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Posts Tagged ‘portable ebook reader’

With So Many Choices, How Do You Choose An Ebook Reader?

December 13th, 2009

Nowadays, almost everything in this world relies on digital technology, even reading. If you are still into buying books and you would like them to travel with you, hauling them around would not be that easy. But, if you have your own electronic book reader, bring books anytime, anywhere would be possible. You can even bring thousands of books with you if you want to. This time around, you can enjoy reading books wherever you are and whenever you want to. However, the challenge here is to find the right ebook reader that would meet your needs. You definitely would like to find the right one because you don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars on one that doesn’t meet your needs.

If you’re looking for the cheapest price for an ebook reader, you won’t find one that only costs a hundred bucks or so. You would need to spend a little over 200 dollars. With this amount, you’ll be able to buy a typical ereader which has the basic features. However, this price may not be enough to get one that has a longer battery life and you probably might have to get a more advanced model. For better options, you may have to spend about 500 dollars. One of the advanced models that you may come across is the Kindle DX, which has some of the best features in an e-reader. The more you pay for the device the better features you get. Another high-end alternative that has a lot of add-ons packed in is the Flepia which may costs more than 1000 dollars.

Whether you spend 200 dollars or five times that, the important thing is you get the ebook device with the features you need. Otherwise, it would all be a big waste of money. A battery that lasts long and a screen that’s easy on your eyes are some of the basic things that you would want to look into. If possible, try using the device before making the purchase. Even the most pricey ebook readers may not be the perfect fit for you.

More often, what is left unnoticed when it comes to its features is the reader’s file compatibility. For example, not all readers are capable of reading PDF files, which is one of the most popular file format nowadays. This would then limit the libraries that you may get your ebooks from. If you opt to use Sony readers, they would have a library which has about a hundred thousand books, while Amazon’s Kindle would allow you to gain access to over 250,000 books.

It doesn’t have to be a difficult process to choose an ereader, you just have to know what to look for. Getting the most expensive model may not be the  wisest choice for you. While the Flepia may come with a really nice touch screen, can you really justify spending about 1,000 dollars for it? That is a question that only  you can answer. No one can make the decision about which one is correct for you except for you. Don’t just look for the one with the most features, the best ebook reader is the one that suits your needs without  breaking your budget


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The Amazon Kindle DX In Saving The Troubled Newspaper Industry

December 13th, 2009

The newspaper industry has taken a big hit recently and is now looking to the Kindle DX to pull it out of the trenches. As subscriptions hit an all-time low, newspapers have had to make huge budget cuts. For some publications, this means laying off part of the workforce or cutting sections out of the paper. For other papers, it means going to a weekly rather than daily paper. But some newspaper publishers, such as the New York Times, have started looking to the digital world to save their print. While most newspapers are now online, a few have decided to make the switch to the Kindle as well. This has brought about quite a debate among analysts.

Some say that the change is a good thing for the newspaper industry. The printed paper has been around since Publick Occurrences Both Forreign and Domestick published its first, and last, edition in 1690. Now that the digital age has revolutionized almost every other facet of human life, the paper is simply falling into place. Many people see the trend as inevitable and think that it would be unwise if papers were to resist. Instead, opting to go where the momentum leads them may allow papers to get to readers more easily and with less waste. Hopefully, this will entice people to pick up their subscriptions again.

However, there are those who say that newspapers are making a mistake by putting their hopes in the Amazon Kindle DX. Most newspapers have already spent the money to take their publications online. They make their money back through advertising revenue since the online publications are free to read by anyone. Now, they want to charge people to read that same free content on their Kindle rather than their computer. Some analysts see this as a waste of time and money that could be the dagger in the heart of the newspaper industry. While it is hard to imagine newspapers disappearing forever, pseudo-journalism such as blogging has already displaced a great deal of trained news reporters.

If more newspapers do turn to the Kindle DX to save their publication, it may spark a renewed interest in the news. The Kindle is already catching on as a phenomenon in the reading world, letting people take thousands of their favorite books wherever they go, as any Kindle DX review will tell you. By offering live updates to popular subscriptions, the Kindle makes it easier than ever to read the paper. You don’t have to get yours out of the mailbox on cold mornings and you don’t have to worry about the environmental impact of all that paper. You don’t even have to wait for your computer to boot up in order to read your favorite news column. You just turn on the Kindle and it’s right there waiting for you.

Now that’s what I would call convenience. But is it enough to save the newspaper industry? Only time will tell.


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The Amazon Kindle DX Reviews – What Are Buyers Saying About it?

December 12th, 2009

If you check out the huge number of Amazon Amazon Kindle DX Review available on the internet, you will find a mixed bag. While the DX has received mostly positive reviews, it is impossible to please everyone and many people  have some complaints. Many problems people have with the DX are personal issues such as the 12 hour battery not being enough to keep up with their travel- intensive job. But for the vast majority of people, 12 hours is plenty time to read for one day. In order to decide if the Kindle DX is the right handheld ebook reader for you, you have to break down the pros and cons.

List down the advantages of the DX and you’ll find yourself with a rather long list. The hype surrounding it during its release had some basis after all. First, the Kindle DX sports a huge screen with an auto-rotate feature, and natively supports PDF documents. All these make for a great device for reading newspapers, illustration-heavy books, tables, charts, and maps. Its 4GB of hard drive is large enough for your entire library and then some. The DX also has the sleek design of the Kindle 2 but with a much improved look and feel, and better placement of buttons.

The Kindle DX still has to deal with some issues though, some of which are not found on the device itself. One big complaint users have is the use of Digital Rights Management (DRM) which Amazon has chosen to implement with the DX. Although widely-used before, DRM is now somewhat an outdated method of protecting material, yet it limits the documents that you are able to access on your Kindle. Users find that many of their files will not work with the DX and so one would be forced to buy most reading content from Amazon.

There are also complaints about the organizational abilities, or lack thereof, with the DX. If you have a huge library, your options for sorting and managing  your files are limited, making your library hard to navigate. As always, the price must be discussed. The DX is a luxury that many readers just cannot  afford, costing nearly as much as a small laptop.

All that taken into account, it’s time to take a step back and consider if the Kindle DX is worth having. True, it is one of the most pricey gadgets around given the fact that it’s more of a hobby gadget than necessity, but the features that also come with it as an ebook reading device certainly can’t be easily dismissed. It may have its share of flaws which are quite off-putting for some, but these flaws do not affect 100% of buyers. The bottom line is, the Kindle DX may not be for everyone just yet, but for most of those privileged to own one, their purchase was worth the price.


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