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Amazon Kindle |OT| of eInk superiority

Kerrinck

Member
From the impressions I heard, the $79 Kindle is the way to go over the touch. The only think I find a bit janky with the $79 Kindle is you need to purchase the wall power adapter separately.

Is space really an issue with e-books? Unless you put music on your kindle you should be able to put thousands of books on it before you take up enough space to fill it.

Thanks for the tips, will get the 79$ one then. Space is definitely not an issue since I only plan to put books on it.
 

notworksafe

Member
So my family is thinking of chipping in to get my grandfather a Kindle. We're considering the Keyboard 3G model, as he doesn't have WiFi and none of us live in the same state as him so it'd be a pain to get it set up. It seems like it'd be easier to use than the Touch version as well. Been looking around and I don't see any obvious sales on this model...any that anyone knows of before we just grab it from Amazon?

It seems like a good fit for him because his library does the eBook/Kindle lending thing so he could get books from the public library without having to leave home. He's savvy enough to use the library website and after trying it out myself, it seems simple enough.

My question is this: would it be better to buy him a Prime membership for the lending library or just get an $80 gift card for book buying instead? Not sure what kind of books are in the lending library but he likes crime novels (like James Patterson stuff) and non-fiction. Not into fantasy or sci-fi at all. How long would $80 last? Could he get a decent amount of books with it?

EDIT: Also it looks like the 3G Keyboard model comes with an AC adapter so we won't have to buy one, right?
 

bengraven

Member
I accidently stepped on my two year-old Kindle2 a few days ago and half the screen is frozen on a screensaver. It's certainly saving my screen.

Amazon was kind enough to send me a Kindle 3 for just $40 that should arrive tomorrow! I'm really excited to play with a K3.
 

Manics

Banned
I accidently stepped on my two year-old Kindle2 a few days ago and half the screen is frozen on a screensaver. It's certainly saving my screen.

Amazon was kind enough to send me a Kindle 3 for just $40 that should arrive tomorrow! I'm really excited to play with a K3.

Congrats man but what are you doing leaving the Kindle on the floor to be stepped on?

you did it on propose subconsciously cause you wanted to upgrade

;)
 

bengraven

Member
Congrats man but what are you doing leaving the Kindle on the floor to be stepped on?

you did it on propose subconsciously cause you wanted to upgrade

;)

If I was aware of the deal they would have given me, I would have broken it months ago when I had enough money to negotiate for a discounted Kindle Fire. ;)
 
So when they come out with the 10 inch version next summer, for like 299 or something, there is no way they will keep this playbook knockoff look right?

Do you think the 199 version will get a reboot then as well or will they sell this version alongside the bigger one?
 

Stat Flow

He gonna cry in the car
The $79 Kindle is so fantastic. I don't miss the keyboard at all. It's amazingly light and portable. PERFECT size for reading. And cheap to boot. What a quality product...any reader should get one really. My Kindle Keyboard got sold so quickly for this puppy.

I would have liked a Kindle touch but I really can't do without the physical page turn buttons, that and the bit more of an expensive price.
 

Chorazin

Member
I got the Touch (and I got the powwwwwwwwer!) for my birthday, also doesn't come with a wall plug, just the USB cord. Makes sense to me, who doesn't have a bunch of USB chargers laying around these days?

EDIT: Oh, and if you're swiping on the Touch you're doing it wrong. Tap to change pages is where it's at!
 
I haven't had a chance to play with the kindle touch yet, but does the home book selection screen have an option to look like this image below, or do book covers only show up in the store?

KW-slate-03-lg._V166950133_.jpg

They really need to update the home screen interface. :(
 

bengraven

Member
Just found out that my mother-in-law is getting a Kindle Fire for Christmas.

This is a woman who spends all day watching Soap Opera Network, chain smoking and drinking white wine while petting an old mutt dog with gigantic red balls. I've bought her three books since meeting her, all for Christmas and all she wanted badly (George W. Bush's memoir, Teddy Kennedy's book, and Laura Bush's memoir)...she read like 1/3 of them and despite not working just kind of put them to the side. She also has never, ever been online in any form.

Don't you fucking hate when people who have more money than you get the thing you really want, despite knowing they'll never fucking use it?







Also: Kindle 3 should be here any minute now. I should probably put some pants on.
 
Just found out that my mother-in-law is getting a Kindle Fire for Christmas.

This is a woman who spends all day watching Soap Opera Network, chain smoking and drinking white wine while petting an old mutt dog with gigantic red balls. I've bought her three books since meeting her, all for Christmas and all she wanted badly (George W. Bush's memoir, Teddy Kennedy's book, and Laura Bush's memoir)...she read like 1/3 of them and despite not working just kind of put them to the side. She also has never, ever been online in any form.

Don't you fucking hate when people who have more money than you get the thing you really want, despite knowing they'll never fucking use it?







Also: Kindle 3 should be here any minute now. I should probably put some pants on.

Is she the mother of Mike from Mike and Molly? Famous people often don't know what to do with their money ;-)
 
I want a kindle but primarily for reading, is the fire equipped just as well to be reading anywhere? I've heard there's no glare problems with the regular one, what about the fire?
 

KingGondo

Banned
I want a kindle but primarily for reading, is the fire equipped just as well to be reading anywhere? I've heard there's no glare problems with the regular one, what about the fire?
The Fire is just an Android-based tablet. I played with the one my parents got and wasn't all that impressed. Glare would definitely be more of a problem because the screen is reflective The regular Kindle just has a matte e-ink screen, hence no glare.

If you're just using it for reading, I'd just get a Kindle Touch. I for one know that if my "e-reader" had Angry Birds, the internet, and movies on it I wouldn't get much actual reading accomplished.
 
Yes textbooks are on Kindle. Amazon even does a rental program which could be a cheaper alternative if you don't need them for very long. I have no idea how good the selection is though. I would expect other places to offer ebook textbooks as well.
 

A Human Becoming

More than a Member
On the Kindle touch I don't see a way to delete personal documents sent to the Kindle email. No remove option shows up when I press down on the article. Reading up on it online, I had to send it to archives and then go on Amazon to delete it.

It would be a nuisance to do that with every single article. Please tell me there is another way. I miss just holding down left on the navigation pad thing to select remove.

Is there any way to get books preloaded on a gift Kindle?

Ordering one for my mom for Christmas, but obviously I don't want her to find out in advance. Is this doable? Or do I just wait until she's received it and registered, and then say "oh btw here are some books or whatever"?

I'm not sure if you're able to send books to Kindles before registering them. I would guess not.
 

Zabojnik

Member
Guys, I'm looking for a lighted leather cover for the new Kindle. The official one seems great, but it's pricey as hell. Is it worth it? Could you recommend a cheaper one? I must say I really like the light solution Amazon used in theirs.
 

EdgecrusherLSU

Neo Member
Hey guys. I'm looking into buying a kindle for my mom for Christmas. She is disabled with some motor function problems. One hand is stronger than the other so i'm thinking she would be most comfortable holding it with one hand and changing pages with the other.

Im trying to figure out which model would be best for her. Im thinking the touch but ive seen some with side buttons that look helpful.

I'd appreciate any suggestions. Googling doesn't provide specefic enough answers.
 
Hey guys. I'm looking into buying a kindle for my mom for Christmas. She is disabled with some motor function problems. One hand is stronger than the other so i'm thinking she would be most comfortable holding it with one hand and changing pages with the other.

Im trying to figure out which model would be best for her. Im thinking the touch but ive seen some with side buttons that look helpful.

I'd appreciate any suggestions. Googling doesn't provide specefic enough answers.

I own a Keyboard and recently bought a Touch for my girlfriend. I've used them both, and I think they're both very comfortable devices. I've been reading with my Keyboard one-handed and find it comfortable, but I also have moderately sized hands. Still, I think a lady could use the device one handed.

Both devices (and the Wi-Fi only new generation kindle) are very light and easy to maneuver, and even with some motor deficits your mother should be able to use the devices just fine. Best Buy currently has all of them on display, at least in my area, so it wouldn't hurt for you to judge their size and layout yourself.

The touch requires a little bit more of a reach to turn pages, but not enough to matter, and it's certainly not an issue if you think your mom will be using two hands to operate the device.

I'd be more concerned with what will be more intuitive to her as a user. Not sure how technologically inclined your mother is, but I made the decision to get the 3G Touch for my girlfriend simply because she was hesitant to use the Kindle and I wanted to get her the one I thought would be most intuitive and immediately accessible. If your mom isn't very tech savvy, a touch screen might be the best way to go. Beyond that, I don't think you can go wrong.

Edit: Also, again, not knowing the extent of your mother's disability, and currently reading East of Eden on my Kindle, it occurs to me that the smaller buttons on the very edge of the Keyboard and Wi-Fi only Kindles might be harder to aim at and hit than simply tapping a large area to turn a page. Just another thought. Happy hunting.
 

Chorazin

Member
Has their been discussion on how the Kindle Lending Library program is kinda bullshit? Sure, it's nice it's included with Prime for free, but one book per month makes it not all that great.
 
Has their been discussion on how the Kindle Lending Library program is kinda bullshit? Sure, it's nice it's included with Prime for free, but one book per month makes it not all that great.

Isn't there also something about only being able to loan a book one time period? Like if I want to have two friends read East of Eden, I have to choose one.
 
Did people really expect the Lending Library to be worth all that much? They are pissing off a lot of publishers with it and they still don't have that great of a selection. If they manage to keep it going it will get better over time. Nonetheless it's 12 books a year. It will please enough people.
 

Chorazin

Member
Isn't there also something about only being able to loan a book one time period? Like if I want to have two friends read East of Eden, I have to choose one.

That's different than borrowing books from Amazon. When you let someone else borrow a book you own, it's one and done. You can't ever lend it again.
 
Hmm, the christmas present for my mother (Kindle w/o keyboard) arrived yesterday. Took the device out of the box, downloaded two books for my mom, set everything up etc. and now... I'm THIS close to selling my Kindle 3 (keyboard) and getting this one. It's much, much lighter, and also smaller, feels and looks much better and I really don't care about the reduced memory and the non existing audio capabilities. Battery is weaker, that's the only con for me.
I probably would have to pay like an additional 10€ after selling the Kindle 3... hmm... ^^
 

Manics

Banned
Hmm, the christmas present for my mother (Kindle w/o keyboard) arrived yesterday. Took the device out of the box, downloaded two books for my mom, set everything up etc. and now... I'm THIS close to selling my Kindle 3 (keyboard) and getting this one. It's much, much lighter, and also smaller, feels and looks much better and I really don't care about the reduced memory and the non existing audio capabilities. Battery is weaker, that's the only con for me.
I probably would have to pay like an additional 10€ after selling the Kindle 3... hmm... ^^

The battery issue is overblown in my opinion. After I got the Kindle without keyboard all I heard from people was "you got half the battery life". Well I read a bit every day on it and my battery lasts a month -- good enough.

Edit: that's *real world* use not just me quoting their battery specs. I can read 1-2 books before the battery needs to be charged again (depending on book length of course). I recently read Stephen King's new novel 11/22/63 about 1000 pages and still was able to read another book after that one without charging the battery.
 
I'm still impressed with my Kindle 2 battery, and that's like 2 weeks.

I expect a Kindle to be released that you don't even need to traditionally charge someday, like a solar powered Calculator.
 

Enco

Member
I'm still impressed with my Kindle 2 battery, and that's like 2 weeks.

I expect a Kindle to be released that you don't even need to traditionally charge someday, like a solar powered Calculator.
No thanks.

I remember having solar powered calculators that seriously sucked with a dim flickering screen. I'm sure the technology would be better than that but still don't see the point of it. Charging it once a fortnight or whatever is no pain at all.
 

bengraven

Member
Is there any way to get books preloaded on a gift Kindle?

Ordering one for my mom for Christmas, but obviously I don't want her to find out in advance. Is this doable? Or do I just wait until she's received it and registered, and then say "oh btw here are some books or whatever"?

I'm 90% sure you can purchase Kindle books for other people. Make that 60%. Or 50. So she when she first turns the wifi/3G on the books will pop up 30 seconds later.

As for actually preloading books, you could just have the Kindle shipped to you and you do it for her. I had to do that for my mom last year when she bought a Kindle, but that was because she wanted books in other formats added.
 

Number45

Member
If you have both devices registered under the same Amazon account you can choose which one you want it to go to, but I don't see an option for sending it to someone else's. :(

You could just buy some Amazon gift vouchers.
 

bengraven

Member
I'm going nuts.

Amazon estimated my K3 would be here between the 13th and 17th and delivered by USPS. Fair enough.

But tracking showed that I should get it on the 12th and that it had transferred to FedEx in Orlando for delivery. We live 3 hours away. It actually "arrived" in my small town on Monday, though where I have no clue since we have just a USPS office and no FedEx. So if it transferred back into the hands of the USPS I don't know.

And now it's the 14th and tracking hasn't updated since the 12th at noon and I have yet to see a FedEx truck and the mail is empty again.


If you have both devices registered under the same Amazon account you can choose which one you want it to go to, but I don't see an option for sending it to someone else's. :(

You could just buy some Amazon gift vouchers.

I think he should do what I did, depending on whether he lives near his mom or not.

Have it sent to yourself, you preload it, then ship it to her or give it to her. With the time squeeze we're looking at due to the holiday I would hope he lives near her and is going to visit her on Christmas, which makes it a lot easier.
 
No thanks.

I remember having solar powered calculators that seriously sucked with a dim flickering screen. I'm sure the technology would be better than that but still don't see the point of it. Charging it once a fortnight or whatever is no pain at all.

There is no reason it would flicker, e-ink just displays. All the power of e-ink is in the change of the display. Even if the battery is completely drained it will display the same quality screen. That's the beauty.
 

bengraven

Member
Awesome. K3 just arrived.

Wow, this is such a big step up aesthetically from the Kindle 2.

Satisfyingly nice button clicks.
Beautiful rough black finish.
Faster loading pages.
Easier to redownload your books from your archive.
Faster menu.

Loving it.
 

Bboy AJ

My dog was murdered by a 3.5mm audio port and I will not rest until the standard is dead
Anyone thinking of buying a Kindle Keyboard, without ads? I'll trade you mine for the cheaper $80 model! I'd prefer the smaller form factor and have little use for the keyboard.
 
Just got the 80 dollar kindle for reading, I was wondering if I should get the kindle fire as well for a cheap tablet.

I REALLY disliked owning a Kindle Fire. It's clunky, slow, the streaming media quality sucked, and the screen is too small to do anything useful with it outside of brightly reflecting any light within a square mile of it.
 
Since this seems to be a de-facto e-ink reader thread, does anyone know of a good comparison page describing the pros and cons of the Kindles, nooks, kobos and Sony readers? I tried them all at Best Buy and as far as screen and responsiveness, they all seem fairly similar. I figure that major differences are going to be things like library of titles, interface, user options, etc.

Thinking of getting an e-reader for Christmas. I don't read much but want to read more.
 

EdgecrusherLSU

Neo Member
I own a Keyboard and recently bought a Touch for my girlfriend. I've used them both, and I think they're both very comfortable devices. I've been reading with my Keyboard one-handed and find it comfortable, but I also have moderately sized hands. Still, I think a lady could use the device one handed.

Both devices (and the Wi-Fi only new generation kindle) are very light and easy to maneuver, and even with some motor deficits your mother should be able to use the devices just fine. Best Buy currently has all of them on display, at least in my area, so it wouldn't hurt for you to judge their size and layout yourself.

The touch requires a little bit more of a reach to turn pages, but not enough to matter, and it's certainly not an issue if you think your mom will be using two hands to operate the device.

I'd be more concerned with what will be more intuitive to her as a user. Not sure how technologically inclined your mother is, but I made the decision to get the 3G Touch for my girlfriend simply because she was hesitant to use the Kindle and I wanted to get her the one I thought would be most intuitive and immediately accessible. If your mom isn't very tech savvy, a touch screen might be the best way to go. Beyond that, I don't think you can go wrong.

Edit: Also, again, not knowing the extent of your mother's disability, and currently reading East of Eden on my Kindle, it occurs to me that the smaller buttons on the very edge of the Keyboard and Wi-Fi only Kindles might be harder to aim at and hit than simply tapping a large area to turn a page. Just another thought. Happy hunting.

Appreciate the help man. Went to Best Buy today and looked around and finally decided on the Touch. It seems pretty simple and comfortable to use.

We are doing our Christmas this weekend because of work schedules and I can't wait to surprise her with it.
 
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