thoughts on the kindle...i read a lot and wonder

soolin

Oh, I have asked my OH for the kindle for Christmas, but i want it now.....I could always get it on order and if it arrives early suggest I need to 'try it out' in case there is a problem.

I've bookmarked the kindle forum and the gutenburg site. So next question , how long are people waiting for their kindle to arrive after ordering? I think I'll go for the £149 one.

Yolina

The backlog of orders is clearing...I think Amazon have received (or are about to) a big shipment. I ordered mine (wifi only, don't need 3G and would rather save £40 lol) on the 19th and have been given a despatch date of the 28th

Edit: I've just remembered that when I ordered, Amazon had an "out of stock - expected dispatch 2-3 weeks" notice in big, bold letters on the Kindle page - this seems to be their "worst case scenario" as it looks like mine will be sent 9 days after ordering. I wish more companies would follow that practice instead of telling you it's in stock when it's not...

leosayer39

I have just read this whole thread and as I see it...

Most people are very happy with their kindle..be it just the Wi Fi version or the 3g one..

Some people prefer the Sovos reader (displays colour images and can play movies and is much cheaper than a kindle)

Sony pocket readers seem to be ok. (the Sony PRS600 Touch got mentioned earlier)

If I get an e-reader then the mobileread.com website is a must!

If I get a kindle then Calibre is a must have..... in order to convert non Amazon books to a format that the kindle can read.
The website http://allkindle.co.uk/ is also a must for kindle people.

Hmmmmm....an e-reader is at the top of my xmas present list..just need to decide which one??

FloFlo

This may be a stupid question but I have read the thread am interested in the 3g kindle. Do you pay for the cost of the mobile signal you use to connect to amazon?

OK just read the amazon description which answers my above question - its free.

Yolina

Yep FloFlo the 3G is free and provided by Vodafone (Amazon's choice of provider being another reason why I decided NOT to go with the 3G version...)

FloFlo

I have a question about 3G coverage, we cruised this year and may cruise again this year. When phoning home our mobiles automatically went through the maritime mobile connection which was expensive, so can you buy a book at sea using the kindle 3g free connection or would I need to pay for the ships wifi service?

S0litaire

Depends on what 3G signal you'll be able to get at sea! (probably spotty and non-existent for most of the cruse!)
So you're stuck with the Ships WiFi.

To be honest, Load up on books before you go and turn off 3G and WiFi to save the battery! A full charge should last you the whole cruse worth of reading. ^_^

Yolina

No idea whatsoever, sorry. I think there's a coverage map somewhere on the Amazon kindle pages, but I doubt if that will give you any indication about when at sea!

Edit: map here: http://client0.cellmaps.com/viewer.html?cov=2&view=intl

Also found this interesting bit in the T&Cs:
Events beyond our reasonable control (such as changes in service or terms by wireless carriers) may impact the terms or circumstances under which we provide you wireless connectivity and may result in a change to these terms or a temporary or permanent modification or loss of wireless connectivity for your Kindle.
And having had first hand experience of Vodafone, I wouldn't put it past them to try charging in the future...

soolin

OH says i should it order it now so i am guaranteed to get it before our next holiday..I just can't decide what to do. It's not as though it is likely to change in price at all and I do so hate making impulse buys.

Yolina

What really won me over was to view it as a bookcase... I have 3 big floor to ceiling bookcases in my corridor on which I can roughly fit 1500 books in all, I have room in them for possibly another 300. On the kindle, I can fit over 3000 books... Also worth considering all the out of copyright books that are available on the Gutenberg site (33,000 apparently)