You can always tell when someone is interested in buying new technology. They start by asking probing questions to see what things you value about a device. In my case my buddy wanted to know what I liked about the Kindle over paper books. For me it is simple to give a run down of many of the things I like but to make his life easier I let him borrow my Kindle. There is nothing bad about reading physical books but I need the ability to carry several books with me when I travel without the space and weight of an actual book.Transition from physical books to the Kindle is not difficult but most people need to understand the values others see in digital books. By no means is this a full rundown, and most of this applies to the Kindle, Sony Reader, and Barnes and Noble Nook owners.
The Pro's of E-Books
Physical Elements
I travel all the time and I don't have the space to carry 3-4 books with me and more important I don't want the weight associated with books.
If you’re used to reading books you understand that at the beginning and end of the physical book, it is awkward to hold open because the book wants to close due to the binding. This is extremely trivial but when reading in bed only holding the Kindle with a single hand, I don't struggle to keep the book from closing. I can also just lay it flat and don’t have to worry about the pages closing.
The benefit of reading with E-Ink is most displays do not have a backlight. This makes reading in low light conditions but the benefit is your eyes do not fatigue as quickly.
The Kindle has no backlight so with respects to reading in low light conditions your no better off with digital books. When I get asked about reading in low light I always laugh because in general that is just not good for your eyes anyway. E-Ink is designed to replicate the experience of reading on paper so lighting conditions apply. However, that is not true with all readers. Some do have backlighting. However, in every case, it is a poor substitute for a good lamp over your shoulder. If your dead set on reading in low light get a clip on light for your eReader. I personally like the reading experience of E-Ink on the Kindle and Sony Reader because is so closely replicates ink on paper.
For me the default font size on the Kindle is fine but my mother-in-law likes to increase the font size slightly to make things easier to read. With a physical book your stuck with the font size. While I don't use this option I have family and friends that take advantage of this. Font size should not restrict people from enjoying some truly amazing books. This does come with a downside. The Kindle lacks page numbers so I can never say I am on page x, rather I think about digital books in percent complete. You still have have chapters so I guess that should be enough. I point this out because two people reading the same book could have a different number of page turns based on the font size used. Again, other platforms, such as the Sony Reader and the Nook do have page numbers and they shift according to the size of the font selected, so it is all relative.
If I am reading a book and for whatever reason it just isn’t what I want right then, no harm, no foul. I can easily move to something else and come back to it later. Nothing more bothersome than hauling around a book that you don’t want to read.
If I am reading a book and want to go back to a particular point but don’t remember where it is, most of the readers will allow me to search for a word or phrase, and there it is!
Kindle Specific
I read on my Kindle exclusively but many people take advantage of the Kindle apps for Windows PC, iPhone , and Blackberry. Amazon provides a technology called ‘whisper sync’ and it will keep all the devices fully synced up, thus if you read 5 pages on your Blackberry Curve when you go to your iPhone, Windows PC, or Kindle you will be a the same point you left off on the Blackberry. While that is cool from a technology perspective I look at mobile phone screens and computer screens enough that I just wont use them for reading. But I could if I wanted to.
Wireless Book Store
The Nook, the new Sony 900 and the Kindle have access to Wireless book stores. I often download sample chapters of a dozen or more books to read and determine if it is a book I would want to read. On the Kindle, sample chapters are the first 3 chapters but often that is enough to give me an initial a knee jerk assessment. This is identical to what I would do if I went into a Borders to find a book, but I can do this on my own schedule and without killing time in the book store.
The Con's of E-Books
Loaning Books
Barnes and Noble allow users of the Nook to share books. I hate to say Amazon made a mistake but this feature maintains the social aspects of books. This is one area where Barnes and Noble hit a home run. I hate not being able to share books with friends since getting the Kindle (ignore that I physically loaned my Kindle to a friend). In reality, I should be able to share a book with a perfect stranger without sharing any personal information. This could also be possible if I purchase from a vendor who does not require DRM, such as Baen. But it can still be a hassle to physically move the ebook file.
Finding Books You Want
Some books do not release a digital version, while this is becoming rare I have made the decision not to read a particular book because they did not have a Kindle version. It is so easy to find books on the Kindle story you can quickly find and purchase an entire series of books in minutes, assuming you can stand the cost. I have 15 - 20 books I have clicked the "I'd like to read this book on Kindle link.
Using Books as a Reference
While an ebook is just fine for reading, it is not that great for reference. It’s just too clunky to move around in books or especially between book. While it is getting easier to make notes, it is still not very intuitive or fluid. That’s the downside of not having the paper to scribble on. I have tried several technical books and it just does not work the way my mind does when I am in study and learning mode.
Reading Magazines and Newspapers
With newspapers someone needs to fully rethink the experience to make this work in a digital format. I am a HUGE Wall Street Journal reader. No matter how hard I try the experience of reading a journal on the Kindle just cannot touch reading on paper. I want to switch but it is just not as efficient. Plus the cost structure is broken. The WSJ costs $14.99 per month $224.70 annually the Kindle where a print copy of the Journal costs $2.29 per week or $9.92 per month $119.08 annually. With digital delivery there is no paper, ink, trucks or physical delivery costs. I just cannot justify paying a premium.
A fact many people do not know is all content on the Kindle is in color, but the device just does not support color. My point is if you switch to an iPhone or iPad you will see your articles, books, newspapers, or magazines are in full rich color. The Kindle is okay for magazines like Business Week, Forbes, or Technology Review.
Despite the need for some tweeking, the Kindle to books is like a hammer to a nail, they just go together perfect.  Needless to say, my buddy is buying a Kindle. What sold him was a phone call we had. I asked him if he read Cold Heart Canyon or Heart Shaped Box. He said, “Noâ€. I told him to check the Kindle, that I just sent them over. That is a sales pitch that cannot be resisted. He had two new books to read only seconds after finishing The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. All this talk of the Kindle makes me want to read a couple books. Hope he returns my Kindle soon before my itchy finger orders another Kindle.
