To Kindle or not to Kindle (now, that is!)

biscuit5566

Have been contemplating on buying a Kindle for about half a year now, but kinda put it off, cause I still have some actual books to finish and wanted to wait till I’d go traveling. I heard the Kindle 4 might come out early summer this year.. but I’ve only heard some vague humors. Who knows more?

2010

I don`t know anything about Kindles apart from the ad on the tv saying they are £111.

I assume they come loaded with a certain amount of books, and when you`ve read them you then have to pay to download more onto this device or onto your PC for storing until needed.

How many books come loaded onto it from new?

How much do the new books cost to download?

I assume they work similar to an MP3, only with books instead of music.

anna_grant

I got one for Christmas. It only comes pre-loaded with The New Oxford American Dictionary and Oxford Dictionary of English.

You buy books through Amazon - some that are out of copyright are free, suchs as Complete Works of Oscar Wilde. Others you have to buy but tend to be cheaper than the paperback price.

I've downloaded some samples of books to read before buying - it's usually about 20 pages or so.

Also, some writers/publishers will put a book up for free for a short time to entice you to start reading a particular authors work.

It's also useful for work as I can read PDFs on it. I convert whatever work document I need to read on the train into a PDF and then e-mail it to my Kindle e-mail address. I was doing that on my way in this morning - i was able to annotate the document. When I get home the Kindle picks up the document from my wireless network and then it's there to read. I haven't bothered with the 3G version.

The main benefit for me is going to be when I go on holiday - no more arguments with my OH about the amount of weight I'm taking up in the luggage with books!

Syman

biscuit5566 wrote: »

Have been contemplating on buying a Kindle for about half a year now, but kinda put it off, cause I still have some actual books to finish and wanted to wait till I’d go traveling. I heard the Kindle 4 might come out early summer this year.. but I’ve only heard some vague humors. Who knows more?

http://hubpages.com/hub/Kindle-4

2010 wrote: »

I don`t know anything about Kindles apart from the ad on the tv saying they are £111.

Wifi only £111 - 3g + Wifi £152

2010 wrote: »

I assume they come loaded with a certain amount of books, and when you`ve read them you then have to pay to download more onto this device or onto your PC for storing until needed.

How many books come loaded onto it from new?

No books are loded on it as a default

2010 wrote: »

How much do the new books cost to download?

Varies from £0.00 but latest books tend to be more expensive than their paper counterparts

2010 wrote: »

I assume they work similar to an MP3, only with books instead of music.

Pretty much sums it up.

squeaky

Actually you can give the system a try out by downloading (from the Amazon Kindle page) the Kindle for PC software.

I've got it on my laptop, so I'm not tied to my PC chair.

Lots of free books, though most are old. A few more modern ones for not much. Up to date stuff tends to be expensive.

I think its real value and flexibilty comes if you travel a lot. One Kindle or five paperbacks for your holiday? And if you're away for work... don't even need the Kindle if you have a lappy.

My review? Hm... the PC software works well enough for me. Handy for travel. No real book in my hands... not my preferred option.

Fenella

A couple of facts not mentioned yet in this thread about the Kindle:
1. It downloads your chosen book in about 15 seconds.
2. It can hold 3500 books.
3. The battery lasts for about a month between charging.

I bouught mine mainly for holidays but also good to take when travelling on bus or train, waiting in Doctor's surgeries or under the dryer at a hairdressers. Also I live in a flat so don't have much space for books.

Glad

there's a thread in the Arms that may help
Anyone got a Kindle?