Ad supported means you see an ad when your screensaver turns on, which from my experience with my original Kindle is rarely ever.
It's basically two times you'll ever see ads: at the bottom of the main menu screen, and the screensaver. (Note, I don't have a KwSO, so I don't actually know this first hand, but I've seen pictures).
It's not going to be "And then Seswatha said FOR QUALITY CARPETS, VISIT KAPLIN'S CARPET WAREHOUSE!".
To most of us, probably not. However, there may be someone who may be such a cheap bastard that it is worth it to them. I'm almost, but not quite that cheap.
I bought an ad-supported Kindle, saved the $20 or whatever. Couldn't tell you any of the ads that have been on there though, since in my experience the ads are only on the Kindle when you're not looking at it.
If I did have an Ad Kindle, I would never see that ads, due t the face the Kindle is in the case when I am not reading. I can only gain from that version and I am still at the punk kid stage where $20 is worth thinking about.
For me, the fact that I can't easily lend an ebook to someone else after I've read it is extremely annoying (and should in my opinion be a required capability by law).
I think the problem is thinking of the Kindle or iPod or iPhone as a content consumption device or as a content platform accessory.
1: I listen to audiobooks and read ebooks on my iPhone. I have no problem with DRM because I buy the files from DRM free services, or get them for free. The vast majority of all content online is free. Really. If I want to share these, I can do so as easily as any other data file.
2: I buy some audiobooks from Audible. These I can only play on my iPhone or iPod or laptop. The iPhone doesn't make it so I can't listen to any non-DRM audiobook! Instead Audible makes it so I can only listen to their content on selected devices.
In neither of these cases can I say "The iPhone is all DRM'ed!!!" The content service is the DRM.
This is the same with the Kindle. If I bought one, the majority of ebooks I read would be free, and DRM-free. The DRM has nothing to do with the Kindle itself, but the Kindle is an approved "player" for DRM content from Amazon.
For me, the fact that I can't easily lend an ebook to someone else after I've read it is extremely annoying (and should in my opinion be a required capability by law).
You can't easily lend/regift a game purchased via Steam to someone else after you've played it either. I don't know about you, but I used to lend video games back and forth with friends all the time as a kid.
You can't easily lend/regift a game purchased via Steam to someone else after you've played it either. I don't know about you, but I used to lend video games back and forth with friends all the time as a kid.
Steam makes up for this with their insanely low prices. I'll buy DRM stuff if the price is insanely low. I think of Steam, Netflix streaming and Spotify all the same way. DRM, but you get a zillion things for almost no money. Amazon charges you almost as much, sometimes more, than the real book price. Insane!
For me, the fact that I can't easily lend an ebook to someone else after I've read it is extremely annoying (and should in my opinion be a required capability by law).
You can't easily lend/regift a game purchased via Steam to someone else after you've played it either. I don't know about you, but I used to lend video games back and forth with friends all the time as a kid.
And this pisses me off immensely. Again, I want legislation forcing the option to be available.
I would but the $79 kindle if I didn't have an ereader/tablet already. And as far as ebooks go, I'll probably just keep doing what I already do. I buy the physical books that I want, and pirate the ebooks. I still say amazon should give you a code to download the kindle copy of a book if you buy the physical copy from them.
I would but the $79 kindle if I didn't have an ereader/tablet already. And as far as ebooks go, I'll probably just keep doing what I already do. I buy the physical books that I want, and pirate the ebooks. I still say amazon should give you a code to download the kindle copy of a book if you buy the physical copy from them.
I'm fairly certain they would have to negotiate that with the publisher (in addition to already negotiating the e-book sale itself) to pull that off. That is why I like Paizo's subscription deal. I get my gaming books and the PDF together (because both are useful, for different things).
I'm fairly certain they would have to negotiate that with the publisher (in addition to already negotiating the e-book sale itself) to pull that off.
Which is why I still pirate e-books. I don't really even feel bad about it. I mean I buy new books but my ebook downloading is often just instead of buying 69 cent used paperbacks, so either way the author wouldn't be getting any of my money.
You can't easily lend/regift a game purchased via Steam to someone else after you've played it either. I don't know about you, but I used to lend video games back and forth with friends all the time as a kid.
Steam makes up for this with their insanely low prices. I'll buy DRM stuff if the price is insanely low. I think of Steam, Netflix streaming and Spotify all the same way. DRM, but you get a zillion things for almost no money. Amazon charges you almost as much, sometimes more, than the real book price. Insane!
Not all of Steam's games are insanely low priced. If you want a new top-end game, it's gonna cost you in the ballpark of what you'd pay for a physical copy. Civilization V Game of the Year Edition is going for about $50 for instance, the same price as the physical copy from Amazon. On the flip side, there are some really cheap eBooks on the Kindle store -- there is a Twitter feed I subscribe to that mentions daily freebies, for example. Finally, some books can be noticeably cheaper on the Kindle than paper. For example, Effective C++ costs $34.08 on Amazon for hard copy but $21.99 for Kindle, a roughly 35% discount. Admittedly, some of the cheaper books don't have quite this big of a price difference between the paper and Kindle versions.
In short, I cannot see how you can be "okay" with Steam's DRM when you're not "okay" with the Kindle's DRM since they are more or less the same, IMHO.
I set aside money to purchase an e-reader but had been holding of preparation for this announcement. I'm still not quite sure what I am going to buy though. I guess I'll wait until the reviews come out.
Someone should make a tablet that is e-ink on one side and IPS on the other side. You flip it over. Same internals, same hardware. Just has two displays, one of which is only used for the book reading.
Comments
It's not going to be "And then Seswatha said FOR QUALITY CARPETS, VISIT KAPLIN'S CARPET WAREHOUSE!".
More interesting, however, is this new "Amazon Silk".
From what I can see, any file copied into the Documents folder on the Kindle will be displayed as easily as the stuff you buy at the store. Check out this page where Amazon tells you where to get old books for free.
I think the problem is thinking of the Kindle or iPod or iPhone as a content consumption device or as a content platform accessory.
1: I listen to audiobooks and read ebooks on my iPhone. I have no problem with DRM because I buy the files from DRM free services, or get them for free. The vast majority of all content online is free. Really. If I want to share these, I can do so as easily as any other data file.
2: I buy some audiobooks from Audible. These I can only play on my iPhone or iPod or laptop. The iPhone doesn't make it so I can't listen to any non-DRM audiobook! Instead Audible makes it so I can only listen to their content on selected devices.
In neither of these cases can I say "The iPhone is all DRM'ed!!!" The content service is the DRM.
This is the same with the Kindle. If I bought one, the majority of ebooks I read would be free, and DRM-free. The DRM has nothing to do with the Kindle itself, but the Kindle is an approved "player" for DRM content from Amazon.
In short, I cannot see how you can be "okay" with Steam's DRM when you're not "okay" with the Kindle's DRM since they are more or less the same, IMHO.