Kindle or Alternative?

[penfold]

I've recently started to download books when they have either been on offer or free books onto my Android tablet. I have the Kindle app and have read a couple of chapters in some books, and while it seems ok for short periods I'm would find myself struggling reading for long periods of time.

I've read a little on the Kindle and it seems that going down that route will tie you in to having to use books from Amazon. So before I start buying books, I would like some feedback from people who have either a Kindle or alternative device to give me some options to consider. My dad has a Kindle and uses it almost every day and is really impressed which was why I was going to take the plunge. I just don't want to spend about £90 for something I dont use as much as I thought I would.

Any feedback from Kindle owners?

[clareq]

I have a Kindle, and when used alongside a piece of software called calibre I have not yet found a format it will not read - txt, pdf, mobi etc.

[Gibbo]

I'm more of a second hand book reader but I bought a Kindle last month and haven't regretted it.

My only problem is that I tend to dip in and out of several books at once rather than concentrating on one.

Before the Kindle I tried e-reading apps on my tablet (Kogan) but the screen glow isn't pleasant for long term reading. No problem there with the Kindle, it blows the tablet out of the water for e-reading.

[sonofsanta]

Kindles are the win. Amazon have won technology. It is one of the finest devices I've ever had the fortune to own. Once you have one you will use it more than you expect to. I'd more or less stopped reading in my free time but it's got me hooked again.

The biggest advantage for me, as well as all the obvious stuff like a month-long battery, lovely screen, changeable type and carrying lots of books round with you, is that is is genuinely a One Handed Device*. Even a paperback needs two hands to properly hold open, but the Kindle can easily be held in either hand with comfort. It makes a big difference.

Also - there's hidden Minesweeper. If that doesn't sell you, I don't know what will.


*those of you sniggering are all perverts

[cromertech]

I have a Kindle, and when used alongside a piece of software called calibre I have not yet found a format it will not read - txt, pdf, mobi etc.

I too have the calibre software alongside my kindle. Works a treat. I've even typed up a script in word and put it on there to help with play rehearsals (much easier to glance at a kindle than leaf your way through a book to find your place.)

[TechMonkey]

I may have to succumb soon. I'm still hoping for better PDF & image handling and a colour version.

[jedmondson]

I have a kindle and apart from the screen becoming cracked , {due to bad packing} I havent had a problem.

[sonofsanta]

I may have to succumb soon. I'm still hoping for better PDF & image handling and a colour version.

It may not be far away. I know they were showing the tech off at CES (iirc) last year or earlier, it's just a case of getting it to mass-production levels.


I forgot to say earlier: if you are getting a Kindle, just get the cheap one. 3G is only useful if you travel lots (and lots... and lots...) and cannot plan ahead. And the keyboard, I think I used mine when setting it up and sorting collections out, and never since. You don't really need it, seeing as it's easier to buy new books on your computer and have them pop up on your Kindle than it is to do it all through the Kindle.

[penfold]

Thanks for all the responses. I too had stopped reading simply because I haven't got a book to read at the moment and I'm too lazy (or not in the mood to look) to go and buy one. I was also only looking at the cheaper version as I really can't see me using 3G or the keyboard. With all the positives that have been posted I may have to treat myself

Might be a bit of a dumb question but if I use the calibre software, does this mean I can get any ebook and convert it to read on the kindle?

[sonofsanta]

Might be a bit of a dumb question but if I use the calibre software, does this mean I can get any ebook and convert it to read on the kindle?

calibre - About

It converts more or less anything so you'd have to be trying really hard to find something it couldn't handle...

[Greenbeast]

kindle all the way, combined with calibre it is unbeatable.
I just 'upgraded' to the non-keyboard version and it literally is 'pocketable' now with the same size screen

[JJonas]

+1 for Calibre. Awesome bit of free software. Use it on my Sony PRS-505 and my mums Kindle

[X-13]

It may not be far away.

Really?

Amazon also block a lot of services if you import and don't use an I.P mask to appear American.


Unless you're on about a different one.

[sonofsanta]

Unless you're on about a different one.

Kindle Colour != Kindle Fire. The fire is a proper tablet with a screen that emits light and therefore can give you eyestrain and has battery life measured in hours; the new colour e-ink screens that presumably will be used by Amazon are the same as existing e-ink, in that they reflect light, have awful refresh rates and battery life measured in weeks but can show 4k colours instead of just monochrome.

It's all rumour at this point, of course, but I know the technology has been developed by the e-ink people, it's just a matter of when Amazon start using it. Course, it took them ages to bring the original Kindle over here in the first place, so you could still be right about a long wait for us this side of the pond...

[WithoutMotive]

I'm quite happy with iBooks on my iPad. I'm not a massive reader but the books I do have are great to read on the device. I don't read enough to buy a Kindle.