The Kindle

[Hud3]

A friend here on Nevis loaned my wife her Kindle yesterday.

That's a really neat little device, though pricey! Very easy to read, and the typeface size is adjustable to accommodate the age of your eyeballs. Outside the US, you can download books to your PC over the Internet, and then to the Kindle, and you can store books on the Amazon site if you want to free up space on the Kindle. We use Ipods for listening to books, but I still like actually "reading" them better.

[Agur's Wish]

Hi Hud,
Just read in the USA today that they are coming out with the new Kindles with new attributes that they are not disclosing and the price is supposed to be dropping to around $300 US. I had to make an emergency trip off the boat last week and forgot m Kindle and I was lost. The only complaint I have is that I can't read it in the bathtub (at home, not on the boat)

[Hud3]

Originally Posted by Agur's Wish

Hi Hud,
Just read in the USA today that they are coming out with the new Kindles with new attributes that they are not disclosing and the price is supposed to be dropping to around $300 US. I had to make an emergency trip off the boat last week and forgot m Kindle and I was lost.

I've got a feeling that a Kindle is coming to Nevis sometime soon...

The only complaint I have is that I can't read it in the bathtub (at home, not on the boat)

That's what the Ziploc bag is for!

[perchance]

Why would you give up a perfectly good excuse to meet other cruisers i.e "the book swap". Always keep a copy of War And Peace on board for desperation reading. It should last you at least three months. I read it when I was on a Nato cruise in the north Atlantic but don't ask me to tell you what it's about because by the time I got to the end I had forgoten the begining.

[Agur's Wish]

I find plenty of ways to meet other cruisers and, after spending at least 6 months out of the year for the last 12 years on a boat, I've wasted enough time reading books I'm not interested in. Since I read 2-3 books a week, I figure I deserve this indulgence. I actually went to a bookswap on a friend's boat the other day and most of us ended up taking back the books we brought to swap because nobody else wanted to read them either. If you're wondering when I find the time to read that many books, just look over at my boat at 2 am and you'll see the salon light burning (I'm a horrible insomniac). Next time I'll try War and Peace.

[muskoka]

Kindle is a great idea but as a piece of product design its a stinker. Check this beauty out from Plastic Logic:

Plastic Logic Product

It's elegant and I think they're hoping to release it later this year.

[Agur's Wish]

Is the plastic logic device linked to a network? The beauty of Kindle is it is linked to Sprint's Whispertel network in order to download books immediately from Amazon. You don't pay for this. It actually works as a computer and anywhere there is a Sprint/Whispertel signal you have access to the internet for free. It does look like it would be easier to read newspapers and magazines on the other device but the Kindle is not bulky at all and is as easy to haul around as a paperback book.

[Christian Van H]

HOLLY COW!!! Look at this:

YouTube - Plastic Logic

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by Agur's Wish

Is the plastic logic device linked to a network? The beauty of Kindle is it is linked to Sprint's Whispertel network in order to download books immediately from Amazon. You don't pay for this. It actually works as a computer and anywhere there is a Sprint/Whispertel signal you have access to the internet for free. It does look like it would be easier to read newspapers and magazines on the other device but the Kindle is not bulky at all and is as easy to haul around as a paperback book.

It would be cool to sneak the ability to actually use the Sprint internet for free!!

[muskoka]

Originally Posted by Christian Van H

HOLLY COW!!! Look at this:

It's pretty elegant isn't it? It looks a bit like the iPhone in terms of usability. Now, why can't nautical systems attain an equal level of technical sophistication?

I really wish Steve Jobs had taken a passion to sailing like Larry Ellison...

[Agur's Wish]

I think being able to use the internet is kind of a blunder which resulted from them having to link to sprint to download the books from amazon. I'm sure if they could block it they would, right now they are calling it experimental which I think means it won't be guaranteed in the future.

[hellosailor]

For right now, Sprint is also in big trouble, they keep losing customers to the two major carriers. So they are making all kinds of sweet deals, this could be an experiment in getting people to use their data services. Since Sprint's "flavor" of cellular service is unique to their equipment--it builds a captive audience for them. Those machines can' t be converted to any other carrier.

[Agur's Wish]

The good thing is that you can still download any books to your pc, no matter who you're carrier is, and then upload them to your Kindle which is what it looks like other reader devices do and is what I have to do when I am on the boat or in the mountains since there is no Sprint network available.

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by Agur's Wish

The good thing is that you can still download any books to your pc, no matter who you're carrier is, and then upload them to your Kindle which is what it looks like other reader devices do and is what I have to do when I am on the boat or in the mountains since there is no Sprint network available.

There are several (many?) formats that the books/files come in and the Kindle can handle the fewest.

I still think it is really good though.

[Bucky205]

The girlfriend and I both use the Iphone for an ereader. We are both avid readers and have read many titles on the Iphone. I regularly use the GPS free from Motion X and can't imaginig not having email every where I go. The apps that support the Iphone are incredible and many are free. From tidal maps, marine navigation, utilities, language converters it is all there.