Last year Amazon had trouble filling orders of the then-new Kindle, so eBay took over and prices rocketed to $1,500. This year, same problem. Amazon says orders for Kindles will take 11-13 weeks to fulfill (which is, we believe, when they will launch the Kindle 2). So you aren’t getting one by Christmas directly from Amazon.
But eBay and Amazon stores have them for sale. New ones are going for as much as $975 (some are less) for buy it now. The market price for used ones seems to be in the $700 range, but some one is just $429.
I saw save a few dollars and wait for the new one to come out. You don’t want to be the guy who’s reading the old model on the plane.
Those ebay prices are amazing, would love to have one but happy to wait for whats next. My wife the big reader here but this thing turns her off. She likes the hardcovers.
Myself, it reminds me of the star trek “pad” which is a full win.
New version with a short (in the grand scheme of things) wait, or pay double price for the OLD one, I’d go for the new one with the wait, surprised so many people refuse to do the same, such is the wonder of a free market.
I just read stuff on my HP pavillion tablet pc (used to have a nice Toshiba R400 but it sadly was stolen). http://tinyurl.com/5lp8eb
The HP’s in colour, and it’s bit heavier than a kindle, but I paid less than a grand and it’s got waaaay more bells and whistles.
Oh, AND it’s available. lol
but it doesn’t have the e-ink screen which helps to reduce eye strain and such, and the tablet doesn’t have the ‘get stuff anywhere’ capabilites of the kindle without a subscription and data plan. I think the kindle is clearly the top e-book reader, and no I don’t own one, so feel free to put in an order for the new one for me
I’ll keep reading books on my Nokia 9500…
When is TC going to finish theirs? Or when are we going to find out more information about how their progress is coming along? Or find out anything?
*starts drooling at the thought of a nice open source tablet*
The Readius will be rolling out over the next few weeks (in Europe), and elsewhere early next year. Definitely worth the wait:
http://www.readius.com/
Totally true, it’s much better. The Kindle is oversized for it’s job. Also I’d like one the truly folds like a book, but perhaps rolling is just that much better. This could be the next type of (i)phone…
Crazy!!!
This “Must have the latest now,” is why so many are in a credit crunch.
People need to have a little self control.
Why would anyone waste their money on this hideous thing??? Just buy an iphone and an extra battery. Buying this is like buying an Atari 2600 when a PS3 is available.
Same sort of thing happened with the PS3. I made a small video on how gaming enthusiast’s were making up to 20k on the supply/demand issue. Not to mention they were waiting in line for days. http://www.yout...h?v=hSlxpDpTCt8
Kindle is a piece of crap. High priced piece of garbage that one would use for a couple of days and throw out like all these other junk. Amazon expects to reap $975 for this junk?!!! Count me out! Expensive.
I’ve had my Kindle less than a year, and it definitely is not a piece of crap, nor will I be throwing it out any time soon. I ran out of space to store the books I was buying – no longer a problem; I had to pack three or four books for vacation and take up a lot of my limited packing space – no longer a problem; I hated spending $25.00 to buy a book when it first came out – no longer a problem. There are a few books more than $9.99, which is the normal price, and many that are less than that. I love my Kindle and wouldn’t trade it for anything.
It’s amazing how many people complain about a product they’ve never owned.
I was skeptical in the beginning and being an avid reader going through dozens of books a year, I was worried, but I took the plunge after thinking about it for three months and doing a LOT of research. I’d never go back. In fact I find myself at time having to fight the urge to repurchase books in Kindle format that I already own in “real” format because the Kindle is such a joy to read.
Ever hear the phrase, “Don’t knock it till you try it.”? This device is definitley one of those.
Bob, I’ve actually gone ahead and bought a few Kindle editions of books I already have. I couldn’t help myself.
I really enjoy my Kindle. It’s so great to have a whole library of books right in my purse. And I never have to worry about getting held up somewhere with nothing to read.
There’s no question that the current Kindle has some design issues (on/off switch on the back, the fairly useless case that comes with it, and the various paging buttons), but I’m sure they’ll get that squared away. The one thing I really wish someone would do is produce an ebook reader with screens on the right and left sides (to feel more like a real book), and with a “next page” button on the back upper right of the reader, where a normal person would put their finger when they go to turn the page. I’d buy something like that in a heartbeat.
All in all, though, I love my Kindle.
With the economy the way it is, in 11-13 weeks people are going to be sharing old paperbacks with their friends because their cable TV has been shut off. Gadgets like this are the first thing that people cut back on.
If you haven’t used it, don’t make comments like “Why would anyone waste their money on this hideous thing??? Just buy an iphone and an extra battery. Buying this is like buying an Atari 2600 when a PS3 is available.”
I have an iPhone, a laptop and… a Kindle. I love the Kindle for doing what it was designed to do – support readers, not web surfers. If you’ve ever tried to read for 2- 3 hours (oh, probably not- I’m sure your attention span doesn’t last that long!), you appreciate the e-Ink technology. Kindle ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Personally, I love the concept, it just needs to come down in price for me to be able to make the jump. I have a feeling that I’ll actually read more too because I can carry it around easily.
I have had my Kindle since February. I used to spend $200 to $350 a month on books. I now spend, maybe, fifty dollars on downloads from Amazon that I can get while sitting in my beach chair or in the airport or waiting in the doctor’s office. It paid for itself in two months. I bought an 4 GB SD card to put in it and now my Kindle will hold 4000 books! Traveling is a dream. Reading in bed one-handed and never losing my place rocks. I am giving away my analog books–they collect dust and mold and are much harder to read.
For $600-750 you can get iRex Iliad/DR 1000S. Screen is bigger (much bigger), OS is open (Linux), you can install 3rd party applications (there is a large developer community). They support more ebook formats and languages (for me it is very important). And yes, you can read PDFs on iRex without conversion. Why do you need Kindle for?
You need a Kindle if you want pretty much every new book to be available to you. The selection of new releases available in electronic formats borders on non-existent since publishers like the DRM on the Kindle. Oh, there’s also that whole wireless thing for people that travel a lot. The iRex looks very nice and I hope Amazon eventually has a range of form factors/models for sale, but no other reader is a substitute.
You need a Kindle to read in full sunlight–easy on the eyes–better than paper which glares. Also–I am a writer and I email manuscripts, my own and my friends’, direct to my Kindle. Takes about 20 seconds to receive the Word document and then I can highlight and take notes, then print out the notes and marks from my computer. Lovely to read my novels like a book before it is published.
ebay is more foreigners who cant get it their country
Sometimes, you can still find a good deal for Christmas, but you have to be willing to do the searching and of course timing is everything. Check out http://www.GotCheapKindles.com. They have some pretty good deals there.
Sorry, I listed the wrong website address for the good deals before Christmas. The correct address is http://www.gotcheapkindle.com
Thanks,
I looked at the Kindle last year and decided the price was just too steep, so I did some web searching and found the eBook at ebookwise.com. It’s just over $100 and works great! The selection is not as big as the Kindle’s library, but I’ve been using the eBook for a year now and still have plenty of books in my que to download and a lot of others to purchase down the road. Personally, I like the feel of the eBook over the Kindle and you don’t have that annoying page blink that you get with the Kindle when you turn a page. Overall, I rank it even if not better in some respects, and it’s certainly more affordable. Oh, and customer service has been great. I bought three for Christmas. My daughter’s broke down after some kid at school got a hold of it. No problem. They sent us a new replacement within the week. Check them out.
I do 90% of my pleasure-reading in a bubble bath, so I won’t be buying one of these. Electronic devices and water don’t mix.
Enthusiasts who want to use this in water can try (at their own risk, of course!) encasing the product in one or two zipper storage bags. It is said that the eInk screen can still be read clearly through this method, while the bags keep the Kindle safe and dry. YMMV.
I’ll keep reading books on my mobile
Sometimes, you can still find a good deal for Christmas, but you have to be willing to do the searching and of course timing is everything.