Kindle Books

I own a Kindle.  I like it for reading what I'd otherwise read in a paperback, but I don't like it to replace cookbooks or magazines or anything with charts or photos or diagrams.  

In the kitchen, I use the iPad. 

Rumor has it that Kindle 2s are going to be on sale for $89 tomorrow.  At that price it is definitely a good deal.

I have Kindle for PC, a free download from Amazon, on my laptop. Its readability is amazing.

cheers,

gary

I got my Kindle3 about a month ago and couldn't be more pleased. I've loaded it up with a couple of hundred books...many of which I normally wouldn't have read. I also got some of my favorite authors just to reread (i.e. the John Sandford Prey series) The format is great for laying in bed reading or propped up in a chair with a blanket. I got myself a nice cover from oberondesign to protect it. I don't need a light since I always have a lamp ...if you think you'll need the backlight (camping?) then you can get some nice ones incorporated into the cover. I originally researched the ebooks because I'd read about 'bed bugs' in library books!!!!

If you're an avid reader ..you'll love it :)

getting a Kindle but I have several concerns.

1.) How long can you store your books on your Kindle? Is there a way to store them on a permanent basis? I like to keep my books because I enjoy re-reading some of my favorites from time to time. With the amount of books I go through in a year storage space has become a problem.

2.) I live in a very rural area, we recently got a cell phone tower but that is as far as we have traveled into the 21 century. Does the Kindle work on cell phone connections or is it some other technology?

3.) How durable are they? Can they take mild abuse...say a fall from a chair arm to a tile floor? I rarely drop my books when I'm reading but it does happen.

My Kindle3 will hold about 3,500 books. I don't know too much about buying the books off of Amazon, but I'm pretty sure they maintain your library..i.e. if you need to reload it - it's on your a/c there. The Kindle3 has two versions,  wifi (my version) or 3G. With wifi you can 'buy' your books directly from Amazon. Perhaps someone that buys books would correct me there...

Wifi comes in handy if you have access to a wireless connection - to read newspaper, newsfeeds etc.

I keep my own library on my computer (and have a backup on usb stick) with a program called calibre. I load books into calibre and send them over to Kindle (via usb cable). Once read I delete them from Kindle ..they're still on my hard drive if I want to reload them or delete from there..make sense?

I don't have a light and find my battery lasts about a month.

HTH's

You can download library books on Kindle.  You need a library card, but they are free.  You can check them out for 2/3 weeks, depending on the library.  It is especially good for rural areas.  

Pam

It is the Nook or Sony Reader that can use the library.. As Jo Jo said, the Kindle doesn't support library books.  Must have still have been in dishes Hell and my brain must have exploded.

Pam

I'm also interested in getting a kindle, but I worry that Amazon can take away books that I have purchased, as if they can exercise censorship on things and I can't even keep the ebook that I have paid for.  What do you think?

I just learned that Sony is going to introduce a new smartphone with some nice ebook reader features.  That would be an option as I prefer not to carry too many gadgets around.

Michelle

Hi,

I am considering buying a Kindle or another e-book reader. I was thinking it would save me a lot of money for international shipping from Amazon or other shops.

But I wonder how do books about baking look like on the small screen in ebook format. Is it well organised? Are there pictures? Of course it may not be comfortable to write notes there (as Karin mentioned elsewhere), but is it suitable at least for reading and viewing recipes?

Would you have any recommandation for me regarding the type of e-reader or other?

Thanks!

zdenka

Call  me old fashioned but when it comes to reference books, I still prefer to have a book in my hands.  I have the Kindle application on my iPad,  and I only use it for magazines and novels.  I also purchased two "Delicious" magaines originally published in Australia  that I'm unable to find here in HK from Amazon and unfortunately they don't come with pictures.   I wouldn't want to use the iPad inthe kitchen in case I spill or drop something on it or touch the screen with my greasy/dirty hands.

The main reason I didn't want the Kindle was that it won't allow you to load items directly onto your ebook from your computer.  You have to send the items in and receive them back, converted, from Amazon.  This means checked out books from the library, .pdf or word documents, etc.  It just seemed like too much of a hassle IMHO.  The Sony will allow for more options.

Nancy

I too have a Kindle and it is fairly easy to create your own Kindle readable documents. It can display pdf and there is readily available freeware that will convert other formats to Kindle readable ones.

Therefore, some of the recipes and manuals on this site could be made available for Kindle. Just a thought.

I have a Nook and LOVE it!!  I have an iPad too...but I love my Nook for reading....and the iPad for travelling....With the Nook, your library is ALWAYS retained on the Barnes and Noble website. I have the applications for the Nook downloaded onto my phone AND iPad as well as my Laptop....the phone is a bit small to read on, the iPad too heavy but with my laptop, I can stop and check other things as I need to. With my  Nook, I also get my subscription to National Geographic and the pictures are as clear and perfect as in the magazine! I am a Travel Nurse and travel in my Camper....so I have NO room for alot of books. I can save TENS of thousands of books on my Nook!! Take a look at them before you make your decision!!

Good Luck!

I'm a tech geek all the way, but when it comes to cookbooks, I'll take paper over electronic every time.

Don't get me wrong; I use web-based searches for recipes all the time, but owning certain books and having them on hand all the time with torn pages and stains on the recipes that I use all the time is just, I don't know, why things are right.

I have a Kindle Keyboard for reading books. It is wonderful. Has a long battery life and oodles of storage. I have several entire series and full author collections and am nowhere near running out of room. You can even get the entire OED on a Kindle (not much else though), but anyone who's purchased the OED on disk knows that's one HUGE dictionary!! If anything bad ever happens to my Kindle, I can reload all the books I've bought from Amazon onto my replacement, and can still read my entire Kindle library using the PC program while I'm waiting for it. I've only had Amazon pull one book in 3 years and that was because the publisher submitted the wrong version... so basically they just swapped the "beta" version with the "published" version behind the scenes. That would only really be a problem if you had any notes or highlights attached to the book. But, like I said, once in 3 years with over 1000 books.

With that said, the standard Kindles don't really work well for books with lots of pictures/diagrams/charts. I have a few cook books (mostly food storage types) and a few gardening books that are PAINFUL to read on the Kindle because they were poorly formatted. I think that it's the publisher's formatting when they convert the file that is the problem for most cook books though. Really, the only thing that is tough on a Kindle (or any small screen really) is large graphics and charts. Standard Kindles also are not entirely Web-friendly. Yes, you can access the web, and Amazon's Kindle site is fairly easy to use, but normal Web browsing is not a pleasant experience. However, if all you really want is good reading of text, it's awesome. I got the cover with the integrated booklight, which handles reading the eInk in lowlight. The booklight drains the battery a little faster than just reading, but not horribly... I think I can still read two 300 pg novels with the light on before having to recharge.

I do still get samples of many cookbooks and gardening books on the Kindle. Many of them have a "Sample" option where you can get a chapter for free to see if the formatting and content are acceptable. This is a good feature for me to determine whether or not I want to  purchase the paper version of these books. Because, really, how many times have you ordered these types of reference books that look totally awesome only to receive it and realize it falls horribly short of expectations?

I personally don't like the iPad and don't find it to be superior in all circumstances. If I decide to get a full-color, web-friendly reading device, I'd likely get a Kindle Fire. It's lighter, smaller, has better screen resolution and is less expensive. It has most of the same features and access to many of the same/similar apps... plus I can access my current Kindle library from it immediately without having to do any weird conversions. I think it's the perfect middle-ground between a smart phone and a tablet/laptop. I've tinkered with one in the store and it seems fairly intuitive, although I can't say I tried to do anything extensive with it.

ETA: More than 11,000 libraries in the United States offer Public Library Books for Kindle, and the Kindle Owners' Lending Library allows eligible U. S. Amazon Prime members who own Kindle devices to choose from thousands of books to borrow for free as part of their paid Prime membership (if you have a Kindle Fire, the Prime membership also helps significantly with video and audio download costs and allowances). If the publisher allows it, you can also lend a Kindle book that you have purchased to a friend for 14 days and they can read it on their Kindle or using any of the free Kindle reader apps. You can also rent many textbooks from Kindle, which saves you a lot if you're a student or are doing research since textbooks tend to be large and expensive .

I own the regular kindle, my husband has an iPad. My resume for what works best for what purpose:

If you read a lot of books, like to travel, and have already a library with overflowing bookshelves - which I do - the kindle is great. It's small, but not too small (try reading books on a smartphone!), and comfortable to work with. The battery lasts very long, you can buy classic literature often for free, and newer books often for less than the (new) print version.

The kindle is easy on the eye, and you can change the font size to your liking. All books you buy are forever stored on your amazon account archive - you can re-download them at any time, you don't have to keep them stored on your device. (If you hate them, you can remove them not only from your kindle, but, also from your amazon archive.) You can loan your books for 14 days to somebody else (for one time per book.) You can download and read samples, before you buy.

If your main computer is your iPad, and your carry it with you, anyway, you don't need an extra e-reader, kindle for iPad works very well, too. The battery, of course has to be charged much more often, which can be a concern when you are in transit. Working with an e-cookbook on an iPad is easier, you can see pictures better (and in color), but you will need an extra app (caffeine) to keep your screen from getting dark while you are cooking.

On the whole, I would not buy e-cookbooks, (see my post "Why E-Cookbooks Really Suck": http://hanseata.blogspot.com/2011/05/why-e-cookbooks-really-suck-but-some.html/node/23519) unless there are not available in print. Finding recipes is tedious, you have to go through the book page by page, and making notes is practical not doable because it's so cumbersome.

Karin

I bought the most fabulous app for the ipad for recipe management. It's called Paprika. $5 for the app for the iPad, though I also bought it for my Mac ($20).  CHeck this app out.  It's fantastic to browse the web for recipes to download and also have editing capacity.  I use it all the time.  Also has a grocery list and menu planning option and a timer.  

The iPad can replace a complete recording studio - my husband composes. You can take photos and videos with it, really amazing. The apps you can get for it are incredible.

For your everyday needs, and, especially if you have to write a lot, a laptop suffices (though you can connect your iPad to a keyboard and a wireless printer, if you want to).

I was wondering about the "Paprika" app, too, Bartwin.

Karin

The iPad is, for all intents and purposes, a "dumb" mobile computer. The OS is fairly robust, but there aren't a lot of productivity applications built for it (yet), so it is primarily just for mail, messaging, surfing, gaming, iBooks and digital content subscriptions, video, audio and streaming media. And it does all those things wonderfully... but so does a fully functional laptop that costs and weighs only a little more.

Before you get convinced to invest in any gadget, you really need to determine what your needs are, how frequent are those needs, whether you already own a device that meets those needs, and any failings of that device that might make another device preferable for a specific activity (weight, display size, ease of use, etc).

If you want a device primarily to read text-based publications, then a dedicated reading device with eInk tech (rather than backlit LED) is probably your best bet... like the Nook or Kindle. But the content you want may not be available or properly formatted, so you should check that out before making decisions. This is a particularly viable option if you already have a laptop for computing/browsing and want something easier and lighter specifically for reading, and/or a smart phone for phone/mail and want something larger and more intuitive for reading.

If you primarly want to surf the web, message, email, play games or watch movies, AND you do these things often, then a mobile/tablet computer with a larger, color display and more robust OS is probably your best bet... like the iPad, Kindle Fire, TouchPad or Galaxy. These do have limited support for productivity programs/apps, so you may want to check out what apps you may be interested in are available and supported by each device before making decisions. Usually the key factors will be the size of the display and the weight of the unit... everyone has different preferences, but the basic functionality is similar. If you already have a wireless laptop, there is little advantage to getting a tablet unless size and weight is a major roadblock for portability and use.

If you primarily need to surf the web for specific information, message with friends, and check email on occasion with maybe some audio/video support once in a while then one of the newer smart phones may be your best bet... like iPhone, Driod, or Blackberry. The displays are tiny, so not the best as a reader or even surfing large interactive web pages or watching movies... but they are excellent for telecom, music, audio books and messaging/email. Again, the robustness of the OS and the available apps vary between devices, so determine which features and capabilities are important for you before making any decisions. This is a particularly viable option if you already have a cell phone and can trade it in for a new fancy phone under your current clan/provider.

From the parameters you stated, I would recommend the Kindle Fire or XO Vision Ematic eGlide (both support Android apps) because they are smaller, lighter and less expensive (1/4 to 1/3 the price) than the iPad and don't have all the bells and whistles (that you probably aren't going to use anyway) jacking up the price.

I have so  much fun with the Paprika app in the kitchen. It's the main reason I bought the iPad, though there are lots of other uses as others have noted.   Check it out on their website and see what others say about it if you are interested in a great recipe manager.

One thing to consider when shopping for a tablet computer specifically for the kitchen is how you prefer to use your current physical recipes.

If you like 4x6 or 3x5 recipe/index cards, then a 7" tablet with a foodie app installed would likely work best for your style.

If you like full 8 1/2 x 11 pages in a binder or standard-sized "hardback" cookbooks, then a 10" tablet with a foodie app installed would likely work best for your style.

The biggest contenders are iOS (Mac/Apple) and iApps, and Android (virtually everything not Mac/Apple) and Android Apps. Both operating systems (OS) and supported apps are comparable... one may be better than another at one thing but worse at another, it's a net wash. There are currently more iApps available because they've been around longer and iDevices were available first and marketed so strongly; however, the Android apps are catching up and nearly all the remaining market share uses or supports Android so you likely won't have to wait too long to find a comparable app. So, the decision really comes down to platform/brand loyalty and preference. If you're a Mac/Apple follower then iDevices, iOS & iApps are a great fit. If you're a PC follower than the rest of the devices, OS, and apps are probably a better fit.

Mac users will probably never truly like non-Apple products, and non-Mac users will probably never truly like Apple products and will possibly be faced with multiple operating systems and supported programs (that aren't always compatible) much like PC with Windows, Linux, etc.

There are several foodie apps out there for computers, tablets and other devices and they all have their pros and cons. Some have really intuitive interfaces, some have robust linking and organization capabilities, some are great for meal planning and shopping lists. However, there are great apps with huge cons out there, too (limited print or sharing support, no inventory control tracking, minimal scaling support etc). Which app you get and on which platform/device greatly depends on what features you want and what's important (or not important) for you. If you shop around and test-drive several free trial editions on the device you want to use most, I'm sure you'll find an app that does at least most of what you want regardless of platform or device. If you're already using an app on one device, and you really like it, check around to see if it's available in a version that is supported on a device you're interested in.... but DON'T buy a device that you may not need simply because there is a seemingly cool app available for it, test-drive the app and the device first and see if there are other less expensive or more useful-to-you-options before you buy.

I used to be an addicted gadget geek working in the tech field... it's a hard habit to break, but an easy one to fall into. New devices and nifty apps are like crack cocaine being pushed by the most manipulative dealer on the corner!!