Earl, Well said! I should point out that I do maintain my Amazon Prime membership, despite the limitation on borrowing kindle books. I order enough goods to justify keeping it and the benefits work out nicely for me, i.e. free 2nd day air shipping, Prime Video on Demand, lower cost Next Day Air shipping. If Amazon changes its policy about borrowing kindle books, I'll gladly take advantage of it. Or, maybe they'll let those of us who don't have kindles enjoy the same benefit for a reasonable monthly fee. I read enough that I'd seriously consider using a "book streaming" service. :)
Robert -- "Robert's Law of Negative Accomplishment: the more nothing you try to do, the less nothing you'll get done." - Robert Meyers On Feb 25, 2013, at 2:39 PM, Earl Borah <[email protected]> wrote: > The issue Robert has is the same I have - it's not that I can't read Kindle > books, the Kindle reader on my Asus-brand Android tablet or my cheap LG > Android phone works great. > > The issue is that the Prime feature that offers free Kindle books on loan is > locked to actual Kindle devices - not Kindle readers running on any other > platform. So if you want to pay to buy the book, you can read it no problem - > but if you want to borrow the book for free as part of your Prime membership, > you cannot unless you are using an actual Kindle-branded device (including > the Fire, I believe). It is all about driving more people to their platform > and content delivery - they want to discourage use of Google Play Magazines > or Books or Video, and push you to their content delivery (where THEY get a > cut on sales, instead of Google or Apple or anybody else). > > I'm disappointed by it, but I don't really have a problem with it - their > decision to link it to their devices, my decision not to pay for a Prime > membership at this time. > > > On Mon, Feb 25, 2013 at 11:22 AM, AMS <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi Robert, > > Have you tried using Amazon cloud reader? read.amazon.com/ > You can use any browser. > > > > On 25/02/2013, at 11:09 PM, Robert M <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Scott, > > > > I've got a Prime membership and would love to take advantage of ebook > > borrowing. The gotcha is that it requires an actual kindle. I tried > > borrowing books shortly after I made the decision to switch to kindle books > > on my iPad (and iPhone) and it wouldn't work. A call to Amazon confirmed my > > suspicion that it doesn't work with Kindle apps on devices like an iPad. > > Annoying. On one hand, I'd complain to Amazon about it since I am paying > > for a Prime benefit that I can't use but I also understand why they've made > > owning an actual kindle a requirement. It's an incentive for people to buy > > a kindle, which means more $$$ in their pocket. It wouldn't surprise me if > > there are other reasons as well. > > > > Robert > > > > > > > > > > -- > > "Robert's Law of Negative Accomplishment: the more nothing you try to do, > > the less nothing you'll get done." - Robert Meyers > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > On Feb 25, 2013, at 2:54 AM, Scott Ponton <[email protected]> wrote: > > > >> I've seen that amazon offer an eBook borrowing thing with their Prime > >> service. Seems kind of limited in scope so far, but I much prefer to own > >> the books than borrow. Still, I love the idea of lending libraries. > >> > >> From: [email protected] > >> [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Paddyjack > >> Sent: 22 February 2013 20:16 > >> To: feistfans-l > >> Subject: Re: Converted... > >> > >> On Fri, Feb 22, 2013 at 9:19 AM, Robert M <[email protected]> wrote: > >> Hi Shelly, > >> > >> The parallels! Like you, I was adamant about sticking with plain ol' books > >> (hardcover and softcover) and I can give you a _slew_ of reasons for it: > >> > >> 1. Like how a physical book looks/smells/feels, etc. > >> > >> 2. No worries if the book slips out of your hands or gets knocked off a > >> table or bookcase, etc. > >> > >> 3. A physical book doesn't require recharging. > >> > >> 4. Enjoy a physical book in any type of sunlight. > >> > >> 5. Easy to lend a physical book to someone. (Or, leave one in a hotel room > >> for the next guest) > >> > >> 6. Like how my bookcases look with a varied selection of reading material > >> (books/graphic novel) > >> > >> You get the idea. > >> > >> But, despite all of those reason (and I'm sure I can think of more of them > >> given enough time), I've made the switch to kindle books. One of the > >> reasons is storage. I live in an apartment and just don't have the space > >> for more books. The other is portability. It's easier to take my ipad with > >> me than a book or two (or three or four or five or ….). This is not to say > >> that I'm switching entirely to ebooks. Definitely not. But, for the most > >> part, I'm a convert now. > >> > >> Robert > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> And now, more and more ebooks are added in public Libraries and that would > >> make it even easier to borrow books. No need to go physically there to get > >> your books. And you know, there were reported cases of bedbugs found in > >> books from libraries here in Vancouver, amazing as it is so that is even > >> one less worry :D > >> > >> PJ > > > > > > > > >
