May 04 2009
Finishing My First E-Book
I finished the e-book on my Blackberry. I am sold on the technology and am beginning to consider what my next phone will be. I am leaning toward the iPhone because of the Kindle software, the larger screen, wi-fi access, and compatibility with iTunes. I have a music player on my Blackberry (MiuTunes) but it is harder to use and while I like my iPod I really want just one device. The calendar/organizer program will probably be the deciding factor, though. I miss the Palm organizer on my old Treo. I still covet the Kindle but, as I mentioned, I want one device and the pocket portability is great.
The small screen and the back-lighting did not bother me nearly as much as I thought. The only time my eyes were tired was when I actually read in the dark. It probably helped that the book (Infected by Sigler– review coming soon!) was very engaging. I have already downloaded The Omnivore’s Dilemma so I’ll see if non-fiction reading is any different. The only problem I had was a few thumb cramps from advancing the text when I sat down to read for long periods of time. It would be nice to be able to program different buttons for navigation functions (in Mobipocket Reader on the Blackberry the space key, at the very bottom of the device, is used to advance the text).
I received a response from tech support about Mobipocket Reader not finding the memory card in the phone. Their instructions did not help. It may be that I have the original Pearl model and there are some technical differences between it and the newer ones. A work-around that solves the problem is to manually drag and drop the e-book files from the computer to the correct folder on the memory card. I had to change the settings in the software so it did not automatically transfer new items to the phone because my news feed filled the phone’s main memory. All things considered it is a minor inconvenience but it is still a little frustrating.
One surprise was that the tech support reply came from Amazon. Turns out they own Mobipocket. Between Kindle and Mobipocket, Amazon has a pretty sizable chunk of the e-book market already cornered…hmmm.
And today, in the Monday morning rush, I left my cell phone at home. I NEVER leave my cell phone at home. I am lost without my organizer but the first thing I thought was, “oh no! My book is on there!” Of course I was standing in the middle of a room with 15,000 books when that thought occurred to me 
Mr. Doyle
2 responses so far
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One small correction, the Kindle does not have a WiFi connection to the outside world. It comes with a cellular phone and a “permanent” data plan on one of the US cellular carriers. If you are out of range of a data-capable cell, or out of the coverage area of that carrier, you can not use the wireless functions of the Kindle.
It’s not free, you pay for it as part of the price of the Kindle and with each book you buy.
Since you are not using a Kindle, you should look at the other sources of eBooks available. For example if you can read text files there is the entire Project Gutenberg library, and the many files available for free download if you can read PDF files.
The kindle also has one serious flaw IMHO, you can not swap out batteries and if you are a fast reader battery life is very limited. If you are an “average” reader, with the cellular modem off, you can read for about 2 hours a day for a week. If you read 2 times the average speed, you get 1 hour per day for a week. If you read 4-5 times (either a naturally fast reader or a graduate of Evelyn Wood or a similar school), you get about 2-3 hours total.
Once the battery runs out of “juice” it has to be connected to a charging device, so you can’t just take the kindle on a weekend trip with a spare battery or two, unless you are a slow reader.
If you want to keep the cellular modem on for example to read an online edition of a newspaper, or look at a web site, it cuts the battery life in half.
The other big flaw, the inability to read PDF files without conversion has been addressed in the new large screen version, maybe it will be back ported to the small one.
With the announcement of the big screen Kindle and sale of the Kindle 2, if you don’t care about the cellular modem and buying ebooks from Amazon, you may be able to get a deal on a new or used Sony eBook Reader, which is the same device as the Kindle without the cellular modem and different programing inside.
You can also get a Netbook for the same price or less and if you don’t mind the slightly heavier weight, you get wifi, bluetooth, a color screen of higher resolution and the ability to do far more for less money. What you loose is the nice flat form factor.
Geoff.
One small correction to your small correction- I didn’t say the Kindle had wi-fi. I was referring to the wi-fi capabiliy of the iPhone. The lack of wi-fi on my Blackberry Pearl is annoying, especially since I have wi-fi at work and home.