kindle questions

[ethandron]

i see BOO has a kindle, and am wondering if anyone else out there has too, and if so how long have they had it, and what do they think of it??
most of the things i've read about them are good, and kindle seems to be the ereader of choice. i'm just at the looking into it stage, not decided one way or another, and intend to head into town sometime next week to view as many different ones as i can.
in the meantime, i'd be very interested to hear any comments, good and bad, from anyone who has one. thanks.

[~Wingnut~]

Can I just ask bednobs or others that have one (sorry to butt in on your thread ethandron) do you need a light on for reading in bed with it? as I notice you have mentioned that you can get covers with a built in light. Is there no backlight at all?
I'm thinking of asking for a kindle for my b'day :o)

[bednobs]

Yes you need a light - it is essentially the same as reading a book. The fact that it is not backlit means that it dosen't hurt your eyes in the same way reading off a computer screen would, but it does mean you cant read it in the dark. you can get a cover that has a light in but they're £50 almost 1/2 the price of the kindle!

[ethandron]

no probs wingnut, feel free, the more questions you can think of the better :)
it's just like reading a book, you need a light on in the dark, and also i understand it makes it easier to read outside in sunlight (what's that??) too, not being backlit.
if i get one, think i'll stick to having my bedside light on when i read in bed, they are very expensive.
prudie, that's a good point about holding it like a book, with a cover on.

[saxy_jag]

I'm waiting for mine to be delivered, so anything I can say is based very much on personal research. I've gone for the Kindle because it's a tad cheaper than most of the others, has more storage and (the £149 version) means I can download wherever I am - I don't need to download to my PC first. The Kindle 3G is the only one that lets you do this at the moment.

The downside will be, as I think I've said elsewhere, that the main library suppliers of ebooks seem to be going with the Sony/epub format which means that I won't be able to take advantage when my employers start to do ebook loans later this year.

As modeller suggested, I've downloaded the software to my laptop to try it out, and have downloaded a couple of free books to it. Those books will be available on the Kindle when it arrives, as one download can cover several devices. There's also a software version for Android and iPhone but - dammit! - not one for my Windows phone.

Re lights - there is a cover available with an integral light but, as with paperback books, I have a small clip-on booklight that I got from my book club for a couple of quid.

You can actually get Kindles from John Lewis, but when I went into the Leicester branch just before Xmas they told me they wouldn't have them until January.

[~Wingnut~]

Thanx for the answers and for letting me butt in!

Time to start dropping hints (& saving) ready for March I think :o)

[jno]

what's the story with covers, anyone? We are thinking of getting one (as a little baby Kindle arrived in our manger at Christmas). Do shops have any in stock that you can look at? Or do you have to order them sight unseen form Amazon? What are the best sorts/materials?

[modeller]

To add to my answer you can download books from other sources other than Amazon to your Kindle . It doesn't have to be Amazon there are other sources of books and when you download them you have a choice of formats which frequently includes Amazon Kindle .

[blondedee]

I got my kindle about 6 weeks ago. I bought it for travelling - can't do without a book and in a beach holiday can go through one a day. My initial impression is I like it. It won't ever replace a book for me though and I am still mainly reading print books. What I have been suprised at is that I am reading completely different books on the kindle - but that means new authors and no bad thing. There are some books that I am dying to read e.g. the new Ken Follett. I wouldn't think of reading that on the kindle so obviously I'm using it for convenience and I don't think there's anything wrong with that. Last night though my kindle froze and I had to reset it. I'm glad it happened when I was near a computer and not 5,000 miles away otherwise I'd have been really stuck without anything to read. The other advantage it has is that you can get new book in less than a minute which is incredible. So for me I use it for the extra's it gives me but it will never ever replace a print book for me. Use it for what it adds rather than thinking of it as a replacement and you will be happy with it.

[ethandron]

interesting post. don't like the idea of it 'freezing' though. do you know why it happened? i'm considering one for the same reason as you, to take away and would be very unhappy if it happened while we were away...with 6 weeks worth of books frozen in it!!

[bednobs]

sorry about my wrong answer - i didn't realise you could get them in john lewis. I would imagine you can get the covers from there too

[wheaten]

I first bought a Sony E-Reader, useless! (but I probably mucked it up). Get a Kindle, £109 from Amazon, registered to you, and many free books or for/ from a £1 or less.I have a Dura Gadget case. As an ex-library worker I love book type books but I couldn't be without my Kindle!