Really what I mean, is if you're on holiday in barbados with Daniel Craig, lying on the beach, and you think 'I must read that latest Barbara Cartland book'. Can you do it on a sony e-reader?

Kindle claims to have that ability, I'm not so sure. I know mostly I'd download books from home via wi-fi, but the idea I could be anywhere and still download, say, 'The Economist' magazine and read it would be cool.

I know it is all technically do-able, so I'm really just asking if it's been done, and if so, by which device?

JTL

Kindle will do it in a huge range of countries - the advantage ofhaving that 3g connectivity is that it should deliver the magazine/periodicals direct to your device without you having to be near a wifi spot for it to happen.

You can check out the contents of australia kindle store - register on Amazon.com , set your country as Australia, and you can see the kindle store for aussies.

Also - you can buy US publications and UK Publications on the amazon store - there are tons of examples how to frig it - you just tweak your setting on amazon.com to be a US store or UK Store. But ... If you download that book you bought in USA via the 3g it will charge you 2$ extra for the priveledge of 'roaming' in australia. If you buy the book on Kindle australia store you dont pay the roaming (but most books are 2$ more expensive...go figure ;-0 )

You can (seeminlgy) flit between UK, US, and Aus 'stores' at will. You can load PDF's onto it. And you can convert 'free' or 'downloaded' books from many other sources into amazon's proprietary format using a 3rd party app on your PC - bit of shennanigans....

This iswhat ive found out in searching for your nirvana :-)

For a complete list and comparison:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compari...e-book_readers

I wouldn't rule the iPad out. Of course more money but it does do an awful lot more than just a reader.
The screen does require an antiglare film on it (but then a protective film is not a bad idea) and I find reading books with iBooks and Kindle on it very pleasing on the eye with no strain and plenty of adjustment of font,background, brightness etc. Its bigger which in some ways is good but also makes it heavier.

I ordered a kindle last night so i can check out your Daniel Craig theory on or around Sept 20th.

And yes they also shipped me a leather cover last night which i can walk around with under my arm to pretend I have a kindle until mine arrives 3 weeks later. It will be my kindle comforter.

I have a lovely Cole Hann case for mine. I do like a bit of black leather.

They're so close to making me buy it for myself. I love that I can get The Times pushed on to it.

But it's a pity they don't have 'The Economist' magazine. Or any Australian newspapers. Not that I'm a huge fan of australian newspapers, but it would be a bit weird to be reading US and UK newspapers each morning. It might make you a bit out of touch with local news, and end up asking who Tony Gillard is.

I'm on a knife edge, I'll wait to hear feedback on how it goes with your kindle. In the meantime, just stick a copy of Time magazine in your leather pouch and pretend you've already got one.

JTL

I've just picked up on something said earlier. If I understood correctly, you're asking if it's possible to download books anywhere, regardless of having wifi available? Yes it is - you just connect to the Amazon store via your Kindle, having already set up your account and given your credit card details to all the hackers out there in cyberland.

Some books on the US site are not available in Aus, which is a bit of a bummer but I did know before I got it.

I often find the UK newspapers have better coverage of Australian affairs than the local ones do...

The Amazon Kindle application is available for Android now, so maybe have a look at some of the new Android tablets that are hitting the streets.

Kindle for Android

The Samsung Galaxy Tab and the Notion Ink Adam being two very good examples. Much more functionality than an Ebook reader, and also adding many of the features that Apple left out of the iPad, such as front facing camera, USB connectivity, HDMI etc.

Samsung Galaxy Tab

Notion Ink Adam

Toshiba Folio

S

The samsung galaxy tab looks great, but its very vague about what it can do regarding newspapers and how the 3g access price structure works.

The notion Ink Adam is even vaguer, as they're still building its specs.

Toshiba Folio doesn't even access the Android app market, so I've no idea about what magazines or newspapers it could access.

They're all nice devices mind you,

JTL

The Samsung and Toshiba were only just released yesterday, so carrier availability and cost is yet to be determined, though there is nothing to stop you from placing a regular 3G SIM card into it and using that. The Galaxy Tab supports 900/2100 MHz, so anything except Telstra NextG would be fine.

Android allows you to 'sideload' applications - you don't have to access the Marketplace for them. You can download the app from a regular site and install it by clicking on its icon.

Not so sure about the Adam - It has attracted a lot of press and encouraging reports, but there is some speculation that as Notion Ink are only a start up, they may not have the manufacturing capability to get the product to market, which is a shame, as it looks to be the cream of the tablet crop.


S

yeah they are nice devices - I was toying with the ipad, my son has one. But what drove me to the kindle is that it looks like it just 'works' and its fairly chuckable in that I wont mind throwing it in the briefcase as I get on/off planes etc. I think that Ipad is too gorgeous to do that with. I'll probably end up ditching the leather case too. My ipod touch went from being cared for delicately to "Somewhere in the bottom of my briefcase". and it looks like the kindle has a nuclear battery , supposedly 1 month of reading out of 1 charge (!) bonkers but thats because its e-ink which draws no power when displaying only when turning pages.

Btw seasider - you can use the US Store - there are lots of threads on how to do it - look on whirlpool forums - you can buy the US Books for 9.99US and download them via your PC.

One last question, should I wait for them to upgrade the Kindle DX? I like the idea of the bigger screen. But if they've improved their normal Kindle, I'm guessing they'll improve their DX version at some point too.

Probably just before christmas.

The more I read about it, the more I want one, but, I'd hate to buy a Kindle DX and find its been improved 1 week later. They say they've improved the contrast on the normal Kindle by 50%, so surely they'll do the same with the Kindle DX soon?

JTL

I am confused about the connectivity of all these devices: do you have to join some radio system to download the books? How much would that cost, or can you buy time when you want it?

Well that is the big selling point of the Kindle 3G, the connection is free. So you could be sitting on a beach anywhere in the world (Daniel Craig may or may not be there), and you can hook up to the Amazon site via 3G mobile and download any book or magazine from amazon.

Obviously you have to pay for the book, but the connection is free.

It's a great idea

JTL