A Closed Book

[internic]

I've been kinda of interested in e-book readers for a while. When I first heard of the idea of having a dedicated device for reading e-books, it didn't sound so great, because I'd rather read from paper than a screen. Over time I realized that I'm constantly in one place and want a book that's someplace else, especially when I'm doing work. The

Comments

[psychopompous_9]

I would love one--you've seen how many books I own, but I'm on the fence about it. The whole proprietary format thing, and no PDF ability kind of pisses me off. Then there's the whole thing about how it's $350 or whatever. Here's a review that I found interesting. I am hoping that the Kindle, like the iPhone, will create a lot of similar (and cheaper) technologies to surface so that I can get one later for half of what it costs now.

[internic]

Yeah, I have similar hopes. There are, of course, other readers that do support PDF and many other formats and are cheaper. Part of what you're paying for with the Kindle is lifetime wireless access (through Sprint's network). I actually got to play with a Sony e-reader in the Sony Style (i.e., the Apple Store's non-union Japanese equivalent) store in Pentagon City, and it seemed like a decent piece of hardware. But in the end none of them will be useful until a) most of the stuff I want is available electronically and b) it's available in a format so that you can take it from one reader to another. Hopefully the cost of e-books will also come down a bit in the bargain.

In truth, I don't have a big problem with the cost of the e-books or even the reader if I get to keep my e-books forever, but if they're going to be locked to one device or manufacturer then the whole thing better be a hell of a lot cheaper.