Who has a Kindle...

The kindle is awesome. I use it to read books pure and simple. But I'm also interested in an ipad for magazine subscriptions. I think each has a purpose and despite other devices being able to use kindle ebooks. The kindle itself does an amazing job at replacing the standard book.
 
Sug, so good to see you're back! I asked about you about a month ago and no one had heard at all from you. Welcome back and this time, dude - stay. You were missed.
 
question Joe

question Joe

How does your process below differ from the results if you just sent your .txt or .doc to the free.kindle.com rendering service?

Agree with the others, the things that make the ipad look good and do all that cool stuff is what makes it a lesser dedicated reading device.

They may merge someday in the future, but they'll need different screen and operating modes.

The kindle runs for 30 days with wireless off, or 10 days with wireless on. The ipad runs 10 hours at best.

btw, you can get email, read rff, etc. with the primitive experimental browser on the kindle. Also, the 3G is free. Try getting free 3G with an ipad.


JoeV said:
I just did this last week, not to photographic images but to both a short story and an unfinished work of mine that's now the length of a novelette (20k words, so far).

The original texts were in ".txt" format, because they were written on my AlphaSmart Neo (which is the subject of an entirely different thread -- a great writing-only tool, one of the best keyboards found anywhere, and a two-year battery life on three AA-cells, available from Renaissance Learning's online store for around $160us).

I imported the ".txt" files into Open Office Writer (but Word or any other full-featured WP would work), then resized the pages to fit the size of the Kindle. I have the latest WiFi-only version of the Kindle ($139US in the colonies), so I simply measured the screen size of the Kindle, used that for the page size in Open Office Writer, then formatted the border size to 0.1". I then exported the file as a PDF (file/export/pdf) and saved it as a PDF file. Make sure, after resizing the document's page size for the Kindle but before exporting as a PDF, to apply whatever margin justification that you want. I like it justified on both right and left margins. After export to PDF, the original WP file I simply reverted back to full-sized pages. Thus, the page resizing was a temporary means to achieve a PDF of the right page size.

Then you attach the Kindle to your computer via the supplied USB cable; the Kindle will show up as a flash drive in your computer's file structure. Open the Kindle folder and drag your newly created PDF files into the Kindle's "Documents" folder. That's all there is to it. Once you disconnect the Kindle and go to the Home screen you'll see your new document in the list of books, and can be opened and read like any other Kindle Store e-book.

The quality looks every bit as good as the Kindle Store's paid files, although I'm not sure of the style of font used in the Kindle (I think it's listed in the master owner's manual document), you should be able to get close to matching the font style in Word or Open Office Writer.

Regarding the quality of B/W images on the Kindle, I am impressed with the pre-loaded images the Kindle applies to the screen when you power it off; they are like half-tone newspaper images but of a much higher resolution. Gray scale is adequate, and the fine grain of the eInk display gives it an interesting texture. Of course, the brighter the viewing light the better, as is the case with all Kindle-like displays, which is one of their chief advantages over backlit displays.

Based on my impression of the graphic images I've seen on the Kindle, I'm curious about exploring the creation of PDF files with B/W images sized and formatted specifically for the Kindle, as a Kindle-specific B/W photography book. This shouldn't be too hard to do. You can import JPEGs into modern word processor programs, then resize the pages and export as a PDF. You can also use programs like Power Point or Open Office Simpress to create pages with JPEG images, then export as PDF documents.

BTW, you can surf the Internet on the Kindle, although the pages are monochrome and nonanimated. But the quality is more than adequate for simply reading text and viewing B/W images.

~Joe
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hey Roger,

thanks a new world opens! And this fits in our Bohemian emigrating plans. It's this or schlepping our books around half the globe.

w
 
NickTrop said:
+1 I have an older DX that I got as a gift a year or so ago - I absolutely, positively friggin' love the thing. Paper books? thing "for the most part" of the past. - I look at the boxes of old books I have lying around in boxes... Uggh! Why wasn't this invented sooner?

That all said, I really don't think that this would be a good tool for photography books at all. When I say "photography books" I assume the OP is talking about "picture books" with photos by (insert photographer of note here...), rather than books about photography.

Nah, pictures are only "so-so" on the Kindle. Electronic ink (not a gimick) is about text, not pics. This may not be true of color versions (mine is black and white...) but I have no interest in those - needlessly more expensive (I guess if you do a lot of magazines) and it shortens the amazing battery life on these things.

Kindles! (or your ebook reader of choice...) Great. Get one. But if you want a photography book, still buy a good one on high quality print/paper. For that, paper will be king for as far as the eye can see...
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Dear Nick,

No, I did mean about photography. Looking at good-quality pics on a half-decent computer screen is bad enough. On a Kindle it has to be worse. I completely agree that paper will be king for as far as the eye can see.

Cheers,

R.
 
yoyo22 said:
Perhaps the following pics can answer that question. I've just picked two random scans from my hdd, created a kindle ebook and took some quick snaps of it. I'll include the resized originals as well.

I hope that gives you an impression of the rendering qualities of the kindle. Actually I find it not too bad.
Click to expand...

Yes, indeed, and thanks very much.

Cheers,

R.
 
I sometimes wonder about progress, I used to read on my Toshiba PDA with the VGA color screen. The screen died and I have not replaced it with anything, but I believe it showed photos better than the samples I saw above. Also, I could buy quite a few books for the price of a Kindle. But, I feel the same way about subscribed to cel-phones, my Trekphone only costs me about $7/mo, hard to go back to that $50/mo stuff. Now if I could just find a cheap substitute for gasoline.
 
I got the Ipad, I don't know why. But I'm still trying to figure out a use for it. My wife does play bridge with an ak that I bought her. Maybe someday I'll understand what the fuss is about.

Edit: I will say; my photos look better on the Ipad.
 
After reading all of this I've gotten very interested in the I-pad 2 with the ebook application. Mostly though I would use it for photo viewing.
 
Gave my wife a Nook for Christmas and its fabulous for two things - reading and integrating with public library data bases for FREE e-books, even new releases. My wife is a library person, reads at least two books per week but NEVER, and I mean NEVER, buys a book. So I talked with a local librarian here and she recommended the Nook for their downloadable e-books - all you need is a library card and it is free. I checked out two non-fiction books and love the thing too. Also it has a great chess and soduku games when you finish a book.
I doubt the Nook screen would be very good for photos and the keyboard is absolutely klunky and hard to use but the reading is as good as it gets.
 
Tony,

Oh thank you very much for your kind words. I didn't know. I had a bit of rough time and whatnot, but I'm slowly getting back to photography and RFF. :)

I like the color photos on iPad, traditional b/w on printed paper (ideally actual prints) and reading on Kindle.
 
I was an earlier adopter of readers. Bought the first Sony Reader when it came out in late 2006, then switched to the Kindle 2--very useful to have if you live in a country where they censor books.

When I got the iPad and downloaded the Kindle app, I stopped using the Kindle. I think reading on the Kindle iPad app is better than reading on the Kindle itself (Kindle 2, that is)--unless you are outside on a bright day.

Add in the Zinio app, with interactive National Geographic subscription, plus a few of the photography magazines, and all is well (and lightweight) with the world when I travel. And, just last week used it for the first time to backup photos using the SD card adapter while traveling.

Now, if only Black and White Photography (the British magazine) would come out with an electronic version. I'm tired of paying NZD 27.00 for the air-freighted in version each month.
 
I am reading a New York Times book review and in minutes I have it on the Kindle. If I don't want to carry the Kindle on the bus I can read it on the Iphone app. I can make the text giant size so no more reading glasses. If I want to reread some old classic it is only around two bucks. And I don't live in the US so getting books locally or getting them shipped from Amazon cost a lot more.
 
I've been thinking about getting one. Some people say I should get an iPad instead, but I really just want it for reading books so I think the Kindle will be better for me. I love reading and usually bring a lot of books on vacation, only to finish them all way before it's time to go back home... An e-reader makes perfect sense for me, the only reason I haven't gotten one earlier is that they seemed a bit pricey, but that sure have changed!
 
As an avid reader of "real" books I was very unsure about book readers but can honestly say purchasing a Kindle has been easily my best buy in many years.

I just love it, especially as it fits so well into my small photo bag so well and weighs nothing and fits perfectly into my new ethos that everything I carry around with me *must* be small and light.

I'm reading Keith Richards autobiography at present and the thought of carrying the equivalent large & heavy hardback book around as in the old day's puts a nice smile on my face and I never forget what a wise investment the Kindle has been for me. :)
 
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Without wishing to hijack the thread I have a few questions regarding the Kindle that you may be able to answer.

My 90 year old grandmother fell in her back garden and broke her hip last week. She's now in hospital for a long spell and in need of stimulus. She's unable to read the small text of books at the moment as she has just had a cataract op and her glasses no longer suit her corrected vision. As such I've wondered whether a Kindle may offer a better option for her as I'm assuming you can adjust the font size and or zoom in?

Would you, as a kindle user, think that this would be suitable for her?

As an aside and a comment on this astonishing woman; she broke her hip, which caused a heart attack but managed to drag herself up the length of her garden, up some stone steps through her kitchen and into the hall where she phoned an ambulance. She suffered two subsequent heart attacks and was given a few hours to live. With her family by her bedside she came round, somewhat confused thinking we were all at her house, and started to issue orders as to where we should all sleep, where the necessary bedding was and what she had that we could eat. 24 hours later she was off the critical list, off the morphine and making plans for her recovery. Not once have I heard her complain or moan about her situation and the inevitable huge change in her life that this will cause. Had this happened to me I very much doubt that I could have dealt with it so stoically. So, as you can see a loving grandson should do all that he can to alleviate her boredom and frustrations whilst in hospital, hence the idea of a kindle. Any suggestions would be very much appreciated.

Many thanks
 
The Kindle has transformed me from a sometime reader into an inveterate one. I have had it for over a year now. I enjoy the free classics. I enjoy the new releases priced between $9.99 and $14.99. I enjoy the old standards priced less than that. I don't worry about the local library hours. I can take it everywhere. The battery lasts and lasts with 3G turned off.

It is easy to synchronize my Kindle with my iPhone or computer, but I seldom need to do that. Since I have wifi available at home I would buy the wifi-only version if I were to purchase one again.
 
Something about the heft, the feel of paper on the finger tip, and the simple act of turning a page has kept me in the printed world. The fact that I can look at the bookshelf and see old friends, pull them down, feel their substance in my hands. Well - it just satisfies. Besides - an e-book store will never have that rich smell associated with the printed word.
 
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