Does anyone here own a Kindle?

Cafe Society
1

I’m guessing there are at least a few people here who’ve got one. I’m thinking about buying one but I’m not sure of a few things and was hoping someone with a Kindle could help clear a few things up for me. I was just wondering:

  1. Assuming 2 hours use, five times a week, how often would I need to recharge it?

  2. Is there any difference between getting a Wi-fi Kindle and a 3G Kindle? I don’t really know the difference, although the 3G (whatever that is) version is more expensive.

  3. I’m aware that there are at least 3 generations (is that the right word) of Kindle. Is there any noticeable difference between a Kindle 2 and a Kindle 3?

  4. How do you actually download an e-book from Amazon?

  5. Is there a wide selection of e-books? If, for example, a book came out in hardback tomorrow, would the publishers release a Kindle e-book version simultaneously? Or would there be a waiting period, similar to the waiting period between hardback and paperback?

  6. I’ve noticed that there are lots of e-books on Amazon at extremely low prices (for instance, here you can get the complete works of Shakespeare for 2 bucks) or free altogether. Seriously, what’s the catch?

  7. How durable is your Kindle? Does it damage easily? Does the screen scratch easily?

  8. I understand that you can access the internet using a Kindle via a special Kindle browser called ‘Basic Web’. Can you access the entire internet that way? Or is access limited? How fast is the access? And how much does it cost? Also, if there is an extra charge, how do you pay it?

  9. Can you turn the internet access off to save battery power?

  10. Finally, do you think your Kindle was worth the money you paid for it? What are the drawbacks and criticisms?

I guess that’s about it. Many thanks in advance.

2

My daughter was given one for Christmas - I bought her the complete works of Edgar Allen Poe for a couple of dollars and a Terry Pratchett for around ten. You can also load your music onto it - the sound is not bad and you can also read kindle on your laptop. Looked for games but couldn’t find anything interesting.

You only need the internet access for a few moments to download whatever you’ve bought.

3

Really? Awesome! :smiley:

But if I wanted to surf the web, post here etc…would I be able to do it via Kindle?

4

She goes on Facebook with it … Frankly I’d get it just to have a slim line sounds thingy.

5

  1. Assuming 2 hours use, five times a week, how often would I need to recharge it?
    Less than weekly. I got one at Christmas and, after charging it Christmas day, I used it about an hour a day. Just last week it complained the battery was low. I actually had forgotten that Kindles need recharging.

  2. Is there any difference between getting a Wi-fi Kindle and a 3G Kindle? I don’t really know the difference, although the 3G (whatever that is) version is more expensive.
    I have a Wi-fi, which gets content through my house wireless network. The 3G version (which also has Wi-Fi) would be able to get content anyplace cell phone signals are available. IIRC there’s no cell charge or account, at least not for the user (I guess Amazon must be paying the cell companies for it).

  3. I’m aware that there are at least 3 generations (is that the right word) of Kindle. Is there any noticeable difference between a Kindle 2 and a Kindle 3?
    Dunno, but I think the Wikipedia article explained it. Seemed like a good article. While we’re on the subject, customer ratings on Amazon are full of good info, too.

  4. How do you actually download an e-book from Amazon?
    You buy the Kindle edition of a book, with one click. It just appears, in a few seconds.

  5. Is there a wide selection of e-books? If, for example, a book came out in hardback tomorrow, would the publishers release a Kindle e-book version simultaneously? Or would there be a waiting period, similar to the waiting period between hardback and paperback?
    Dunno. I have bought a bunch of Stephen King books, but when I looked for books about Mathematica software I think I only found one or two available in Kindle editions.

  6. I’ve noticed that there are lots of e-books on Amazon at extremely low prices (for instance, here you can get the complete works of Shakespeare for 2 bucks) or free altogether. Seriously, what’s the catch?
    No catch. I read Dickens’s A Christmas Carol on Christmas night (not eve, as I didn’t have the thing yet). It was free. I got several others, too. If you had to read it in high school, it’s probably available free. I think it costs Amazon very little to offer them, and makes Kindles inherently more valuable.

  7. How durable is your Kindle? Does it damage easily? Does the screen scratch easily?
    So far so good. It feels sturdy enough.

  8. I understand that you can access the internet using a Kindle via a special Kindle browser called ‘Basic Web’. Can you access the entire internet that way? Or is access limited? How fast is the access? And how much does it cost? Also, if there is an extra charge, how do you pay it?
    Dunno.

  9. Can you turn the internet access off to save battery power?
    Probably. I can turn the radio off to save battery power, which amounts to the same thing, I think.

  10. Finally, do you think your Kindle was worth the money you paid for it? What are the drawbacks and criticisms?
    I like it and think it well worth the expense. It is easy to hold and lighter and less curly than typical paperbacks. It holds a crazy large number of books. However, it is small, and would be a clumsy and meagre way to experience a large-format book with detailed illustrations. I do sometimes bump the wrong key while reading, and have to fiddle around to find what book I was in.

An additional thought - you can get the Kindle application to put on your desktop computer, too. I have mostly bought books while browsing Amazon at my desktop computer. They appear in both places, either “archived” (which I think means they aren’t actually downloaded yet) or in full detail. It all seems well integrated. I have some ebooks with big diagrams that are much easier to see on the computer than on the Kindle, but it may be useful to have them in both places nonetheless. Also, I use a Mac, and there’s been nothing weird about Kindle on the Mac.

6

Really? That’s interesting. I was under the impression that you downloaded the e-book to your PC and then transferred it to the Kindle via a USB connection or something like that. So you’re saying Amazon just ‘beams’ the book straight to the Kindle? If that’s the case, what happens if you lose it or drop it in the bath or something? Does Amazon keep some kind of record of what you’ve bought so you can reacquire it once you’ve bought a new Kindle? I’m assuming you wouldn’t need to buy the e-book a second time, right?

7

It seems that Napier answered your questions, so I’ll just say: I love my kindle. I never have to worry about the battery. I don’t use a case for it, and it has never had a problematic scratch. Reading is a pleasure (not like a computer screen), possibly superior to paper. I love the ability to look up the definition of a word easily as I’m reading. It’s small; if I’m traveling I no longer have to worry about packing multiple books. Many books are free – anything out of copyright – most of the classics. Easily one of the best purchases I have ever made. The only thing that worries me is that if I get an iPad I will be tempted to use it as a replacement for my Kindle. The kindle is superior for what it does, but obviously the iPad has enough other functionality that if I were traveling and had to choose ONE to bring, it would probably be the iPad. I’m conflicted about this.

8

Correct. Amazon keeps track of it, and you can delete it from your kindle, and if you want, beam it right back on to your kindle.

9

I charge mine once every two or three weeks but I don’t use it 2 hours a day. Unlike a device with a backlit screen the Kindle uses minimal power when displaying a page. It uses most of its power (still very low) when changing pages and when the wireless/3g is on. Mine is a DX with the larger screen, I understand that the Kindle 3 has an even longer battery life.

The 3G version lets you access the Amazon store from pretty much anywhere in the world where there is cell phone coverage, and download books directly to your Kindle without you needing a cell phone account or paying any download charges. It also gives you basic internet access (text only essentially.) The 3G access is paid for by Amazon not you (not directly anyway.) For detailed information check the Amazon website for coverage maps. Some countries have more limited access than others, presumably due to difficulties in getting a suitable arrangement between Amazon and the various phone companies.

The 3 has much better contrast on the screen and is available in the graphite colour while the 2 is white. I would get a 3 if I was to buy one now.

Many older works are out of copyright. They are available for free or a very small charge. The catch is that you get what you pay for and sometimes the transcription to ebook format might not have been done with as much care as a $10 ebook. Having said that, the worse transcription I’ve experienced was in a recent full price ebook.

It costs you nothing directly though obviously Amazon is paying for it and it comes out of their revenue which is coming from you and me and everyone else who spends money with Amazon. The e-ink screen used in the Kindle is quite limited. At present they’re only in grey scale and they don’t refresh very quickly which means they are great for static pages of text that you get in a book but you can’t do anything like surf youtube. Think of it as a way to check email, browse the Amazon site for new books, check wikipedia and do other basic text based tasks.

Yes, I only turn it on when I want to do something specific such as download a book, most of the time it is off. One nice feature of the Kindle is that it remembers where you are up to in a book and if you have the internet access turned on it will tell Amazon where you are up to. If you also have the Kindle app on your PC, iPhone, iPad etc then you can read the same book on multiple devices and you’ll always be at the correct page.

It is great for books but it is not very good at reference material in PDF format where you may need to move back and forth between sections of the book. It is certainly not a full featured tablet like an iPad. If what you want is just a book reader then they are excellent. If you’re thinking it’s like a mini laptop, you will be disappointed.

10

I’d like to add another question about the wireless vs. 3G. I’m planning to upgrade from Kindle v1 to v3, so I’m used to the instant Whispernet technology (3G, I guess). If I go with the wireless only, do I have to go through steps to get it to find my home wireless network, and how do I get my home wireless network to recognize it as a friendly device? (i.e. do I have to enter the wireless router’s encryption key, and how would I even do that with the Kindle??)

Or, if I go to Starbucks or anyplace where wireless is free, will it be an instant connection or do I have to go through multiple steps to access the wireless?

Thanks!

11

I’m going to move this to Cafe Society with all the other Kindle threads.

twickster, MPSIMS moderator

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I do not know what a kindle is.

13

It’s an e-book reader. Download a book you’d like to read and there you go. Sort of like an iPad, but smaller and with less (I think) features. Still a very cool thing to have if you’d like 1,500 books at your constant disposal.

14

You know, I would. Theres books I cannot find anywhere anymore.

15

Here’s a youtube of how the browser looks in action. The monochrome screen reminds me of an original Gameboy, swell for text, but with no mouse, all cursor movement is by the directional control buttons. A little cumbersome but if you notice the buttons on the side of the kindle for page turning, they are the browser scroll buttons. Just click with your thumb. Posting’s kind of like texting on a keyboard equipped phone- not as smooth as a computer keyboard, but doable. You do have to whomp on the keys a bit.

I’ve had a 3G version for a whole 4 days, and I’m liking it muchly. For the $30 (I think) difference I can drop the web browser fee from my phone, and absolutely *not *fuck around on the internet while at work ;). I’m sure Amazon will start charging for it some time, but as long as it’s not in the next 4 months, I break even! The 3G lets you download books from anywhere, so you don’t have to go find a starbucks or some other wifi place if you’re away from home. Bookwise,(either 3G or wifi) it has a lot going for it: you can download samples of books (usually the first 2 chapters or so) for free to see if it’s all it’s cracked up to be; it’s much lighter than a book, and you can adjust the text size instead of having to wear readers if you’re a middle age coot like me.

You can load mp3’s onto it, but you can’t set a playlist-they just play in the order they were transferred. I threw on some environmental background stuff, but you could try matching appropriate music to whatever you’re reading. What would pair well with Pride and Prejudice and Zombies?

16

I got one for Christmas, the version without 3G, which I really didn’t need anyway.

Best. Present. Ever.

I use mine fairly constantly, at least a couple of hours a day, more if it’s a slow day at work, and I only have to charge it about every couple of weeks. Downloading books is ridiculously easy, whether you do it straight to the reader or to the computer to transfer over. I don’t have wireless internet at home, so that’s what I do. You have to do some digging but there’s some good free stuff out there. The web browser on it is okay, but I wouldn’t buy one just for that, it’s kind of klunky to use. But I’ve used it to look around for free stuff on other sites.

I absolutely love this thing. I am a major bookworm with very little room in my house. I got a case for mine ($12 plus shipping, I can’t comprehend spending $50 on one!) and it goes with me everywhere the same way I’ve always carried books everywhere.

17

As others have said, once you buy a book from Amazon, it is sent automatically to your Kindle.

If you get an e-book or document from some other source, you’ll have to get it to your Kindle yourself, either by downloading to your PC and transfering to your Kindle via USB cord, or by e-mailing it to your Kindle (which is either free or costs a small amount, depending on whether you use the WiFi or 3G email).

Not all books are available for the Kindle, but for those that are, I think the standard practice is for the Kindle edition to be released at the same time as the hardcover.

The “catch” in the case of older works (like Shakespeare) is that they’re in the public domain; nobody owns the rights to them, so they get offered free or cheap. Some of those free editions have drawbacks (typographical errors, parts left out); others are every bit as good as e-books you’d pay for.

The ultimate source for public-domain e-books is Project Gutenberg.

Some of the other freebies you’ll find on Amazon are modern books that the publishers have, for whatever reason, decided to make available for free (sometimes only for a limited time)—perhaps in hopes of generating interest and publicity for the book, its author, or its series.

You will probably want to get a case for your Kindle. Amazon sells them, but the one I have is a pretty good one that I bought on ebay for significantly cheaper than the ones Amazon advertises.

No extra charge—although if you read Amazon’s policies, it looks like they left the door open so that they could start charging if people started using that feature so much that it was costing them too much money to provide the internet access.

You can access the whole Internet, but not everything will show up or “work” properly on your Kindle. It’s okay for, say, looking something up on Wikipedia; but in general, there are much better ways to browse the internet.

In previous threads (like this one) where people have answered the “was it worth it?” question, the “yes” answers (some of them quite enthusiastic) have outweighed the "no"s, but there have been some "no"s. (My own personal answer: Yes.)

The blog From the Desk of Mrs. Wizard - A Kindle Blog addresses many of the questions a beginner might have about the Kindle and has lots of tips for newbies.

18

How are “old” people adapting to it? By “old” I’m asking the people to state the decade they are in.

19

My parents love theirs. Mom’s a boomer, dad’s pre-boom.

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The ability to increase the font size and even have the Kindle read the story to you should make them popular with older people as long as they aren’t technophobic. I’m thinking of buying one for my father (who is 70).