Kindle

cowboyBuilder

I was thinking of getting a Kindle, and I'm liking the paper white one, I really love the way it's
like paper - not like reading of a screen.
But I've heard ebooks are less absorbing then regular books - I can't imagine why unless it's a more advanced model
with a tablet like screen and graphical distractions.

So bookworms, did you notice a big difference if you made the change ? or do you still prefer the classic book ?

buck65

Hi, I got a Kindle in 2012. Find it great for holidaying - just load up a few books and away you go. Still prefer the real thing though. Also it is dangerous, I am very impulsive and compulsive so if I'm reading a review or an interview I'm likely to buy it on the kindle.
Alot of unread stuff there. Alot of free stuff too available so if you're broke it's great!
I recommend both just keep reading! who cares!!

drake70

cowboyBuilder wrote: »

I was thinking of getting a Kindle, and I'm liking the paper white one, I really love the way it's
like paper - not like reading of a screen.
But I've heard ebooks are less absorbing then regular books - I can't imagine why unless it's a more advanced model
with a tablet like screen and graphical distractions.

So bookworms, did you notice a big difference if you made the change ? or do you still prefer the classic book ?

Hi Cowboy,

I highly recommend the kindle paperwhite. I have had one for a few months now (a replacement for my old kindle 3g keyboard, which gave diligent service for about 4 years before the battery failed/stopped charging).

I find no difference between actual books and ebooks except that I no longer need to lug around large tomes when commuting.

Also, the paperwhite comes with a fully adjustable backlight if you are reading in a dull environment.

Das Kitty

I think the "less immersive" thing is a load of old hooey.

The paper white is lovely.

confusticated

The only downside I find is that I don't always remember the title of the book I'm reading or have read, just because when I turn on the Kindle it's at the right page and I don't see the cover! I love my Kindle, it's the old one with a keyboard and has served me well for over five years now. I still buy hard copy books though because I love browsing bookshops and find it hard to leave empty handed. Would definitely recommend a Kindle, I've got them as presents for a few people too.

marienbad

Best thing since sliced pan for the majority of books . With books where I have to flick back and forth I still prefer the actual book .

Wouldn't be without my kindle though

boobar

I too bought the old model with the keyboard a few years ago.

I read a lot more now, very easy on the eyes. Great that you can now have so many books loaded on to the Kindle.

Good for the environment too.

I rarely buy paper books now.

wreade1872

I have an old sony-505 and its great, i personally would avoid anything white or backlit. Mine is grey with no backlight and uses e-ink tech.

The 2 basic factors determining how easy reading is on the eyes are
* the size of the Font
* the light reflected into your eyes

Reading something thats backlit is basically like staring at the sun. Normal books with white paper also reflect a lot of light so arn't much better and of course you can't increase the font size. And assuming the kindle paperwhite does what it sounds like (i havn't seen one myself) it isn't going to be much of an improvement on normal paper.

With the font on high I can read pretty much forever on my grey screen sony without any eye-tiredness. I also don't believe its any harder to retain things on ereaders.
I've read about 280 novels on my reader so far (and can remember pretty much all the details) but they've all been free out-of-copyright. I've only just made my first purchase for it , so i'd certainly check out some free stuff if you do get one .

Wyldwood

As a lover of books I was very reluctant to get an e-reader but I was given a gift of the Paperwhite a few years ago and now I wouldn't be without it.

It is backlit but the light is totally controllable from very low to very bright. Where this comes into it's own is at night when you want to read without disturbing your partner, no need for lights on. The font is also completely adjustable. There is no strain on the eyes, it's a completely different experience to using a laptop/tablet to read.

I would highly recommend getting an e-reader to anyone who reads a lot of books, particularly for travelling.

I love my Kindles, I've had every iteration of them and the latest model Paperwhite is fantastic. It's extremely easy on the eyes even reading for long periods.

Another benefit aside from being able to read in a dark room (no turning off the beside light!) is the weight. If you're reading a big book you never have to think about what used to happen me all the time - falling asleep and dropping the book on my face.

megaten

There amazing. It makes it a million times easier to get through 400+ page clunkers just by virtue of not having to carry them around.

crotalus667

I have th old 3g with keyboard love it especially having the keyboard but I do mainly buy paper books don't know what lol

cowboyBuilder

Btw, I got my kindle paperwhite a few weeks ago ... I love it!!

I love the backlight on it, I can read at night without disturbing my wife.

so happy I bought it.

IvyTheTerrible

I love love love my kindle. I find it so handy. I read a lot so it's great not having to cart around several books. Also, I like only needing one hand to change pages. The dictionary I find very useful too. I take a lot more notes on books now too.

morgana

I've had a kindle for many years now and I absolutely love it. The only drawback is sharing books is more difficult, but with many free books it's not that much of an issue. Btw, bookbub is a daily newsletter with number of free/cheap ebooks.

To Elland Back

I used to be quite an avid reader but somehow got out of the 'habit'. My son gave me a paperwhite a few years ago and I'm back reading every day. I love it.

cowboyBuilder

morgana wrote: »

I've had a kindle for many years now and I absolutely love it. The only drawback is sharing books is more difficult, but with many free books it's not that much of an issue. Btw, bookbub is a daily newsletter with number of free/cheap ebooks.

But isn't the only way to get a kindle ebook via amazon ?

IvyTheTerrible

cowboyBuilder wrote: »

But isn't the only way to get a kindle ebook via amazon ?

Nope. If you connect your kindle to your computer with the charger cable, you can transfer files over to it from anywhere.
They just have to be .mobi format. And software like Calibre will convert many ebook formats to .mobi no problem.

Speedwell

They can also be .pdf, and there are conversion utilities online.

I've had e-book readers since the first Palm Pilot that wasn't a phone. My current reader is a Kindle Keyboard with wi-fi and 3G, best decision I ever made. I even used the rudimentary Internet access to check my e-mail while standing in line for non-citizen processing at Heathrow (I'm a Yank and I used to travel a lot for business). No problem registering the amazon.com machine with amazon.co.uk. Good support, very few issues. I bought the cover with the built-in light, so I don't need it to be backlit (really I only use it for dimly lit restaurants where I am eating alone; I don't read in bed), so my battery life is excellent. I haven't seen any issues with the battery over hundreds of charges, either. All other things being equal, I'd rather choose the increased time per charge over backlighting.

adox

IvyTheTerrible wrote: »

Nope. If you connect your kindle to your computer with the charger cable, you can transfer files over to it from anywhere.
They just have to be .mobi format. And software like Calibre will convert many ebook formats to .mobi no problem.

You get an Kindle email address with your kindle so you can email the mobi files to your kindle without connecting it to you computer.

I got one just before Christmas to try and encourage me to get back into reading. I sent a couple of them back as the screen light was very uneven but the third one was grand. Kudos to Amazon too, when I got on to them about the problems they sent a new one out the next day and told me I had 30 days to return the old one or I would be billed after that. Printed off stickers for free postage.

Anyway I love it. Joined good reads, set myself a target of reading 12 books in 2016, which I thought was a reasonable number for someone who hasn't read regularly in years. I'm half way through my 10th book since January 1st.

Oh and being pedantic but, the paperwhite is not back lit. It is side lit. May seem inconsequential but back lit displays shine the light from underneath th cress directly into you eyes, hence why a lot of people don't like reading on phones/tablets, whereas the lights on the kindle are in the bezel shining across the screen, so no light shining directly at you.

echo beach

cowboyBuilder wrote: »

But isn't the only way to get a kindle ebook via amazon ?

There are a lot of free/cheap ebooks on amazon. Anything out of copy-write, once the author is dead for I think 70 years, is free so you can get all the classics you want for nothing.
The quality of of the living authors who offer their work cheaply is more variable. You can get a bargain but you can also end up with a lot of books you will never read or abandon after a few pages.

Speedwell

Just checked my Kindle. Thanks to Project Gutenberg and similar sites, I have roughly 1400 books on my Kindle. The vast majority were free out-of-copyright Victorian novels, but wow, do I find I adore some of that old-fashioned nonsense (Trollope FTW). I also managed to find all of the Game of Thrones series discounted, all of the Ender's Game series, as many of the Discworld novels as possible.... when I have nothing better to do, or if I have to stand in line a lot, or I'm in the airport, I can do a full-sized book every day. In the hospital, I did up to two a day. The nurse referred to me as "that lady with a book glued to her hand", lol.

baby and crumble

morgana wrote: »

I've had a kindle for many years now and I absolutely love it. The only drawback is sharing books is more difficult, but with many free books it's not that much of an issue. Btw, bookbub is a daily newsletter with number of free/cheap ebooks.

I upgraded to a paperwhite and the option of a Household library popped up. Never saw it as an option on my much older Kindle touch. Now myself and my GF can share books we've bought online across the 2 kindles (btw she has my old kindle, once i set it all up on my new one she can access it on hers. Perfect!)

dudara

I don't have a Kindle, but I have the Kindle app installed on my iPad mini retina. It's absolutely fantastic for reading while travelling, on the beach, in the plane, in bed at night. I've always been a very fast reader so going on holidays in the past could mean bringing numerous books with me. Now I download and save myself all that space, plus my bookshelfs are lighter.

I still buy books in physical form, but now they are ones I really want and not ones I bought because I "needed" to have something to read. And thanks to promotions on Amazon like the Kindle Daily Deal, I've read a lot of new authors.

adox

New Kindle att he end of the month - Kindle Oasis.

Are they taking the piss with the price?? £270!!!!

Speedwell

adox wrote: »

New Kindle att he end of the month - Kindle Oasis.

Are they taking the piss with the price?? £270!!!!

Magic 8 Ball says..... "Hell, yeah."

jester77

I don't mind the price so much, but they totally f'ed up the design, it's truly awful and impractical. They force a cover on you, which is what is bumping up the price, something I wouldn't ever use, just extra bulk and weight. And then you have awful and distracting off centre look, which leads to its impractical use. It's now too wide for 1 handed use, so when you move it from one hand to the other you now have to rotate the device. What genius thought that was a good idea.

B_Wayne

jester77 wrote: »

I don't mind the price so much, but they totally f'ed up the design, it's truly awful and impractical. They force a cover on you, which is what is bumping up the price, something I wouldn't ever use, just extra bulk and weight. And then you have awful and distracting off centre look, which leads to its impractical use. It's now too wide for 1 handed use, so when you move it from one hand to the other you now have to rotate the device. What genius thought that was a good idea.

My plan is to wait for the voyage to go on sale tbh.

B_Wayne

B_Wayne wrote: »

My plan is to wait for the voyage to go on sale tbh.

Me too, I love my Paperwhite but I'd really like a Voyage and I suspect the advent of the Oasis is going to bring down the price.

I can't say the Oasis appeals to me at all. It's not like charging your Kindle is much of a burden, doing it once a week or once a month doesn't really make a difference and the 'inconvenience' doesn't justify the price difference. I also just don't like the design, would take a Voyage over it any day.

keane2097

What has the Voyage over the Paperwhite? Looking at the specs there they look much of a muchness...

keane2097

keane2097 wrote: »

What has the Voyage over the Paperwhite? Looking at the specs there they look much of a muchness...

Well, it's lighter, thinner and has an adaptive light. But I do agree with you, there's little to choose from between it and the Paperwhite, but I have a bit of a thing for Kindles and I'd like one anyway.

I just have to see how much, if at all, the price drops so I can tell myself it's a justifiable purchase!

Tin Foil Hat

jester77 wrote: »

I don't mind the price so much, but they totally f'ed up the design, it's truly awful and impractical. They force a cover on you, which is what is bumping up the price, something I wouldn't ever use, just extra bulk and weight. And then you have awful and distracting off centre look, which leads to its impractical use. It's now too wide for 1 handed use, so when you move it from one hand to the other you now have to rotate the device. What genius thought that was a good idea.

More than half of the reason for having a cover is to protect the kindle from falls. But, with this design, the 'cover' leaves the thick end of the wedge, the part with the brains, mostly exposed. I'd have no interest in this, even at a lower price point.