New Kindle Models

[Andrew B.]

New models of Kindles. I could try to explain them, but I'm not up to it right now. So check it out:

http://www.amazon.com/kindle-store-e...node=133141011

[BobRoosth]

It really annoys me to hear reporters put the Kindle Fire in the same class as the iPad. It may be great device for consuming Amazon-provided content, but a general purpose pad computer it is not.

[Andrew B.]

What I found interesting in reading about the Kindle Fire is I never thought of Amazon as being an online entertainment provider. They might turn out to be the next big thing in entertainment.

[John Spragens]

Are there any hacks that let you read, say, epub format on Kindle devices? I'm curious about ebook readers, but I don't like the way particular devices are tied to a single source of content.

[Andrew B.]

I'm not sure, but can't you import mobi into Kindle? If so, you could use a program like Calibre to convert from epub to mobi.

[ktinkel]

Originally Posted by John Spragens

Are there any hacks that let you read, say, epub format on Kindle devices? I'm curious about ebook readers, but I don't like the way particular devices are tied to a single source of content.

I read books from Gutenberg Project — are those “epub” format? You can also create PDFs of your own and read those as well.

It also lets you read Kindle books on your iPad or iPod Touch, which is much better than on the Kindle itself, especially if there are illustrations.

[Steve Rindsberg]

>> It also lets you read Kindle books on your iPad or iPod Touch, which is much better than on the Kindle itself, especially if there are illustrations.

That may change with the advent of the Fire. Full color, touch screen (and commensurately shorter battery life, o well).

For most reading, I wouldn't consider the iPod Touch better than the Kindle (but it's sure nice to have available, and if I had to lose one of the two overboard, I think I'd keep the iPod).

You can send PDFs to yourself on the Kindle. How they fare depends on the PDF and perhaps on the specific Kindle model. I've got a K2. Some PDFs are fine, some turn impossible ... text doesn't flow, breaks oddly and so on. The new Fire is supposed to be able to read PDF natively, which might improve things considerably.

[ktinkel]

Originally Posted by Steve Rindsberg

For most reading, I wouldn't consider the iPod Touch better than the Kindle (but it's sure nice to have available, and if I had to lose one of the two overboard, I think I'd keep the iPod).

I find the text more readable, even though smaller. It does depend on the book, though. More to the point for me — I am more likely to have the Touch handy than the Kindle (or the iPad). The fact that it synchs to the Kindle means I can continue to read whatever I was reading at home when I am stuck somewhere.

You can send PDFs to yourself on the Kindle. How they fare depends on the PDF and perhaps on the specific Kindle model. I've got a K2. Some PDFs are fine, some turn impossible ... text doesn't flow, breaks oddly and so on.

True enough. So do some early Kindle books (some early Donna Leon novels are scandalously ill-set; later novels are fine).

The new Fire is supposed to be able to read PDF natively, which might improve things considerably.

That would be nice. It’ll be interesting to see how well it does. The price should help it.

[Steve Rindsberg]

Oh, by the way, do you know about GoodReader for the iPad/Pod?

Amazing value for five bucks.

[ktinkel]

Originally Posted by Steve Rindsberg

Oh, by the way, do you know about GoodReader for the iPad/Pod?

Amazing value for five bucks.

No — guess I should consider it. Thanks.