Comments on: Old, real book vs. Kindle alternative: Which wins?

See what happens when a CNET writer discovers that a Kindle book is going for less than the old-fashioned pulpy version. What would you do?

[FrancisHamit]

This is an apples and oranges comparison. My novel "The Shenandoah Spy" is on Kindle at $9.95 and in print at $18.95. The latter outsells the former by about a hundred to one.
Most of my sales come from brick and mortar stores rather than online.

But these are different distribution channels for different customers bases, There is little direct competition.

[jcbck]

The one problem I have had with ebooks is that I enjoy underlining passages and taking notes in the margins. I do not know if the kindle (or some other reader) allows you to do so but all other ereaders that I have tried do not allow it. They are very convenient but I just can't get over my desire to draw in my books.

[patelj27b]

I have an iPod Touch and constantly read books through the Kindle app. I used to buy regular books, but then I would have an entire closet just full of books that I had read that would just collect dust. When I moved from one apartment to another, I had quite a few boxes that were just books! Now I never have to worry about that. I have all my books on my iPod Touch, and have the entire library in the palm of my hand!

[FrancisHamit]

I donate the books I'm not going to read again to local libraries. You can't do that with Kindle, can you?

[DavidEZT]

On a plane yesterday, I started reading The Strain on iPhone Kindle. My first novel in that format. Great experience that I continued on the treadmill at the gym today. On the plane, iPhone allowed me to read without using external lighting, which was kinder to my rowmates. At the gym, a book doesn't stay put on the treadmill, but iPhone does.

[wende1167]

I've been reading ebooks for years, currently on my Palm Treo 755p (occasionally on my pc) , prior on Treo650, Sony Clie, Palm V. I love the convenience of having multiple books and short stories to choose from in such a small package. I'd never purchase a device solely for reading ebooks though, and I prefer my ebooks in multiformat so that i can download in pdf, ereader, or mobipocket depending on where and how i wish to read them.

I read a lot, traditional books, audiobooks and ebooks, each have their pluses and minuses depending on where I'm reading and what other activities, if any are going on.

[KiwiBill2]

I live in New Zealand. Kindle is not available. Even Kindle for the iphone is not available! Some kind of licencing restriction I think. I use Eucalyptus on my iphone which can only access out-of-copyright books at present, but the interface is mind-blowingly good! I'm enjoying catching up on a few classics during my travels.

[moonglow5x5]

I hope Kindle does not replace books. I love books. The look. The feel. The ink. Getting lost in them. The way they make you feel. Libraries. I get the convenience of Kindle in this electronic/digital age, but I really love books.