Digital books on tablet\kindle\phone?

[PLANT]

Hi all,

Can I have a noobie rundown on how it all works please so I can explain to now interested family\friends.
You buy it from Kindle store.
How much cheaper is it than hard copy books?
Kindle paperwhite is the best reader?
Can use on tablet ie. Nexus 7 and Asus Infinity\phones but not as good as Kindle?
Of course there are means and ways to get books free.....

 

[turnip666]

Price is dependent on the publisher. Some are much cheaper and others not so much, but there usually is some reasonable difference, but often not the what you would expect from not having to print, store and retail a physical book. Check your favourites out on Amazon to see the difference.

The main benefit is to be reading your choice in seconds, any time of the day and have a huge range to pick from. Often I read an article or review and then buy the book. No waiting until a bookstore opens or has it in stock. You can use the built in browser in the kindle and don't have to get out of bed to get your next book

Amazon offer "unlimited" meaning for $10 US you get to borrow books free. These are not always the latest and greatest but I have found enough to keep me going.

There is also the "new" phenomenon of the self published. There are huge volumes of these and have found a lot worth the risk of the .99c they usually cost. Reader feedback is very helpful in judging.. If they were part of the Unlimited bundle then just return them and get more. No cost.

I have an original kindle so can't comment on the newer models, but I ma sure they are excellent. I also use my Ipad at times if not carrying both.

 

[Ausbt]

Frequently half the print cost really. Last one I purchased "Girl on the train", was $8. I think you'll find that would be $16 bricks-and-mortar. It was a good read, incidentally.

 

[Pushka]

Sign up to US Amazon and not Au Amazon. Set your country to USA. If a title is available in Aust (eg some Australian authors) but not USA then change your country in the US account, buy it, then switch straight back to USA. Books are more widely available in US and usually cheaper than in the AU store.

 

[Renato1]

There are two major types of Ebooks - the AZW format used on Kindle, which is a slight modification of the Mobi format, and the Epub format which is used on Kobo readers. These readers use something called E-Ink, which looks to the eye like you are reading on paper rather than on a tablet screen. That said, many people are happy to read off tablets. Other formats like LIT can be found around the place. The hundreds of thousands of old books available at the Guttenberg Project are in plain old txt files which can be opened with Notepad on your computer.

There are plenty of free conversion programs around for converting between the formats. The free one called Calibre does many conversions, including the Guttenbeg txt files to Epub or Mobi. Some Kindle units don't read Mobi files and some do. The free Mobi to Azw converter fixes the problem for the troublesome Kindle units.

Regards,
Renato

P.S. If you want to check out a very old book, always check the Guttenberg Project. Though it doesn't always work out. For example, I wanted to check out Caeser's account of his campaign in Gaul, and sure enough his account was there - but it was in Latin.