# Recommend an ebook reader! **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 27, 2012, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-ebook-reader/616913 "2012-03-27T02:09:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-ebook-reader/616913/41 "2012-03-27T17:04:34Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I do want it purely as a reader. I’m pretty well covered in the “looking at websites” area between my laptop and phone. > > **rachellogram** , I’m not sure I need the keyboard. Is there a reason you suggested that one other than the keyboard? Better screen? Because it has 3g, which is _much_ better than wifi. It’s the difference between a cell phone network (which doesn’t have limited access points) and a wifi network, which are generally password protected and can only be accessed at home and certain large businesses. If the only thing you ever, ever intend to do with your Kindle is read e-books, then you can get a transfer cable and a vanilla Kindle and call it good. But the keyboard is nice because if you ever want to browse the web (even if it’s just to download your e-books), the keyboard and 3g are awesome lifesavers. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-ebook-reader/616913/42 "2012-03-27T17:10:58Z")
Yeah, but the link you provided says there’s a non-keyboard 3G one too (for $10 more). Is there something else I’m missing? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-ebook-reader/616913/43 "2012-03-27T17:29:23Z")
I didn’t read all of the above, but will add my vote for a Kindle with the Whispernet feature. It’s not backlit, so you can read when outdoors, the battery lasts a very long time and charges quickly. My only complaint is that after three years, the charging cord became brittle and had to be replaced. Make sure you get some sort of case to protect it in the case it takes a fall. You can have more than one Kindle in your name, so if your spouse wants one, you can both read each others’ books, which means you’re only paying once. ---
**Author:** ![Bumbershoot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbershoot/32/3428_2.png) [@Bumbershoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbershoot)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-ebook-reader/616913/44 "2012-03-27T17:39:51Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Does the Fire do any of the stuff I actually need it for better than the regular Kindles? Not really, since as you said you have the websurfing covered with your laptop and phone. The Fire drains the battery quicker and is heavier, but I usually read in landscape mode on the Fire. It balances better and the weight doesn’t bother me at all that way. The regular e-ink Kindle is probably perfect for you. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-ebook-reader/616913/45 "2012-03-27T17:40:04Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Yeah, but the link you provided says there’s a non-keyboard 3G one too (for $10 more). Is there something else I’m missing? That’s the 3G touch. I don’t recommend the touchscreen varieties for reading on a Kindle, because the touchscreen has been an ongoing problem for me with the Fire. Trying to hold it one handed while lying down on my side (my preferred reading position) is almost impossible without hitting the screen. But that’s really up to you which you’d prefer. I am just heavily biased toward physical keyboards as opposed to touchscreen-keyboards. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-ebook-reader/616913/46 "2012-03-27T18:05:33Z")
I don’t doubt that **rachellelogram** finds the Keyboard model superior for her personal needs. Whereas for me the 3G is a waste of money - normally I’m either at home with my wi-fi or in the subway where there’s no 3G signal, and I have yet to require lifesaving services because I couldn’t wait an hour to get a book I wanted. Downloading books when I’m at home (which takes, literally 30 seconds) is fine for me. I also have no trouble forwarding or not forwarding the Touch as the case may be. I read sitting up, either on the couch or in bed or in a subway seat. And as I noted earlier, I have heard vociferous complaints, particularly from men, about the touchpad-based navigation on the Kindle keyboard. It’s this 1/2 in" square you’re supposed to use. Most men’s index fingertip is larger than the entire space available for “navigation”. You pretty much have to use your fingernail. This is not to say that the Keyboard isn’t a perfectly good device But at $99 for the Kindle Touch wifi vs. $139 for the Kindle Keyboard 3G, there’s a significant price difference. I would have to LOVE some aspect of the Kindle Keyboard and NEED ithe 3G often justify the price difference. I just can’t see the 3G service being significant for most people, unless you have no wifi at home, or you travel almost all the time. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-ebook-reader/616913/47 "2012-03-27T18:09:39Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Wow. Weird. I figured an LCD screen would always put out some amount of light. As noted, it’s not LCD. Ever play with an Etch-a-Sketch? An e-ink sceen puts out as much light as an Etch-a-Sketch screen (or as much as a piece of paper, for that matter). ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Il_Palazzo)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-ebook-reader/616913/48 "2012-03-27T18:09:46Z")
> [@rachelellogram](#): > > That’s the 3G touch. I don’t recommend the touchscreen varieties for reading on a Kindle, because the touchscreen has been an ongoing problem for me with the Fire. Trying to hold it one handed while lying down on my side (my preferred reading position) is almost impossible without hitting the screen. But that’s really up to you which you’d prefer. I am just heavily biased toward physical keyboards as opposed to touchscreen-keyboards. I haven’t had this problem at all with my Kindle Touch, so it may have more to do with the Kindle Fire than with touchscreen readers in general. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-ebook-reader/616913/49 "2012-03-27T18:52:08Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > I was expecting both of those to be true, and haven’t found them to be. In fact, I’m of an age (42) where I can no longer read in low light like I used to, and I find the Fire’s backlit screen makes it easier to read in those conditions than e-Ink or traditional books. This is going to be a subjective thing. My experience has been the opposite, except for the low-light thing (naturally). Maybe the OP should just buy both and return one… ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-ebook-reader/616913/50 "2012-03-27T19:10:49Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Does the Fire do any of the stuff I actually need it for better than the regular Kindles? No. Like I said, as a reader it’s not a speck better than the e-ink version. And in bright light, like outdoors, it’s actually worse because of the glare and backlighting. I get some glare even off the light fixtures in my house sometimes if I’m sitting in the wrong spot/holding it at the wrong angle, and bright sunlight takes away the contrast necessary to see a backlit screen well. With the e-ink, you never get glare because it’s not a shiny surface and you can read even under beach conditions just as easily as with a paperback. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-ebook-reader/616913/51 "2012-03-27T19:18:44Z")
> [@CrazyCatLady](#): > > No. Like I said, as a reader it’s not a speck better than the e-ink version. And in bright light, like outdoors, it’s actually worse because of the glare and backlighting. I get some glare even off the light fixtures in my house sometimes if I’m sitting in the wrong spot/holding it at the wrong angle, and bright sunlight takes away the contrast necessary to see a backlit screen well. With the e-ink, you never get glare because it’s not a shiny surface and you can read even under beach conditions just as easily as with a paperback. _shrug_ once again, there’s no factual answer to “Does the Fire do any of the stuff I actually need it for better than the regular Kindles?” I think it does. **CrazyCatLady** thinks it doesn’t. Maybe do what **Reply** said - buy 'em both and return the one you don’t like. Amazon has a very good return policy. And actually, that’s what I did. I actually bought 2 Fires and 2 Touches, for me and Mr. Athena. We both thought we’d keep the Touches. We both kept the Fires. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-ebook-reader/616913/52 "2012-03-27T19:22:58Z")
I’d get the Fire as well, it is a fine e-reader and also works well as a web browser, e-mail client, and games and app machine if you so choose. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-ebook-reader/616913/53 "2012-03-27T19:27:53Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > This is going to be a subjective thing. My experience has been the opposite, except for the low-light thing (naturally). > > Maybe the OP should just buy both and return one… I don’t really want to shell out the extra for the Fire just because I’ll be paying for a bunch of features I don’t want. I also don’t want to buy both and return one, because I’ll end up not returning the one I don’t pick and giving it to my wife instead. :smack: I don’t really have to worry about my eyes for the time being. I’m (slightly) under 30 and have no trouble with reading. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-ebook-reader/616913/54 "2012-03-27T19:37:49Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I don’t really want to shell out the extra for the Fire just because I’ll be paying for a bunch of features I don’t want. I also don’t want to buy both and return one, because I’ll end up not returning the one I don’t pick and giving it to my wife instead. :smack: > > I don’t really have to worry about my eyes for the time being. I’m (slightly) under 30 and have no trouble with reading. Then go with the cheaper one; they’re both good readers, but if an important point is saving some cash, then the choice is obvious. ---
**Author:** ![raspberry\_hunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@raspberry\_hunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raspberry_hunter)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-ebook-reader/616913/55 "2012-03-27T20:15:48Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Does the Fire do any of the stuff I actually need it for better than the regular Kindles? > [@jacobsta811](#): > > If you plan on putting PDFs on a kindle with any frequency, you want either the Kindle DX or a 10" tablet. This. Or if your textbooks are likely to be formatted for a larger screen. Otherwise get the regular Kindle. > [@Implicit](#): > > If you convert the pdfs to mobi format by emailing them through the Amazon server, then you don’t have to zoom and you can increase the text size like any other ebook. Note: this conversion is only useful for text based pdfs and won’t help with pdfs that have a lot of images/charts. This is true, but such a pain that it’s really not worth it. I did this exactly once, when I first got my regular keyboard Kindle, and decided I’d rather read a paper copy for that amount of effort (or read it on a tablet, which is what I usually do). ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-ebook-reader/616913/56 "2012-03-27T20:23:33Z")
> [@raspberry\_hunter](#): > > This is true, but such a pain that it’s really not worth it. I did this exactly once, when I first got my regular keyboard Kindle, and decided I’d rather read a paper copy for that amount of effort (or read it on a tablet, which is what I usually do). I don’t understand. What amount of effort? Sending an email was such a pain you never did it again? For real? ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-ebook-reader/616913/57 "2012-03-27T20:30:40Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > I don’t understand. What amount of effort? Sending an email was such a pain you never did it again? For real? Sorry, it IS a pain to download a PDF, open up an email client, type in the address, type “convert” in the subject, attach the PDF, wait for it to upload, wait for it to send, wait for Amazon to convert it, keep checking/resyncing the Kindle, all to view a poorly converted PDF. As opposed to one-click viewing on the PC or tablet. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-ebook-reader/616913/58 "2012-03-27T23:45:12Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > Sorry, it IS a pain to download a PDF, open up an email client, type in the address, type “convert” in the subject, attach the PDF, wait for it to upload, wait for it to send, wait for Amazon to convert it, keep checking/resyncing the Kindle, all to view a poorly converted PDF. > > As opposed to one-click viewing on the PC or tablet. The Fire automatically resyncs at startup. So it’s really not all that painful a process. Do other Kindles not do this? I just uploaded 3 pdfs last weekend and I don’t find it a hassle. But then, they were just words… if you had pictures, it wouldn’t convert as nicely I suppose. Probably the biggest reason I want a Kindle 3g Keyboard is because I can’t get wifi at work, but I can get 3g. It’d be nice to be able to surf the web between calls on something other than my work computer. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-ebook-reader/616913/59 "2012-03-27T23:47:30Z")
“Nice” isn’t the word I’d use for the Kindle Keyboard’s web-surfing abilities. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-ebook-reader/616913/60 "2012-03-27T23:58:16Z")
> [@rachelellogram](#): > > The Fire automatically resyncs at startup. So it’s really not all that painful a process. Do other Kindles not do this? I just uploaded 3 pdfs last weekend and I don’t find it a hassle. But then, they were just words… if you had pictures, it wouldn’t convert as nicely I suppose. > > Probably the biggest reason I want a Kindle 3g Keyboard is because I can’t get wifi at work, but I can get 3g. It’d be nice to be able to surf the web between calls on something other than my work computer. The other Kindles do this too, but they only check every so often. When you’re just wanting to read one article, even a few minutes seems like a very long wait (and sometimes it does take that long). Is the process impossible? Certainly not. Is it tedious? For me, yes. Perhaps you’re just more tolerant of electronic annoyances and inefficiencies than I am, or you’ve a greater mastery of patience. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-ebook-reader/616913.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-ebook-reader/616913.md?page=4)