I have a ton of Amazon gift certificates (from answering surveys) and am looking into getting a Kindle. But it’s hard from the specs and reviews to find out what I need.
I have an iPad, which is a bit heavy for reading (and hard to read in the sun). Maybe it spoiled me.
I’ve been looking at the Kindle Touch. I don’t really need the color, but I was wondering if you can do anything on the Internet (via Wi-Fi, of course) with it.
How do you read PDFs? Can they be downloaded onto the Kindle (via USB is fine)?
Also, for those who have Kindles, what do you like most and least about them?
There a browser in the “Experimental” section but it isn’t easy to use.
You can read them directly, but the fonts won’t be adjustable and the document wont be zoomable. pdfs that are mostly text usually work ok, especially with the new landscape orientation which gives you more width (the kindle tries to scale all pdfs to fit). Or you can email them to your kindle’s email address, with the word “convert” in the title and it will be converted to the kindle (.mobi) format automatically. Then you’ll be able to change the fonts, jump to a particular page, etc. but the formatting will be changed to allow this.
I have the Touch. Like most: easy to read in bright sunlight and long battery life. eInk is brilliant.
Like least: without a cover it doesn’t feel like a “book” to me. So I have a cover.
Get the DX. I love mine. Pdfs aren’t a problem because Kindles read them natively. The DX is the size of a hard-back book. I get a full page of text on the screen, which is nice. The only thing I don’t like about Kindles is just something native to the platform: if you don’t know exactly where something is in a book, “flipping” trough the pages can be a pain sometimes. As can flipping through your home listings when you have 500 books on the thing.
If you do get one, be sure to download Mobi-to-mobi. It’s a very handy program for cleaning up the meta-data on “other-than-Amazon” books.
The OP might want something smaller, since he complained about the heaviness of his iPad and wanted something lighter. Plus, the DX is considerably more expensive than the other Kindle models, which would only be worth it if you’re going to be reading a lot of PDFs or other things that are not pure text. In the OP’s case, if he occasionally needs to read something that demands a bigger screen, he can use his iPad for that.
What I like most… And this would be generally true of any decent reader… The ability to search! “Okay, somewhere in this book, the author used the phrase ‘perennial repositories.’ Where was it?” Wonderful! Joy unbounded! I hate having to go back and scan a regular book, page-by-page, trying to find a particular phrase.
Also, the space savings. My shelves are slowly emptying out, leaving more room for artwork and toys.
I like everything about it except it’s really, *really *slow for things like going to the home screen (going to a book and turning pages are both really fast though).
I have several hundred books on it and it wasn’t slow before I had very many. Plus it’s a third generation and I don’t know if the current ones have that problem or not. Actually I’ve never even heard anyone else say it about any Kindle, so maybe mine is just special.
I love the 3G Whispernet. Free Internet wherever you go, in most countries!
Oh I’d at least get the one with the keyboard or touch, not the cheapest one with neither.
If you want more of a “tablet” I would actually look at the 7" galaxy tab 2. It is not much more than the fire and it is much nicer to hold and has GPS/bluetooth.
This also allows you to have the kindle app and the nook app installed as well as google play. It can be annoying when an ebook is not available at the one store you have access too.
If you mostly read e-books I would vote for the touch. E paper superior to LCD and the batteries last forever but you will need a reading light at night.
I have the “El Cheapo” Touch…the one with the Amazon commercials for a screen saver. $79.
What I like about it: the price! Screen saver is a nonentity. It only shows up when you turn it OFF. It has a GREAT battery life.
I also have a Sony Reader, and I enjoy the Kindle more because there is more available via Amazon. Plus the material is downloaded directly to the Kindle via wifi. The Sony has a MUCH better file system, but the Kindle wins hands down for the sheer amount of STUFF available to you.
My BIGGEST gripe against ereaders is the fact that books cost so damned much! Many places, such as Project Gutenberg have free books, and free is always good. But if you want the latest-and-greatest, an ebook can cost as much as a hardback!
Will I get rid of old fashioned books? Nah, I love 'em. But I also love my Kindle, and even my Sony.
~VOW
Are you sure you really need both devices? It just seems like a lot.
But…beware that a Kindle isn’t always cheaper. No, the publishers aren’t killing trees and spending dough on publishing, but they sometimes still charge you more for a ebook than the paperback. It’s happened to me with the last three books I bought.
The only reason why I love my Kindle Touch so much is because my son does. It’s pretty much his at this point.
I have two (both gifts). I read on the regular Kindle – no color and no audio, but it has WiFi so downloading is easy and it’s light weight.
I use the Kindle Fire for video (lots of free stuff for Prime members) and occasional internet stuff (weather radar) but the battery life is short when the WiFi is on. I don’t read on it because it’s too heavy.
I have an old-school non-touch Kindle and an iPad, and I love them both in their own ways. Reading on the Kindle is a dream and the whole setup is cheap and lightweight, so I don’t mind using it on the beach, on the subway, etc. I use it much like a book.
The iPad is obviously a lot more functional, but I hate reading on it and it’s too heavy and expensive to tote around without thinking about it. I use it more like a computer.
Amazon, confusingly enough, doesn’t have a specific name for that model other than simply “Kindle”; but I’ve seen other sites refer to it as “Kindle 4” or “4th generation.”
Amazon has covers, lighted and non, for its various Kindle models, but they’re pretty expensive. You can find cheaper covers elsewhere, like on ebay. For example, I found a lighted “El Cheapo” cover for $21, which is just over a third of what Amazon is asking, though I have no idea how the quality compares; and you can find some that are a lot cheaper than that if you don’t mind a light that runs on its own batteries rather than drawing power from the Kindle itself.
I have a Kindle 3 and absolutely love it. My big pro is how comfortable it is to read. I tend to read large amounts in a single sitting so comfort is a big deal. While paper is more pleasant to look at and read books tend to be a bit cumbersome to hold over time. I can hold a paperback open with one hand but it makes my hand quite tired after only ten minutes or so, however I can read the kindle in any position with only one hand and can also turn the pages without moving at all. This is especially nice when reading 600+ page books.
My only real con is that illustrations are never included in the ebook editions, which is a shame since the kindle is actually really good at displaying b/w illustrations, just look at the screen savers for evidence.
I started out with a Kindle Fire, which has a browser and is color, but I realized that it’s overkill for me. What I really wanted was something light and easy to read, and the Fire wasn’t really either of those things - my hands got tired holding up to read, and the glossy screen picked up glare all the time, making it hard to read.
I gave the Fire to my son and got a $99 Touch. It’s much lighter and easier to read. The screen is very much like paper; I miss being able to read in the dark, but I’m happier finding a lamp for dark areas and being able to read better in bright places.
I did not get one with 3G. I decided that the wireless connection would be enough, and I just need to make sure I have a few books available to read if I’m ever going to be away from a wifi connection for a while.
The ads don’t bother me, since they only come on when I put the Kindle to sleep. The only problem I really have is sometimes I accidentally turn extra pages, but that’s not major enough to make me want to get another model. I really like the Touch.
I’ve got an iPad that I read ebooks on, but I’ve been wanting to get a Kindle. However, I recently read that Barnes & Noble has come out with a Nook with a “backlit” e-ink screen (actually sidelit, it seems). Has anyone tried one of those out? Sounds like Amazon might be coming out with something similar for Kindle.
I have a Kindle Touch, a Kindle Fire, and an iPod 4g. I’m contemplating an iPad or a Windows Tablet purchase in about six months. I read on all of them, depending on what I have handy, but the Kindle Touch is my preferred option.
The Kindle Touch has better left hand controls for reading than the Kindle Fire or iPod. With the Touch it’s easy to reach with your left thumb, slightly beyond the left side of the device, to turn the page. With the Fire or the iPod, you need to hit closer to the right edge of the device, and I have short thumbs.
The Touch controls are more comfortable to use, imho, than the Kindle 3g with the physical keyboard.
The Touch model includes the XRay feature, which allows you to look up information about the characters in the book you’re reading, and find other places for them in the text. I think it’s pretty neat, although it’s not earthshaking.
However! The free Whispernet on the Kindle Touch only allows you to shop the Amazon store and download books from your archives or the store. The Whispernet on the physical keyboard model allows you to browse the whole internet for free. I almost sent my Touch back when I found out that the Whipsernet model was restricted but decided that I like the ergonomics of it better than the physical keyboard models anyway.
Like others have said, the ad supported version is completely non-intrusive. However, if at a later time, you decide you can’t stand the ads after all, you can always pay the $50 difference and Amazon will turn them off.
Given all that, I would say get the $99 ad-supported wi-fi only Touch version, without Whispernet, or if the Whispernet is important to you, get the $139 Keyboard version.
How to get stuff from your PC to your Kindle: You can connect your Kindle with a USB cable (The Kindle Touch lets you play MP3s if you transfer them this way.)
Buying the Kindle Touch was one of the best things I’ve done all year - even though I’m constantly blowing up my budget.
The best way to get documents into your Kindle library is to install this little app from Amazon on your PC or your Mac.
Then you can right click on an item and choose Send to Kindle from the context menu. Or, if you have a document open on your computer, you can open the Print dialogue and select your Kindle in the list of available printers. It might take a minute or two but the document will show up on your device as a PDF.
