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Kindle Question

hspfour

By hspfour
in Chiang Mai

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hspfour Rookie Member

hspfour

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I work offshore and live in CM 1 out of 3 months. For Christmas I received a new Kindle, the Amazon.com electronic reader. The Kindle I received is the new International version which advertises that it can download books, mags, etc. in lots of places, including Chiang Mai. Has anyone had experience with Kindles in CM? Can you actually download in CM? I guess I will find out for myself in two weeks, but I was wondering if I needed to load up on books before I came home. Thanks for any info. Happy holidays.

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klfopera Senior Member

klfopera

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Even if the built-in cellphone is not able to receive service in CM, you can buy e-books online at Amazon, download to your computer, and then drag-and-drop to the kindle when it is plugged into the usb port.

The new Kindle definitely will not have wireless capability in Thailand. But this suggestion is correct. i do it all the time in Phuket. But evrything is charged to my USA credit card. This might be an issue for you.

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hspfour Rookie Member

hspfour

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Even if the built-in cellphone is not able to receive service in CM, you can buy e-books online at Amazon, download to your computer, and then drag-and-drop to the kindle when it is plugged into the usb port.

This is the obvious solution and I am embarressed I did not think of it. Thanks for the help.

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lukeskywalker Silver Member

lukeskywalker

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Is there any sort of "generic" version of something like this yet? Something that open PDF files (e.g. e-books)? This Kindle seems very expensive, a lot of used books could be bought for the same price, but there are many new e-books (PDF format) that I download and would rather read on a Kindle like device than my computer.

Does anyone know of any device that resembles a Kindle but opens PDFs?

Thanks

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Ulysses G. Star Member

Ulysses G.

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Kindle has tried to produce an e-book that is comfortable to read for a long time, but has failed over and over. I own a few bookstores so I am watching carefully.

They - the publishers - spent lots of money hyping the thing and you can hardly find a negative article about them, but the floodgates of complaints will open when and if trendy people start buying them in large numbers.

You don't have to pay for a expensive machine, but if you don't mind reading a book on your computer that is nothing but basic PDF files, why pay $300 dollars for a kindle?

The M16 rifle was marketed as a great success for 20-30 years, before they actually fixed the thing and made it work, but for many years they were actually pieces of junk that caused a lot of soldiers to lose their lives.

IMHO after they stop all the freebies and hype, book readership will drop like never before. E books are the worst thing that has happened to the book industry in centuries. :)

Edited by Ulysses G.
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kindlethai Newbie

kindlethai

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Wireless on the new int'l Kindles does work in Thailand. This is confirmed in BKK & Phuket. Although the speed can be slow due to sub-3G data connection here :)

Be reminded that if you bought the books wirelessly from the Kindle, you'll be charged an airtime fee of $2 on top of the book price. To avoid the additional cost, you might want to buy AMZ ebooks on your computer, have them downloaded to your hard drive, then transfer to the Kindle via USB cable. This is also considerably faster than downloading books wirelessly.

Have fun!

-k

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zippydedodah Gold Member

zippydedodah

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Is there any sort of "generic" version of something like this yet? Something that open PDF files (e.g. e-books)? This Kindle seems very expensive, a lot of used books could be bought for the same price, but there are many new e-books (PDF format) that I download and would rather read on a Kindle like device than my computer.

Does anyone know of any device that resembles a Kindle but opens PDFs?

Thanks

there are several ebook formats and a google search will provide you with free programs that can convert just about any format into another format of choice. PDFs see to be a bit more problematic than most forms, but i have a Sony ereader and they work out well, not perfect in all cases, but it can handle pdfs with no conversions...

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uptheos Star Member

uptheos

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You know what George? I have decided to hold off on the Kindle in solidarity with and support of your business! (It would be great though if I could checkout your booklist online one of these days, make life much easier! - hint hint) Happy New Year all. Pim

A booklist online to browse would be great for me too, if I'm looking for something in particular. Having said that, if I drop George a message asking about a certain book, I usually get a prompt answer whether they have it or not.

I have absolutely nothing against Kindle's, if you like them and enjoy them then go for it, but personally I have always liked to feel a 'real' book in my hand and somehow it's comforting at places like swampy, where I don't really want anything with a screen on my uncomfortable plastic tutonic grey chair, where the sun is blasting through to the exact spot I sit (which seems to be everywhere)!

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Ulysses G. Star Member

Ulysses G.

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You know what George? I have decided to hold off on the Kindle in solidarity with and support of your business! (It would be great though if I could checkout your booklist online one of these days, make life much easier! - hint hint) Happy New Year all. Pim

Unless I am mistaken, (and I could be) our entire stock has been on-line for a few months. People come in and say they found books on the web-site.

Also, we are going to start selling on-line very soon - like in a few days - and have something like 150,000 books to choose from, including about 10,000 "100 baht titles".

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hspfour Rookie Member

hspfour

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Kindle has tried to produce an e-book that is comfortable to read for a long time, but has failed over and over. I own a few bookstores so I am watching carefully.

They - the publishers - spent lots of money hyping the thing and you can hardly find a negative article about them, but the floodgates of complaints will open when and if trendy people start buying them in large numbers.

You don't have to pay for a expensive machine, but if you don't mind reading a book on your computer that is nothing but basic PDF files, why pay $300 dollars for a kindle?

The M16 rifle was marketed as a great success for 20-30 years, before they actually fixed the thing and made it work, but for many years they were actually pieces of junk that caused a lot of soldiers to lose their lives.

IMHO after they stop all the freebies and hype, book readership will drop like never before. E books are the worst thing that has happened to the book industry in centuries. :)

If you are who I think you are, then I am a fairly good customer of yours. The basic fact is that a book is more comfortable to read, easier to use, and overall much more enjoyable than a Kindle or any electronic reader. Further, the experience of buying an e-book is no where near as enjoyable as that of browsing a book store. That said, for people who travel to places where books are hard to find, the electronic readers are a very nice alternative. In the old days (3 weeks ago) I used to travel with 25 books stuffed into my backpack. It made life in the airport even less enjoyable.

I also share your concern that e-readers (along with computers, cable tv, etc.) will cause a rapid and detrimental drop in reading. However, the technology is here, will improve and expand, and I personally will continue to explore it uses. Maybe we can discuss all of this next time I am in your place.

Cheers and accept my wishes for a very prosperous new year.

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tilac2 Advanced Member

tilac2

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You know what George? I have decided to hold off on the Kindle in solidarity with and support of your business! (It would be great though if I could checkout your booklist online one of these days, make life much easier! - hint hint) Happy New Year all. Pim

A booklist online to browse would be great for me too, if I'm looking for something in particular. Having said that, if I drop George a message asking about a certain book, I usually get a prompt answer whether they have it or not.

I have absolutely nothing against Kindle's, if you like them and enjoy them then go for it, but personally I have always liked to feel a 'real' book in my hand and somehow it's comforting at places like swampy, where I don't really want anything with a screen on my uncomfortable plastic tutonic grey chair, where the sun is blasting through to the exact spot I sit (which seems to be everywhere)!

Kindles are great. I've been using one for 2 months

Edited by tilac2
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Thakkar Gold Member

Thakkar

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Electronic readers are the future, but we're not there yet.

There's no reason why eReaders should lead to a decline in reading. I would've thought that the opposite is more likely.

My gripe with the Kindle and what publishers are sneakily trying to do is wrap their content in proprietary Digital Rights Management.

I will buy an eReader when truly open standards are embraced.

The rumored Apple device, if it materializes (supposedly in March 2010), may fit the bill. I'll believe it when I see it.

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Ulysses G. Star Member

Ulysses G.

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Kindle has tried to produce an e-book that is comfortable to read for a long time, but has failed over and over. I own a few bookstores so I am watching carefully.

They - the publishers - spent lots of money hyping the thing and you can hardly find a negative article about them, but the floodgates of complaints will open when and if trendy people start buying them in large numbers.

You don't have to pay for a expensive machine, but if you don't mind reading a book on your computer that is nothing but basic PDF files, why pay $300 dollars for a kindle?

The M16 rifle was marketed as a great success for 20-30 years, before they actually fixed the thing and made it work, but for many years they were actually pieces of junk that caused a lot of soldiers to lose their lives.

IMHO after they stop all the freebies and hype, book readership will drop like never before. E books are the worst thing that has happened to the book industry in centuries. :)

If you are who I think you are, then I am a fairly good customer of yours. The basic fact is that a book is more comfortable to read, easier to use, and overall much more enjoyable than a Kindle or any electronic reader. Further, the experience of buying an e-book is no where near as enjoyable as that of browsing a book store. That said, for people who travel to places where books are hard to find, the electronic readers are a very nice alternative. In the old days (3 weeks ago) I used to travel with 25 books stuffed into my backpack. It made life in the airport even less enjoyable.

I also share your concern that e-readers (along with computers, cable tv, etc.) will cause a rapid and detrimental drop in reading. However, the technology is here, will improve and expand, and I personally will continue to explore it uses. Maybe we can discuss all of this next time I am in your place.

Cheers and accept my wishes for a very prosperous new year.

Thanks, and I agree with everything that you have said.

Of course there are uses for such a device, traveling in certain places, or being able to increase font size for people who have very bad vision. I just don't see them replacing actual books unless they are forced down our throats by publishers who do not want to pay for paper as it would increase their profits by a huge amount.

I really have nothing against e-books if the public are given a choice in buying them. My fears are that they will stop making traditional books almost completely so no one has a choice - like they they did with CD's and phonograph records.

Edited by Ulysses G.
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Mestizo Silver Member

Mestizo

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Kindle has tried to produce an e-book that is comfortable to read for a long time, but has failed over and over. I own a few bookstores so I am watching carefully.

They - the publishers - spent lots of money hyping the thing and you can hardly find a negative article about them, but the floodgates of complaints will open when and if trendy people start buying them in large numbers.

You don't have to pay for a expensive machine, but if you don't mind reading a book on your computer that is nothing but basic PDF files, why pay $300 dollars for a kindle?

The M16 rifle was marketed as a great success for 20-30 years, before they actually fixed the thing and made it work, but for many years they were actually pieces of junk that caused a lot of soldiers to lose their lives.

IMHO after they stop all the freebies and hype, book readership will drop like never before. E books are the worst thing that has happened to the book industry in centuries. :)

There are a couple major differences between reading on a Kindle vs on a computer that are worth noting. First is the E-Ink screen. The screen on the Kindle is much easier on the eyes. Second is lower power consumption and hence much longer battery life vs a typical notebook.

With that said, I visited a Best Buy store back in the US a couple of months ago with the intention of buying an e-book reader. I tested several models, including the Kindle. Seemed like a pretty cool device really, but there was one huge negative. When the screen redraws (for example, turning a page in a

book), there is this super annoying "flash". The whole page goes clear, then all black, and then the unnecessary black goes away,

leaving the words on the page. Reading text on the device was throughly enjoyable and I could easily see myself sitting for hours reading on the device (not something I could see myself doing on my laptop). However, the afore mentioned "flash" during page rendering was enough to deter me from purchasing. Hopefully this will be resolved (or become less annoying) once the technology matures a bit more.

-Mestizo

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swain Silver Member

swain

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I hope the opposite happens. I really hope these devices make the newspaper, magazine, and book go away as an option or make it expensive enough so that it will discourage the purchase. Just like the extreme tax on cigarettes. It will be better over all for the environment and lessen the strain on our landfills. Its destiny .. You see the signs now with newspapers closing right and left. The writing is on the wall.. or kindle if you may.....If you don't like the devices as they are then vote with your dollars for the devices that you do like. If its not there yet... then by all means continue using books, magazines and newspapers. I have replaced all that with my computer and a good monitor. The handhelds I have seen leave something to be desired but its not that far away... to ignore it is to put your head in the sand.

Cant wait for the day when you can download it directly to your brain. Plug me in!!

Kindle has tried to produce an e-book that is comfortable to read for a long time, but has failed over and over. I own a few bookstores so I am watching carefully.

They - the publishers - spent lots of money hyping the thing and you can hardly find a negative article about them, but the floodgates of complaints will open when and if trendy people start buying them in large numbers.

You don't have to pay for a expensive machine, but if you don't mind reading a book on your computer that is nothing but basic PDF files, why pay $300 dollars for a kindle?

The M16 rifle was marketed as a great success for 20-30 years, before they actually fixed the thing and made it work, but for many years they were actually pieces of junk that caused a lot of soldiers to lose their lives.

IMHO after they stop all the freebies and hype, book readership will drop like never before. E books are the worst thing that has happened to the book industry in centuries. :)

If you are who I think you are, then I am a fairly good customer of yours. The basic fact is that a book is more comfortable to read, easier to use, and overall much more enjoyable than a Kindle or any electronic reader. Further, the experience of buying an e-book is no where near as enjoyable as that of browsing a book store. That said, for people who travel to places where books are hard to find, the electronic readers are a very nice alternative. In the old days (3 weeks ago) I used to travel with 25 books stuffed into my backpack. It made life in the airport even less enjoyable.

I also share your concern that e-readers (along with computers, cable tv, etc.) will cause a rapid and detrimental drop in reading. However, the technology is here, will improve and expand, and I personally will continue to explore it uses. Maybe we can discuss all of this next time I am in your place.

Cheers and accept my wishes for a very prosperous new year.

Thanks, and I agree with everything that you have said.

Of course there are uses for such a device, traveling in certain places, or being able to increase font size for people who have very bad vision. I just don't see them replacing actual books unless they are forced down our throats by publishers who do not want to pay for paper as it would increase their profits by a huge amount.

I really have nothing against e-books if the public are given a choice in buying them. My fears are that they will stop making traditional books almost completely so no one has a choice - like they they did with CD's and phonograph records.

Edited by swain
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CaptHaddock Gold Member

CaptHaddock

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Is there any sort of "generic" version of something like this yet? Something that open PDF files (e.g. e-books)? This Kindle seems very expensive, a lot of used books could be bought for the same price, but there are many new e-books (PDF format) that I download and would rather read on a Kindle like device than my computer.

Does anyone know of any device that resembles a Kindle but opens PDFs?

Thanks

As of the latest firmware upgrade a few weeks ago, Kindle 2 reads pdfs and no longer loses the page formatting. This is a terrfic development in my opinion. However, it should be noted that for pdfs with tables and/or graphs the page size of the Kindle2 is often too small for legibility.

There are other, large format devices that make reading pdfs with tables and graphs really legible. They include the iRex Iliad and the Kindle DX. I am sure there will be more versions soon and that the price will go down.

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swain Silver Member

swain

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LAS VEGAS – Samsung, the leading maker of phones and TVs for the U.S. market, is launching e-book readers early this year, joining a host of manufacturers who hope to capitalize on the shift away from paper books.

Samsung Electronics Inc. will be launching two models with 6-inch and 10-inch "electronic ink" screens, similar to the sizes of Amazon.com Inc.'s Kindle models. They'll be able to download public-domain books from Google Inc. via Wi-Fi, and they'll come with styluses so users can write on the screen.

The models will cost $399 and $699 respectively, Samsung announced at the International Consumer Electronics Show.

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orang37 Platinum Member

orang37

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Sawasdee Khrup, Khun Swain,

We don't follow "hardware" that much anymore : my human's gadget-freakish days are long past, although he (human) is still active as a computer programmer using Microsoft .NET and the C# language, in a medium-serious way (more dilettante than "serious"), and sometimes enjoys doing some web-design for friends (not looking for work !). For my human, programming, and playing with Adobe PhotoShop, remain the greatest "computer games" on earth.

But, this year, it seems, will be the "year of the tablet" and for diversity in portable computer form-factors : Apple's impending tablet Apple Tablet Rumors will probably, like the iPod, and the iPhone "re-define the standard."

Now, my human was for several years a "paid-in-full-member" of the "cult of Mac," and is proud to have seen his name in the about-box of several major Mac applications, but it has been many years since he owned an Apple product (imho, nothing could be more of a "closed system" in terms of hardware and software than Apple products, and, imho, developers are screwed much more often in that world than in the larger PC-verse). Of course he still appreciates the "cutting edge" user-interface design of Apple products no matter how over-priced they are : when it doesn't stumble into eye-candy for the sake of eye-candy.

Even (the genius) Ray Kurzveil's getting in on the act with "reading" technology designed to be used on a wide range of devices : Blio Reader

Microsoft has recently been quietly (relatively speaking) flogging HP's new tablet : Ballmer Flogs Tablet : and a whole host of devices that "cross-over" the current form-factors termed "e-readers," "tablets," "netbooks," "notebooks," "laptops," and "lapdesks," are going to appear.

All of this lead up to the following gentle suggestion : if you can "get by" until June, you are going to have the great advantage of purchasing your e-reader whatever from a much wider range of products, and the "dust will have settled" as the screams of the early-adopters help clarify what's a turkey and what's not.

The "portable reader" market segment is going to be the very "wild-west" of marketing, and competition : all of that is great for you, as a consumer.

best, ~o:37;

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swain Silver Member

swain

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Yes I will wait only because I would kick myself repeatedly if I settled on something less than optimal. Ready for it though. Ready to completely eliminate paper books, newspapers, and magazines from my life. Music and video already in digital format only.. a great space saver. ... oh I will keep a book case with some old cool looking books, but for aesthetic purposes only. Something like in the movie "The Time Machine" based on the H.G. Wells book of the same title where the man picks up one of the books and it falls to dust in his hands. Then is able to move his hand through a complete shelf of books all turning to dust.

"Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy [things] we don’t need. We’re the middle children of history… No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our great war is a spiritual war… our great depression is our lives." Tyler Durden

What this has to do with what I have been talking about I am not quite sure but I love that quote...

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