Know anything about e-Books and readers?

My university is switching to e-books for most of the texts this year. I was wondering if anyone had any insight into e-book readers. Which are the best for study? How about any tips on studying using an e-book? I like to take notes and mark books as I read, so I'm not sure how well this is going to work for me. The positive side is that they tell me they will be much cheaper.

 

At AMU some classes use e-books but I found I prefer plain books as well. I ended up buying the textbooks anyway because I found it frustrating looking for information. I like flipping pages and using the index which saves a lot of time for me.

 

Well, I have tried all include Sony eReader, Amazon Kindle, B&B Nook, and Apple iTouch. So, far I only like the iTouch, but the screen is too small. I would like to see the iPad.

I think the iPad is great for it; however, it is expensive....

Sony eReader, Amazon Kindle, B&B Nook, and Apple iTouch ($200 - $300)
iPad = $500.00

I don't like the Kindle and Nook because all black and white. So we you try to highlight something, it doesn't make any difference.

I like ebook beter 'cause when I move, I don't have to carry all of them. Unless you're the one sell your books after classes.

 

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My husband had a few ebook texts, however, he viewed them on his computer. Ehhh. I don't know. I'm old school. I can't put my finger on what it is that I don't like- but I will say that I like paper, I like to flip pages, I like to write in books, I like to have a few book marks for certain things. I like the option though, I'm trying to be techno.

I wonder if it's cheaper really. Seems like if they can require a download then you opt out of the used book or resale option. OTOH, maybe you'll be able to access these for free via the library- that's where my husband's books were. <shrug>

You can read a free ebook through www.gutenberg.org (or .com?) and see how you like it. I have had my kids do gutenberg books for school- but honestly, I end up printing them off.

I have no experience with the hand-held readers, but it's just one more thing for me to spill my wine on.

 

I have a Kindle and eReader and Mobipocket software on my cell phone and desk top. At this point no single ereader does it all...but they are handy for studying, because you can keep many papers and books together. You can also use them to proofread your own work or grade papers. Kindle is the best for purchased ebooks...Amazon's bookstore is well stocked. BUT, Kindle 1 is bad for scanned pdf files, like you find in the academic journals, but it works great with Gutenberg.org files or any text file. I hear that Kindle 2 is much better for pdf reading. Sony has readers with touch screens that you can highlight and make notes with a stylus. All the sonys read pdf (very important in academia). Really, I don't care for electronic note features. I prefer to read from my Kindle and take notes on paper or record my notes and let Dragon convert the mp3 file to text (yes, it really works...you talk and it types it out later!). The combination works nicely. Overall, I think the ereaders are great for academic purposes, but there's no silver bullet right now.

 

I have a student in the UoP class I'm doing, and she talked quite a bit about the Kindle. However, she told me it could only read books purchased from Amazon. It couldn't read the UoP course books.

Personally, I'm like Jennifer. I want a book in hand so I can flip through the pages. That's part of the reason I dropped the UoP program years ago and switched to Walden.

-Matt

 

Depending on the format, it can usually be converted for Kindle unless the files have additional security added to them. I rarely buy books from Amazon (unless they're free as part of promotions). Could be that the UoP files are secure PDF or something.

That said, I tried an e-book text, and I found it to be a huge hassle. I loved having the text in such an easy to carry format, but the Kindle just doesn't do graphics (charts and other things you would usually find in textbooks) very well. I ended up using desktop e-reader software and printing out most of the book anyway (which defeats the purpose of having an e-book version in the first place).

 

You are confirming my worst fears...thanks a lot! Seriously though, what everyone is saying is exactly the problems I am foreseeing with my university changing to e-books. I suppose it's a much greener practice to do that, but I'm concerned that it's going to be a huge pain! Thanks for the comments.

 

I have a Kindle DX.

Plus:

-- Lightweight
-- Long battery life
-- Wireless shopping in the Kindle store
-- Wireless downloading of books bought at the Kindle store
-- Shop and buy Kindle books at Amazon using your computer
-- Ultra fast when buying--you get your book in seconds
-- One click shopping
-- Adjustable font sizes for Kindle books
-- Read other formats (especially useful for .pdf and .doc)
-- Limited web surfing (offers a few sites optimized for the Kindle)
-- Built-in dictionary
-- You can clip text
-- Amazon backs up your purchases on their site, even if you delete it from your Kindle (your Kindle still displays it as "archived")

Cons:

-- No backlighting, not even an option
-- Fragile
-- Expensive
-- Amazon's Kindle book cover is both expensive and damages your Kindle
-- B&W only
-- Illustrations are sometimes difficult in B&W
-- Tables, graphs, figures, etc. don't always display correctly
-- Highlighting is limited and not very useful
-- Limited manipulation of text from non-Kindle formats
-- Many books, especially scholarly, much higher than $9.95

 

I appreciate that info. I think you have steered me away from the Kindle. That's very helpful, thanks.

 

Too bad. I really love mine.

 

I feel the same. I carry mine, a Kindle 1, everywhere. I read a lot more these days, because I'm never without my books and magazines. The magazine subscriptions are cheap and arrive automatically whenever I turn on the cellular connection. The free book samples from Amazon are also useful. Usually you get at least the intro for free, so you can decide if you want to buy the book. It also plays my favorite songs and Audible.com books. Finally, it syncs all my readings on my Kindle device and the desktop reader. I was skeptical at first, but I've grown very attached to it. I agree that it's not a good tool for charts or graphs, but with the aid of a little drugstore magnifier I can see it all. It's not perfect yet, but you can really get a lot of reading done.

 

The hghlighting issue would be a real problem for me. Your pro's and con's are greatly appreciated. Thanks, Rich! Also, I may go for a computer based reader because I'm going to try to make it interface with my Zotero research/reference ap that runs in Firefox.

 

Hey, before you buy one, the e-reader is NOT the same as your e-book they are talking about!!

My schools that I am teaching at both use e-books and they use proprietary formats of PDF files or a specific e-reader program for the PC!! NOT for hand held devices!!

The reason for this is the e-file of the book is HIGHLY secured, the textbook company demands that the school only release them in ways to protect the book from being spread all over the internet in a heartbeat.

So, forget the e-readers (btw I LOVE my Kindle), NCU is not talking about those, they are talking PC based programs.

BTW, I kinda like the e-books in that you CAN make/take notes and more importantly you can SEARCH the text!!!!! TO me that is huge as a professor, I can highlight very quickly what page that concept is on, etc.

So.. e-readers, nice but not for this application (UNLESS the school actually pursue one and if they do they will let you know...Kindle DX is trying to get in that market)

A Side note... NETBOOKs I am thinking of picking one up for MY school / notes laptop, because it is so small, RUNS PC programs (like these e-readers) and you can surf the net etc.

So...with all that said, and based on my use of e-textbooks for the last 5+ years you are talking PC based e-book. Personally if / when I go back to school myself, I will buy a NETBOOK to do my reading at lunchtime, etc.

Sam

 

Very helpful, Sam, thank you. I have not seen the NCU e-books yet, but I'll bet you are right. Getting a reader might not even be an issue. You'll probably be required to use their proprietary e-book reader.

But on the e-books you have experience with, you are able to mark where the info is? Can you highlight?

Thanks,
Mike

 

Yes there is a "highlighter" tool of some sort, honestly have not used it much but it is there. You can also "insert note" or a bookmark for yourself (your post it notes) etc!!

 

The worst e-book experience I had in a college class was at Penn State when I took a tech writing course. They had us buy a 6 month access pass for the e-book, more or less we rented it. After 6 months, we no longer could access the book. It would have been a really helpful book to have on my shelf for future reference. I might buy a used copy just to have it.

 

I have a netbook, the HP. At the time, I was lugging around a 6-pound, 17-inch Dell. But I replaced it with a Sony that's much lighter (and faster) than the Dell, and now my netbook is just sitting there.

The best tiny real computer I've ever had is the Sony T-series, which I understand they're bringing back. It was like the netbook: it weighed about 3 lbs and had a built-in DVD player. It was expensive and slow, but it got the job done in a tiny package. The netbooks are slow and don't have optical drives. But that class is actually growing in size and functionality towards the laptops, to the point where differences will be, well, pointless.

 

It is much better; just fine.

 

The new larger screen Kindle would probably be good for textbooks, but most are locked (I know that all of the UoPx ones are at least), which might present difficulty. However, for regular books and text files I loooove my Sony ebook reader. It's fantastic and as a huge book worm I don't know how I lived without it.