Printable View
Was thinking of buying one of these for the partners birthday later this month, she enjoys reading, and thought this would something she will get alot of use from.
Anyone have one of these, any recommendations of where to buy from, was looking at amazon, thinking this would be the best place, any thoughts, and advice would be greatly appreciated ;)
I got one recently - recommend it and would go for 3G
Downloaded some in Turkey when away using 3G, no extra cost - well apart from paying for the books that is.
Only disadvantage is you cant obviously lend books any more and you cant put the file on another kindle.
Yea was looking at both, the only advantages of the 3G one is greater memory and faster download speed of the books, is that right ?Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark TKO
dont think so - my take was that you can download books over the 3G network eg you dont have to be at home on wifi nd can do it anywhere
no chasrge either for using it
So with the regular one ya need to have internet access at the house or someone else's to enable to download the free and paid for content?Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark TKO
that was my take yesQuote:
Originally Posted by MattyhitmanSo with the regular one ya need to have internet access at the house or someone else's to enable to download the free and paid for content?Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark TKO
Nice one mate :thumb:Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark TKOthat was my take yesQuote:
Originally Posted by MattyhitmanSo with the regular one ya need to have internet access at the house or someone else's to enable to download the free and paid for content?Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark TKO
I love my Kindle, it was my favourite gadget purchase of 2010 and I went on and on and on and on and on at everyone I knew to buy one as well.
I have the 3G version. It has the advantage as Mark said, of being able to download books anywhere, so for example you can be on the beach and providing you can get a 3G signal can buy books there.
It is probably very useful abroad too, especially if you are ordering a daily newspaper digitally and the hotel you are in doesn't have Wi Fi.
How useful the 3G is will depend on how often you want to use the Kindle to buy books whilst roaming about outside.
For me, well I haven't used it at all in the past year or so, but then I hardly ever buy books. I just google the .mobi files of books I want and then download them via hotfile or torrents for free. If you are going to get most of your books that way then you won't need 3G at all unless you have a daily newspaper subscription on it and have no Wi Fi access.
They have brought out a really cheap £89 model this week that looks pretty cool. It has less storage capacity, only around 1000 or so books, but that's still plenty in practice. The biggest concern though would be the lack of mini keyboard, as that will make searching for books and typing things more cumbersome.
Again though, if you are downloading books from your pc and then dragging them over to the kindle by mini usb you won't need a kindle either.
So my summary would be as follows.
Kindle 3g: Buy if you are going to be using the Kindle outdoors a lot where there is no Wi Fi and you intend to pay for and buy books from the Amazon store with great regularity. If you go abroad a lot and subscribe to newspapers it would be useful to, if the hotel doesn't have Wi Fi. I rarely, if ever need to use 3G though, but then my bin goes out more than I do.
KIndle Wi Fi. Probably the best price/performance sweet spot. Has full capacity, the keyboard is useful. Excellent value for money.
New £89 Kindle. Not seen or used one but will likely sell like hotcakes. Has the same great screen and is actually smaller which is really cool. Same size screen, but smaller form factor and lighter making it highly portable. However battery life is rated at 1 month rather than the 2 of the others, no keyboard might making using it to search for books more cumbersome. As its a different size and worse battery the excellent leather, lighted covers won't fit, and wouldn't power the light for as long anyway.
My own pick would be the KIndle Wi Fi, plus a leather lighted cover. he cover is waaaaaaaaaay more useful than the 3G.
You'd make a good seller at these for sure and it is something you'd enjoy to do plus, imagine all the pretty girls you could meet ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Bilbo
On another note, Kindle did release their first tablette, looks quite unexpensive, half the price of an Ipad and doesn't look bad at all. Did you pay an eye about it? I think it comes with all the functions of the traditional kindle on top of it.
Yeah, the Kindle Fire it's called. Not on sale yet, but I am definitely interested depending on how much Android app functionality there is.
Since Dec 2004 I have been sorting my finances and charting my fitness training on an Ipaq 4700 PDA. I love it, the greatest gadget I ever bought and still used daily today.
But it's ancient now, 7 years old and won't last for ever and I want to switch to a tablet when it dies. I am idealogically opposed to Apple, mainly because my best mate is a disciple for them, so my tablet options have been limited.
The Kindle Fire might be ideal. I don't care about playing games and watching movies on it so processing power and tons of memory is not needed at all, thus the Fire represents something far more practical, providing the Amazon stuff doesn't totally take over the device.
I am very interested though.
It's not an ebook reader though, so should not be considered as a replacement for a proper Kindle.
got the wife an ipad2 she loves it and there is a app that you can add to it for kindle books.... some people torrent free books and i find that shocking ;D
i'm sure you can pick up an old ipad 1 for much the same price a a kindle on ebay... worth a look mate.
ipads are rubbish for reading books though. You dont want to have to read on a screen, it hurts your eyes. The battery only lasts for a couple hours and you can't read it outside on the beach in a sunny day.Quote:
Originally Posted by Saddo
The Kindle only needs to be charged about once a month, there is no screen and it looks awesome in the sunlight, the brighter the sun the better it looks.
never knew that... thats pretty cool as it goes.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bilboipads are rubbish for reading books though. You dont want to have to read on a screen, it hurts your eyes. The battery only lasts for a couple hours and you can't read it outside on the beach in a sunny day.Quote:
Originally Posted by Saddo
The Kindle only needs to be charged about once a month, there is no screen and it looks awesome in the sunlight, the brighter the sun the better it looks.
the ipad aint that bad in the sun (better than a laptop and usable) and the battery life is 10 hours ;)
It's still staring a screen though. I just can't read a book that way. When my Kindle arrived I spent 5 minutes trying to work out how to peel the Kindle welcome page sticker off the screen, so I could switch it on and look at it. Then I realised that it already was turned on when it arrived and that that was the screen! It's amazingly impressive when you first see it and once put in a leather case just feels like reading a book, the device itself just disappears and you completely forget about it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Saddonever knew that... thats pretty cool as it goes.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bilboipads are rubbish for reading books though. You dont want to have to read on a screen, it hurts your eyes. The battery only lasts for a couple hours and you can't read it outside on the beach in a sunny day.Quote:
Originally Posted by Saddo
The Kindle only needs to be charged about once a month, there is no screen and it looks awesome in the sunlight, the brighter the sun the better it looks.
the ipad aint that bad in the sun (better than a laptop and usable) and the battery life is 10 hours ;)
There is no backlight at all so just like a real book you can't read in the dark as it gives off no light or heat. So you need a lighted leather cover that attaches to the Kindle, making it look and feel awesome and then pull out the reading light on the side so you can see.
It's ace.
The ipad of course can a million and one things the Kindle can't so if movies, music, internet, multi media and games are your thing then an ipad is still awesome but for reading books for long periods the Kindle cannot be beat.
Last week I read The Sense of an Ending in one single night with a couple of tea breaks, that would awful to do on a screen.
But the Kindle does literally nothing else at all, the internet experience is labelled beta and is beyond shit, and there is no colour or video or any software at all.
It's purely a book reader but a brilliant one. I have about 300 books on mine now.
Cheers for that mate i have my sons birthday coming up and he has everything... he is a fanatic book reader but said he didn't want an ipad2 because he thinks its just not the same as a book.Quote:
Originally Posted by BilboIt's still staring a screen though. I just can't read a book that way. When my Kindle arrived I spent 5 minutes trying to work out how to peel the Kindle welcome page sticker off the screen, so I could switch it on and look at it. Then I realised that it already was turned on when it arrived and that that was the screen! It's amazingly impressive when you first see it and once put in a leather case just feels like reading a book, the device itself just disappears and you completely forget about it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Saddonever knew that... thats pretty cool as it goes.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bilboipads are rubbish for reading books though. You dont want to have to read on a screen, it hurts your eyes. The battery only lasts for a couple hours and you can't read it outside on the beach in a sunny day.Quote:
Originally Posted by Saddo
The Kindle only needs to be charged about once a month, there is no screen and it looks awesome in the sunlight, the brighter the sun the better it looks.
the ipad aint that bad in the sun (better than a laptop and usable) and the battery life is 10 hours ;)
There is no backlight at all so just like a real book you can't read in the dark as it gives off no light or heat. So you need a lighted leather cover that attaches to the Kindle, making it look and feel awesome and then pull out the reading light on the side so you can see.
It's ace.
The ipad of course can a million and one things the Kindle can't so if movies, music, internet, multi media and games are your thing then an ipad is still awesome but for reading books for long periods the Kindle cannot be beat.
Last week I read The Sense of an Ending in one single night with a couple of tea breaks, that would awful to do on a screen.
But the Kindle does literally nothing else at all, the internet experience is labelled beta and is beyond shit, and there is no colour or video or any software at all.
It's purely a book reader but a brilliant one. I have about 300 books on mine now.
you might have just solved a problem ;)
Quote:
Originally Posted by SaddoCheers for that mate i have my sons birthday coming up and he has everything... he is a fanatic book reader but said he didn't want an ipad2 because he thinks its just not the same as a book.Quote:
Originally Posted by BilboIt's still staring a screen though. I just can't read a book that way. When my Kindle arrived I spent 5 minutes trying to work out how to peel the Kindle welcome page sticker off the screen, so I could switch it on and look at it. Then I realised that it already was turned on when it arrived and that that was the screen! It's amazingly impressive when you first see it and once put in a leather case just feels like reading a book, the device itself just disappears and you completely forget about it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Saddonever knew that... thats pretty cool as it goes.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bilboipads are rubbish for reading books though. You dont want to have to read on a screen, it hurts your eyes. The battery only lasts for a couple hours and you can't read it outside on the beach in a sunny day.Quote:
Originally Posted by Saddo
The Kindle only needs to be charged about once a month, there is no screen and it looks awesome in the sunlight, the brighter the sun the better it looks.
the ipad aint that bad in the sun (better than a laptop and usable) and the battery life is 10 hours ;)
There is no backlight at all so just like a real book you can't read in the dark as it gives off no light or heat. So you need a lighted leather cover that attaches to the Kindle, making it look and feel awesome and then pull out the reading light on the side so you can see.
It's ace.
The ipad of course can a million and one things the Kindle can't so if movies, music, internet, multi media and games are your thing then an ipad is still awesome but for reading books for long periods the Kindle cannot be beat.
Last week I read The Sense of an Ending in one single night with a couple of tea breaks, that would awful to do on a screen.
But the Kindle does literally nothing else at all, the internet experience is labelled beta and is beyond shit, and there is no colour or video or any software at all.
It's purely a book reader but a brilliant one. I have about 300 books on mine now.
you might have just solved a problem ;)
If he reads ficition, then before he buys any books just google the book title and add .mobi at the end. All the fiction titles are on the net. Non fiction stuff tends to be more niche and so you will have to buy some of that. That's what I do, buy the non fiction stuff online, and any fiction just download for nowt and drag onto the kindle with a usb cable. It will save a fortune.
How much are they running these days? I want one.
And is the Kindle the best of all the eReaders or does it just have name-brand cache?
The cheapest model over here is £89, then I think £109 and £149.Quote:
Originally Posted by CFH
The mid range £109 is probably the best bet.
I've never used an alternative reader but I think the Amazon experience makes it the one to get. The biggest range of books, easiest book purchasing set up.
I would recommend the Kindle over anything else for pretty much everyone. That said, you might be a special case in a way in that many of the books you want might be academia based and research tools rather than purchasable books from their Kindle store, so a reader that has a library loan facility might be better for you. I have no experience of that though but if you think you might be accessing university and academic papers etc it's probably worth checking first to see if an alternative might be better for that specific case.
I'd just be using it for regular reading, so I think I'll look into the Kindle.Quote:
Originally Posted by BilboThe cheapest model over here is £89, then I think £109 and £149.Quote:
Originally Posted by CFH
The mid range £109 is probably the best bet.
I've never used an alternative reader but I think the Amazon experience makes it the one to get. The biggest range of books, easiest book purchasing set up.
I would recommend the Kindle over anything else for pretty much everyone. That said, you might be a special case in a way in that many of the books you want might be academia based and research tools rather than purchasable books from their Kindle store, so a reader that has a library loan facility might be better for you. I have no experience of that though but if you think you might be accessing university and academic papers etc it's probably worth checking first to see if an alternative might be better for that specific case.
For regular reading t can't be beat imo. The whole experience is excellent. When it arrives it will already be switched on and linked to you so it will welcome you by name. You can start buying books literally right away with one click. Actually it's so easy I accidently bought a couple just browsing the store and had to ring up to get them refunded and taken off!
It's very neat. Your kindle has its own email address and so you can email stuff straight to the device so we could email books to each other and they will just appear on the kindle next time you go online.
Just when you get it, set it up to download emails by Wi Fi only as Amazon charge for their whisper net 3G to transfer books that way (buying them from the store is always free though), not much but it would mount up if you were receiving a lot of stuff. Once you have ticked to receive by Wi Fi only though it's all free of course.
I wish more people had them so I could share stuff with people that way. I'm the only person I know in real life who has one, even though they are supposed to be massively popular now...
That sounds pretty cool. How much do books generally run and is it fairly easy to download them by less scrupulous means without getting caught? If I buy a book and 'share' it with, is there any charge associated with that transaction?Quote:
Originally Posted by Bilbo
Book prices vary wildly. Some are really cheap. 0.49 p or 0.99, others cost the same as the regular paperback versions. Generally a big new release will cost around the same to buy on Kindle as it would to buy the actual book. I will only pay this for non fiction titles that I can't find on the net.Quote:
Originally Posted by CFHThat sounds pretty cool. How much do books generally run and is it fairly easy to download them by less scrupulous means without getting caught? If I buy a book and 'share' it with, is there any charge associated with that transaction?Quote:
Originally Posted by Bilbo
All the latest fiction is put up online. You can download from torrents or places like hotfile, rapidshare etc.
The risks are probably considerably less than downloading music and films. There is no MPAA equivilant in the publishing world and I've never heard of anyone being pursued for downloading books.
Sites like hotfile and filesonic etc would be totally safe as the files themselves are so small they wouldn't arouse any suspicion on an ISP network at all. If you are regualrly downloading 4 gb files for example clearly that's videos, but a 33kb file could be anything, just a tiny document so nobody would care.
If you like classic books, there are book collections available very cheap on amazon. It's like £2 or something for Charles Dicken's complete works, with indivdual books completely free.
Some great advice Bilbo, much appreciated.
While watching tv last night the Ipad2 advert came on and the person using it was reading a book using it, I mentioned to her, that looks cool, trying to get a respose for the Kindle, she only turns round and says, "well thats pointless, I would much prefer to read the book itself, it takes away the pleasure of reading, the smell of the book, the turning of the page"
So im now in two minds about the Kindle :-\
my son thinks the same way but...the thing is mate not so long back people used to say downloading music just isn't the same as unrapping a new CD and it would spoil the whole experience of getting music.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mattyhitman
and now i think CD buying of music is nearly a thing of the past and having all them disks stacked up looks shit LOL ;)
Agreed, thing is the is loads of books lying round, but with one of these ya dont have that issue.Quote:
Originally Posted by Saddomy son thinks the same way but...the thing is mate not so long back people used to say downloading music just isn't the same as unrapping a new CD and it would spoil the whole experience of getting music.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mattyhitman
and now i think CD buying of music is nearly a thing of the past and having all them disks stacked up looks shit LOL ;)
Think i will get her it anyway and if she dont like it then i can get a refund and get her something else :cool:
Trust me, everyone says that before using one. 10 minutes with one though and she will be completely converted. If you have Wi Fi at home I wouldn't bother with the 3G version and instead spend the extra money on a lighted leather cover. They are a bit pricey at £49 but they complete the effect and feel of it, and make it feel like a luxurious, leather hardback book.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mattyhitman
The inside of the cover is a soft, carpeted material that feels really nice in the hand. I love lying on my sofa and reading. It's better than reading a book. You will soon notive several things you didn't realise annoyed about books that when you back to them will actually irritate you(or your gf).
Big books are heavy and cumbersome to lie down and hold. The pages curving is off putting a bit, once you get used to a static page on a kindle, and not having to manually turn the page each time.
If you don't like the font, or text size used you can change it with a couple of clicks, brilliant if you want larger text, or really small. If you don't understand the meaning of a word just move the cursor over it and the dictionary definition will come up automatcially. If you want to highlight a passage or make notes you can do that too.
The kindle remembers where you are in the book so you can switch between books and never lose your place.
It has a cool search function so if you are reading a novel and a character gets introduced that you know was mentioned earlier but want to refresh your memory just search for their name and you can go back and reread those bits, and then just go right back to where you were, as the Kindle will never lose your place.
It's like the difference between using a word processor vs an old typewriter, it's great.
Real books will still always have their place. Any lavishly illustrated, or coffee table type books I'd always rather have the real thing and I still buy such books. But for paperback novels and books that are soley text, the reading experience is far superior on the Kindle.
You aren't losing anything, and with the cover on it still feels like a book, and a really luxurious one at that. The kindle on it's own feels a little clipboardish but with a nice case it really is the shit.
This is the case to get, a choice of different colours. I've got chocolate leather myself.
Kindle Keyboard Lighted Leather Cover, Black: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics
This is probably the best value Kindle, the 3G is only useful if you are travelling a lot and don't have access to Wi Fi. I'd say it's a bit pointless for 99.9% of the time. But if she is a commuter, and lives on the train and the road it will be worthwhile.
Kindle Keyboard, Wi-Fi, 6" E Ink Display: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics
Let this rather charming woman sway your mind.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzrhS...eature=related
Amazon Canada is a fucking joke.
This Kindle I want sells for $139 US through Amazon.com but won't ship to Canada (first link). The same fucking device sells for $299 from Amazon.ca (second link). Fucking ridiculous.
Kindle Keyboard with Wi-Fi, 6" E Ink Display
Amazon Kindle Wi-Fi 6'' Wireless Reading Device (Graphite): Amazon.ca: Electronics
The 3G version is $189 in the US and $399 in Canada. Our dollars are pretty much at par too.
edit: And apparently Amazon.ca doesn't sell ebooks Canada either and I also won't be able to use the 3G network (which isn't a problem as I just want the wifi one, but still...)?!? What the fuck???
We pay a premium compared to the US as well but a double increase seems way over the top.Quote:
Originally Posted by CFH
So there is no Canadian Kindle store? How do you buy eBooks?
If you are happy to torrent and gain books through nefarious means it's still a worthwhile purchase. But I'd definitely check the kind of books you want to read beforehand. Fiction is all over the net and you can download and drag onto the kindle via usb. But if you want to read Wade Davis or military history you may find it hard to find such books online in .mobi format.
In which case maybe it's worth investigating the alternatives, although I know nothing about them. I imagine the best rivals must be pretty good too, I mean the technology is all going to be much of a muchness I guess.
I think we have to buy them through the American store on Amazon and are charged extra. I could be wrong, I'm just reading more about it now.Quote:
Originally Posted by BilboWe pay a premium compared to the US as well but a double increase seems way over the top.Quote:
Originally Posted by CFH
So there is no Canadian Kindle store? How do you buy eBooks?
If you are happy to torrent and gain books through nefarious means it's still a worthwhile purchase. But I'd definitely check the kind of books you want to read beforehand. Fiction is all over the net and you can download and drag onto the kindle via usb. But if you want to read Wade Davis or military history you may find it hard to find such books online in .mobi format.
In which case maybe it's worth investigating the alternatives, although I know nothing about them. I imagine the best rivals must be pretty good too, I mean the technology is all going to be much of a muchness I guess.
son decided on a xbox 360 with a live account so this will be on the backburner till xmas as he would defo convert. ;)
Carnt blame him with that choice, If had had the time I would be on it all the time, not played on mine for the last 12months, been stuck in the cupboard since our lass came along :lickish:Quote:
Originally Posted by Saddo
he has the old one but when i said he had to pay for live out of his pocket money... its been left in the cupboard and he just uses his PS3Quote:
Originally Posted by MattyhitmanCarnt blame him with that choice, If had had the time I would be on it all the time, not played on mine for the last 12months, been stuck in the cupboard since our lass came along :lickish:Quote:
Originally Posted by Saddo
but now its his birthday he has asked for the new xbox and a years live sub... he said that if its a year i can just get him it for his birthday every year :-\
I see that your son got the trick quite fast.Quote:
Originally Posted by Saddohe has the old one but when i said he had to pay for live out of his pocket money... its been left in the cupboard and he just uses his PS3Quote:
Originally Posted by MattyhitmanCarnt blame him with that choice, If had had the time I would be on it all the time, not played on mine for the last 12months, been stuck in the cupboard since our lass came along :lickish:Quote:
Originally Posted by Saddo
but now its his birthday he has asked for the new xbox and a years live sub... he said that if its a year i can just get him it for his birthday every year :-\
You are spoiling your kids, partners and yourselves. Having play stations lying around and not being used and waiting for the latest technology is making you a consumer and technological whore.
I have a play station 2 and a game boy which was given free to me which my boys play with. No need to pay for all these technological gimmicks.
i'll guess your kids are not in their teens yet.... just wait ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Master
haha I'm just picturing the look on a teenagers face if you presented them with a PS2 and a Gameboy. ;DQuote:
Originally Posted by Saddoi'll guess your kids are not in their teens yet.... just wait ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Master
http://lifeisreallybeautiful.com/wp-...Angry-baby.jpgQuote:
Originally Posted by Bilbohaha I'm just picturing the look on a teenagers face if you presented them with a PS2 and a Gameboy. ;DQuote:
Originally Posted by Saddoi'll guess your kids are not in their teens yet.... just wait ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Master
No they are not teenagers yet but I intend to hold to my principles and not buy them gadgets they do not need. Why can’t they play on PS2 and game boy until they go to university? :)