. I won't be getting one anytime soon. But I'll keep your info in mind if I ever get to the point where I can buy one.
Image
"She doesn't know what she wants" - Jacob Black "Yeah she does!" - Rob Pattinson
BlueStarEgo
Lusting for Blood
Posts: 1349
Joined: Thu Mar 11, 2010 7:32 pm
Location: - - » Somewhere dazed in a Damon-like haze.
Contact:

Re: Digital Reading: e-books discussion

Post by BlueStarEgo »

Ahhhhhh! I want a Kindle so frikkin' bad! If anyone has any connections with the Black Market let me know, I'm willing to sell my brother! :lol: (that's a joke)

I want a Kindle so bad but unfortunately I'm unable to afford one right now. Is it sad that I'm going to visit one today? :lol: I'm gonna make a stop at Best Buy to get a hands on feel of it. I was literally obsessing over it last night. I even checked on a couple of sites the price I'd get back if I sold some of my school books since the semester is nearly over! If anyone has some time I had a few questions for anyone who actually owns the new version (Kindle 3 I believe).

Is it actually true that you can read it in bright sunlight? I've seen that it's supposedly a new feature and I think it's pretty neat.

I see on Amazon they are selling clip-on lights for the Kindle. Does that mean I won't be able to read/see properly in dim light? This would probably suck.

Does it bother you that it does not come with a color screen? I'm so used to seeing colored screens and I think not seeing the covers in color would bother me.

Does it honestly stay powered for a month on a single charge? Because if not, that lie is pretty far fetched. If it does have a long battery life, does the power deplete faster if I turn it on and off a number of times during a day?

Does it get hot after the power is on for a while? I like to read a lot and I don't want to feel like I'm ready hot coal lol.

Am I able to add PDF files I already have on my laptop to it?

Thank you to whoever can help me out before I actually spend money that I don't have on it. Sorry if it's too many questions. I just really don't want to buy something unworthy of it's price. Don't get me wrong, it's not a baad price, but I am the definition of BROKE! :lol:

EDIT: Sorry, but I had one more. I already own books on my laptop that are in .lit format. I see that the Kindle doesn't support them. Is there a way I can convert the books without compromising the quality of them and possibly for free?
Chrissy | Team.Edward(T)/Damon(TVD)/Eric(TB)/Adrian(VA)Peeta(THG) | Music.Addict
Image
- - * will you still love me tomorrow? - Amy Winehouse
corona
Ignoring Renee's E-Mails
Posts: 715
Joined: Mon Sep 13, 2010 9:37 pm
Location: Leah’s hideaway

Re: Digital Reading: e-books discussion

Post by corona »

The e-ink technology is like dynamically printing a page every time you 'click'. As you go page by page, the screen is erased and then the next page is "printed". The system uses tiny particles suspended in a liquid, so it is very much like actual ink.

There is NO backlit display, as none is needed. You can read for hours without any eye fatigue. Think of it as the ability to buy an electronic paperback, and then being able to print each page on demand, using the same space.

Like a paperback, you can definitely read in bright sunlight; the only thing you would want to avoid is a position where the e-reader is reflecting the sun directly back into your eyes. Like a paperback, you would need some other light source if you are reading in a dimly lit room.

The Kindle is known for holding battery power a long time, and is better than the Nook at that. The more reading you do, though, the quicker the battery will wear down, but each charge is good for many, many hours of reading. Since the power consumption is very low, I have never noticed any heat issues.

PDF files can be read, although they are not always ideal as they sometimes don't get the paragraph breaks right, and resizing of fonts doesn't always work well. I have converted them to other formats for better results. For example, "Midnight Sun", a protected PDF file, was a pain to pull out into Word, but I was eventually successful and inserted a Table of Contents, and then converted to epub for my own use and convenience. I believe you can also convert LIT files, but any time there are Digital Rights Management involved, you may have issues.

I have an example for what you can and cannot do with an e-reader, and the differences in viewing them versus something with a backlit display, . I downloaded the fanfic "Wide Awake" that the author generously provided in the Word format. I saved as an unfiltered web page, and then converted to the epub format through the freeware program Calibre. The whole process took only a few minutes, and I now have that story on my Nook and was able to read for hours at a time without any eye fatigue, and I can jump from chapter to chapter and resize fonts without any problem. Another fanfic "Emancipation Procalamation", is only available online through Google docs, and it is protected. I can read it on my Ipod, but the backlit display will fatigue my eyes after an hour or so. I have to turn my reading light on for the Nook, but I don't have to for my Ipod, but the reading experience is much better on the Nook.
"It will take an amazing amount of control,” she mused. “More even than Carlisle has. He may be just strong enough…the only thing he’s not strong enough to do is stay away from her. That’s a lost cause.”
BlueStarEgo
Lusting for Blood
Posts: 1349
Joined: Thu Mar 11, 2010 7:32 pm
Location: - - » Somewhere dazed in a Damon-like haze.
Contact:

Re: Digital Reading: e-books discussion

Post by BlueStarEgo »

Thank you very much for your help corona. I appreciate it.

If I read your example about Midnight Sun right, Word files are compatible also on the Kindle?
I'm not sure what epub format is but I'm looking it up now.
Chrissy | Team.Edward(T)/Damon(TVD)/Eric(TB)/Adrian(VA)Peeta(THG) | Music.Addict
Image
- - * will you still love me tomorrow? - Amy Winehouse
corona
Ignoring Renee's E-Mails
Posts: 715
Joined: Mon Sep 13, 2010 9:37 pm
Location: Leah’s hideaway

Re: Digital Reading: e-books discussion

Post by corona »

BlueStarEgo wrote:Thank you very much for your help corona. I appreciate it.

If I read your example about Midnight Sun right, Word files are compatible also on the Kindle?
I'm not sure what epub format is but I'm looking it up now.
I don't think Word files are compatible with Kindle. Word is more of the intermediary program that it is easiest to use to then save into a format that Calibre can use to input the file, and then convert to the native format for the Nook, which is epub.

I converted Midnight Sun into a Word doc for the purpose of inserting a Table of Contents and correcting the paragraph breaks and enabling the font resizing. It now looks great on my Nook. I originally copied the PDF file directly over to Nook, but it just didn't work well, there was only 1 readable font size and the paragraphs would often break right in the middle.

Calibre is a freeware program used to convert files from one format to another. It has basic templates already in place for e-readers such as the Sony, Kindle, or Nook.

The Kindle does not use the epub format, but it doesn't matter, you can always convert one format to the other using Calibre. The program also has a preview for your converted file, and then can transfer the file directly to your e-reader.
"It will take an amazing amount of control,” she mused. “More even than Carlisle has. He may be just strong enough…the only thing he’s not strong enough to do is stay away from her. That’s a lost cause.”
BlueStarEgo
Lusting for Blood
Posts: 1349
Joined: Thu Mar 11, 2010 7:32 pm
Location: - - » Somewhere dazed in a Damon-like haze.
Contact:

Re: Digital Reading: e-books discussion

Post by BlueStarEgo »

OK, thanks.

I actually got to Best Buy today to see the Kindle and ended up slightly falling for the Nook.

They had so many that each offer different things, I'm so stuck now! I had my heart set on the Kindle but everything looks like it has something the other does. Me and an older gentleman were staring at all of them and asked eachother like "Which one do you get?"

I'm still stuck in 1999 and I HATE touch screens! They should be banned! :lol: that would be the only major reason I wouldn't want the Nook. I'm not too worried about the 2GB of storage space when it has a slot for a MicroSD card.

I also saw another called...........I can't remember! I saw so many. I think the name is something like "Literate". It was longer than the rest with a color screen and a full keypad at the bottom.

I found out today that my local library offers e-books online that I can check out. That's great since I really don't like to buy books.

EDIT: Found it! The other me and my mom looked at for a while is called a "Literati".
Chrissy | Team.Edward(T)/Damon(TVD)/Eric(TB)/Adrian(VA)Peeta(THG) | Music.Addict
Image
- - * will you still love me tomorrow? - Amy Winehouse
corona
Ignoring Renee's E-Mails
Posts: 715
Joined: Mon Sep 13, 2010 9:37 pm
Location: Leah’s hideaway

Re: Digital Reading: e-books discussion

Post by corona »

Actually, the touch screen for the Nook is very easy to use, it’s only a bit of a hassle if you are trying to plug in a word or phrase to use for searching text. The color touch screen, though, does eat up additional battery power, which is one of the reasons that the Kindle has a longer battery life. The touch screen will shut down after 15-20 seconds, and this is adjustable, so it isn’t that big of a factor unless you are constantly using it.

The one really big factor I would consider is E-Ink, and I think either the Nook or Kindle will work fine for you. If the e-reader does not have E-Ink, then it is likely an LCD display, like the Literati, which is much more fatiguing on the eyes, and that kind of defeats the whole point.

Also, keep in mind that these E-Ink readers may have games on them and web browsers, but they are practically useless. You cannot really scroll around with E-Ink, you can only ask the screen to reposition itself, and then it has to erase and redraw the screen. Trust me, you will not be wanting to browse the web with one of these things. My Nook comes with Sudoku installed on it, and it is the biggest pain to try playing that game. I tried only once. I also tried loading the “Emancipation Proclamation” online through Google docs (the only way to get it), but the web browser on my Nook did not support it, which is really disappointing.

E-Ink readers are vastly superior to other e-readers, but they only excel on that one point, reading the printed word. LCD readers can be much more flexible, but are harder on the eyes. I know, I know, we are all spoiled with multi-use devices that perform all functions well. For reading, though, you will really want an E-Ink reader, but with no expectations that it can perform other needed functions. It feels like a decadent splurge when you first get one, but they become addictive very quickly.
"It will take an amazing amount of control,” she mused. “More even than Carlisle has. He may be just strong enough…the only thing he’s not strong enough to do is stay away from her. That’s a lost cause.”
Post Reply