E-readers

Sparkleybutterfly

Can anyone recommend an e-reader. I have looked at the basic Kindle for £59.99, but I'm not sure if it would be better to spend the extra £40 for the next model up? Are there any other makes on the market that would be cheaper but offer the same specification?

pmduk

Unless the backlit screen is important to you, I'd stick with the basic kindle. You won't beat it at the current price imho.

mik67

I got the backlit kindle at Xmas, was really unhappy with the backlight had it boxed up ready for return within 2 hours. Got to agree basic kindle is great at price.

Sparkleybutterfly

mik67 wrote: »

I got the backlit kindle at Xmas, was really unhappy with the backlight had it boxed up ready for return within 2 hours. Got to agree basic kindle is great at price.

Thank you for your reply. Can I just ask what was the problem with the backlight. Was it too bright / not bright enough / or just not necessary. Most of my reading is done by lamplight or occasionally on the beach with sunglasses and I was concerned the basic screen would be too dark under these conditions

ciderboy2009

Backlit screens are hard work for your eyes and are much more tiring than reading from an e-ink screen.
I've got an old Sony PRS300 e-reader which I carry around in addition to my tablet & phone because of this.
Basically, e-ink screens are like looking at a real book. So if you normally read by the light of a lamp then you should have no problems doing the same.

stator

I've got a Kobo, they partner with WHSMITHS. It works ok but nothing special.

Sterlingtimes

The Kindle e-readers are too small for me. For now my 10 inch Kindle DX is working well. Kindle stopped building the DX some years ago. I don't know what I'll do if the DX becomes faulty in the future. Sadly, the market is targeted only at those with good eyesight.

Nilrem

Sterlingtimes wrote: »

The Kindle e-readers are too small for me. For now my 10 inch Kindle DX is working well. Kindle stopped building the DX some years ago. I don't know what I'll do if the DX becomes faulty in the future. Sadly, the market is targeted only at those with good eyesight.

Aye although there is a definite market for larger e-readers as the 10" format is ideal for graphic novels, text books and technical manuals.
I would almost kill for a 10" e-ink display as I read a fair few graphic novels and at the moment it's either read them on the PC, read them on the large tablet, or squint at the 7" kindle.

I think the thing that killed them off was the fact that the market at the time wasn't really ready for them (they were mainly aimed at college students at a time many text books were not in ebook format), and the cost, from memory they were 3-4 times as much as the 7" models and didn't get updated to have the better screens.
Now they could probably do a basic one for about £200 with a modern screen and much more storage.

forgotmyname

7" tablet with the kindle app works well but you do not get the battery life
of a kindle.

I prefer the app on a 10" tablet but its not as portable as the 7" one.

knightstyle

My Kobo is now six years old and still works fine, battery life still good, unlike DS Kindle which failed at four years.
Plus I am with Book bub and get free or 99p books every day if I want.

Carrot007

Nilrem wrote: »

Aye although there is a definite market for larger e-readers as the 10" format is ideal for graphic novels, text books and technical manuals.
I would almost kill for a 10" e-ink display as I read a fair few graphic novels and at the moment it's either read them on the PC, read them on the large tablet, or squint at the 7" kindle.

I think the thing that killed them off was the fact that the market at the time wasn't really ready for them (they were mainly aimed at college students at a time many text books were not in ebook format), and the cost, from memory they were 3-4 times as much as the 7" models and didn't get updated to have the better screens.
Now they could probably do a basic one for about £200 with a modern screen and much more storage.

IMO it was because 10" only makes sense in colour. And have you seen the price of colour e-ink devices!