Amazon Kindle to free up shelf space

SHUG

SHUG

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One of the curses of liveaboard is the way that books accumulate.
Can anybody report on the onboard use of a Kindle. It would clearly free up shelf space but one of the joys of liveaboard is the book swap.
EXPERIENCE AND OPINIONS???
 
I've opted for a compromise - I definitely favour some kind of e-reader - at the moment most of the 'paperbacks' I consume are read are on my (android) phone. However I will keep a few paperbacks for book swaps - maybe around one-quarter of the number I've sailed with in the past.
 
Yep, a book swap goes out the window, sort of. There are some books which are simply better as a book instead of the e-version e.g. pilot books and books with loads of photos or graphics.

And it frees up the bed space - I used to have a least three or four books on the go at the same time and they'd lie on my bed opened, face down, on the last page read. A Kindle doesn't anywhere near the bed or shelf space.
 
If you can stretch your funds, I'd opt for an iPad. On top of zoomable full colour near-A4 size pages (I have LOADS of books on mine, as well as most of my magazine subscriptions now, and all of my electrical manuals etc - most of which can now be downloaded direct from Raymarine, etc in PDF format), you also have the ability to watch films, play games, and even some nav planning with apps such as the excellent Navionics suite.

I also use mine for email and web browsing when a wifi connection is available. I didn't opt for the 3G version as I reckon one day there will be an easy (legit!) way to link the iPad with your mobile phone for internet access without wifi.

Yes, they are more expensive, but I have both, and the Kindle rarely gets picked up these days.

...and no, I don't work for Apple! :)

Hope this helps!
 
As a footnote, I'd add that you can get a Kindle app for the iPad (and iPhone) so you can use any existing books you have bought.

.....and just to use the iPad PDF manuals as a working copy, don't go throwing all the hard copies away. iPads are great, but like all bits of electrical equipment, they need power to run :)
 
I dont have a Kindle, but read Kindle books on the iPhone Kindle App. You can also get a Kindle app for iPad, and for the PC/Laptop - and they all synchronise.

Battery life isnt as good as the Kindle, (nowhere near!!!), but it's bloody handy to have a few books on something I carry more or less 24/7, (iPhone).

Months since I read a "real book", (fiction).
 
Kindle

I've had a Kindle since September and can't speak highly enough of it. I bought the 3G version so can get books pretty much anywhere. Used so far in Europe, Middle East, Japan and USA. The battery life is amazing. I was away for nearly 4 weeks over Christmas and NY and only charged it for the flight home as a precaution. Battery life reduces quite a lot if you leave wi-fi switched on but I still use it quite a lot. There is a rather clunky web browser which I switch on most days when away to check the news and to get my paper. On the 3G version there is no charge for connecting to the web like this wherever you are.
On board I still keep pilots and other books where colour is good to have but all reading books are now on the Kindle and progressively boat manuals are being put on it too.
I haven't used an i-pad so can't compare but the Kindle is much easier on the eyes than any laptop or phone screen
 
Kindle

I have one. Great for geting books from Amazon while overseas but if you are in country not supported by Kindle you must buy through a UK server and transfer via a computer.(which I do in Turkey). So did not get the 3G version as as all my downloads are via the laptop. Also screen is very good, can be read in sunlight with none of the eye strain that you can get using a laptop. I used the Kindle application on a laptop for month or so before a bought the Kindle reader. I would also recommend you download Calibre ebook management this will convert other non protected formats to allow you yo read them on the Kindle.
 
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The kindle sounds very good. Can some one tell me how much does it cost to download a book? Also can you swop books with other kindle users, or do you always have to pay for the download? Lastly can you download for free books from web sharing sites as you can for t.v.,films. Many thanks
 
Cost of books for Kindle

Books range from completely free for many of the Classics to nearly full cover price for the latest on the bookshelves. I loaded the app on my macbook and have been very pleased with it - seriously considering getting a Kindle, particularly as the battery life seems so good. Always an issue when you spend more time at anchor than in marinas.:)
 
I've had a Kindle for just on a year now. The major advantage of it over the iPad or any other LCD type screen is that you can read it in bright sunlight - indeed, the screen needs light to read it, so the better the light, ther easier it is to read.

Books cost about the same as a paperback version of the book, the data transfer costs are built into the pricing. Be aware that ebooks attract VAT unlike real books.

At the moment, you cannot share Kindle books. The downloaded file has a copy protection system built in and you can't lend the book to someone else. However, there's a system about to be launched in the US to allow you to lend a book to another user for 2 weeks. Not due in UK for some time.

There are a number of sites with free e books in mobi format (kindle uses mobi). The vast majority are out of copyright books such as Dickens etc but there are some sites which specialise in new writers. There may well be file sharing sites which allow you to download copyrighted books but I haven't found them yet.

What Kindle is no use for is displaying graphics, especially colour, as the screen is designed for text and is in blakc and white.

I wouldn't be without mine - you can pick up a paperback in a book swap by an author you've never read, decide you like the books and gone on line and buy more as you see fit without having to wait for Amazon to deliver the paper versions. I also have a subscription to The Times, which appears on my Kindle every morning at a fraction of the cost of buying overseas and 1/2 the price in UK. Bargain.
 
I get on really well with mine. I have paid for two or three books, and also downloaded about 50 completely free. I read voraciously, and it's exactly what I've been waiting for. Amazon has many hundreds of thousands of books - many out of copyright ones are free - that's all the classics you've always meant to read! Looking at the Amazon site, I think most of the ones you have to pay for are quite a bit cheaper than the paper versions despite including VAT. They download in a few seconds. It was quite an experience watching the entire Dickens taking about one minute to appear on my Kindle. The battery lasts weeks, unless you leave the wireless on, and even then it lasts days.

I can't comment on the iPAD - it looks cool, and has a lot else to recommend it
 
Mine arrived today!!!!!
Haven't had time to play with it yet, but having recently gone through the painful process of having to bin the leftovers of the 30 yrs worth of books which couldn't be given away (in prep for "sell up and sail"), am veeeery plsd this little thing id sitting on my desk, changing screen savers from Virginia Woolf to Jules Verne.
Looks very promising!
 
Problem for me is modern books (ie ones still in copyright) cost. And how! Remember, no production costs, no transportation, no storage, no shop overheads, no nothing but a one-off digitization which only applies to pre-digital age books of course, and yet it costs the same as a real book! On top of which you can't lend it, swap it or give it away. Ripoff.

It's reasonably easy to use, the menu and file systems are clunky as hell, reading it is OK, and the ability to store a library in something so portable makes it a winner. But oh to be able to get modern books without paying full price for a paltry author's royalty, a bit of profit and nuppence worth of file download...The open market should sort this far-too-cosy little arrangement out before long - can't come soon enough.

Anyone able to post sites that do have free or better priced modern books than Amazon?
 
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Apart from the sunlight readable screen, the kindle has other advantages over the ipad - weight and battery life.

It's a pleasure to hold the kindle and read - you wouldn't hold an ipad up for very long. I use my kindle every day and have charged it once since Christmas.
 
And this morning this unsolicited e-mail arrives! It seems too good to be true, newspapers, novels, best sellers, classics, thousands of TV channels. Suddenly I'm wary despite it seeming to be exactly what I was after.

Anyone know anything of this outfit?

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Get Lifetime Downloads Until January
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MASH said:
Problem for me is modern books (ie ones still in copyright) cost. And how! Remember, no production costs, no transportation, no storage, no shop overheads, ... yet it costs the same as a real book! On top of which you can't lend it, swap it or give it away. Ripoff...
Click to expand...

That's already started to change, as competition hots up. In addition, an increasing number of writers are offering some of their books for free, as a way of enticing new people to consume their work. For example:

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/4566
 
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