e-book basic questions...

[the_rover]

Disclosure: I am a technology idiot when it comes to a lot of the new media. I do not FB, TXT, Tweet. I use the internet for information gathering and interest/ hobbby forums such as RVnet. My electronic communications consist of e-mail and cell phone. I am and old school, fuddyduddy tech-wise.

That said, is the word "e-book" just the basic term meaning "electronic book" and it is not proprietary? Does e-book mean just the basic concept of downloading written words to a receiving device (i.e. computer, laptop, tablet, etc..)

I see the brands Kindle and Nook. Are these just electron versions of a book sellers just like a Barnes & Noble would be for a physical book?

I see where Amazon sells Kindle e-books. I also see where folks have purchased separate pieces of hardware in order to buy e-books. I do not want more electronic devices if I can help it.

Can I purchase from Amazon and read a Kindle e-book on my PC without buying additional items?

I will wait for replies before I ask any more question as the responses might answer still lingering questions I have.

Thanks!
-tr

[fj12ryder]

Library books will also expire at the end of their loan period.

[toedtoes]

eBooks only expire if you rent them. With Amazon, your purchases are tracked in their system and you can download the books on your kindle again if needed.

[DiskDoctr]

Do any of the ebooks expire? Watched an early iTunes installation mess up and actually deleted and removed the purchased mp3s. Don't want that kind of mess again.

Best reader for android?

[fj12ryder]

And you don't really need WiFi to load the books. You can use a USB cable too. That's how I load all my books onto my Kindle DX. I don't connect to Amazon at all with the DX. Works better for me that way.

[monkey44]

Just to clarify -- you do not need WIFI service to read a Kindle. It loads the books and you can read it anywhere.

You only need WIFI to load the books on the Kindle --- very good device for camping.

[Ron3rd]

The wife has a Kindle Paperwhite and loves it. Yes, you can get apps for pc's, phones, etc, but they don't work in the bright sun, ie, you can't see the screen, so this rules out outdoor use. The wife likes to read her books at the beach in the bright sun. If you want a serious e-book reader, the Paperwhite is the ticket IMO.

[JimBollman]

I actually like the Kindle App interface on my iPhone and iPad better than my Kindle PaperWhite reader but I like that I can read books when camping for a couple of weeks between charging and in the sun with the PaperWhite instead of daily or more charging the iPhone. When WiFi is available to sync I use both iPhone and PaperWhite depending where I am.

[Clay_L]

I started out using my PC and the Amazon pc app. I picked up a bunch of the classics I read over the years for free and although many came from the Amazon store and were on the Amazon server (cloud) I downloaded them to my pc because I saw no value for the cloud.

Then I got a free Kindle E-ink reader with points I had from a motel chain back from when I used to do a LOT of business travel. The E-ink connected to the cloud via my wireless router so I could read new books anywhere in and around the motor home. Using my sister in law's address I got a library card from the Mesa county CO library system. Now I could download new books from them while in AZ for the winter.

Now I was hooked and bought my wife a Kindle PaperWhite reader.It has a back lit display. While I was at BestBuy doing that I got myself a KindleFire. Then I had to get my wife one also. So now we have 4 Kindle devices.

The neat thing about the cloud is that with a WiFi connection any device can be synced to the last page read in any book I open.
I use the E-ink as my reader in the library (bathroom) and my other two at places where I might have to wait a while like a doctors office. I can download books to the Kindle device so I don't need a WiFi connection to read them.

I use the Kindle Fire if I want to get on the internet when I am out in the world, know I will have a WiFi connection and may want have access to the internet, otherwise I take the PaperWhite. It's lighter and has a longer battery life.

My wife exclusively uses her Kindle Fire for game playing and web surfing with the browser.

I have yet to buy an ebook. Amazon offers free ones everyday and a bunch of web sites do too. Many are in the epub format rather that the Kindle mobi format but I use the Calibre app mentioned above to convert them.

[Tom_M1]

The only eReader Barnes and Noble offers presently is the second generation NOOK GlowLight. This version no longer has a slot for a micro SD card. The new version has 4GB of memory but only 500MB is available for non-B&N content. If you have a large collection of non-B&N books, this may be a problem. I have the first generation GlowLight and like it a lot, but one has to be very careful with it. The display has some sort of membrane that disperses the light and is easily damaged. I replaced two of mine under warranty because of this. The new model does not suffer this problem.

I have a large collection of eBooks and use software called Calibre to manage my books. This allows me to store all my books on my computer and I can transfer a few at a time to my NOOK.

Another thing to keep in mind is that B&N is getting out of the tablet and eReader business. I don't know what effect this will have on their sale of eBooks.

[Medico]

The biggest advantage I found with the Nook from BN is the ability to add a micro SD card to increase the size of the memory. BN has thousands of free ebooks, and thousands more low cost ebooks as well as regular priced ebooks from famous authors. Many of these free ebooks are quite good.

Even ebooks from famous authors are less expensive than the printed versions.

[the_rover]

Thank you to one and all for the helpful information. Right now, the cloud reader on the computer will suffice. As of now I only plan on reading a few items "on-line" to learn this new format ...and when I am camping, only real physical books will do so internet connections, portability and reading in daylight on a screen are not an issue for me.

The reason for looking into this new media (for me) is because I dropped cable TV in the home. I do not like being a slave to the programming all while having the privileged of paying for it. Plus, i have 5 TV's of which I did not want to purchase converters for. Yes, they are the old CRT types too (remember... I am fuddy duddy...LOL) it has been close to a year without the boob-tube programming and I am not missing it.

I did sign up for Netflix and AmPrime in order to watch the programming that *I* want to see. I am enjoying the documentaries that are now at my finger tips.

Perhaps in the future I will look into a tablet reader of sorts, but the PC for reading is just fine for now.

Thanks,
-tr.

[sdianel_-acct_c]

I do not like to read books on my laptop. I like to sit in a chair or read in the bed before I fall asleep. Laptops are not comfortable for that purpose.
I bought the cheapest Kindle (ereader) and love it. Extremely easy to use and feels like a book. You can then download books free from your library online. The library will help you learn how to do that. You can also buy many books on Amazon.com for under $4.
The Kindle on Amazon.com is only $69.

[Tiger4x4RV]

No kidding about the nice for traveling factor. I used to buy paperbacks at thrift stores and save them up, take a whole bag of them on a trip, giving them away as I finished them. Now I just download a bunch of free e-books into my iPad (or netbook or PC or whatever) and read them with an app while offline.

I've worked in libraries for over 50 years, and I still take delight in all of the wonderful new formats in which we can deliver entertainment or knowledge.

[hilldude]

I have a Nook reader the thing I like about a E reader easy to get books.All you need is WiFi.Nice for traveling.

[obgraham]

Here's the thing, Rover:

If you want to read a bunch of books electronically, a dedicated E-reader, like a Kindle Classic or Kindle Paperwhite, is a lot easier to work with than your computer. Yes the computer/laptop/tablet can do all these things, but just not as well as a reader.

If you still prefer paper books, and just occasionally read E-books, then adding another device isn't worth it.

I have that screwdriver set with 100 bits, but sometimes I just want a standard Philips head screwdriver.