I read the thread but didn’t see this addressed (sorry if I missed it.) There is a Kindle appLICATION you can install on your phone or PC or tablet or notebook that lets you read anything you’ve purchased as a Kindle book to be read regardless of what happens to be in your hand at that time.
However, you do need an actual Kindle because they are light, easy to read, and do one thing and do it excellently. Because you already have a smartphone/computer you don’t need the bells and whistles a high end version may or may not do well, just get the bare-bones version that’s currently available. (I have I think the second generation, which has jaw-droppingly dropped in price since I got mine.) I WOULD go for one with a keyboard though so you can search for specific authors/books/topics etc.
Can’t I just search for authors/books on my laptop? I don’t anticipate being somewhere where I don’t have access to a computer but need to download a book.
It sounds like you should just go with the wifi version, which is fine it saves you some bucks.
I am probably going to repeat some things others have said, but let me go over my thoughts on the Kindles. (I don’t have a Nook, but I hear good things about them, too.)
I’ll skip over the fire, because you will be paying for stuff you don’t need, since you already have your laptop.
Kindle $79 $109
This is the barebones Kindle. There’s no keyboard, no 3G and no touch screen. Just a little pointing device at the bottom of the screen. The cheaper version has ads as a screen saver (never while you are reading) and the extra 30 bucks gets rid of the ads. (From what I understand you can pay the 30 bucks after you buy the device.)
Kindle Touch $99 $139 3g($149 $189)
This is the version I have and I love it. The touch screen is responsive enough for my needs, and the screen is great. It is awesome to have an entire library of books to walk around with. There is a feature on Amazon books called X-ray which is really awesome. You click on it and it shows all of the characters in the book/chapter/page and you click on them it will show their biography, and each page they have been featured on. I have the wifi version and I am perfectly happy with it. It’s rare that I am not near a wifi access point. And, I usually read a book from cover to cover before starting a new one, so that is fine with me. Also, my library has a pretty good selection of Kindle books that are easily checked out, and sent to my device. The touch screen keyboard would suck for writing essays, or long love letters, but for simple searches and notes it works just fine. The more you get used to how it works the easier it is.
Kindle Keyboard 3g $139 $189
Kindle DX $379
Don’t know much about these. Just thought I would keep them for completeness sake. DX has a huge screen.
One thing to make sure you get installed on your computer is a program called Calibre. It allows you to sideload stuff onto your e reader from various sources. If you find DRM free books you want to read, this is one way to upload them onto your device. It’s a nice piece of software that does a good job of keeping a record of all your e books.
And with Calibre, there are plugins available that let you remove the DRM from books purchased from Amazon (and supposedly from B&N), so you can strip the DRM, and have the books available on whichever device you own at the moment (say you get a Nook and love it but want to get a Kindle in the future).
I’ve been able to do this with Amazon-purchased books, have not yet succeeded with B&N-purchased books but haven’t tried all that hard. I actually need to pursue it with the B&N books, because I’m finding that things I haven’t read in a while disappear from the Nook and have to be redownloaded. I don’t trust this behavior.
Usual disclaimers:
There are differing opinions as to whether simply removing the DRM is “legal” in the US, with things seeming to lean toward the attitude that as long as you’re doing it for backup purposes and not for sharing etc., you’re fine. If you believe the behavior is illegal, DON’T DO IT.
Obviously, I mean do this only for your own purposes, like when I wanted to be able to load ereader.com and amazon books onto my Nook. Not for sharing with anyone who wouldn’t otherwise have access to my B&N and Amazon accounts (i.e. husband is OK, others no).
Ooh: the reason we went with the Nook vs. the Kindle is because at that time, libraries supported ebook borrowing if you had a Nook, but not with a Kindle. Now the Kindle can handle library borrowing, which levels the playing field. Because of the “disappearing books” issue, I might be more inclined to go Kindle in the future as a result.
Kindle also offers borrowing of books directly from Amazon (I think if you have a Prime membership).
Yes. But don’t get excited - the selection is incredibly limited. If I had to be blunt I would say the borrowable selections consist of “The Hunger Games” series and a big pile of crap.
I’ve found a few good ones in the big pile of crap. But yeah, the selection is limited, but more importantly, you can only take out one book a month.
They caught me on the Hunger Games. Read the first one cuz it was free, but then was forced (yes FORCED!!!) to buy the other two because there was no way in hell I’d wait 2 more months to read them for free.
LOL!! Like the drug dealer, giving out the first hit for free and getting you addicted.
Actually from a library-borrowing standpoint (the public library that is), the selection ALSO sucks - if I’m looking for a particular title, there’s probably a 10% chance or less that the library will have it on their lists. I think a lot of publishers simply don’t wish to make their books available to such a medium.
I have had a better experience with library books, Mama Zappa. The only problem with popular books, is that other people have had the same good experience, so there is a wait. But, out of 40 books I decided to read I think one of them is not available electronically at all. Another 5 could only be found at Amazon. The other 34 could be borrowed. (Sometime eventually for the more popular titles.)
I was surprised by my good luck.
Oh yeah, the DRM stripping is a nice feature. I don’t need it so much for sharing. But, more to keep a copy of my books in case I decide to switch to another company’s product. Or, if my Mom gets a Nook, so I can share books with her.
For the most part it doesn’t matter. Since, I mostly read books from the library. And, I am not in the habit of rereading that often.
You think right. 4 of the Big 6 publishers refuse to allow libraries to buy their ebooks at all. The remaining 2 aren’t much better: one requires the libraries to buy a new copy of the ebook after 26 lends and the other has recently increased their prices for libraries by 300%+.
The ads appear full page whenever your Kindle is in sleep mode or turned off. They are stills, not videos. When you wake up your Kindle, the ad disappears and is replaced by the “splash” page where your books are listed. On the splash page, the ad appears as a banner approx 1/2" high across the bottom of the screen.
These are the only 2 places you will ever see an ad involuntarily. You can also click Special Offers from the menu in order to see the current offers.
It cycles through about 3-4 ads every couple of days (or however often you turn on wifi). Some of the Offers are book related, many are not. Some book offers are available only through Kindle Special Offers. There was a recent deal for a selection of Award Winners (Pulitzer, Nat’l Book Award, Hugo, etc) - choose 1 for 99 cents. Usually the 99 books are so bad they make you embarassed to be alive, so that was pretty sweet.
The ads aren’t bad at all. They fill up the screen every time the kindle goes to sleep. But, while reading you never have to see them.
The ad changes every once in a while. But, there is usually a limited number you will see on your screen. So, you get used to seeing the same thing over and over for weeks at a time.
I thought I would just live with the ads, since it made the device cheaper. But, some of the ads have had deals worth taking advantage of. Half off for pizza at a place I already use. Half off amazon gift card. Ebooks for a couple of dollars a piece, when they usually go for more than double. Interesting price for stuff at a bakery that I had never heard of, but gets good reviews.
All sorts of stuff. And, then sometimes, the ad is just a tip on how to use your kindle.
I’m pretty sure that, if you get the kind with the ads, you can decide to turn them off later by paying the price difference between the ad vs. ad-free versions. If you get the kind without ads, you can opt to turn them on later (I did), but you don’t get any refund for doing so.
So, that’s a pretty strong point in favor of getting the “with special offers” version.
It sounds to me like you want e-ink, not fire. I wanted e-ink too, because the whole point of reading for me is getting AWAY from distractions like compulsively checking my e-mail. I don’t regret my choice for a second.
The only thing about the Touch is that it’s… well, touchy. It’s fairly easy to accidentally turn the page, and on some occasions I have just lost my place completely. I don’t really like the idea of using a keyboard, though.
Now I want the ads, you’ve sold me! Too bad I can’t get money back from Amazon and get them. It’d be different if I could choose the screensavers on my Kindle (without jailbreaking it).
I’ve done it with a B&N book. The same place I got the plugin for Kindle books there was also a B&N one in the .zip file (along with a few others), and you just install it the same way and it works exactly the same. You may have chosen not to install it when you did the Amazon one if you didn’t need it then, but if you redownload it, it should work. Or maybe you got your plugin from a different source than I did, but I haven’t seen them anywhere else.
I have a Kindle Keyboard WiFi. I see they aren’t available any more from Amazon but the 3g version is still.
I would say that the keyboard is not really needed for reading and probably even for going to the Amazon store for books as there is a link from the menu to the Kindle store. The Touch may have issues with accidental page turning, I haven’t had a go with one, but even the basic model will display the same as the Touch or keyboard.
The little 4 way control on the Keyboard and basic isn’t that hard to control. I can even use my thumb on it quite easily.
I love mine. Reading is easy in just about any place and even a cheap book light can clip on for reading in the dark. I don’t have a cover so I’m a little careful not to crunch it but I take it just about everywhere in my man bag.
I’m almost 100% certain I don’t want to bother with the Fire. Even if I didn’t care about the extra cost I’d care about the battery life.
I think what I’ll have to do is find someplace I can try one of the 3G Touch versions to see if I have accidental page turning issues with my (uber-long, uber-skinny) fingers.