hburney
Member
I have a Kindle. If you like to read they are the best thing since sliced bread. You can access the Amazon library anywhere you can get cell service,very handy.
What's this "Kindle" thingy???
- Thread starter CAJUNLAWYER
- Start date
ChattanoogaPhil
Member
- Joined
- Oct 18, 2009
- Messages
- 14,601
- Reaction score
- 20,622
Another positive of an e-reader is ease of reading in the evening or other low light conditions without struggling with a lamp that never seems to be bright enough or in a convenient position. The latest Kindle is supposed to have such good contrast it can be read easily in bright sunlight.
I use an iPad for reading books and very much enjoy it. The Kindle is smaller, lighter and operates significantly longer between battery charges.
I use an iPad for reading books and very much enjoy it. The Kindle is smaller, lighter and operates significantly longer between battery charges.
sipowicz
Member
If you hate reading, I think you will be disappointed in it.
Got one for Christmas last year. I'm an avid reader, and did not really think I'd like it. Until I started using it.
As earlier posts informed, you cannot lose your books, they stay stored at Amazon for unlimited download, no extra charge.
I've read over 40 books on it this year alone, and find that I've saved the price of print books several times over the cost of the Kindle. For current books, the Kindle price is roughly half to a third less than print.
Things I like. One slim device instead of a stack of books. Reads easily, font size is adjustable. Landscape or portrait orientation adjustable. Is not backlighted, so you can read in bright light. "Classic Books" are often free for download, or are only a buck or two. [Complete Sherlock Holmes....free.] Battery life is good, recharges just like a cell phone. Books download after purchase in less than a minute, on built in 3G connection. You can highlight and book mark passages.
Things I don't like: Really, only one. Unless the book has hyperlinked chapter headings, navigating to a certain spot in the book is not easy...it won't let you navigate to page numbers, because it uses a "location number" that really has nothing to do with the book format.
I really like this thing, and it's great for travel reading.
Len
As earlier posts informed, you cannot lose your books, they stay stored at Amazon for unlimited download, no extra charge.
I've read over 40 books on it this year alone, and find that I've saved the price of print books several times over the cost of the Kindle. For current books, the Kindle price is roughly half to a third less than print.
Things I like. One slim device instead of a stack of books. Reads easily, font size is adjustable. Landscape or portrait orientation adjustable. Is not backlighted, so you can read in bright light. "Classic Books" are often free for download, or are only a buck or two. [Complete Sherlock Holmes....free.] Battery life is good, recharges just like a cell phone. Books download after purchase in less than a minute, on built in 3G connection. You can highlight and book mark passages.
Things I don't like: Really, only one. Unless the book has hyperlinked chapter headings, navigating to a certain spot in the book is not easy...it won't let you navigate to page numbers, because it uses a "location number" that really has nothing to do with the book format.
I really like this thing, and it's great for travel reading.
Len
So how do the books get on the device? It has a internet connection or what? Is it priced per book or is there a monthly fee??
Pasifikawv
Member
Uses the same wireless technology as a cell phone. No usage charges or fees for the connection. Downloads are free and occur as soon as you buy the item.
An exception for international travelers. You may have to pay a small download fee if outside of the US.
The Highlander
Member
I would not be without mine. The books on mine are mostly freebies by Twain, Jules Verne, etc. They cost $0. Also have a bunch that were in the $.99 category, with the most I have paid being around $10 for a newly released Vonnegut.
You do not lose books if you have a problem. Everything is online at Amazon, and even if you screw up and accidentally delete one, it is free to re-download it. Don't ask me how I know this.
Can also back up on your pc. By the way, you can also read all the same stuff you have bought on Kindle for PC, or Kindle for Blackberry. So, you can buy the book, then read it on any of several options. It will even keep you at the latest page you have read, no matter which of the options you use to read. Not limited to just the Kindle.
Biggest advantage for a voracious reader like me, is that I can take an entire library of my favorite books, new stuff to read, magazines like Reader's Digest, newspapers and so on, everywhere I go in a device the size of a book. Coolest thing ever developed for a reader, and the Kindle is the best of the breed, I did extensive homework before buying, and I'd buy another one today.
You do not lose books if you have a problem. Everything is online at Amazon, and even if you screw up and accidentally delete one, it is free to re-download it. Don't ask me how I know this.
Can also back up on your pc. By the way, you can also read all the same stuff you have bought on Kindle for PC, or Kindle for Blackberry. So, you can buy the book, then read it on any of several options. It will even keep you at the latest page you have read, no matter which of the options you use to read. Not limited to just the Kindle.
Biggest advantage for a voracious reader like me, is that I can take an entire library of my favorite books, new stuff to read, magazines like Reader's Digest, newspapers and so on, everywhere I go in a device the size of a book. Coolest thing ever developed for a reader, and the Kindle is the best of the breed, I did extensive homework before buying, and I'd buy another one today.
Sistema1927
US Veteran
I purchased one when they first came out, and just upgraded to the latest version with 3G & WiFi.
I have hundreds of books, user manuals, pdfs, and other assorted documents on mine. I am able to create my own books from various types of documents, and the amount of free material available on the internet is mind boggling.
I take mine everywhere, it takes up such a small space in my briefcase.
I have hundreds of books, user manuals, pdfs, and other assorted documents on mine. I am able to create my own books from various types of documents, and the amount of free material available on the internet is mind boggling.
I take mine everywhere, it takes up such a small space in my briefcase.
venomballistics
Member
Caj ... thanks for posting this thread ... it seems it was just the right reminder to attack and hack this digital picture frame I scored at a goodwill for $10 ... which now serves as an Ebook reader for some of my electronics reference manuals.
sure makes life a lot easier being able to eliminate a pile of paper in the proximity of a hot soldering iron
sure makes life a lot easier being able to eliminate a pile of paper in the proximity of a hot soldering iron
The Kindle, as noted, since it is not backlit like a computer or an IPad, you can't read it in the dark. (Non-backlit also makes it easier on the eyes, BTW.) But you can get a little LED gooseneck lamp for it that runs for 30 hours off one triple A. This is useful for reading in bed and not waking the wife up, or on an airplane, etc.) There is a global edition,I thnk it's called, which I have, that allows downloading all over the world. So for an English reader in a non English speaking country, books are readily available, whenever one wants. I think books are a couple of bucks more if downloaded abroad. Last weekend I downloaded 20 or so Zane Grey novels for $4 bucks, as they were sold packaged that way. Best sellers run me up to $13 or so.
Yeah, line drawings would show up. Photographs look sorta like very fine etchings. But again, primarily it's for reading words, not looking at pix or charts or drawings, etc. I have a financial whiz friend who says it is not good for the charts/pix he needs to look at.
Yeah, line drawings would show up. Photographs look sorta like very fine etchings. But again, primarily it's for reading words, not looking at pix or charts or drawings, etc. I have a financial whiz friend who says it is not good for the charts/pix he needs to look at.
Best Buy now carries the Kindle 3, the Nook, and the Sony e-reader, so you can compare them all side by side. Another benefit I didn't mention earlier is speed... I have always been a rapid reader but read even faster on the kindle.
The Highlander
Member
Works great for you, but for me, the closest library is an hour and a half drive.
I would not be without my Kindle. Take it to the doctor's office, vacation, whereever I need to avoid boredom. Great to carry a library with me at all times. If I don't like a book I've started reading, switch. I used to always be reading a couple of books, and two or three magazines at a time anyway. With the Kindle, that is a piece of cake.
I have one of the gooseneck style lights by M-Edge. I get far more than 30 hours of time off a AAA battery. Mine has been in it since spring, and I use it every night for at least 30-60 minutes.
The I-Pad has its own backlight, not as easy on the eyes, doesn't work as well in daylight as the Kindle, and is much heavier. If you want to READ, the Kindle can't be beat. The I-pad is the answer to a marketing created question, too big and heavy to be a book reader, and too small to be a laptop pc. They are also more than double the price of the Kindle I understand.
deadin
US Veteran
Bought one for the wife last Xmas. When I finally pried it out of her fingers and tried it I had to go out and buy one for myself.
The only minuses I have found have already been mentioned..... not easy to page back and forth in (unless you remember to bookmark a page that you will referencing often.)
Pictures and line drawings can be difficult to see as the "enlarge" function is not unlimited. (I just finished a book on Carlson's Raiders of WW2. There were a number of maps that were almost impossible for me to read.)
One thing that was mentioned in passing is that some books are enabled to have the audio reader read them to you. (If you can stand the "computer" voice and pronunciation.)
The only minuses I have found have already been mentioned..... not easy to page back and forth in (unless you remember to bookmark a page that you will referencing often.)
Pictures and line drawings can be difficult to see as the "enlarge" function is not unlimited. (I just finished a book on Carlson's Raiders of WW2. There were a number of maps that were almost impossible for me to read.)
One thing that was mentioned in passing is that some books are enabled to have the audio reader read them to you. (If you can stand the "computer" voice and pronunciation.)
BarbC
Member
I guess I'm old fashioned. $190 bucks, plus the download fees. And if you drop it or spill coffee on it, you're sunk.
And then what do you do with your bookshelf? When your friends come over, you can't even peruse each other's bookshelf and loan a book out?
And then what do you do with your bookshelf? When your friends come over, you can't even peruse each other's bookshelf and loan a book out?
deadin
US Veteran
Surely you mean Bookshelves.
In our case we have about a half dozen that are stuffed and books are stacked beside the bed, under the bed, etc.
Not to mention two of the overhead storage bins in the RV are also full.
(I think it's a sickness..
)Anyway, our last 100 or so books take up the space occupied by two Kindles.
I will agree that being unable to "loan" them out or transfer them to friends is a pain, but I have a feeling that Kindle may change this in the future if only to compete with other eBook readers. We'll see............
BarbC
Member
Do you think that's the whole point? You have to pay a royalty fee to download a book and can't transfer it, and over time "dead tree" books become obsolete. No more free reading.
ChattanoogaPhil
Member
- Joined
- Oct 18, 2009
- Messages
- 14,601
- Reaction score
- 20,622
