[tikhonj]

I recently got a Kindle 3. I actually won it rather than buying it, so I didn't do much research into alternate options, so I only really know how the Kindle works.

You can just buy ebooks outside of the Amazon store and load them onto your Kindle. Calibre is a perfect program for this--it helps manage your collection and converts the files for you. It's very good at converting epub to mobi--which makes sense; the formats are related--and is pretty good with other formats. Pdf is more difficult, but it does do a decent job sometimes. Other times it's a complete mess.

Thanks to Calibre, you are not really tied to Amazon for getting ebooks. If you do opt to use Amazon, you might have some issues, but I don't know because I haven't bothered. I also have no idea about periodicals because I don't read any. I basically use my Kindle to read random science fiction novels when I have free time.

The real advantage of the Kindle isn't in the market (as far as I'm concerned) but in the convenience and form factor. I've actually found it easier to read than a paperback, and it lets me carry a decent collection of books around easily. I suspect other ereaders are similar in that regard.

[sant0sk1]

Do books that you load on your Kindle with Calipre still get their metadata (read location being the main one I'd want) synced across Kindles/iOS/other devices?

[larsberg]

No. Not even if you send it to your kindle via [e-mail].

But, Calibre is now much better at generating real TOCs and remembering their position when you go to/from sections & articles. The Economist (free!) and Reuters News auto-copy and delivery through Calibre are in quite good shape these days.

[masterj]

>No. Not even if you send it to your kindle via [e-mail].

This actually changed with a recent firmware update. I haven't bothered to update my kindle firmware to try it out, but personal documents should now be synced just like kindle books.

Edit: This hasn't come to the apps (iOS, android, et al) yet, but will be there in a few months supposedly.

http://venturebeat.com/2011/10/16/kindle-third-gen-update-br...

[tikhonj]

I have no idea because I only ever use my Kindle to read stuff.

[dprice1]

I guess I should have clarified that I'd like to be able to use the device more-or-less as designed. Sideloading and conversion is nice but not something I want to do on any kind of regular basis.

That is to say: Yes, I can try to overcome cumbersome DRM by applying my own labor, but there is a cost to that. In my mind, that cost would count against the value proposition of the device.

[spindritf]

> Sideloading and conversion is nice but not something I want to do on any kind of regular basis.

It's on par with loading podcasts onto an mp3 player, not exactly a labour-intensive task.

[tikhonj]

It's really no different from using iTunes to sync your music, except that Calibre is much nicer to use than iTunes.