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

Steve-o

soolin wrote: »

I have sort of half decided to get a kindle but wondered if I needed the wi fi /3GS one or just the wi fi one?

I'm not at all techie and I'm not sure what I'm doing or what I need.

Basically the kindle has all but destroyed my book selling business on Amazon, so if i can't beat them I might as well join in.

With the Wi-Fi model, you will need to connect to a wireless router to buy and download your books. That's not a problem if you already have a wireless router at home, for your internet connection.

The 3G model can connect to Amazon's site using inbuilt mobile phone technology: you can buy/download books wherever you are, as long as there is acceptable mobile phone reception. It can also use wi-fi.

soolin

Thank you, I think I might save for the dearer one then as I like the idea of downloading a new book if I'm stuck in an airport or something.

Nara

I just got a Kindle 3 for my Bday and its great!! I refuse to pay for books though from Amazon so have been checking out sites that offer free ones, also there are people selling disc with thousands of books on ebay, although i'm not sure how 'legal' this is

soolin

Nara wrote: »

I just got a Kindle 3 for my Bday and its great!! I refuse to pay for books though from Amazon so have been checking out sites that offer free ones, also there are people selling disc with thousands of books on ebay, although i'm not sure how 'legal' this is

Can you put ebooks on a kindle?

Hippychick

soolin wrote: »

Can you put ebooks on a kindle?

Yes - you can use free software called Calibre to convert them to amazon format. It's easy as long as the ebooks aren't DRM'd (but you can strip the DRM which may take more effort)

I received my kindle this week and tbh it has surpassed my expectations, it's a fabulous piece of kit. I only went for the wifi option because I have 1000's of ebooks in pdf/epub/mobi format which I just convert with calibre and dump onto the kindle.

I have read 3 books in 3 days, I used to be an avid reader but stopped due to being unable to hold a book properly thanks to rheumatoid arthritis, the kindle is perfect, very light and easy to change pages. It has ignited my passion for books again.

I also purchased amazons cover, yes it is expensive but it fits the kindle like a glove and the hook mechanism to hold the device in is simply genius. The leather is very tactile and my kindle feels extremely protected.

Before purchasing the kindle I had a play with the sony in waterstones, I wasn't impressed, yes it looks pretty but the page turns were shockingly slow, I got annoyed after about a minute of playing with it, there was also some slight ghosting on the model I was looking at, the kindle changes pages very quickly and no ghosting, perfect.

1jim

I have the kindle3 as well, its great, to be honest I dont mind bying the books from amazon, the books I have wanted to read so far have all been cheaper than the paperback/hardback version of the same book, some by 50p some by £3-4 or more but the benefit is the convenience, less than 1min after buying the book online you can be reading it.

DizzleUK

Kinfinity is an excellent forum for all things Kindle. It includes a Book Club now too.

I've had my Kindle for just under a week now and I love it. I highly recommend any avid reader to get one.

S0litaire

DizzleUK wrote: »

allKindle is an excellent forum for all things Kindle. It includes a Book Club now too.

I've had my Kindle for just under a week now and I love it. I highly recommend any avid reader to get one.

Been in the site, some good info there. ^_^

Yolina

Nara wrote: »

I just got a Kindle 3 for my Bday and its great!! I refuse to pay for books though from Amazon so have been checking out sites that offer free ones, also there are people selling disc with thousands of books on ebay, although i'm not sure how 'legal' this is

There are plenty of free ebooks to be had in a variety of formats (legally I may add) i.e the out of copyright classics - one such good place is the Project Gutenberg website www.gutenberg.org

DizzleUK

Agreed, you're not just restricted to what's on Amazon. You can also use Calibre software to convert files (not just books) to a Kindle friendly format.