Anyone got one? I'm finking about buying one but I've never tried one..

If you're planning on using it it was intended (i.e to read books) then it's by far the best on the market at the moment. The screen is incredibly easy on the eyes and that's it's real unique selling point. Battery life is exceptionally lengthy and it's nice and portable and very tough as well. I was sceptical at first but I couldn't live without mine now

Yep, amazing.

It *is* a one trick pony, but by god it's good at that trick. I've read more in the six months since I've got it that in the last six years put together. In the six months I think I've charged it four times, easily gets a month of use.

You can also relatively easily jump back and forth between the US and UK stores (you need to "move" your Kindle to a different country, but it takes ten seconds and can be done repeatedly) which means some books that aren't available over can can be bought in the US.

Basically, if you want all the advantages of a book (lovely clear text, no battery issues, light) then get one, knowing you have the same issues (needs a light source, doesn't really do anything else).

my father-in-law to be has one and as above, for book reading it can't be beaten.

Strictly speaking you can do other things on it as well but the screen isn't well suited to anything which requires repeated refreshing.

do the books cost much online ?

Quote from: knighty on March 22, 2011, 13:29:46 PM
do the books cost much online ?

Mostly about the same as the paperback equivalent, maybe  a little cheaper.

Which people complain about, somehow thinking that the value of a book is in its physicality and not the content, also mistaking that printing, storage and shipping actually comprise a large part of the cost of a book.

Also, ebooks are subject to 20% VAT which paper books are not (thanks for that one UK government).

The VAT is a pain in the arse but I'm still managing to find Kindle books cheaper than the equivalent paperback and of course much cheaper than a hardback. It's also important to point out that there a literally tens of thousands of classics that are completely free, in fact there is a lifetimes reading that you'd never have to pay for and more books are added every day.

^^ ohh, free classics sounds good

I was thinking of getting one for my mother - both my parents read a shed load, but my mother is a bit more tech savvy since I showed her how to email...  I thought I could get one and fill it with books for as a present... but don;t want to spend a fortune on books she may or may not read

I was looking at a Kindle but I like to read some .pdf stuff. I've read all of the horror stories about the Kindle support of .pdf so it put me off.

Also, I'm interested in the new e-ink colour screens. That would be good for showing off magazines and the like, which makes up a decent portion of my reading material every month.

Quote from: knighty on March 22, 2011, 13:29:46 PM
do the books cost much online ?

Some places, like http://www.baen.com have a free library so you can download some of their books already converted free.

Many other places supply free books too, you just need a proggy to convert them over. Some of those are available free too.

Once you have the book converted you just plug the kindle into your computer and it acts like a standard USB memory stick. Drag and drop the books into the correct folder and off you go.