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My wife who reads paperbacks 7 days aweek is considering buying a Kindle type device. Can anyone recommend/advise on the ones to look for not necessarily Kindle.
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iPad...get the free app and bingo and it does everything else.
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Just off out to the Women's Tour ………..
Don't rush out to buy a Kindle until I get back - my wife can speak from experience of both i-pad and Kindle!
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iPad is an expensive e reader. Not up to speed on latest options but I have a 3 g keyboard one, I can see one of those refurbed on eBay for £40, a low risk option.
Boss has a Sony touch one that she uses for ebooks from the council library. Faff to download books to that one though. Kindle or kindle app are 'automatic' for books from Amazon.
I'm going to replace my iPhone soon with a Galaxy S5. I'll be interested to see what sort of e reader substitute that makes.
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>> I'm going to replace my iPhone soon with a Galaxy S5. I'll be interested to
>> see what sort of e reader substitute that makes.
I actually find my (work) S4 with its 5" screen too big - I like being able to hold my reader comfortably in one hand. So I use my Desire C (3.5").
EDIT: the work iPhone 5 I had previously was the right size for me
Last edited by: Focusless on Sun 11 May 14 at 11:45
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The iPad is big, heavy, awkward, fragile, and uncomfortable for reading anything other than a magazine. Don't bother with it if that's the sole intention.
The eInk display used on readers is phenomenal technology, IMHO one of the best inventions of the last 20 years.
Kindles are available for £39 (refurbished) direct from Amazon:
local.amazon.co.uk/National-UK/B00K0GKGEE
Alternatively Kobo do good readers and let you buy from other stores / borrow from your local library. I have the Aura HD, which has a much higher resolution screen than the Kindle and better backlighting.
Calibre on your PC and a plugin called DeDRM allows you to buy books from any store and use them on any device.
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>> I actually find my (work) S4 with its 5" screen too big - I like
>> being able to hold my reader comfortably in one hand. So I use my Desire
>> C (3.5").
>>
>> EDIT: the work iPhone 5 I had previously was the right size for me
I like a decent amount on a page for reading. But I do like the size and pocketability of my 4S for general use, and the ease of using one handed.
For calls I use earphones or bluetooth earpiece anyway. A 32GB iPhone looks poor value, and the card slot on the S5 makes more sense when 16GB isn't enough. Separate thread needed I think!
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I have a Kindle with Keyboard, my Partner a Fire HD and we bought my mum a 6" Kindle.
If it is for purely reading books then the original Kindle and current 6" are both excellent.
The battery last for weeks.
The font size is adjustable. No glare from the screen.
There is a limited MP3 player and Web Browser on my keyboard version. Neither great but both useable.
There is a paper white version available with built in light.
The keyboard and 6" version have no backlight. Neither of clip on lights I tried were very good. I just treat it like a normal book.
I find it easier ordering books from my Laptop but have searched/ordered via the Kindle.
The Fire is a Tablet.
My Partner uses it for books, movies, TV series and a few games.
Battery life is a few days.
My mum, in her 70s is very happy with her Kindle and finds it and Amazon easy to use.
She still picks up the odd analogue book from Friends, Charity Shops, Jumbles, etc.
The best thing for her is not having to take lots of books when going away for weeks at a time.
I expect Billy is not selling many bookcases these days.
Last edited by: VxFan on Mon 12 May 14 at 00:57
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Depends what you want to do with it and where you're prepared to buy books from. Kindle + Amazon is hard to beat in terms of ease of use - Amazon always make it as easy as possible for punters to spend their money.
SWMBO alternates between her 3rd gen Kindle and first gen Kindle Fire on an hourly/daily basis, depending on battery state, without issue.
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I've had a Sony PRS 300 - brilliant
Then the battery ran out, so I went for a Prestigio. Which was good til I slammd it in a car door.
Bought a Gobi, which does the job admirably - the size of a standard paperback, but slimmer.
All three fitted into a suit's/jacket's inside pocket.
The 'new' kindles seem to be like BMW 3 series. Do the job, but just get bigger and bigger.
Kindle does tend to tie one into Amazon.
apropos to nothing whatsoever, ebook3000 and alfalib seem decent sites.
Calibre is also your friend.
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Old, out of print books may not be of interest in which case the excellent free service Gutenburg will not be either. But I mention this because Gutenbrg say Kindle Fire makes connection with them hard (earlier Kindles are fine). My local library is not hitched up to Kindle but buying direct from Amazon is very, very easy and a few titles are free or under £1.
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My wife is a recent convert to the Kindle Paperwhite, I set her Amazon account up for her and now she uses it all the time, reads in bed and the soft light doesn't wake me, she has the wifi version so downloads all the books she wants before going away.
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I have an early US spec Kindle(3G and WiFi) and it's fine. I generally use my iPad Mini these days. Saves carrying a gaggle of devices on holiday.
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We've got a brace of Tesco Hudl's. Job done.
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How is the Hudl as a general purpose tablet?
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>> How is the Hudl as a general purpose tablet?
Mine is fine for general surfing etc and reading e-books. Surprisingly good for satnav too after downloading some open source maps.
Camera is not up to much.
You need to make sure you switch it off after use as battery goes i it's left in standby.
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>> We've got a brace of Tesco Hudl's. Job done. >>
You Hudl'd together and came to that conclusion then...? :-) For the price, it's very good value.
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Back from the Tour……….. wow, can those women shift!!!
My wife is an avid reader and says…………..
Her first Kindle was a 'Keyboard' model - the problem was that it needed an external light for reading at night and after about 18 months, the screen packed up. After that, to be honest, we were reluctant to buy anything else branded 'Kindle'!
She then used her (the latest version) i-pad mini with a Kindle app - this made reading at night easier and she was able to download books from the library onto the i-pad. The problems with this were that it was heavier to hold, the glare from the screen is tiring for the eyes and you can't see the screen in bright sunlight - hopeless for reading outside. The i-pad Mini is a great piece of kit - but it isn't the best thing for reading.
Despite initial reservations, she now has a new Kindle Paperwhite which she describes as "fantastic" - it's lightweight, brilliant for reading at night and in sunlight. Earlier versions of the Paperwhite were reported to have problems with light distribution at the edges of the screen, but the new version is fine. It's very easy on the eye - even when reading for extended periods. She bought an 'inateck' hard case for it from Amazon, which comes highly recommended and much better than any Kindle cover at a fraction of the cost.
Hope all the above helps with your wife's decision.
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"Refurbished" electronics from manufacturers always make me think of "lake balls" that are sold cheap to golfers.
I am suspicious at least some the the devices/balls are simply unsold stock from the factory.
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I think you are right.
I have bought "refurbished" a brand new & unused Qualcast electric cylinder mower from Amazon and a similarly described Humax Foxsat box, direct from Humax.
Providing the vendor is reputable and the goods carry a decent warranty, I would not hesitate to repeat the exercise.
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I have a Kindle and absolutely love it. However, it does mean carrying an extra device.
So for "incidental" reading, then I get on very well with the Kindle application on my S4. Obviously not as good a reading device as the Kindle, but good enough for waiting outside music lessons, fencing lessons, parties to end etc. etc.
When travelling and knowing I will want to read a lot, then I take the Kindle.
The Kindle & the S4 remain in sync including last page read and all that sort of stuff.
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>>.. I would not hesitate to repeat the exercise.>>
Absolutely spot on.
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Is the Kindle more reliable and robust than it was a couple of years ago?
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006mg74/features/kindle
When Watchdog rang Amazon eight times posing as new Kindle owners, and asked staff how long they thought our devices would last. Seven said they couldn’t tell us, but the eighth told us,
“Honestly, the way that they make these devices these days, they’ve got a shelf life of about a year…all depending on how gentle you are on it. We only have a warranty for a year.”
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"Is the Kindle more reliable and robust than it was a couple of years ago?"
My wife only got her Kindle Paperwhite at Christmas so it's too early to comment on reliability - save to say I'll be monitoring it closely! It performs well, though ……. let's hope it stays that way!
Earlier, I mentioned that her first Kindle only lasted for about 18 months; I was pretty miffed at the time and I certainly baulked at the prospect of buying a further product of the same brand. I recall that when it packed up, I checked online and there were loads of complaints from people who'd had the same experience.
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Kindle Devices - R.P.
