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.

Edited March 14, 2012 by X-13

[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.

[enjay]

it seems that going down that route will tie you in to having to use books from Amazon.

True enough, but since they seem to have the largest collection of ebooks, that isn't such a bad thing.

 

Like many others on here, I had stopped reading altogether but then Mrs Enjay got a Kindle last May. Since then, I've read a book every couple of months and got my own Kindle for my birthday! I would agree that the 3G isn't really worth it, unless you're away from a WiFi connection/PC a lot; the keyboard is handy when making collections, but that is an infrequent task, and browsing for books to buy is easier from PC. The keyboard does have one advantage though - it takes up space at the bottom of the device, meaning the screen is a bit higher, so if like me you tend to read in bed, it means the scrunched-up duvet doesn't block the bottom couple of lines of the page!!

 

Be careful if you're considering these for use in school, though, as Kindles don't play with some corporate wireless networks - you can't configure a proxy server into them, and there is some other issue too, can't recall what right now. Plus, Amazon haven't released the functionality to loan books onto Kindles in the UK.

[Greenbeast]

enjay, calibre has collection support, you can create and fill them in software and then have it update the kindle

[penfold]

@enjay - I'm not considering it for work, this is purely pleasure

[Rawns]

My missus has a Kindle and LOVES it. What's cool is that she has the kindle app on her iPhone and has all the books on both devices. They sync too, so if she is reading a book on her kindle in the evening, she can fire up her iPhone when outside having a fag the next day and resume from the page she was reading on her Kindle.

 

She has mild Dyslexia too and she says that it's a lot more easy to read then an actual paper book. I like the idea for novels, not for things like cook books though.

[Norphy]

calibre - About

 

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

 

Not that hard. It won't converted DRM'd media so if you buy a book from say the WHSmith/Kobo store, you won't be able to use Calibre to convert it to a usable format on the Kindle*. Not that it really matters though, the Kindle store seems to be pretty much the best eBook store in the UK at the moment.

 

FWIW, I have a Kindle and I like it a lot.

 

*Yes, yes, I know you can get plugins which strip DRM from AZWs and ePubs but such things are naughty and shouldn't be discussed here!

[enjay]

She has mild Dyslexia too and she says that it's a lot more easy to read then an actual paper book.

Mrs Enjay says the same thing, in fact, she prefers it so much that we've actually given all our paper books to charity and bought them again on Kindle. There's a thought - will eReaders be the death of charity second-hand bookshops?

[CHR1S]

People have mentioned calibre but if it not assumed already, you can set up your email as a kindle trusted one and start emailing any supported documents to your device.

 

*hint*

Its very useful for sending PDF files for later reading.

*/hint*

[36Degrees]

There's a thought - will eReaders be the death of charity second-hand bookshops?

 

Possibly although my sister-in-law has threatened to smash the OH's Kindle if she see it! Apparently she thinks books should be physical things on paper and all Kindles burnt at the stake along with the owner!

 

Back to the original point of the thread, my OH uses hers all the time (as well as still buying actual books) and I have to admit I am considering buying one myself to get back in the habit of reading. We didn't bother with the 3G version and this has proved to be a correct decision because of the ease of downloading books on WiFi and the number it holds. There are a lot of really good free classics as well which she has downloaded.

 

Only issue I've had really is that it keeps losing the wireless details. A lot of digging and testing later I discovered that it doesn't always like it if you have certain enhanced security features enabled on your wireless e.g. set to not broadcast the SSID. It's not that big an issue because the OH tends to download a batch at a time which takes a while for her to read.

[GrumbleDook]

OH has a Kindle, I have the app on my iPad ... we are both happy with either, but I also read graphic novels (and yes ... comics!) so prefer the flexibility of the iPad (other tablets are available!). OH also has the app on my original iPad and finds little difference in strain when reading compared to the Kindle, but prefers the long battery life.

 

We are both still buyers of books, but tend to only buy hardbacks anyway or second-hand paperbacks that aren't on eBook stores yet. We are slowly replacing some of our older books for ebook versions but only for those we know and love.

 

We are also of the group that think a proper book is a thing of love, the smell of the paper and ink, the feel of the coarseness of the pages ...

 

Quick Interlude – books are the future! | Grumbledook thinks is a blog post I wrote about how I feel about books ... and I would heartily recommend clicking on the link at the bottom to watch the video.

[Diello]

Very clever - the video is definately worth a watch.

 

I've been agonising over a Kindle for a while now. I buy a lot of books and find myself needing a new bookshelf every 6 months at the moment! Having all my books on one device is very tempting, but then as has been said, I like the feel of books, the fun of going into a bookshop... plus the incidences of Amazon making books disappear off peoples Kindles a few years ago causes me a little bit of a concern. Now... if they could come up with packages where you get both the Kindle and the physical book... AND (next-gen thinking here!) some electrical bookmark in the physical book to tell you what page you're up to on the Kindle so I could read the physical book at home and the Kindle on the train... now that's an idea...