Kindle - how, which and why ?

MouldyOldDough

Thanks for all of the advice

So it appears that the best way forward may be to try a few books using the kindle app on her Android Tablet - then,, if she approves, buy a Kindle Paper white ??

I see that Argos has a 2024 model with 16Gb storage at £159.95 - is that what we should do ?

The Ads removal costs an annoying £10 but can be paid at any stage ?

twopenny

Only you know what sort of usage you need and the best machine for it.

Is MrsMOD going to use her Android for the internet and the Kindle for reading? Paperwhite (I think) is only for reading.

There are some good comparisons between the Paperwhites

https://mashable.com/comparison/kindle-paperwhite-vs-signature-edition

So the one you look at has 16gb. Is that enough? Seems good enough but maybe Mrs MOD is a prolific reader   

It seems cheaper to buy the ad free than to buy the Signature.

Does she need waterproof to read int he bath?

Personally I'd prefer to adjust the screen brightness to suit me rather than have it automatic so I'd go for the Paperwhite standard.

MouldyOldDough

GrubbyGirl_2 said:

lr1277 said:

Yes you can only get books (and possibly other things) from Amazon. But they have a pretty good range of books on Kindle. Not all books, especially books published some time in the past. Have a look on Amazon to see if your desired books are available in the Kindle format.

Not correct.  You can get books from ither sources and use Calibre to transfer onto a kindle.  Have thousands of books on Calibre which are easily transferred to my Kindle

Are these free books only classics or can you get (for example), Nick Dixon and Dr Ruth Galloway crime thrillers or even Agatha Raisin? 

MikeJXE

I have the Paperwhite standard 16GB a good few years old.

Over 300 books in my library, I rarely buy at any price

Plenty of free books to try

The adverts only come on at the first page when you open the Kindle, none when reading the book 

flaneurs_lobster

Just to clarify, Amazon used the term "Kindle Fire" until 10 years ago when the two product lines were split.

Today a "Kindle" is a specialised eBook reader, a "Fire" is a tablet (which can be used as an eBook reader along with all the other things you can use a tablet for).

They are both soft-locked into the Amazon ecosystem, although anyone with moderate tech knowledge can get around this quite easily.

The whole point of an eBook reader (rather than software running on something else) is that it's a specialised  device for doing one thing well. if you possibly can, go and try them out before you buy, the size of the thing together with the quality of the e-ink screen will be important, also the quality of any backlight. Currys and John Lewis had Kobos and Kindles last time I looked. 

There are now colour eBook readers but they are (relatively) expensive, of interest if you are a consumer of graphic novels/manga/magazines in e-format.

You can buy eBooks on Amazon's Kindle store and "persuade" them to load on other eBook devices but I wouldn't recommend it - Amazon's encryption is quite hard to hack around. In any case most books are available for the device from their own store.

The converse (non Amazon products on Kindle) is far easier. 

LightFlare

MikeJXE said:

I read my Kindle everyday it’s so light you hardly know it’s in your hand 

I would recommend Kindle Paper White as the best 

Agree - the battery life on them is amazing and especially for reading when away in the sun, the screen doesn’t get bad reflections 

Vitor

I have an iPad Air M2 and a Kindle Scribe and the iPad quickly gets fatiguing to hold for reading, plus it's hopeless in sunlight. 

flaneurs_lobster

Vitor said:

I have an iPad Air M2 and a Kindle Scribe and the iPad quickly gets fatiguing to hold for reading, plus it's hopeless in sunlight. 

How do you find the Scribe? Was quite taken with a device you could take quick notes on and annotate documents but couldn't really justify the cost over that charged for a tablet + pen.

Vitor

flaneurs_lobster said:

Vitor said:

I have an iPad Air M2 and a Kindle Scribe and the iPad quickly gets fatiguing to hold for reading, plus it's hopeless in sunlight. 

How do you find the Scribe? Was quite taken with a device you could take quick notes on and annotate documents but couldn't really justify the cost over that charged for a tablet + pen.

Good, I'm studying an OU course to there's a lot of reading to be done and marked up. 

MouldyOldDough

Do the books remain "yours" forever - once purchased or do they disappear after a preset time ?

And is that the same when using an Android tablet with Kindle app ?