Buying a Kindle

Poppy9

I have a Kindle Fire. It's okay as an e-reader but I find it quite heavy compared to my friend's paperwhite. The battery on the Fire is also very poor compared to a dedicated e-reader.

I am not tempted to go for a Kobo because I can quickly download books on loan from my library, it's lighter and has better battery life. My library is working on making books available for loan on Kindles.

Some info here on e-readers

I don't rate the Kindle as a tablet but it was cheap!

jenniewb

I don't know if it helps or complicates things but... Kindle should be releasing a new model in the next few weeks or months, it isn't likely to be available to buy until at least October and possibly not till Christmas, but if it wasn't a pressing urge to read via an ereader then maybe hold out for either the newest model or bigger discounts on the current models.


Having said that, if you always wait for the newest model, you'd never actually purchase anything! But do a Google search and see if any of the ideas on new features are things you want.

Grumps

Poppy9 wrote: »

Some info here on e-readers

I don't know when that was written but it states that the Kindle does not support the Epub format used by Libraries.

WE were given a Kindle Fire last Xmas and, like others, didn't think I could 'get on' with reading books in electronic format. I'm now downloading Ebooks (in Epub format) from a local Library at the rate of 2 or 3 a week,

SWMBO has (another) Birthday:beer: coming up in a couple of weeks and has expressed an interest in having an E-Reader/Tablet to herself. On the grounds that I monopolize the one we've got.:D

There is no point in getting another 'the same' so I'm therefore looking for suggestions as to what to purchase that has a larger screen and added functionality, at a competitive price.

Any recommendations please?

Poppy9

Grumps wrote: »

I don't know when that was written but it states that the Kindle does not support the Epub format used by Libraries.

WE were given a Kindle Fire last Xmas and, like others, didn't think I could 'get on' with reading books in electronic format. I'm now downloading Ebooks (in Epub format) from a local Library at the rate of 2 or 3 a week,

I can't from my library - not sure if it's applicable to whole of Wales.

f you are a member the library, you can borrow e-books free from the comfort of your own home, using our new e-book service, eBooks for Wales. This new service is jointly funded by CyMAL (Museums, Archives and Libraries Wales) and 13 other local authority library services.

You can select, borrow and reserve your e-books from the eBooks for Wales website:

http://www.wales.libraryebooks.co.uk/

Important information about the ebooks service:
Adults can now borrow 6 eBooks for loan periods from 1 day up to 3 weeks (21 days)
Downloads are available for most eReader devices (but not Kindles).
Due to the licensing arrangements, books cannot be returned prior to the end of the loan period selected. It is possible to reserve books which are currently on loan.

Grumps

Poppy9.

Interesting, especially about not being able to return ebooks prior to the end of the loan period selected.

Although I don't live in Warwickshire, I get mine from Warwickshire Library and, with a maximum of 3, can return them at any time and download another.

Warwickshire Library has a policy of allowing downloads to residents of the County and 'Counties' bordering Warwickshire.

So, if my 'geography' is correct, that includes residents of the West Midlands, Staffordshire, Liecestershire, Oxfordshire, Worcestershire. Have I missed any?

Perhaps I have. Doesn't Gloucestershire have a border with Warwickshire? Somewhere in the Cotswolds.

BUT, back to the original question. What would be the best present for SWMBO?

barbarawright

Amazon refuse to license Kindle format books for UK public libraries. I don't think that's going to change any time soon so if you want to borrow books rather than buy them, a Kobo or Sony is a better option. If you have a Kindle Fire and know what you're doing , you can possibly work round it though.

captainhindsight_2

Kindle is so good, the books are always the same price or less than real books so your saving money in the long run.

There is a huge range of free books available.

The battery life is really long, you can hold 1000s of titles in something that is smaller and lighter than most books which is great if your going away.

Any time day or night any where in the world with internet connection, you can buy a new book and have it in seconds.

Make sure you get the proper ebook Kindle Paperwhite NOT the kindle fire.

Just have to be a bit more careful if your reading in the bath! lol.

Haffiana

barbarawright wrote: »

Amazon refuse to license Kindle format books for UK public libraries. I don't think that's going to change any time soon so if you want to borrow books rather than buy them, a Kobo or Sony is a better option. If you have a Kindle Fire and know what you're doing , you can possibly work round it though.

Simply download the marvelous program called 'Calibre' and use it to manage your kindle library. It will convert the epub format (used in libraries, and designed for Kobo and the Sony readers) to the Kindle format at the click of a mouse so you can read any book on any Kindle device. It will also convert Kindle books to the epub format.

I second the recommendation to steer clear of the Kindle Fire if you actually want a device for reading books. It displays print that is far more tiring on the eyes than a Kindle proper, has abysmal battery life by comparison and is heavy. If however you want a tablet that you can also read the occasional book on, the Fire is ideal.

aniahill

Hi guys

Just a little advice for those who would like to dip their toe but aren't 100% sure. My mum bought a Kindle for my dad from eBay and there were all kinds of problems because it was originally from the USA and he couldn't access the UK store. It ended up being an expensive paperweight.

I decided to have a look at them in the CEX shop (high street pawn type shop) and though the second hand Kindles were relatively expensive at around £60-£90, I bought him an "A"grade (no damage but tiny cosmetic probs and in it's original box) Nook for £30 and got myself a "B" grade (same but no box) Kobo for £22!

I wasn't looking for myself really but I thought I'd give it a go and I love it!

So if you do want to try without going crazy financially, it's an option. Also you get a guarantee so if it does stop working you've got a little insureance

captainhindsight_2

aniahill wrote: »

Hi guys

Just a little advice for those who would like to dip their toe but aren't 100% sure. My mum bought a Kindle for my dad from eBay and there were all kinds of problems because it was originally from the USA and he couldn't access the UK store. It ended up being an expensive paperweight.

I decided to have a look at them in the CEX shop (high street pawn type shop) and though the second hand Kindles were relatively expensive at around £60-£90, I bought him an "A"grade (no damage but tiny cosmetic probs and in it's original box) Nook for £30 and got myself a "B" grade (same but no box) Kobo for £22!

I wasn't looking for myself really but I thought I'd give it a go and I love it!

So if you do want to try without going crazy financially, it's an option. Also you get a guarantee so if it does stop working you've got a little insureance

I think the advice here is dont try and get a bargain by buying from abroad as many of these devices only work in the country they are intended to be sold in.

IMO, if you get a nook, kobo or any alternative to the kindle and love it you will just end up buying twice by wanting to upgrade to a Kindle because they are far the best ebook around IMO.

Its a bit like the ipod, when it ipod came out at the time it was the best mp3 player around not just because of the device its self but because it integrated so well with itunes you could of course buy music from else where and put it on other devices but it just wasn't as easy.

The same is true with the kindle, its not just the device its self it is the kindle store and all the support that comes with it that makes it the best. You can access your amazon account from pretty much any device/computer buy books and it will automatically sink on to your kindle no cables wires etc, you can of course buy books from anywhere and put them on a nook or kobo but its just not as seamless and easy. IMO