Kindle or PDF which one do you buy?

Question for those who owns a Kindle, do you buy the kindle ebooks or PDF ebooks?

I have a Kindle and an iPad, but most of my ebooks are in .PDF format because I can use the .PDF ebook on any devices.

However, I have the Kindle app for my iPad and thinking to buy some kindle ebooks for my studies instead of PDF. The problem is, once Amazon discontinue the Kindle then I won't be able to read them unless I still have the software and the device. That is why I am keep buying the PDF ebooks.

I bought some Kindle ebooks like fantasy type books, and some technical books like network maintenace etc, but not for major studies like Cisco or something.

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Comments

tiersten

thehourman wrote: »

The problem is, once Amazon discontinue the Kindle then I won't be able to read them unless I still have the software and the device.

You just need the software or a Kindle device. The Kindle app is on Android, iDevices, OSX and Windows. You don't need a specific device for it to work. Amazon won't be discontinuing the Kindle or the Kindle software any time soon anyway. They're selling more Kindle books than real books.

AZW is just regular Mobipocket with a DRM wrapper anyway.

thehourman

If you were to buy, which or what format would you get?

I kind of like the Kindle format on the iPad because of the screenshots, and the hyperlinks works flawlessly compare to PDF, unfortunately I can't put a password to the Kindle app.

The part that I also like in the PDF formats is the way it looks; it looks like real book.

RobertKaucher

I only buy Kinle books when they have the text-to-speech. Otherwise I get the hard copy - many come with a digital edition. I have seen issues with Kindle books and diagrams, though.

tiersten

If I was buying it to use with the Kindle then I'd get Mobipocket/AZW as the regular Kindle screen is a bit too small to comfortably read PDFs without reflow which the Kindle doesn't do yet.

If I was going to read more on the iPad then I'd probably just get PDFs.

PDFs can be just as locked down as Kindle store items though. Adobe have a DRM system for ePub and PDF so you're still at the mercy of somebody if you've got DRMed content like AZW or PDF. If its an unprotected Mobipocket or PDF then its not a big deal either way.

RobertKaucher

tiersten wrote: »

If I was buying it to use with the Kindle then I'd get Mobipocket/AZW as the regular Kindle screen is a bit too small to comfortably read PDFs without reflow which the Kindle doesn't do yet.

If I was going to read more on the iPad then I'd probably just get PDFs.

PDFs can be just as locked down as Kindle store items though. Adobe have a DRM system for ePub and PDF so you're still at the mercy of somebody if you've got DRMed content like AZW or PDF. If its an unprotected Mobipocket or PDF then its not a big deal either way.

Most PDFs look fine on the Kindle DX.

tiersten

RobertKaucher wrote: »

Most PDFs look fine on the Kindle DX.

Yeah. Thats why I said regular Kindle

The text is readable but its just too small to comfortably read it. Zooming isn't great because you then end up panning around like crazy.

That said, the Kindle DX is still on the old 2.x firmware so you don't get the improvements to the browser and PDF viewer that the Kindle 3 with 3.x firmware got.

thehourman

RobertKaucher wrote: »

Most PDFs look fine on the Kindle DX.

That's what I have the DX graphite.

I was about to purchase the Kindle version of Cisco press, when I downloaded the sample version it kind of look funky, especially the "Key Topic".

The O'reilly .mobi version is the best .mobi formatting I have ever seen. O'reilly seem took their time for their ebooks. Unfortunately they don't have Cisco Press. Amazon is cheaper than mobipocket, so Amazon is a better choice.

I hope the Goodreader would support the Kindle format.

Bokeh

My Kindle DX Graphite does just fine on PDFs. Updated to the latest firmwave (2.5.7) and I have absolutely no issues with PDFs or tech manuals. Don Poulton's 70-680 book is an easy read on it.

thehourman

What do you guys think of epub format?

Pash

I buy in pdf's for ipad.

APRESS.COM : Beginning HTML5 and CSS3: Next Generation Web Standards : 9781430228745

^^ next purchase.

I tried the Kindle DX that my bro won at his works Christmas raffle and didnt like it. Goodreader and textastic for me with the multitasking and webdav support is great, i create a share on my w7 desktop and upload folders and files to there. How cool is that! The built in html viewer with textastic is too awesome for words.

Balantine

I have not used this application URL="http://lifehacker.com/5744899/briss-trims-pdfs-to-make-them-more-readable-on-your-e+reader"]Briss[/URL yet. It trims the negative whitespace around PDF's to make them more readable on small e-reader screens. Might be worth a look if you have one too. What a name!

themagicone

Not going to start a war or anything but removing the DRM from a Amazon Ebook is very very easy. Google ftw! I bought the book I should have the right to use it the way I want.

TheShadow

thehourman wrote: »

What do you guys think of epub format?

Well it does not run on a Kindle but the last paragraph attempts to stop a thread hijack

Oreilly does some very good work with their epub volumes . I have 7 or 8 of them and they look fine on a nook compared to the same issues on a PC in pdf. When you buy direct from their site they allow multiple file type downloads for the price. You can get epub, pdf and mobi. Once you buy your first book they send a email blast every couple of months with selected discounts; 3 books for 2 pricing seems to be almost constant as does 50% off lately. Those deals may have been end of year specials.

I also have Chris Sanders wireshark practical packet analysis from No Starch Press on the nook. Formatting and hot links are excellent but the screen captures being mostly text are just a little small for my old eyes on a 7 inch screen in gray scale. I don't know if they would look better in color since they are the same in pdf but I can view them larger on a PC. Other diagrams and tables are just fine.

The free as in beer program Calibre is in continual development and is great for converting from one format to another with pdf still being less than acceptable.

thehourman

I guess, I might just stick with PDF for my studies and buy the .mobi/azw, ePub for reading fantasy ebooks.

I love the GoodReader app, but it only reads .pdf, .txt, and .doc files. It would be nice if devs would add the other formats to GoodReader.
Wow, I just checked iTunes and now the GoodReader price went up to $2.99. But it is still worth it, though.