Kindle Opinions

In My Humble Opinion
1

Hey everyone, I’m sure we’ve covered this road quite a bit in these parts but I figured with the holidays coming we could make another stab at it.

I’m considering buying a Kindle for my g/f for Xmas this year. I’m thinking about the Kindle Touch. I haven’t done much research yet and I know that most of you are pretty enthusiastic supporters of the product, so I wanted to get some fresher opinions on it. Here’s some bullet points for discussion.

How does it compare to the Nook?

Do you regret buying one?

Would you get a different model if you could?

My g/f isn’t a huge reader. She’s a little picky about what she reads and gets bored quickly with some books. She usually reads the first 3 or 4 pages of a book to decide if she likes it and if that’s too dry she’ll just skip it. I worry that having a Kindle will make the shopping experience harder for her since there aren’t actual books to handle.

The reason I think she’d really like the Kindle is that she reads less than she wants to because she’s so busy. She’s working a lot and will be starting grad school soon, not to mention spending a lot of time back and forth between our two apartments. Having a Kindle in her purse at all times seems to eliminate the issue of having a bulky book on hand and her leaving at home when she might want to be reading it at my place.

She isn’t super technical and she’s a bit resistant to gadgets. I got her an iPhone recently that she’s got mixed emotions about and she’s has previously scoffed at the commercials for a Kindle. Nonetheless, I think she might find a eReader to be a godsend if she’s able to snatch bits of time to read on the train and when bored at my place watching football.

Anyways, the point isn’t so much about her as it is about general opinions about the Kindle. I’m hoping for suggestions on models and accessories. Would it scratch up if she kept it in her purse? Are screen protectors usable on the Kindle Touch? How are the cases available and are they necessary?

Has anyone found it to be a waste of money? Any reasons why it might end up gathering dust? What is the shopping experience like? Do you have any trouble finding things to read within the huge morass that is the Amazon website? How do you find the eBook pricing? Anyone use the eBook lending features at you libraries? Worth while? Amazon just released their own lending service through Amazon Prime, singed up?

Can the Kindle manage 2 accounts if me and my g/f end up sharing the device? Does it have any real practical uses other than as a eReader? I know it can probably take notes and browse the web in a limited fashion, but does it do anything well enough to replace iPhone apps and a laptop?

Well, that got longer and more rambling than I intended it but hopefully it’s enough to start a discussion. Your thoughts please.

2

It took me awhile to get used to carrying it around with me, but now that I do, I love the thing. It takes me forever to finish a book, because finding the time to read is difficult, so I keep a lot of books on it.

You said your gf likes to read a few pages of a book before deciding on it, you can preview books from Amazon before you buy them. Granted, not all the previews go more than a couple pages into the book, but it does give you an idea.

I think I have only bought 2 full price books and I have had mine for almost a year. I read a lot of the free books from Amazon, and the 99 cent books. There is some good stuff out there for free.

Just some ideas.

SFC Schwartz

3

I got the cheapest version of the Kindle, and only after asking a friend a LOT of technical questions.

I mostly am reading free books (yay!) from Project Gutenberg. Great old classics, timeless and wonderful. (And, yeah, a few stinkers!)

Since I got the Wi-Fi but non-3G version, I have to download to my computer, and then transfer books to the Kindle via USB connection. But it works well. No problems whatever.

The Kindle holds a charge for quite a while. I only have to recharge it every three weeks.

The graphics display is only “so so.” Don’t go for it if you need really good display of illustrations. But, that said, I put a collection of art on mine, as an experiment, and the display is not bad. There are times when “so so” is good enough! But, for me, the Kindle is a text machine, pure and simple, and at that, it excels.

It doesn’t weigh much. It’s comfortable to read with, although I find I have to shift my grip on it every so often. An old-fashioned paperback makes you move your hands all the time, but you can fall into Kindle inertia, and get cramps. So, hold it in a different grip every ten minutes or so.

I love the doggone thing! I took it with me on vacation, and it was great!

I haven’t invested in any of the add-on apps, but I am impressed at some of the stuff available. I might get an app for notes and to-do lists and the like.

Oh, and the best feature? Searching! You’re reading a book, and you remember that there was a nifty phrase – “the touchstones of our perennial repositories” e.g. – and where was it? Well, you can search for it, and it pops right up! Try that with a paperback!

4

I’m iPhone ignorant, but I THINK there are supposed to be apps available so you can read books on your phone. I strongly suggest your GF “test drive” ebooks via this method before you get a Kindle.

That being said, I recently purchased the cheap-o Kindle because Kindle has the biggest selection of newspapers and magazines. IMHO, those are reasonably priced, and you don’t have the stacks of paper piled up all over the place.

I also have a Sony Reader. My son-in-law downloaded a bunch of books on it, and I’m still making my way through that library. I was unhappy only because Sony offers next to nothing for periodicals. So I’ve got two readers.

Project Gutenberg is a wonderful resource, no matter which device you choose. But be prepared: even with shopping around, ebooks are horribly expensive. I thought they’d be a bargain, because look at all the trees you save! eBooks cost just as much or MORE than the hardcopies. A super-big OUCH.

Don’t hassle with trying to set up two accounts with the Kindle. Just have both of you on the Amazon account that pays for the books, and then you can use the one-click ordering.

I think at least one of you will enjoy the Kindle. Maybe both!
~VOW

5

I always post roughly the same thing in these threads - think carefully about what you want from your device. For me, battery life was the most important issue so I ended up with a Nook Simple Touch.

Maybe she should try an e-reader app before you buy her a device. If she can read comfortably on an iphone, it seems silly have a whole 'nother gadget.

6

I absolutely do not regret owning a Kindle. I use it almost every day. I like my Kindle 2, which was the most advanced model available at the time. The selection of Kindles available is fairly limited, so you really only have three choices to make:

  1. Keyboard or touch? That really depends on your girlfriend’s preference. Is she comfortable with a touchscreen?

  2. 3G or wireless? Does she have easy access to wireless? Is being able to download a book anywhere on the spur of the moment an important consideration? It’s my favorite thing about the Kindle, so the 3G is important to me. It might not be for everyone.

  3. With or without advertising? This is solely a price consideration, although I understand that the advertising is not intrusive and only appears when you are not actually reading a book.

The Kindle is perfect for a person who likes to read the first three or four pages of a book, because of the ability to download a free sample of any book that interests you. If I hear about a book that even remotely interests me, I download the sample. I usually have a dozen or more samples on my Kindle. Then when I’m bored or finished with what I was reading, I check them out. If you like it, you can download the book. If you don’t, just delete the sample from your Kindle. Even just reading the samples is fun. I’ve tried out many books I would never have considered in the store because of the sample option.

I have the standard black leather cover sold by Amazon, and it works great for me. I do recommend some kind of cover for the full book experience, and also to protect the Kindle.

You don’t need to wander the huge morass that is the Amazon Web site to find books. Just go to the Kindle store directly from the Kindle (or on a computer), and you can find everything available for the Kindle.

The Kindle definitely does not replace an iPhone or other device. Some people use it for games, but it’s primarily a reader. For that purpose, it is superb.

I was recently in a Kindle thread on a different board, and people were asking about the comparison between reading a physical book and reading on the Kindle. I realized that at this point, for me there is absolutely no difference. The experience for me is identical, and if someone switched the Kindle in my hand for the real book on the same page, I doubt I would even notice.

7

I think Kindles are for people who really like books and gadgets --especially the Kindle Touch. Apparently Kindle Touch will kick ass. I can’t wait. :smiley:

Why not buy her something she really wants? It sounds like you’re hoping something magical happens and she says, “OH! Thanks for getting me what I never knew I actually wanted!”

:slight_smile:

But if you’re set on getting it, it can’t be bad. A Kindle will have the ability to play Audible (owned by Amazon) and that may be helpful for a hesitant reader. I listened to the Hunger Games for our school’s Fall Break and found it enjoyable. It’s a set of books I wouldn’t want to read because it’s YA, but I liked having it read to me. And then I passed it on to my students.

8

Any thoughts on the Kindle Fire, which is coming out in about a week?

9

Do you not have WiFi? As I understand it WiFi should pretty much eliminate any need to ever plug into a PC.

Incidentally, what type of connector does a Kindle use? Is it a standard MicroUSB or is it something proprietary?

3 Weeks seems like it way on the low end based on what I’ve read.

10

Eh, I don’t think that’ll help much. We both have the Kindle App installed and she’s got iBooks as well. I’ve used the Kindle app on my WP7, and frankly it’s not a comparison. The screen is too small and the battery life is too precious. They don’t really work as a dedicated reading app and they aren’t much of an analog to actual book reading. I only see these as adjuncts to a real Kindle. Perhaps you have a Kindle and your books and bookmarks are saved and you can grab a couple pages here and there when it’s at home and you’re stuck at the DMV or something.

Well, I’d be lying if I weren’t planning on playing with it some myself. If she hates it I’ll give it a try myself. That said, not having a purse and not commuting by train makes it much less useful for me.

11

Actually, any ereader works really nice on a treadmill or exercise bike. AND you can change the font size to make it easier on the eyes when you are pouring sweat!
~VOW

12

I love my Kindle and use it almost every day. I spend a lot of money on ebooks–there are lots of free / low-cost books out there, and I do read some of those, but I also will often have a certain book in mind, and more commonly ebooks will cost 7-10 dollars. Sometimes even more, believe it or not.

I also play games on it. The blackjack game is pretty cool. I also play solitaire and word games.

Highly recommended.

13

I’ve had a second generation Kindle for about 2 years now and will be getting a Kindle Touch when it releases at the end of this month. I find myself reading a lot more since getting my Kindle than I did before and reading a lot more varied works as well.

It’s great for reading on the go (especially if you like to have several books with you at once, even if it is just a novel and a dictionary) and I really enjoy using it to read the newspaper because it’s so much easier to navigate than the paper edition. It’s also good for reading in positions that might be hard with traditional books (lying on your side, holding something in your other hand, etc.) as you only need one hand to navigate.

As others have noted, a Kindle is probably perfect for someone who often reads a little bit of a book before deciding to read more. I’ve gotten a lot of use out of the sample function and generally have a huge number of samples on my Kindle so I can shop around (so to speak) for the right book to read next.

I can’t say much about accessories, as the only one I’ve ever had was a faux-leather cover from M-edge that I’ve liked a lot. It holds the Kindle securely and has a a strap to keep the cover from flapping open when it’s not in use.

Hmmm. That hasn’t been my experience. I think that unless you shop around a lot to bargain hunt or buy a lot of books used, this isn’t too much of an issue. Quickly comparing the Kindle prices to Amazon’s prices for paper books, the Kindle seems to win most of the time. (As evidence, a few samples: Steve Jobs, Catherine the Great, Murder on the Orient Express, The Litigators, 11/22/63. None of these are massively cheaper in ebook form, but each of them is at least a couple of dollars cheaper. In fact, in looking up examples, Inheritance was the only book I saw that was more expensive for the Kindle, and that was by one cent.)

14

I have a Kindle 3G and love it. I originally got the Amazon cover without the booklight. Apparently several of those covers have a known issue of freezing the Kindle (it happened to mine). Amazon sent out a cover with a booklight as a replacement. I actually use that booklight more than I thought I would.

  1. If you get a Kindle…get Calibre.

  2. I enjoy Delivereadsas well.

15

I really like mine, although with publishers raising the prices on e-books to the $12-$15 range (which I refuse to pay), the library card is getting more of a workout. They’ve put owners in the position of sometimes making the choice of paying $5 for an actual book, or $10 for the e-version. However, if you don’t absolutely have to have the most recent best-seller, there are good deals on a lot of books, and a goodly number of free ones (I just read the short novels of Steinbeck for free). Also, with Amazon Prime ($79/year), you can “borrow” one book a month for free.

Make sure you get some sort of protective carrier for it. Droppage is not the Kindle’s friend.

16

My wife was interested in one of those for Christmas. The one big downside I can see for it versus the lesser Kindles is that the battery life is WAY less. The specs say reading time is only like 8 hours with a 4 hour recharge, whereas I charge up my older Kindle once a month or so with regular use. Also, the screen is not an “e-ink” screen, so I don’t know if reading on it will be as comfortable as the older Kindles. In form and function it appears to be more similar to an iPad or other tablets than to the other Kindles or e-readers.

17

Definitely. To be honest, I don’t really think of it as being the same kind of device as the rest of the Kindle line. What really defines an ebook reader, at least to me, is the non-luminous e ink display. Once you give it a big bright (LCD?) screen, you’re talking about a tablet computer which is a completely different thing.

18

I have had my kindle now for a year.

I love it. I got the original kindle, just before they released the kindle 2 (so, I guess I may have had it now for 2 years? Maybe?) and it is the best gift I have ever received.

Total disclosure:
I don’t know much about the pricing, as I aquired my books via less than legit sources.

I used to have a lot of downtime at work, and having my kindle kept me from playing mindless flash games all day.

Also, having the ability to keep a dozen books in my backpack was kinda nice. I will usually be reading 2-4 books at any given point, so it worked out pretty well for me.

I don’t have a “case”, per se, but I do have a Belkin sleeve that I keep it in when I’m travelling, and that works pretty well.

19

FYI, B&N just released its Kindle competitors and they’re apparently quite good:

20

I love my Kindle. I own the DX, because I don’t have to stuff it in a pocket and I like full-sized pages. It carries everything I need to read. Baen Books keeps me supplied with SF cheap, so I never lack for something new. Couldn’t imagine traveling without it.