I’ve been hesitating to jump into the e-reader market but the Paperwhite just may be the one that makes me take the plunge!
I’ve got an iPad (work-issued) that I use often as an e-reader, which is why I’ve delayed buying a Kindle. It’s really awesome to be able to read full-color comic books and magazines on it, and to be able to effortlessly switch to browsing the web, checking my e-mail, listening to podcasts, playing games, etc.
But the iPad is relatively large, and of course it uses up the battery more quickly than an e-ink reader. I really don’t have any problems with eyestrain from reading the iPad’s backlit screen for long periods. E-ink screens do look really nice, though, and this new “paperwhite” screen may be enough to get me to pull the trigger on a Kindle.
I agree with this 100%. I’ve owned (or purchased as a gift for someone else) every non-DX model of Kindle since they were released, and my favorite by far is last year’s no-frills model with ads. The ads are not intrusive at all, and have alerted me to a few worthwhile deals I would have otherwise missed. If you’re a heavy Amazon user the ads actually are a beneficial feature. I’ll most likely buy a paperwhite with ads soon.
Text to speech was a novelty I never used. I won’t miss it at all.
I turned on Text to Speech a few times. It’s like listening to a robot read. It’s really not even worth it. I’ve never made it though more then a sentence or two.
I’m still very happy with my Kindle 3 (AKA Keyboard). I’d prefer one without the keyboard, since I never use the one I have, but it doesn’t bother me enough to make me want to buy a new one.
Still don’t want/need colour, touch screen, bells and whistles.
I think my brother has the Keyboard. I have the touch. I never saw the need for the keyboard. The only think I’ve ever typed into it is my Wi-fi password, a few bits of personal info when I set it up and maybe some light browsing on Amazon (for books) if I don’t feel like waiting until morning and using my computer or if I’m just looking for a game or some sort of free magazine or newspaper to download. I’ve probably typed less then a thousand characters into it. I typically just do everything on my computer throughout the day and then flip on wi-fi and it all downloads in a few minutes.
I think the Kindle HD has one of the highest resolution screens of any Android* tablet, if not the highest. I want one just for that reason.
I also want the Kindle Paperwhite, if the display contrast really is good as they claim.
*I know, it’s not a “real” Android device.
I have a Keyboard and I was planning to probably upgrade to this new one because my daughter wants mine, but now I won’t. Why on earth would they cut the memory in half? Yeah the cloud blah blah blah, I don’t care. And I like to use mine to listen to MP3s.
Anyway, I just wanted a new one because they’re smaller and the built-in light is nice. The lighted cover for the Keyboard is pretty bulky. But then I think, what does it really matter? I was looking for an excuse to upgrade, but I didn’t find one. Maybe next generation.
I’m confused. I thought the whole point of the e-readers was that they got their data via electronic distribution. Where does a human librarian come into the picture?
Can’t you access most Amazon products from other devices? I know I can read Amazon books on my Nexus 7–perhaps that’s true for movies and shows as well? And I know music can be transferred over easily enough since it’s DRM-free.
Incidentally, I love my Nexus. While I like the Fire line, apparently the HD’s run like a dog, whereas the Nexus is buttery-smooth.
I bought my first Kindle - Kindle touch - over Christmas. It has become my baby. This Paperwhite business? Only $119 for real? I must have it.
Presumably there’s some rigamarole you have to go through to download the library’s copy of an e-book. Considering most people already have a tenuous grasp on their tech, I’d imagine a lot of library patrons just flop their e-reader (or, more likely, the cast-off e-reader their kids gave them) on the circulation desk and say, “Do that thing with the books.”
Would I be able to watch my Amazon Prime and bought movies on the Nexus? I really don’t know.
It would bother me that my battery life is being drained, when a kindle can otherwise stay powered on nearly indefinitely.
Not that I own a Kindle–they’re just finally getting to what I think is the right price for the concept.
And my objection to ads is not that they are intrusive. It’s that they are trying to manipulate me into buying something. If I want something, I’ll go look for it. The thing is, if I don’t know about something, I by definition can’t be unhappy that I don’t have it.
It all depends on what you need it for. I read books on mine (the Touch) and don’t see a need to upgrade. The Xray sounds useless, and while I’ve listened to books, I don’t feel the need to coordinate between text and audio (although I see some here that love it for that reason).
What I find most amusing is that in the last twenty years, we’ve moved from televisions to computers to “media consumption devices” such as the iPad. That is, TVs you pay more for.
I don’t have a Nexus, but I believe the answer is: yes, if you’re willing to sideload the Firefox browser & Flash (separate downloads) and then you’d watch the videos from the browser. It’s not hard, and it’s not the same as having to root your device.
There is no Amazon app for watching Prime videos on Android devices at this time. There is one for the iPad, though, so who knows if they’re planning to build one.
The number one reason I bought a Fire last winter is because I also have Prime and wanted a super-sized iPod touch that meshes with the webstore I actually use, not iTunes. I’m happy enough with it that I’m not going to bother to upgrade it. It’s not a productivity device but it’s perfectly nice for light entertainment and wiki consultations.
Do the ads really drain the battery life? I thought a static image on the e-ink screen used virtually no power.
Question for Kindle owners: If you buy the “special offers” version, can you change your mind later and pay the difference to remove ads from your device?
Yes. And it has just been announced that you can do the same with the new HD.
My understanding is that display of a static image on the e-ink screen uses no power at all - I never turn my Kindle all the way off, the (author image) “screensaver” is always displayed, with no perceptible effect on battery life.
I don’t have the ads so am not 100% sure how they work - if they change periodically then the screen refresh will use a tiny bit of power (same as a page turn), and if you have wifi turned on and it syncs with Amazon periodically that will use a bit as well - but I think overall you’re correct that the effect of the ads on battery life is negligible.
Ads use no extra power with the e-ink Kindles. If your Kindle isn’t special offers, then they have a non ad screensavers on your screen when it is locked. Yes, from what I understand the static image uses very little power. Most of the power usage occurs when turning pages.
Yes. You pay a fee to remove the special offers and go ad free. It’s higher than the fee they are charging for the new Kindle Fires.
I got a kindle touch last year for christmas. I love it. The paperwhite version that came out this year looks really cool. If I ever needed to upgrade that’s the model I would go with. Built in light? Very cool.
I think the new Fires look like a big upgrade over the last version. But, I’m still not impressed enough to consider getting one. If I got a tablet I would probably still opt for an iPad.
I thought it was a pretty big mistake to ONLY offer an ads supported version of the Fire. As I said, I don’t mind the ads on my Kindle, but having the ability to remove the ads if I wanted to, or purchase one without ads was nice. And, I imagine ads on the Fire are a bit worse. And, they still aren’t offering a way to purchase a Fire without ads. You have to buy the special offers version and pay the 15 bucks later to get rid of the ads.
They saw the error of their ways pretty quickly. And, now are offering the ability to get rid of them for 15 bucks. They must have realized this as going to be a possible problem, and had that as a plan in case of too many complaints. I am not sure why they wouldn’t start that way, as they had with the e-readers.
I am pretty surprised they are charging such a small amount to get rid of the ads.
ps:
Huh. For some reason I thought it was $35 to remove ads from my Kindle Touch. I was wrong. It’s only 20 bucks. So, never mind my talk about that.