Ebooks

About a week ago I blogged about ebooks and that I was getting a
Kindle. I’m starting to rethink that order(I have lots of time to do
this it as it would seem the backorder wait is at least a month) for a
variety of reasons. Not because I don’t think the Kindle is good, but
is it right for me? Here’s what I’m thinking in groups.

FIRST:

**I love technology and definitely see it as ‘the
future’. When new ideas and products come out I do believe they will
catch on.

**BUT this is a first in its wave combining the wireless tech with
the ebook reading. That is what ultimately drew me in; the capability
to order a book anywhere, anytime right to the device.

**BUT I got to thinking… this product is not wireless in the sense that
I want(it is the first like it, thus comes with gliches). I want to be
able to purchase from anywhere online and have it download directly to
my reader and then if I want to be able to save it to my computer. You
can’t do this with the Kindle. So that kind of knocks out the reason
justifying paying all that extra.

SECOND:

**Generally speaking I’m a cheepscape and proud of it.
(okay so mostly our budget just doesn’t allow for me to be anything
but) I used to NEVER buy books, especially new. Then I began this
journey to becoming published and realized… dang, if I want people to
pay out for my stuff, I had better be willing to buy theirs. Thus began
a new chapter in my life in what I term the ‘constantly buying book
broke stage’ . Still haven’t exited it yet.
The thing is, I buy but carefully. I buy books on sale, clearance or
any other way that still gives the actual author another sale but is
easier on my wallet. Ebooks is generally speaking allowing me to
purchase a ton more books this way. Which I would then think helps the
author out even more!

**Problem with the Kindle on this? I have to purchase books through
Amazon. I rarely, probably can count on one hand when I have, bought
books through them. Usually I’m purchasing books through the actual
publishing company, like Harlequin, with their specials.

**Can I get around Kindle’s wireless ‘only purchase through us’
mode? Yes & No. You can upload your own files as long as they are
compatible. I understood that it was going to be a bit of little hassle
to purchase a book elsewhere and then upload it, especially if it was
in Adobe but it was supposed to be doable. In the last week though I’ve
discovered that is not exactly the case. This only applies to unprotected doc’s. Books purchased in Adobe with protection on them can not be converted and thus uploaded. Ah… basically that cuts out 99% of the books I purchase!


**Ever the determined one, I figured I’d find a way around this… Kindle
supports MOBI. Soooo I decided to only purchase ebooks in MOBI from
here on out. (Did just buy some this last week too)
**This morning I checked out the ebooks on Brava… guess what? They only offer the ebooks in Adobe and Microsoft Reader.

**More converters needed? But what about protections? Just because
you get a converter doesn’t mean it can convert a protected document. I know this because I’ve tried with the Adobe and MOBI.

**OH AND BIG SIDE NOTE HERE:::: I’m all for protected documents. I
believe they are needed. I just want to beable to read the story though
where and how I want which means these companies need to work together
and make that possible. Something that doesn’t seem to be totally
happening just yet. (reminds me of my kids!)

*sigh* Anyhow, this was not good news to me. It really knocks Kindle
out of the running for me on actually keeping it on the backorder. I
won’t buy books at their prices. For me the whole reason for even
beginning to buy books in ebook format was so that I could get more for
less. I do like the ’save a tree idea’ and I do like the idea that then
my hubby isn’t frowning at the many piles of books I have stashed
throughout the house.
I like the technology and the concept of where they are going with the
readers. But I want what they have not created yet. Basically what I
want besides all the now almost ‘base’ things the readers come
with(like ease to read, adjustable font, light for reading at night,
and so forth) is:

**wireless hookup so I can purchase anytime, anywhere, from anyone
**compatibility with ALL ebook formats
**capable of hooking up to my computer through either email or regular
old fashion wires so that I can download stuff from there for the times
when I’ve been on my computer and made a purchase

There are probably more things I could add here. One person’s review
I came across stated how he’d like the reader to have things like
capability to email and have buddies ect… basically he wanted them to
be a mini computer. Sounded good to me. It is exactly where I think its heading to become really big, but that’s just my opinion.

The only other thing that the Kindle offered that was/is huge is
their newspaper subscriptions—You know I suppose if I was a big reader
of newspapers(simply don’t have time at this stage in my life) I might
get excited by this but I’m not.

THIRD THOUGHT:

**One of the biggest discussions I’ve come across on
the Kindle was about its price. It is expensive. But then so is a flat
screen plasma blue ray tv or a two inch mega g ipod—people don’t seem
to mind spending the money on those items. I personally don’t like it
because I don’t watch tv and I really don’t listen to music. I do
however have a husband who LOVES TV and LOVES to listen to music and at
least one son who is following in his footsteps. Do you think we’ve had to spend what I consider way too much money on those types of items? Oh yeah.

**Money being spent on something one likes is not an
issue in the end. I believe if people want what is being offered, they
will spend. As such I believe despite all the nay sayers out there, if
this product offers what people want, it is going to be a hit.

On that note… CREATION:

**I think the Kindle is pushing the industry in the
right direction. I think one day one of those companies out there is
going to create exactly what I’ve described above and more. On that day
I will be there. I will spend what they ask. The Kindle sparks my
imagination and desire for a certain product… but its a product that is
not yet created.(Dang I wish I had the know how, I could be a
billionaire!)

So in conclusion I suppose the truth is, I have to find a different reader for myself at this point in the game.

OR wait.

I don’t want to wait because I can’t stand reading the books on my pc.
So I really have to find a reader that I can live with that at least
allows me to buy the way I want and upload the purchase I have then
made until someone comes out with the type of reader I REALLY want.
Which means I’m back to the drawing board… searching.
And accepting that I’m going to be reading some of my recent purchases
on the computer one way or another as the readers I’ve been able to
locate on the net so far are not compatable all the way around. If they
read Adobe they don’t seem to read MOBI and vise versa… I now have
books bought as MOBI’s and some as ADOBE’s on my computer. Such is life
when one is impatient.

Cole

Nicole Reising
www.nicolereising.com
www.nicolereising.com/blog

Imagination... the magical whispers from within.