The Official ebook Reader Thread

yeah i've been following pixel-qi since they announced this. Very very promising technology.
 
It's definitely interesting technology although I think it might add a bit of bulk to devices. For netbooks it would be a huge step ahead to make them much more useful as reader devices.
 
I bought 7 ebooks this week for a grand total of $19.87 (R150). The same books in paperback would have cost around R600 if bought locally (2 were 'Out of stock' at local suppliers). So with one purchase I got 13% of the value of my reader back in savings. So if I can get the same type of savings on 8 more purchases my reader would have paid for itself!

Best thing was that they were immediately available for download and within 5min I could start reading the books if I wanted to.
 
Just read an interesting tidbit in today's edition of the Rapport hidden in the closing paragraphs of an article on the Kindle.

It seems that Kalahari.net apparently has plans in the work to release a device similar to the Kindle in the second half of next year. Perhaps then they will start offering ebooks for sale as well.

I don't know if we really need another device. They just need to offer support for existing devices especially ePub support and I'd be happy. It would be great if we could get a local ebook shop to offer a selection of ebooks not limited by geographic restrictions.

It will be interesting to see what (if at all) transpires.
 
Their reader might be a stupied idea (much easier to sell an existing unit), but having a local ebook store would be good provided they match US prices.
 
Crusader said:
I was meaning to ask if you tried the new firmware on the eSlick yet. The new firmware seems to make it a contender again especially with the ePub support added.
Click to expand...

Yeah I finally installed the new firmware (hence the late reply). Haven't actually tried running any of the new supported formats though, so can't comment really.
 
For those of you who buy from Fictionwise, here's a 25% discount coupon.

Enter jk25 in the coupon code area in your cart and get 25% off of your order.

Act quickly it is only valid till the 31st December!
 
Crusader said:
For those of you who buy from Fictionwise, here's a 25% discount coupon.

Enter jk25 in the coupon code area in your cart and get 25% off of your order.

Act quickly it is only valid till the 31st December!
Click to expand...

Thanks man, I applied the code and it worked, but then:

ERROR: Due to the geographic location of your payment information, the eBook(s) marked below cannot be purchased because of geographic rights restrictions by the publisher. Please go back and remove them from your cart.
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:(
 
Yes, you have to check for books without restrictions. At the bottom of the book description it should say Geographic restrictions and list the countries where it is available. Those without a notice or which includes ZA can be bought. Using advanced search helps if you limited it to SA.

Or try to set your location in your profile to US and use a US billing address. I haven't tested the latter personally, but many report it works.
 
Crusader said:
Yes, you have to check for books without restrictions. At the bottom of the book description it should say Geographic restrictions and list the countries where it is available. Those without a notice or which includes ZA can be bought. Using advanced search helps if you limited it to SA.

Or try to set your location in your profile to US and use a US billing address. I haven't tested the latter personally, but many report it works.
Click to expand...

It's fine, I downloaded a pirate copy. Fail for the publishing industry - my first port of call was to legally buy a book, but lame restrictions drove me to piracy. Exact same thing happens with music - these outdated business practices really need to be re-evaluated, as these industries are killing themselves.
 
BCO said:
It's fine, I downloaded a pirate copy. Fail for the publishing industry - my first port of call was to legally buy a book, but lame restrictions drove me to piracy. Exact same thing happens with music - these outdated business practices really need to be re-evaluated, as these industries are killing themselves.
Click to expand...

I concur. It's just plain stupid that you can legally buy a paperback/hardback from overseas, but not an ebook. Their logic is mind-boggling. :wtf:
 
Woot!

Just tested the workaround at Fictionwise - selecting your country as "United States" in your profile, using a valid US address as billing address and then paying via your SA credit card. It worked!

The previous time I tried it the transaction wouldn't complete, but now I cleared my browser's cookies, used another valid US address and it went through without any problems.
 
Well thats definitely a start, but we really shouldn't have to do things like this.. its just stupid.
 
yeah its money-making licensing issues. when I phoned amazon about their books not being available they clearly said its publisher rules, not the websites.
 
Yes, it's definitely the publishers that cause the trouble. Can't understand how their reasoning works. We can only hope it gets sorted in the future.

Fictionwise seem to be more than happy to sell if you use the workarounds. The only problem is if you pay via Micropay then you need to use a US proxy the first time you download the file. After that it appears as normal in your bookshelf. With CC payment the proxy step isn't needed.
 
Crusader said:
Yes, it's definitely the publishers that cause the trouble. Can't understand how their reasoning works. We can only hope it gets sorted in the future.
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I can only think that they are doing it because they know they have a captive market here. "The greatest show on earth" was geo-restricted, so if you wanted a copy, you would have to shell out R250. The kindle version was $10. It's now available to us poor plebs, but for $17.95!
 
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That's one of the 100% rebate books at Fictionwise. With the discount it works out at $15 and you get the rebate... So it's actually a better deal than on the Kindle!
 
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