[shemadagaswer]

I'm looking to get one as a birthday present, and thought this time should research it properly for once
What's the best brand, type etc? Kindle seems to be VERY popular.
How do I actually download the books on to the kindle? Are they fairly user friendly?
What about the cost of the books, variety etc etc???
All help will be muchly appreciated,
thanks guys.

[SteantyjetMaw]

My own view after having one for a couple of years and listening to everyone's opinions before ANd after I got my own, is that whatever you get will take some getting used to and after that your familiarity with IT, will make it the best for you.

The critical and deciding issue for me was that I had to be able to read it outside (or even inside) in broad daylight, even DIRECT sunlight, as well as inside at night without turning other lights on ... the second is not absolutely fabulous, but good enough .. newer versions are likely to be improved on all brands since I made this choice.

At the time I was buying, that made Kindle a given.
I love it.
I have seen others I like too, but none that make me regret my initial choice.

Good Luck

[shemadagaswer]

What about the getting the books side of it? How practical and affordable is it? Any advice?

[usaguedriedax]

I only personally know one person who owns an e-reader and that one is a kobo. They obviously thought well enough of it that they upgraded from the [I guess] original to the touch screen version. My reasoning is that if they did not like it they would change brands plus kobo is an anagram of book and surely that has got to count for something...

[SteantyjetMaw]

What about the getting the books side of it? How practical and affordable is it? Any advice?

I find i t easy and very reasonable ... of course everyone has different ideas of what is "reasonable", but the new books are always much cheaper as e-books than even paperbacks so it suits me .

HUGE numbers of books are free ... and available for ALL e-readers, and though they are old that doesn't make them not interesting.

[Wheegiabe]

From what I understand, the getting the books onto the things are easy. As for affordability, have a browse around Amazon and look at the price of the electronic version of your books compared to the hard copy.

Depending on your tastes, there is a lifetime of reading on Project Gutenberg.

[SteantyjetMaw]

Depending on your tastes, there is a lifetime of reading on Project Gutenberg.

Yes

[LOVEBoy]

One thing to keep in mind is size in the hand. Some of the devices available can get quite heavy. My reader has a 5" screen, my wife's has a 7". The larger unit is difficult to hold and operate single handed. It's quite uncomfortable to use while reading in bed.

For transferring books onto the reader, you can't go past Calibre. It's freeware and makes the job effortless.

[LOVEBoy]

This might help with your research.

http://www.epubbooks.com/ereaders

[SteantyjetMaw]

One thing to keep in mind is size in the hand. Some of the devices available can get quite heavy. My reader has a 5" screen, my wife's has a 7". The larger unit is difficult to hold and operate single handed. It's quite uncomfortable to use while reading in bed.

For transferring books onto the reader, you can't go past Calibre. It's freeware and makes the job effortless.

Yes to both points.
I should add that in my Kindle's case, the light is part of the cover that I bought as an extra and that the cover does not fold back tight against the back of the e-reader, making it tricky to manage with one hand, although it is getting more flexible (the spine of the cover, I mean) as I use it more, so expect it will be ok one-handed soonish.
Still, it was something that bothered me at first and well worth mentioning.
I need a large-ish font size and so the smaller units don't work for me (I don't want to have to wear my glasses in bed).

[UnmariKam]

I have borrowed two library e-books (USA) can you do that in Oz? It's only just started here, AFAIK.

(I have a nook, btw)

[maks_holi]

I have a Kobo, my mum has a Kindle.

I've had no problems with my Kobo however if they do screw up, they are harder to get fixed now that Borders and A&R are no longer in existence. I'm able to d/l free Gutenberg books onto the Kobo although I understand that you can't do that on Kindles.

Kindles are also pretty good. Customer service is great and it is super easy to d/l books onto- either use a USB or wi-fi.

E-books are GST free so are (usually) cheaper than print books, but wait to get new releases as these can still be +$25. Wait a month and they drop considerably.

[letittbe]

I have a kindle, its great in sunlight, and with a bed side light

some oz titles are hard to get

http://www.theage.com.au/digital-lif...711-21uhw.html

but that will change in the future I guess

[letittbe]

>>>I'm able to d/l free Gutenberg books onto the Kobo although I understand that you can't do that on Kindles.

wont convertors do that trick?

[Alliopeti]

I have a Sony.

I bought it for the dictionaries. I learn French and German as an interest and was tired of looking up stuff in paper dictionaries and this looked like a good solution & it has been.

I have not bought a book yet but I have downloaded from Gutenberg and read books happily.

Ebook are becoming available from libraries. I have borrowed

This review matches my experience:
http://the-gadgeteer.com/2011/10/28/...reader-review/

I happily manage it via Calibre.

Ebooks have recently become available from my local library, See here for some info:
http://boroondara.lib.overdrive.com/...en/Default.htm

Pdf format generally does not work well, but that is a problem with PDF format not ebook readers. "Does not work well" = changing font and font size does not flow well.

Kindles may have trouble borrowing from non-US libraries.

I am happy with the device.

[SteantyjetMaw]

I seem to have Gutenberg things on my Kindle ... courtesy of calibre iirc.

Calibre converts most of the e-book formats from one to another, at least that's my understanding.

All you ever wanted to know about Calibre; useful to know regardless of the choice you make.

http://manual.calibre-ebook.com/conversion.html

[Nifoziyfar]

I like ibooks on my iPad, though I think the titles are more expensive than Amazon Kindle. I like this platform because, being backlit, it is ideal for reading in bed. On the downside, it is heavier than the others. On the upside, the iPad can be used for lots of other stuff.

[SeelaypeKet]

Pdf format generally does not work well, but that is a problem with PDF format not ebook readers. "Does not work well" = changing font and font size does not flow well. Pdf works OK on Android tablets (Apple tablets as well, I should think).

[Cricequorie]

I use a sony. Apparently the software that comes with it for buying and adding new books is pretty poor but I've never bothered to use it. I just save what ever books I want to the pc and copy them across to the reader via the file manager.
My dad has a kobo and my brother in law has a kindle. They both seem happy with their purchases.

[AdobeCreativeSuite]

I use the iPad as an ereader for the same reasons as PDJ said above.

Re PDF. I much prefer the various e book formats. Calibre will convert PDF to the e book formats (e.g. ePub)