Now then, today's poll:
Have at it!
Well, This Is Me by Asher Perlman
1 day ago
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Give My Creation... LIFE!
In the spirit of the upcoming Halloween holiday (and the topic of yesterday's post), I've decided to experiment with polling here on PMN. Blogger (as far as I know) doesn't support polls in posts, only as sidebar widgets, so I'm going to have to go third party on this one. If any of you happen to have expertise in this area, please post in the comments!
Now then, today's poll:
Have at it!
Now then, today's poll:
Have at it!
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No, I might buy one eventually--whether or not the technology advances--but see no reason to buy one now.
ReplyDeleteI'm with anonymous - I have no plans to buy one any time soon, because I'm not really interested. I still want regular ol' books. But never say never.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Anonymous too.
ReplyDeleteNo, because I like having a physical book, and besides, it's a luxury I can't afford at the moment.
I'll probably end up with one at some point but I'm not that interested.
No, I will wait to see if and when the market 'tips'. Personally I don't much like the idea of ebooks taking over, but if everyone has a reader and it starts to be an overwhelmingly convenient way of accessing material, then it's no good being left behind.
ReplyDeleteI'm one of the ones who said I already have a Kindle. I like it, but one thing I don't like about it was the high price, and the fact that book-sharing wasn't a part of it (and now is on the Nook). Since I have so much invested in the Kindle, though, I'm not likely to buy another one any time soon.
ReplyDeleteI don't see the value in buying a device at $200+ just to read books. I would be more likely to buy some other gadget or small laptop that has more functions, or is simply cheaper.
ReplyDeleteI'm a gadget guy, and a book guy, so to not get one would be going against my nature. But I haven't made the plunge yet because I'm waiting for the prices to come down. It makes the decision a little more immediate now that book sharing is in the mix though.
ReplyDeleteI don't know why I'm as giddy about the Nook as I am. With the downturn in the recession, I've been putting my local library through its paces. The next release I'm anxious for is scheduled for release for 2010, but I still want to get a Nook this year. Come November, perhaps my excitement will have dampened somewhat.
ReplyDeleteAnother ditto for Anonymous. Maybe someday, but it's just a gizmo; I don't need one.
ReplyDeleteI don't buy single use items and that is largely why all my techie gadget toys can do more then simply desired action X. My ipod doesn't just play music etc. Single use items don't last in the market unless they expand into doing more.
ReplyDeleteI have an iPhone and use the Kindle app the most because buying is SO easy. I also use Stanza. I never would have thought reading on the iPhone would be a good experience, but it is.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I am considering a reader for my parents. They've asked. My mother's arthritis makes it hard for her to hold books. But I'd like to see what Apple comes up with before I decide to buy the Kindle, which is what I would buy otherwise because buying a book is so incredibly easy. I read all the Sony reader reviews over at the Smart Bitches blog and it was clear the buy process isn't easy and would completely confuse my elderly parents.
I'm waiting for the technology to advance. It's still too new and I dread buying one only to find that some other company soon monopolizes the market. I'd like to get one eventually, although I think I will still rely most on physical books, and I'm very interested in the Nook.
ReplyDeleteI bought a Kindle DX. It was cool at the time. But with the Nook coming out, I have to keep reminding myself that the Nook didn't make my Kindle go down in functionality.
ReplyDeleteAs tempting as a color touch screen is, I think I'm going to wait until it's actually a full screen. Sorry B&N. I asked for a FULL color touch screen with e-ink. Not a 3.5 one that only shows book covers.
So, I'm in the category of I already own a Kindle, but I'm waiting until the technology advances to buy another one.
It's just too dang expensive right now, plus I can read on my iphone (yay!).
ReplyDeleteI voted for "waiting for the technology to advance" option, but I'm really more at "waiting for the technology to stabilize." I kind of like the idea of an e-reader because I'm running out of shelf space, but I don't want to end up with the Betamax. I have this talent for buying things just before they get discontinued, so I want to be sure that whichever platform I buy is going to be dominant enough to survive in the long term. Otherwise, chances are very good that I'd end up with what would amount to very expensive copies of the three books I managed to put on it before they stopped supporting the platform I chose.
ReplyDeleteI'm traveling on business through Europe. For an avid reader like myself, physical books pose a problem on these trips. I either have to carry an extra suitcase to hold the books (I read fast) or I have to buy them as I go, a problem when the book stores handle only German, Italian, French, etc. books. So. my kindle has been a God-send. I downloaded a dozen books before I left and should finish the last one on the plane home next week. Yes, books have a unique feel of comfort, but I have a custom leather cover for it so it feels more book like. Can't beat the convenience.
ReplyDeleteReesha color e-ink is still a ways off. The current color e-ink is below web quality color much less full 300dpi. It will be great when the technology is perfected, but who knows how long that will be.
ReplyDeletelol For those of us who don't have as much money as D. Michael Olive, I'd say no. Books are better.
ReplyDeleteI'm don't think I'm really interested in an e-reader. I really like actual books too much to go all-electronic. Plus, I love using my library and you really can't do that with an e-reader. I do have an ipod touch which I've downloaded a couple of free classics to so I have something when I'm in a pinch and forgot my book, but I definitely prefer the feel of a book in my hands.
ReplyDeleteI can't vote. I'm still waffling.
ReplyDeleteI suspect these e readers are extraneous and will soon be irrelevant. An e reader is what the PDA was in the days when cell phones only made phone calls. Once the iPhone and others began to offer the same functions, no one needed a PDA anymore. Why would I want an additional device that does something the phone that is already - and always - in my pocket can do? The only advantage to an e reader is screen size. But I'll take having everything in one tidy package over screen size. The iPhone is well on its way to being the only device we need to own. I'm just waiting for the cappuccino app so I can throw away my Krups.
ReplyDeleteI think the kindle (or other e-reader) is a great idea - if the goal is to save the newspaper industry. That's about all I would read on an e-device.
ReplyDeleteI must have the physical book in my hand to read a novel. I have to appraise the cover art, smell the ink and paper, dog-ear the pages I especially like, and use the cover flap as a bookmark when I'm too tired to keep reading. It's more than a visual experience for me.
I can see the value of e-readers for agents, beta readers, maybe students etc, but I don't want one. I'm happy reading real books from libraries, bookstores (used and new), Amazon. The only reason I'd want an e-reader would be to read celebrity bios or other books I'd be embarrassed to be seen with, or wouldn't want to spend much mony on! Or for those times when I'm twitchy because I don't have good book to read. Although I said No, Never, I might get one someday.
ReplyDeleteI would really like one, but unfortunately I can't afford one. Personally, I'd rather have an e-book reader for all the out of print and public domain books out there rather then anything new that's coming out. (Especially if that means I can finally read Charles Babbage's autobiography without all the eye strain.)
ReplyDeleteI'm in Australia so I have slightly different concenrs. We just got the Kindle this week. It's more expensive to buy and to download books than the American Kindle, even after currency conversion, and some of the functionality has been turned off. I do understand why we're paying more, but I'm not thrilled about less functionality and I'm not thrilled about the fact that there's no Australian publishers available yet. I also don't want to be tied to one retailer as you are with the Kindle.
ReplyDeleteSo I won't be buying a Kindle. I'll wait to see what the other e-readers offer and probably buy one once they've got a local solution.
I do like the idea of the Nook, and being able to download books in B&N stores. Maybe independent booksellers need to get on board this train - set up their shops so they can sell e-books through wireless to a reader when people are in-store. It would be a good solution for people who like browsing through physical books to find what they want, but would prefer to actually buy an e-book.
My answer is somewhere between "waiting for the technology to advance" and "never," and it relies entirely on what happens with DRM.
ReplyDeleteI'm not going to pay money for a fancy rental that can be revoked at the whim of someone I'll likely never meet, when I can pay the same money for a hard copy and own it. And, depending, have money left over besides. If this makes me old-fashioned, so be it.
(I had a DVD drive get trashed thanks to copy-protection on a game I bought. So I admit I have a chip on my shoulder against DRM and copy-protection - but I will not trust it after seeing what happens when it goes wrong. And it will go wrong.)
I said "no, never" but that's mostly because you didn't have an option for "I'm totally not interested right now and things will probably say that way, but one should never say never". :)
ReplyDeleteWord verification: Store. That is both surprisingly sensical and amusingly appropriate.
I'm pretty sure I made at least one of thsoe words up.
I don't have a cell phone but am considering getting one -- the iPhone -- in part because it would also have an e-book function. But I'm not really in any hurry.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of e-books. I will likely get an e-Reader when:
ReplyDelete(1) The price of e-books and e-readers drop (I like my Mass Market Paperback prices).
(2) The wireless features of e-books become either superfluous or international.
(3) The idea of lending e-books becomes the norm (or if that never happens, then when e-books become the norm).
It's just a matter of time.
Oh, I forgot to mention, if you want to put polls in the post without making your readers jump to another page when they vote or view results, try http://www.twiigs.com/
ReplyDeleteNope, I'm waiting until they are cheaper and/or technology advances.
ReplyDeleteNot going to buy until someone develops a one-stop shop = e-reader/cell phone/browser/blackberry capability/+ ten other new social networking capabilities that have not yet been developed (whatever those are!). I don't want to have a kitchen drawer full of technology products and have to switch among all of them.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, can't afford one. As much as I'd like to spend all my money on books, the children like to eat and $260 is more than my family of six's two week grocery budget.
ReplyDeleteNo, they are too expensive. If they were cheaper, I might (and it's a very big 'might') think about it, but I like having books I can hold in my hand, and look at on the shelf, and dip in and out of at night on random whims. Reading e-books on my computer, I have a tendency to let my eyes skip over a lot, too. Not sure why, but books never feel as interesting on the computer.
ReplyDeleteI too am not sure of it. But will surely think as technology advances.
ReplyDelete32gb ssd drive