What reasons would you give for not buying a Kindle?

[slayda]

Apparently, I'm trying to support competition. (See my devices)

[catsittingstill]

I bought a Kindle and like it just fine (I have version 1) so you may want to take my point of view with a grain of salt. IF I had to pick disadvantages they would be:

No folders. You can arrange your content by title or by author, and go to a particular page (if you know the book you want is about on page 7 of your home screen, for instance) or to a particular starting letter of the title or author, but you *can't* have a folder of "neat books about elephants" or "books Mom recommended" or the like.

DRM. My books work seamlessly now but if Amazon abandons the Kindle, I have to learn to crack the DRM to use them on another machine when my Kindle dies. That's illegal, plus it's a lot of trouble. I'm hoping it won't be an issue. We'll see.

The new version doesn't take SD cards and doesn't have a user replaceable battery. I'm not very impressed with those changes.

It can only handle simple pdfs and only after translation via Amazon or an e-book program like Stanza. The more complex or larger pdfs (scientific journal articles) are problematic. But it can load non-drmed mobi books and other self-generated content after translation, which I like.

I wish you could sketch on the screen to underline and scribble comments. It does allow highlighting, but it isn't very precise, and it does allow annotation, but you have to type it in, and you can't see the annotation unless you click on it and pick "edit." I wish the annotations and text were visible at the same time, and I wish the highlighting was more precise. I understand some changes have been made to this in the Kindle 2, so maybe it's less of a problem now.

[JSWolf]

The main reason is that the Kindle eBooks are closed to everyone who does not own a Kindle. Everyone else has a program available that runs (even if only on Windows) on a computer and your eBooks are not locked to one device. We get articles on the net saying that Amazon is trying to make eBooks mainstream. Mainstream to Amazon and Kindle owners. But everyone else, forget it.

I have a feeling that what is happening is that because of Amazon's "lower prices", the publisher keep the prices somewhat higher outside of Amazon to make up for the losses imposed by Amazon. This is just my opinion.

And now because of the TTS in the K2, we have a new can of worms with regard to legal DRM removal in the USA.

Basically, Amazon has muddied the waters big time. They have a lot of eBook on Amazon that we cannot get anyplace else. And because of that those of us without a Kindle cannot get them anyplace.

For example, take the eBook Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind. It was made into an Amazon exclusive. It was supposed to be so for just six months. So where is it outside of Amazon now that six months ended February 20th? My guess is its not yet available due to sales. And why is that? Because it was only available at Amazon relying on Kindle owners to make these sales. It would have sold a lot better had it been available for all formats.

And we have the eBook UR from Stephen King. King fans cannot get this unless they shell out for a K2 or a used K1.

To put it in simple terms, I don't like the way Jeff Bezos does business and how it affects the rest of the eBook market. He's trying to corner the eBook market to force us to have to purchase a Kindle.

[Elfwreck]

My reasons for choosing Sony over Kindle:

1) Filetypes: I'm moderately proficient, and very comfortable, at file conversion; I wanted the content I already had to work on my new reader. The Sony works with files I already have; the Kindle does not. (Txt doesn't count.)

2) Control: I like the option of control over my content--want to be able to reformat it if I care to take the time. I can format things how I want them for RTF, or PDF. (I'm damn near worthless with HTML. I should work on that.) Having to format a file and sent it to someone else for conversion was a step I didn't want.

3) Free books more important than paid, for me: I care that it's easy to get stuff from manybooks & feedbooks; I don't care that I have less purchasing options. I am happy to purchase from Baen & Fictionwise (which would need an extra transfer stage for the K), but the differences between various DRM-infected stores don't matter to me; I'm not buying from them.

4) Politics: I don't like Amazon's monopolistic attempts, don't like their inability to stick to a story about DRM, don't like their POD policy. Don't want to support Amazon's efforts to be the only book resource on the planet.

5) Memory Card: while this wasn't relevant when I got my Sony, it is now--I like the ability to store books (and miscellaneous, not usable by the Reader) on memory cards.

6) Whispernet is irrelevant to me.

There are other factors that could be relevant, some of which have been mentioned; I'm not sure any of them were important to me. I'm annoyed at the lack of folders, but I can't say I use the Collections feature--I usually just plug the Reader into my computer and drag-and-drop files into it.

One of my common uses for the Reader is:
* Go to blog during lunch hour
* Copy-paste content, with comments, into Word
* Click on links in blog entry. Add those, if interesting, to file
* Format to ~3.5x4.8 pages; convert to PDF (because PDF has smaller filesize than RTF)
* Bookmark PDF for main blog entry, other entries, comments that caught my eye on first glance, etc.
* Throw PDF onto Reader for reading during evening transit.

Can't do that with the Kindle. At least, not quick-and-easy on my lunch hour.

Why I didn't get an iLiad instead:
1) It costs too much (Meaning, "more than I can afford," rather than "more than it's worth.")
2) Larger screen--I switched from a PDA and would've liked a screen about 2/3 the size of the Sony Reader's.

[Alisa]

Originally Posted by astra

Oh and another reason is Kindle has no proper page count.

So, the keyboard and page count are the main reasons why I would not buy Kindle.

Dunno about its battery life now. It used to be significantly lover than Sony's. 5 days vs. 14. Maybe they have improved it in K2.

I actually prefer the accurate location numbers to "page" numbers that change with the font size. Neither system is my ideal, though.

I've heard K2's batter life is longer but I don't have one so I couldn't say for sure.

[scotty1024]

Originally Posted by melliz

After 40 years old, I'm just looking for a hassle free. Mellow, drama free life. I just want to be able to take whatever items I buy and have them perform flawlessy the first time. I'm not very computer savy, the terminology confuses me when it comes down to formats, etc. I just like to believe these companies should have their products performing as advertised. But as we all know, that ussually isn't the case. I generally know in advance what's on the box, they ussually don't like to tell you all the little quirks. So that's my theory. Maybe I've listened to John Lennon's "Imagine" one too many times.

Being a 40-something not looking for drama either and owning the Softbook Reader, RCA 1100 and RCA 1200 I can say confidently you'll probably want the Kindle 2 if your 1100 is about to kick the bucket.

In the end the Kindle 2 just works, with very little drama, because you don't need a PC. So long as you don't mind paying for content.

You will also probably be able to easily, and with little drama, be able to migrate your 1100 book shelf forwards to the Kindle 2 via the offices of the good folks at Fictionwise. Again, if you've been paying for content.

If your 1100 can totter forward another year you might choose to hold out and get a color reader.

And don't think I'm trying to hint you're a pirate. Just you see lots of drama around here from folks that spend a heck of a lot of time chasing around after free content. Some people collect stamps, other people scan old books into ebooks.

[sirbruce]

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

1) Filetypes: I'm moderately proficient, and very comfortable, at file conversion; I wanted the content I already had to work on my new reader. The Sony works with files I already have; the Kindle does not. (Txt doesn't count.)

I'm confused. If you're comfortable with conversion, what types could you possibly have that Kindle does not work with? Unless this is a DRM issue?

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

2) Control: I like the option of control over my content--want to be able to reformat it if I care to take the time. I can format things how I want them for RTF, or PDF. (I'm damn near worthless with HTML. I should work on that.) Having to format a file and sent it to someone else for conversion was a step I didn't want.

This complaint doesn't make any sense either. If you're comfortable with conversion, you can do the conversion yourself just like you do for your Sony; you don't *have* to use Amazon's email service.

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

3) Free books more important than paid, for me: I care that it's easy to get stuff from manybooks & feedbooks; I don't care that I have less purchasing options. I am happy to purchase from Baen & Fictionwise (which would need an extra transfer stage for the K), but the differences between various DRM-infected stores don't matter to me; I'm not buying from them.

There's no extra transfer stage for the Kindle vs. the Sony if you are using the computer. If you're using wireless, there's *less* stages, which is something you *can't do* on your Sony.

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

One of my common uses for the Reader is:
* Go to blog during lunch hour
* Copy-paste content, with comments, into Word
* Click on links in blog entry. Add those, if interesting, to file
* Format to ~3.5x4.8 pages; convert to PDF (because PDF has smaller filesize than RTF)
* Bookmark PDF for main blog entry, other entries, comments that caught my eye on first glance, etc.
* Throw PDF onto Reader for reading during evening transit.

Can't do that with the Kindle. At least, not quick-and-easy on my lunch hour.

I know you say Whispernet is irrelevant to you, but Kindle lets you access than blog *easier*; you could pay the money to subscribe to it or do it free via the web browser. What you describe above seems pretty crazy to me, but you could still do it on Kindle; you just convert to MOBI rather than PDF.

Originally Posted by Ervserver

because Oprah has one

Bingo.

[krisk]

If you have a readaholic and it is an issue, ANY ebook will only fuel the addiction further.

[nicolasqueen]

I really wish it had a backlight option or shipped with a book light. Just my two cents.

[Elfwreck]

Originally Posted by sirbruce

I'm confused. If you're comfortable with conversion, what types could you possibly have that Kindle does not work with? Unless this is a DRM issue?

I have RTFs (well, I have Word docs; conversion to RTF takes seconds.) I have a lot of PDFs. Those, I can throw on my Reader as-is if I don't have time for conversion.

This complaint doesn't make any sense either. If you're comfortable with conversion, you can do the conversion yourself just like you do for your Sony; you don't *have* to use Amazon's email service.

I was under the impression Kindle had to read Amazon-converted files. (Does it also read Mobi files directly? That would've been a mild negative; mobi was a format I never quite clicked with. I preferred ereader for my PDA.)

I could learn Mobi conversion. (I'm learning lrf conversion.) But the ability to work with multiple filetypes I could already make by myself was a strong part of my Sony decision; I almost went with the Hanlin instead, but couldn't find it in the States (I had a 24-hour window to decide which to buy), and decided that international shipping/customer service was a hassle I didn't want to deal with.

There's no extra transfer stage for the Kindle vs. the Sony if you are using the computer. If you're using wireless, there's *less* stages, which is something you *can't do* on your Sony.

If I'm getting the emailed version, when I'm at home, I'm going through my dialup internet. Ugh. Even if not... I'm giving Amazon a record of everything I read. Ugh. (I know, I'm cheating. Bringing up a new reason that I didn't initially mention. I remember having strong "No Kindle!!!" thoughts, and haven't actively tried to recall exactly what they were until recently.)

If the Kindle can read mobi and txt files *loaded directly onto it from one's computer*, that needs to be added to the "Kindle Myths" thread--because it's not clear from the advertising hype. They pitch Whispernet & their books for sale, and try not to mention if you can use content you already have without sending it to them.

I know you say Whispernet is irrelevant to you, but Kindle lets you access than blog *easier*; you could pay the money to subscribe to it or do it free via the web browser. What you describe above seems pretty crazy to me, but you could still do it on Kindle; you just convert to MOBI rather than PDF.

I don't want to subscribe to blogs. I want to read the blog posts with comments (I don't know if any of the subscription formats do this, but rss feeds certainly don't), and sometimes combine those into a single document along with any relevant extra links. (So I could, for example, combine three different blogs "Reactions To The Kindle 2" into one file.)

"Blog" may be a misnomer here. I'm talking about connected sets of LiveJournal and InsaneJournal posts, where the comments are often as important as the posts. For example, the four most recent posts here.

Also, I'm *comfortable* converting to PDF. It's quick and easy for me. I can convert a novel-length Word doc to LRF-sized PDF, change the font to something I like, bookmark the chapter headers, all without reading the content, in a couple of minutes, sometimes less. I have (twitch) almost a decade's practice working with PDFs. I have no practice with Mobi; I'd be learning from scratch.

I know these aren't reasons that'd be compelling to a lot of other people.

The extra cost was probably a factor as well, but not much of one.

[krisk]

Originally Posted by nicolasqueen

I really wish it had a backlight option or shipped with a book light. Just my two cents.

This isn't the wish list, it's the reasons to not buy list.

[sirbruce]

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

I was under the impression Kindle had to read Amazon-converted files. (Does it also read Mobi files directly? That would've been a mild negative; mobi was a format I never quite clicked with. I preferred ereader for my PDA.)

Yes, it reads them directly. Don't know why that would be a negative; as long as the formatting is the same there's little difference between a PDF and a MOBI version of the same book.

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

I could learn Mobi conversion. (I'm learning lrf conversion.) But the ability to work with multiple filetypes I could already make by myself was a strong part of my Sony decision; I almost went with the Hanlin instead, but couldn't find it in the States (I had a 24-hour window to decide which to buy), and decided that international shipping/customer service was a hassle I didn't want to deal with.

Well, I have no idea what you're using to do conversions. Calibre is great as it will do the vast majority of conversions without much trouble.

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

If I'm getting the emailed version, when I'm at home, I'm going through my dialup internet.

Again, you don't have to email for conversion. Furthermore, you're on slow dialup whether you're downloading a book for your Sony to your computer or downloading a book from Amazon or your email to your computer.

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

Even if not... I'm giving Amazon a record of everything I read.

If you're that paranoid you shouldn't be doing anything on the Internet.

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

If the Kindle can read mobi and txt files *loaded directly onto it from one's computer*, that needs to be added to the "Kindle Myths" thread--because it's not clear from the advertising hype. They pitch Whispernet & their books for sale, and try not to mention if you can use content you already have without sending it to them.

They can (so long as they aren't DRMed) and it's pretty clearly stated in the manual although I can understand how some people might be confused.

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

"Blog" may be a misnomer here. I'm talking about connected sets of LiveJournal and InsaneJournal posts, where the comments are often as important as the posts.

Sure, I get ya. But I think that you're probably one of the only people in the world who desires to read them not on your computer but via a long, laborious, cut-n-paste process to put them into a PDF file and then dump that PDF file onto an eReader. Your desires are so particular that I think it's unfair for you to criticise any eReader that doesn't live up to those peculiar expectations. It would be like criticizing a television for not allowing me to watching YouTube videos directly.

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

I know these aren't reasons that'd be compelling to a lot of other people.

Yeah, I think you're so set in your ways that you're not open to doing things in new and better ways. I mean, I used to wish Bulletin Boards like this one were still accessed via USENET, but I've learned to adjust. I don't copy and paste them all into USENET postings. :P

[daffy4u]

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

If the Kindle can read mobi and txt files *loaded directly onto it from one's computer*, that needs to be added to the "Kindle Myths" thread--because it's not clear from the advertising hype. They pitch Whispernet & their books for sale, and try not to mention if you can use content you already have without sending it to them.

Unprotected .mobi and .txt are listed under "Native Formats" in the Myths thread and wiki. This information is also in the User Guide.

[JSWolf]

Oh no! The K2 has been having unprotected .mobi!