OT - would you buy a Kindle? if so which one? if not, what?

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  • Mr Sworld
    Mr Sworld Posts: 703
    I bought a 3G Kindle when Amazon were selling Refubished ones at £98.... And I love it!

    I do a lot of walking and camping here in the UK and abroad. It's lighter than a big paperback, battery lasts forever and the e-Ink can be read by torchlight without annoying reflections on the screen.

    However when I'm abroad it comes into its own. It has a very basic browser built into it so I can check my web e-mail for free using the 3G! :D

    I'm now reading more than I did before I owned it. Note that you aren't restricted to Amazon for the books, it'll read other formats too. So there is quite a bit of free stuff out there.

    I would advise any Kindle owner (or anyone with an eBook) to download http://calibre-ebook.com/ though, it's a great bit of software.
  • Ouija
    Ouija Posts: 1,386
    +1 for Calibre. Can download thousands of books (i have) for free, most of them ones Amazon would charge you a fiver for. In fact anything on Amazon except the very latest titles are all free to download if you know where to look. But you'll need to convert them to 'MOBI' format first for the Kindle to be able to read them. Which is where Calibre comes in.
  • bobinski
    bobinski Posts: 570
    I love my Kindle. one of the few pieces of technology that actually works as described and with no hassle. So much easier to hold than a book too. I was septical as was my partner. But she has poor eyesight and has been won over by the ability to change font sise and how easy the e-kink is on they eyes.
    Had to use it on a long crowded tube journey yesterday much of it stood up with interminable delays. It would have been pretty difficult to hold and read a book and change pages but was easy one handed with the Kindle. I feel it kept me sane...
  • daviesee
    daviesee Posts: 6,386
    Ouija wrote:
    It also means you can buy books from the Kindle store WITHOUT owning a computer or having to have a WIFI equipped router in your house, so is the better choice if buying one for an older person who is technophobic. Just turn on and go.

    I am thinking of getting one for my Mum who has trouble with her hands and finds turning pages difficult.
    As they don't have a computer and struggle with the digital recorder as it is, this seems ideal.

    I would have thought you would need some kind of phone contract or similar for the 3G though. Please explain :?:
    None of the above should be taken seriously, and certainly not personally.
  • Mr Sworld
    Mr Sworld Posts: 703
    daviesee wrote:
    I would have thought you would need some kind of phone contract or similar for the 3G though. Please explain :?:

    Amazon pays for the 3G usage, it's free once you have the Kindle 3G reader. It is also free when out of the UK if supported.

    http://client0.cellmaps.com/viewer.html?cov=2&view=intl
  • optimisticbiker
    optimisticbiker Posts: 1,657
    Hi - OP here... Thanks all for your thoughts. Was thinking about getting one for a friend's 'significant' birthday. She's an avid reader and holidays abroad in Europe quite a lot and often takes 10 or so paperbacks with her, so this sounds ideal. Might even get one for myself, though an Android tablet might be more useful for me (but thats the subject of a forthcoming post :lol:)
    Invacare Spectra Plus electric wheelchair, max speed 4mph :cry:
  • dhope
    dhope Posts: 6,699
    OptimisticBiker wrote:
    Might even get one for myself, though an Android tablet might be more useful for me (but thats the subject of a forthcoming post :lol:)
    Different intended uses. Kindle has a far better display if reading for long periods.
    Rose Xeon CW Disc
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  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    wheezee wrote:
    Rolf F wrote:
    Good point - but what does that then mean if you have a Dan Brown novel on your Kindle? :lol:

    There's another advantage right there... no-one need know what old tosh you're guiltily enjoying.

    There's a reason you should feel guilty.

    You shouldn't be reading it.
    _
  • daviesee
    daviesee Posts: 6,386
    Mr Sworld wrote:
    daviesee wrote:
    I would have thought you would need some kind of phone contract or similar for the 3G though. Please explain :?:

    Amazon pays for the 3G usage, it's free once you have the Kindle 3G reader. It is also free when out of the UK if supported.

    http://client0.cellmaps.com/viewer.html?cov=2&view=intl

    Perfect! Cheers.
    None of the above should be taken seriously, and certainly not personally.
  • Mr Sworld
    Mr Sworld Posts: 703
    This is why you buy a Kindle 3G...

    http://xkcd.com/548/
  • tiny_pens
    tiny_pens Posts: 293
    Probably not. The kindle 3 has a good fast display (Sony ereaders that are imported have a previous generation eink display and page refreshes are much, much slower), the 3G is cool if you travel and want to check email/blog. The downside is they do have a few quality problems ( I am currently on kindle #4 but as the replacement has been free each time I'm not too upset).

    I think I would go for a Kobo as its just as cheap, has the same decent screen but has a wider range of support but only because I hire ebooks from my local library and it would make reading them a little more convenient.

    Also you have to consider the type of content you want to read. I read a lot of technical manuals that work best in PDF format and the screen is a bit small really for this type of content. You can work around the problem but you would be better off buying a tablet.

    HTH
  • optimisticbiker
    optimisticbiker Posts: 1,657
    Epilog....

    Bought friend a Kindle, she loves it. Bought myself one too. I am fast becoming addicted to it :) A few guy's at work have them and gave me lots of links to free books, tho working my way through Amazon free Sci-Fi at the mo.... Also found that emailing myself work documents that I have printed to PDF is very useful in meetings and saves carrying the laptop around the office (tho trying to get work to buy me an android tablet too). Find technical docs in PDF best read in landscape format and smaller font.
    Invacare Spectra Plus electric wheelchair, max speed 4mph :cry:
  • lost_in_thought
    lost_in_thought Posts: 10,563
    OptimisticBiker wrote:
    Epilog....

    Bought friend a Kindle, she loves it. Bought myself one too. I am fast becoming addicted to it :) A few guy's at work have them and gave me lots of links to free books, tho working my way through Amazon free Sci-Fi at the mo.... Also found that emailing myself work documents that I have printed to PDF is very useful in meetings and saves carrying the laptop around the office (tho trying to get work to buy me an android tablet too). Find technical docs in PDF best read in landscape format and smaller font.

    Which kindle did you get?

    Has anyone got a kobo?

    I now think I would like one to read PDFs mostly, and annotate them. The PDFs I read are all text, but often laid out as a scanned book, ie 2 a5s side by side, because that's just what they are.

    What would be best for that?
    FCN 7/1
    Viner Maxima, Tifosi CK7, Giant Bowery, Old commuter.
  • optimisticbiker
    optimisticbiker Posts: 1,657
    lost_in_thought wrote:
    Which kindle did you get?
    The new £89 one.
    Invacare Spectra Plus electric wheelchair, max speed 4mph :cry:
  • EKE_38BPM
    EKE_38BPM Posts: 5,821
    OptimisticBiker wrote:
    lost_in_thought wrote:
    Which kindle did you get?
    The new £89 one.
    I got the same for Mrs EKE and she loves it Yesterday she told me that she has read more books since Xmas than she did all of last year.
    LiT, I don't think you'll be able to annotate a PDF, but I accept that I could be wrong.
    FCN 3: Raleigh Record Ace fixie-to be resurrected sometime in the future
    FCN 4: Planet X Schmaffenschmack 2- workhorse
    FCN 9: B Twin Vitamin - winter commuter/loan bike for trainees

    I'm hungry. I'm always hungry!
  • veronese68
    veronese68 Posts: 27,773
    EKE_38BPM wrote:
    OptimisticBiker wrote:
    lost_in_thought wrote:
    Which kindle did you get?
    The new £89 one.
    I got the same for Mrs EKE and she loves it Yesterday she told me that she has read more books since Xmas than she did all of last year.
    LiT, I don't think you'll be able to annotate a PDF, but I accept that I could be wrong.
    Same, EPO has read 15 books since Christmas. Absolutely loves it. Equally clueless aboud pdf's I'm afraid.
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  • Stone Glider
    Stone Glider Posts: 1,227
    Mrs S G bought me a Kindle for Xmas! Huge surprise, it is easy to use and is a gift that just keeps giving! I am currently reading Brigadier Gerard by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, an absolute delight.
    The older I get the faster I was
  • jimmypippa
    jimmypippa Posts: 1,712
    Mr Sworld wrote:
    This is why you buy a Kindle 3G...

    http://xkcd.com/548/

    XKCD covers modern life
    http://www.bikehike.co.uk/mapview.php?id=6404
  • Fireblade96
    Fireblade96 Posts: 1,123
    I bought Mrs FB a Kobo for her birthday and she seems very pleased with it. She wanted to be able to read various book formats and in particular wanted support for non-Latin character sets, which Kindle didn't allow.
    Misguided Idealist
  • msmancunia
    msmancunia Posts: 1,415
    Does any one know when the Kindle Fire is going to be released in the UK? I'm going away in April (cycling in Morocco!) and I need to pack light so an e-reader is the way to go I think. But, I think I'd prefer a Kindle Fire rather than the normal version and I don't know if it will be out before I go away. Any ideas?
    Commute: Chadderton - Sportcity
  • optimisticbiker
    optimisticbiker Posts: 1,657
    msmancunia wrote:
    Does any one know when the Kindle Fire is going to be released in the UK? I'm going away in April (cycling in Morocco!) and I need to pack light so an e-reader is the way to go I think. But, I think I'd prefer a Kindle Fire rather than the normal version and I don't know if it will be out before I go away. Any ideas?
    Whats the difference? I've taken mine cycling with me, its light and easy to pack.
    Invacare Spectra Plus electric wheelchair, max speed 4mph :cry:
  • msmancunia
    msmancunia Posts: 1,415
    OptimisticBiker wrote:
    msmancunia wrote:
    Does any one know when the Kindle Fire is going to be released in the UK? I'm going away in April (cycling in Morocco!) and I need to pack light so an e-reader is the way to go I think. But, I think I'd prefer a Kindle Fire rather than the normal version and I don't know if it will be out before I go away. Any ideas?
    Whats the difference? I've taken mine cycling with me, its light and easy to pack.


    Bit more like an iPad by all accounts, but I read somewhere that they were going for $200 in the States and selling more than the iPad. My boss is going to the US with work in a couple of weeks, but I'm not sure if it will work over here yet. Yes, I know that sounds techy-phobic...
    Commute: Chadderton - Sportcity
  • mr_poll
    mr_poll Posts: 1,547
    Be careful with a Kindle Fire from the US - google it - simplyelectonics.net can get them on import and I was tempted but reading the stories I held off.
    Essentially a US Fire is locked to US Amazon and over here it will have an issue as it will try to connect to UK site - also most of the stuff you use will be held on an amazon cloud and therefore this will also mea you lose access to features. Just wait for the UK one.
  • apreading
    apreading Posts: 4,535
    msmancunia wrote:
    Does any one know when the Kindle Fire is going to be released in the UK? I'm going away in April (cycling in Morocco!) and I need to pack light so an e-reader is the way to go I think. But, I think I'd prefer a Kindle Fire rather than the normal version and I don't know if it will be out before I go away. Any ideas?

    If I were going cycling in Morocco and needing to pack light, I wouldnt take the kindle fire - like all the other proper tablets it will need constant recharging. The normal Kindles will go up to a month in between charges - so you wont need the charger and wont need to constantly find somewhere to plug it in. If you get the 3G one you will also be able to read the UK news on the web for free and check emails or do facebook - all for free...!
  • lost_in_thought
    lost_in_thought Posts: 10,563
    So it sounds like most can read PDFs... Anyone have a 3G kindle and can try to see if they can find and access jstor.org.uk for me?

    And still, I'd love to be able to annotate...
    FCN 7/1
    Viner Maxima, Tifosi CK7, Giant Bowery, Old commuter.
  • Ouija
    Ouija Posts: 1,386
    edited January 2012
    Don't bother with PDF's on the Kindle. They are treated as essentially just one big picture, not text. You can zoom in and scroll around but annotating is out of the question unless.....

    ... you download Caliber (book management program). When Caliber detects a Kindle connected to the computer and you ask it to transfer one of the books in it's collection over to the Kindle, it will automaically convert the book into a Kindle friendly format, such as MOBI. This includes PDF's. In the MOBI format the text from the PDF will still be treated as text and embedded graphics as such (weather it keeps the layout will depend on the layout, i think). This means you can change font size/style of the document as well as the way the text wraps, which can't be done in the original PDF as it renders it all as a simple pixmap picture. You can annotate MOBI documents.
  • EKE_38BPM
    EKE_38BPM Posts: 5,821
    I've got Calibre and a Kindle, so I'm going to download a .pdf with images (the only ones I have are all text) and have a go at Ouija said. I'll let you know how it went when the Calibre update is complete.
    FCN 3: Raleigh Record Ace fixie-to be resurrected sometime in the future
    FCN 4: Planet X Schmaffenschmack 2- workhorse
    FCN 9: B Twin Vitamin - winter commuter/loan bike for trainees

    I'm hungry. I'm always hungry!
  • davis
    davis Posts: 2,506
    This seems rather contemporaneous - a Kindle with 10 GBP off, until 1st February.
    Sometimes parts break. Sometimes you crash. Sometimes it’s your fault.

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