Can you see color on a Kindle? Or are images in b/w? (I’ve noticed a lot more non-fiction books seem to be including color photographs now.)
I believe it’s all B&W. The technology is akin to those old iron filing toys, IIRC; the screen is magnetized in a certain way allowing particles to form the words, which results in the clear display that doesn’t need backlight.
Anybody know how many Kindles Amazon has sold?
I don’t have a Kindle, but I do have a Palm Centro (and what I say should be true for any Palm product) with a memory card full of all the books I ever intend to read which I could find in a digital format.
Pros:
again, every book I ever intend to read is in my pocket
no more carrying around multiple books
no more buying books
being able to pick up right where I left off, without having to use a bookmark or a page flap or anything
the ability to search the book’s text for a passage or a character’s name or etc
Cons:
yes, the screen is small, and it can get painful on the eyes after a while
in many cases, the artwork is left out. This can be a big deal when the art are maps or diagrams which are important to the story, and an even bigger deal with non-fiction.
most of my book files are acquired through underground methods, which means that sometimes there are typos (uncorrected OCR) or sections missing, and you’ll never know until it’s too late. If you buy everything through Amazon or an official e-book seller, this shouldn’t be as much of a problem
The selection of e-books available is even lower when you only buy them through official stores. There’s a good chance the next book you want won’t be available in e-book (The Devil In the White City being the latest that comes to mind for me) and you’ll still have to buy and lug around the book.
Also, the price for just the reader is insane. My Centro cost less than that!!!
I’ve found with the Kindle the opposite is true - Amazon has a better selection than places-that-cannot-be-named. At least the places-that-cannot-be-named that I’ve found. FYI, Devil in the White City is available for the Kindle, $7.96.
I’ve had my Kindle since March, and I love it. It’s got me reading more than ever. I’ve heard people complain about the bad ergonomics, but they are wrong. It’s easy to hold with either hand, and the buttons are large so you never have to look away from the text.
The whispernet connection is the best feature. The Wikipedia connection means that when you need additional information while reading, you don’t even have to pause. The built in dictionary is also helpful, if not always accurate. (It defines “Burns” as an American comedian, for example).
I love being able to get the paper before i get out of bed in the morning, and being able to buy a book when i’m thinking about it. The amount of space i’ve saved- and will save- is also important. Also, you can read the SDMB on it, no problem!
If it’s available where you live. The coverage is pretty bad - here’s a map.
The Sprint network is certainly a “big city” network, and does not provide much coverage for rural Kindle owners.