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.

[NazNomad]

^^ that.

[Prudie]

I bought one for both my partner and daughter. They are avid readers and both have been using it ever since. It won't replace books though, certainly not reference books IMO.

[bednobs]

i have had mine since about september, and like it a lot. It's really helpful for me because i have RA and my hands are very affected. I also have shelves full of books and an angry husband, so the kindle is perfect for not making him any more shouty when i buy more books and have no-where to put them. I have the £149 version because i needed to download books when i was last in hospital. You wont be able to look at a kindle in the shops because it's amazon's own brand and can only be bought from there.

[bednobs]

also, you might want to find out what devices are supported by your local library - my library has free ebooks, but they are NOT compatible with the kindle

[gingejbee]

Don't have one, but review here:

http://www.computerac...n-kindle-ebook-reader

[ethandron]

thanks for your answers.
i'm not actually asking for opinions as to whether or not i should get one, that's something i'll decide for myself, rather the opinions of those who have them and what they think of them, we all have different reasons for having or considering one.
i too love books, recently had to buy a couple of huge billy bookcases from ikea to try and organise them. however, we regularly travel for 6 weeks at a time and carting around a bag with the amount of books required is no fun, an ebook would mean an end to that.
bednobs, thanks for the info. is there nowhere you can actually handle a kindle then, prior to buying it?

[bednobs]

unless you know someone who has one, no

[237SJ]

If you want to handle something very similar, you could go to a Sony dealer and have a look at the Sony Reader

[ethandron]

did you look at any other ereaders bednobs? if so, what made you decide on the kindle?

[gingejbee]

....but there is a "video review" at the above Computeractive link.

[bednobs]

no i didn't look at any others - they all seemed expensive and i had to get one quickly. i buy most of my books from amazon now anyway, so it just seemed logical

[ethandron]

thanks gingejbee.
from what i've read bednobs, the kindle does seem to be the one to go for. is there anything about it you don't like? for instance, is it easy to turn the page, or flick through the book? do you have a cover for it, and if so, is it the one with the light attached?

[bednobs]

i have a cover - i got it for christmas. It dosen't have a light because they are very expensive. The main bugbear about it for me is that i like looking at the end of the book to see what happens (naughty naughty) but i cant seem to find a way of reliably doing that on the kindle - i have to read it in strict order!
Minor annoyances so far have been that one of the books i wanted wasn't available in kindle edition and that when amazon have books on very special offer, sometimes the kindle edition is more expensive. it's easy to tur n the page (imho easier than a touch screen one because you only need 1 hand)

[ethandron]

i do exactly the same bednobs, i can then relax and read the book slowly and savour it rather than rushing to get to the end to see what happens :)
thanks very much for your input, much appreciated.

[bednobs]

you are welcome, i hope you are happy with what you decide to get. At the end of things, they are all devices you read books on so can't be all that different!

[modeller]

I decided to try it out first and you can download it Free from Amazon on to your desktop and try out and see how it all works. There are quite a few free books for downloading so you can have a good play before actually buying one.
There has been a discussion on the subject in other sections eg Arts & Lit comparing the different ebooks. Try Search that should show them .

[ethandron]

thanks for that modeller :)

[Prudie]

I also bought the leather covers (without the light) as that makes them double sided and feel like a book.