Amazon Kindle

[Hibrandenburg]

Anyone got one and is it any good. I've got thousands (really) of books in a room that I could otherwise have an alternative use for. Is the Kindle the answer?

[Haymaker]

My brother has one, I had a quick go on it and it isnt that bad really, the screen is soft and so are the fonts on the eyes. And you can store just a crazy amount of books on it. Great if you have to do alot of travelling as my brother does.

[Hibrandenburg]

Cheers H. That pretty much confirms what I've been told already.

[marinello59]

I bought Mrs M59 one a couple of weeks back, she loves it and finds the screen induces no eye strain at all. She's does a lot of travelling on business so it is ideal for her.
Personally I like having a physical book but then I am bit of a luddite who still has an unfeasibly large CD selection.

[ArabHibee]

I used the Amazon Kindle app on my android phone when I was commuting to work. Does exactly the same thing as the Kindle and cost nout.

[Twa Cairpets]

Got one at christmas and its brilliant. I still love paper books and have far, far too many but the Kindle is great, particularly if youre travelling a lot.

I didnt think I'd like it, but I really do.

[Hibrandenburg]

Cheer guys! What if I buy two, one for me and Mrs Hiberlin, does it mean I have to purchase the books twice to get them on both kindles?

[tamsonsbairn]

Had one for about a year now. Just bought the i pad2 there is a kindle app on it. I have downloaded all the books ive alredy bought onto the i pad, no extra charge.

[Hibrandenburg]

Thanks TSB! Think I arleady made the decision to buy them but it's nice to hear positive unbiased feedback.

[derekHFC]

What is the difference between the £111 one and the £152 one apart from the fact that you can download books via the 3G.

Is there any?

[Jack]

I have one of the alternatives, a Samsung Galaxy Tab.

Its both a book reader and an android phone (3G and Wi-Fi). As far as I am aware it does all the things the kindle and the iPad do.

The main advantage for me is its smaller. It fits quite neatly into the inside pocket of my suit jacket and until I put a cover on it even fitted into the back pocket of my jeans.

[Westie1875]

What is the difference between the £111 one and the £152 one apart from the fact that you can download books via the 3G.

Is there any?

The £152 version gives you wireless internet browsing free anywhere in the world, its not really meant for browsing a lot as it is currently a development function as far as I know, but it comes in handy if you're going on hols and don't want to spend a fortune using your mobile to check email etc.

[Lucius Apuleius]

Bought the Sony eReader long before the Kindle came out and it is still going strong. Love it.

[Hainan Hibs]

The reviews on Amazon seem too good to be true. I'm still struggling to believe so many people want to write 20 paragraphs on how fantastic an e-book reader is.

[EskbankHibby]

Got the Mrs one last week (£111 one), she absolutely loves it, can browse anywhere that has wi-fi.

Reminds me of etch-a-sketch for some reason. Obviously a newer, cooler etch-a-sketch that you can read books and browse the internet on.

[Hibrandenburg]

Got the Mrs one last week (£111 one), she absolutely loves it, can browse anywhere that has wi-fi.

Reminds me of etch-a-sketch for some reason. Obviously a newer, cooler etch-a-sketch that you can read books and browse the internet on.
Pretty much what attracts me to it. The electric ink system makes it very easy on the eyes. Order for 2 going in.

[PeeJay]

Anyone got one and is it any good. I've got thousands (really) of books in a room that I could otherwise have an alternative use for. Is the Kindle the answer?

Amazon offers a PC Kindle version for free. You could then download out-of-copyright books for free to get an idea of what Kindle is like perhaps?

[barcahibs]

What is the difference between the £111 one and the £152 one apart from the fact that you can download books via the 3G.

Is there any?

As far as I'm aware the fact that it works with a 3G signal as well as wireless is the only difference. I've got the £111 wireless version, my pal has the £152 3G version and they're identical.




Cheer guys! What if I buy two, one for me and Mrs Hiberlin, does it mean I have to purchase the books twice to get them on both kindles?


If you both have a kindle the best way to do it is to have them both registered to the same Amazon account. That way any books either of you buy will be automatically available on both kindles at no extra charge. Only problem is you'll have to turn off auto sync if you're both reading the same book at the same time.


I think I've said this on here before but I LOVE paper books. I wanted to hate the kindle, I resisted getting one, telling everyone it would be rubbish and nothing like the real thing. I eventually got given one as a gift for Christmas and... its great! :greengrin

Just a caveat for those saying try the free apps on the iPad or android/apple phones to see if you like it; the kindle is more than just the books you read on it. These apps give you a good idea of how the kindle works but they don't have the kindle's E-ink screen. Reading a kindle is a completely different - and much more comfortable on the eyes - experience than reading an iPad or phone using an LCD/LED display. There's no backlight or screen refresh so you don't get eye strain, the kindle's screen is a completely static display, just like the page of a book. it only refreshes - and thus only uses power - when you turn the page. If you want to read it in the dark you have to turn the light on! (I have actually heard folk 'complain' that you can't read the kindle in the dark - just like a book then? :greengrin ) I have comfortably read the kindle for periods of 7 hours + with no eye strain, not something I can say about the iPad (good as it is in other respects!).

I've been sat out in the back garden with mine all day reading it in bright sunlight with absolutely no problem, no backlight means its easy to read in the sunshine and no touch screen helps to prevent greasy fingerprints on the screen. I've downloaded all my uni coursebooks onto it as PDF files and I actually found myself sitting out today with the books beside me but reading them on the kindle in preference - a totally unconcious decision. my coursebooks are heavy, unwieldy and the pages tend to flip in the breeze, the kindle can be easily held in one hand. Diagrams and pictures are displayed very well - though only in shades of grey.

I usually take 8 -10 books on holiday with me every year, this year I only took my kindle, which made a big difference with packing! Mind you I bought 9 'real' books and brought them home with me :greengrin I can pretty easily carry it around in the back pocket of my jeans, though that could just be me. Your actual arse size may vary.

Battery life is very good, I usually go three or four weeks between charges and it uses the same charger as my phone which is a bonus. Charging takes an hour or so.

The ability to highlight a word or section and google it or go straight to its dictionary/wikipedia page is very handy.

I got mine at Christmas along with a £30 amazon voucher which I only finished spending a couple of weeks ago. For that £30 I have 152 books on my kindle, the vast majority of them either free or around £1 each - I still resent paying 'full' price for e versions of books so I'm only buying cheapies just now. Theres been loads of good deals on established name authors available as well as stuff by people I'd never heard of. One great asset is the ability to download samples of books, letting you try a chapter or so before you buy to see if an unknown author is any good. You can also subscribe to magazines which are autodelivered to the kindle when they come out - I have just subscribed to Analog Science fiction magazine for £1.99 a month.

Some recent purchases:
T-Force by Sean Longden for £1.49 - physical price £5.38
Pax Britannica by Jan Morris £1.49 - physical price £6.99
How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu £0.99 - physical price £9.55
Adventures of a Motorcycle Despatch Rider During the First World War £0.00 - physical price £97.33 :greengrin though I notice they're now charging £3.60 for the kindle version


There are of course downsides!
The Mrs also has one which has been sent back and replaced twice since christmas due to it not holding a charge. In Amazon's defence in both cases all she had to do was email and a new kindle was sent to her within 24 hours, she then had to return her old one within a month of recieving the new one, which is pretty good service. Unfortunately her third kindle is doing the same thing. It looks like it might actually be a problem with the cover she has for it rather than the kindles themselves but she now keeps getting put through to tech support in India which isnt very good.

There are huge amounts of absolutely rubbish books available for it. It seems that everyone who's ever thought of becoming a writer has just published themselves an e-book in the last couple of months and it can be a pain wading through the crap to find the gems. Much easier to browse an actual shelf in an actual store.

You can't (easily) share books unless registered to the same account. I believe there are ways round this but its still a total pain. We've got used to treating books as items that can be shared and lent between friends, the kindle would like to discourage this practice.

Voice to text. For some reason amazon seem to think this is one of the kindle's main selling points. Its not, its rubbish. Utter, utter rubbish!

A lot of 'medium age' or not so popular books aren't available on kindle. I've got loads of worn out old paperbacks that I'd happily pay a small fee to replace with an e-book version but they're not available and aren't likely to be any time soon. It tends to only be new books, really old books, or really popular books that are available.

A lot of the free classic books have been converted by volunteers and are... a little odd! Transcription errors abound, never (so far) to the stage where they're unreadable, but sometimes a bit annoying.

I don't like being tied to Amazon. You can of course download books from any source and read them on your kindle, Amazon will actually automatically convert any e-books you have that are in the wrong format via email, but I don't like the fact that the books I buy from Amazon are in their own proprietary format. What happens if I want to buy a non-Amazon e-reader in the future, do I lose all my Amazon books? At the moment it would seem so, unless the new reader has a kindle app I suppose. I'm reluctant to spend huge amounts of money on books til I see how that pans out though I suspect there will have to be an open/licenced format solution eventually.

[Hibrandenburg]

As far as I'm aware the fact that it works with a 3G signal as well as wireless is the only difference. I've got the £111 wireless version, my pal has the £152 3G version and they're identical.




If you both have a kindle the best way to do it is to have them both registered to the same Amazon account. That way any books either of you buy will be automatically available on both kindles at no extra charge. Only problem is you'll have to turn off auto sync if you're both reading the same book at the same time.


I think I've said this on here before but I LOVE paper books. I wanted to hate the kindle, I resisted getting one, telling everyone it would be rubbish and nothing like the real thing. I eventually got given one as a gift for Christmas and... its great! :greengrin

Just a caveat for those saying try the free apps on the iPad or android/apple phones to see if you like it; the kindle is more than just the books you read on it. These apps give you a good idea of how the kindle works but they don't have the kindle's E-ink screen. Reading a kindle is a completely different - and much more comfortable on the eyes - experience than reading an iPad or phone using an LCD/LED display. There's no backlight or screen refresh so you don't get eye strain, the kindle's screen is a completely static display, just like the page of a book. it only refreshes - and thus only uses power - when you turn the page. If you want to read it in the dark you have to turn the light on! (I have actually heard folk 'complain' that you can't read the kindle in the dark - just like a book then? :greengrin ) I have comfortably read the kindle for periods of 7 hours + with no eye strain, not something I can say about the iPad (good as it is in other respects!).

I've been sat out in the back garden with mine all day reading it in bright sunlight with absolutely no problem, no backlight means its easy to read in the sunshine and no touch screen helps to prevent greasy fingerprints on the screen. I've downloaded all my uni coursebooks onto it as PDF files and I actually found myself sitting out today with the books beside me but reading them on the kindle in preference - a totally unconcious decision. my coursebooks are heavy, unwieldy and the pages tend to flip in the breeze, the kindle can be easily held in one hand. Diagrams and pictures are displayed very well - though only in shades of grey.

I usually take 8 -10 books on holiday with me every year, this year I only took my kindle, which made a big difference with packing! Mind you I bought 9 'real' books and brought them home with me :greengrin I can pretty easily carry it around in the back pocket of my jeans, though that could just be me. Your actual arse size may vary.

Battery life is very good, I usually go three or four weeks between charges and it uses the same charger as my phone which is a bonus. Charging takes an hour or so.

The ability to highlight a word or section and google it or go straight to its dictionary/wikipedia page is very handy.

I got mine at Christmas along with a £30 amazon voucher which I only finished spending a couple of weeks ago. For that £30 I have 152 books on my kindle, the vast majority of them either free or around £1 each - I still resent paying 'full' price for e versions of books so I'm only buying cheapies just now. Theres been loads of good deals on established name authors available as well as stuff by people I'd never heard of. One great asset is the ability to download samples of books, letting you try a chapter or so before you buy to see if an unknown author is any good. You can also subscribe to magazines which are autodelivered to the kindle when they come out - I have just subscribed to Analog Science fiction magazine for £1.99 a month.

Some recent purchases:
T-Force by Sean Longden for £1.49 - physical price £5.38
Pax Britannica by Jan Morris £1.49 - physical price £6.99
How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu £0.99 - physical price £9.55
Adventures of a Motorcycle Despatch Rider During the First World War £0.00 - physical price £97.33 :greengrin though I notice they're now charging £3.60 for the kindle version


There are of course downsides!
The Mrs also has one which has been sent back and replaced twice since christmas due to it not holding a charge. In Amazon's defence in both cases all she had to do was email and a new kindle was sent to her within 24 hours, she then had to return her old one within a month of recieving the new one, which is pretty good service. Unfortunately her third kindle is doing the same thing. It looks like it might actually be a problem with the cover she has for it rather than the kindles themselves but she now keeps getting put through to tech support in India which isnt very good.

There are huge amounts of absolutely rubbish books available for it. It seems that everyone who's ever thought of becoming a writer has just published themselves an e-book in the last couple of months and it can be a pain wading through the crap to find the gems. Much easier to browse an actual shelf in an actual store.

You can't (easily) share books unless registered to the same account. I believe there are ways round this but its still a total pain. We've got used to treating books as items that can be shared and lent between friends, the kindle would like to discourage this practice.

Voice to text. For some reason amazon seem to think this is one of the kindle's main selling points. Its not, its rubbish. Utter, utter rubbish!

A lot of 'medium age' or not so popular books aren't available on kindle. I've got loads of worn out old paperbacks that I'd happily pay a small fee to replace with an e-book version but they're not available and aren't likely to be any time soon. It tends to only be new books, really old books, or really popular books that are available.

A lot of the free classic books have been converted by volunteers and are... a little odd! Transcription errors abound, never (so far) to the stage where they're unreadable, but sometimes a bit annoying.

I don't like being tied to Amazon. You can of course download books from any source and read them on your kindle, Amazon will actually automatically convert any e-books you have that are in the wrong format via email, but I don't like the fact that the books I buy from Amazon are in their own proprietary format. What happens if I want to buy a non-Amazon e-reader in the future, do I lose all my Amazon books? At the moment it would seem so, unless the new reader has a kindle app I suppose. I'm reluctant to spend huge amounts of money on books til I see how that pans out though I suspect there will have to be an open/licenced format solution eventually.
Wow! That has to be the best and most comprehensive answer to a question I've ever read on here. Thanks for taking the time to post that.I actually feel a little guilty because I'd already placed the order before reading that. :-)

[barcahibs]

Wow! That has to be the best and most comprehensive answer to a question I've ever read on here. Thanks for taking the time to post that.I actually feel a little guilty because I'd already placed the order before reading that. :-)

:greengrin

Thats ok I'd noticed you'd already bought it, just thought I'd give it a review for anyone else thinking about getting one.

In other words I was (and still am) supposed to be writing an essay for my Open Uni course, I'll do almost anything to avoid doing actual work.

Another bad thing about Kindles that I've just thought of - they're rubbish for flicking through looking for specific pieces of info like you would with a book. You can search for keywords of course but I never have, it just seems like a lot of effort. Plus you can't have two pages open at once which is a definite drawback for a studytool.

On the plus side I miscounted my books, I've actually got well over 200 on it once you count anthologies :greengrin

[nonshinyfinish]

As far as I'm aware the fact that it works with a 3G signal as well as wireless is the only difference. I've got the £111 wireless version, my pal has the £152 3G version and they're identical.

If you both have a kindle the best way to do it is to have them both registered to the same Amazon account. That way any books either of you buy will be automatically available on both kindles at no extra charge. Only problem is you'll have to turn off auto sync if you're both reading the same book at the same time.

I think I've said this on here before but I LOVE paper books. I wanted to hate the kindle, I resisted getting one, telling everyone it would be rubbish and nothing like the real thing. I eventually got given one as a gift for Christmas and... its great! :greengrin

Just a caveat for those saying try the free apps on the iPad or android/apple phones to see if you like it; the kindle is more than just the books you read on it. These apps give you a good idea of how the kindle works but they don't have the kindle's E-ink screen. Reading a kindle is a completely different - and much more comfortable on the eyes - experience than reading an iPad or phone using an LCD/LED display. There's no backlight or screen refresh so you don't get eye strain, the kindle's screen is a completely static display, just like the page of a book. it only refreshes - and thus only uses power - when you turn the page. If you want to read it in the dark you have to turn the light on! (I have actually heard folk 'complain' that you can't read the kindle in the dark - just like a book then? :greengrin ) I have comfortably read the kindle for periods of 7 hours + with no eye strain, not something I can say about the iPad (good as it is in other respects!).

I've been sat out in the back garden with mine all day reading it in bright sunlight with absolutely no problem, no backlight means its easy to read in the sunshine and no touch screen helps to prevent greasy fingerprints on the screen. I've downloaded all my uni coursebooks onto it as PDF files and I actually found myself sitting out today with the books beside me but reading them on the kindle in preference - a totally unconcious decision. my coursebooks are heavy, unwieldy and the pages tend to flip in the breeze, the kindle can be easily held in one hand. Diagrams and pictures are displayed very well - though only in shades of grey.

I want to emphasise the bit in bold - compared to reading on a computer/phone/iPad, the digital ink screens are a revelation. And what other electronic gadget can have its battery life measured in weeks?! I have a Sony e-reader, which leads me on to this bit...


You can't (easily) share books unless registered to the same account. I believe there are ways round this but its still a total pain. We've got used to treating books as items that can be shared and lent between friends, the kindle would like to discourage this practice.

I don't like being tied to Amazon. You can of course download books from any source and read them on your kindle, Amazon will actually automatically convert any e-books you have that are in the wrong format via email, but I don't like the fact that the books I buy from Amazon are in their own proprietary format. What happens if I want to buy a non-Amazon e-reader in the future, do I lose all my Amazon books? At the moment it would seem so, unless the new reader has a kindle app I suppose. I'm reluctant to spend huge amounts of money on books til I see how that pans out though I suspect there will have to be an open/licenced format solution eventually.

This is the main reason that I got a Sony reader rather than a Kindle - the Sonys are a bit more expensive (and better looking IMO), but I didn't want to get involved in an iTunes Store-style DRM nightmare. As it happens, Amazon is currently the cheapest and most comprehensive (both by a long way) place to buy e-books, but this may change in the future and I don't want to be trapped with Amazon. My e-reader (sort of) gives me the best of both worlds, in that I don't have any of the problems of sharing between multiple accounts (my books are just a computer file that can be copied to any e-reader), but I can still use it to read books bought from Amazon once the DRM has been removed. DRM removal is quite easy, although a little time-consuming (barcahibs, drop me a pm if you want any advice on making your Amazon e-books compatible with other readers).

Should probably mention Project Gutenberg (http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page) at this point - thousands and thousands of out-of-copyright books to download for free in various e-reader formats.

[derekHFC]

Bump this up.

New Kindle (http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0051QVF7A/?tag=googhydr-21&hvadid=10014279886&ref=pd_sl_8zhzag4q85_e) - only £89

Older Style (http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B002Y27P46/ref=kin3_ddp_alsoavail_kinw_kinso) - £109

3G/Wi-Fi (http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B002LVUWFE/ref=kin3_ddp_alsoavail_kinw_kin3gso)- £149

[danhibees1875]

Can you download a newspaper onto the kindle? =)

[nonshinyfinish]

Can you download a newspaper onto the kindle? =)

A lot of newspapers do e-book editions, never seen one though.

[Twa Cairpets]

Entirely odd thought.

Does downloading a book increase, even by microscopically small amount, the weight of a Kindle? I'm thinking "no, of course it doesnt you bloody fool", but the thought is nagging away at me.

Any techie type able to confirm one way or t'other?

[One Day Soon]

Entirely odd thought.

Does downloading a book increase, even by microscopically small amount, the weight of a Kindle? I'm thinking "no, of course it doesnt you bloody fool", but the thoguht is nagging away at me.

Any techie type able to confirm one way or t'other?


What is wrong with you? I thought I was bad spontaneously imagining Theresa May naked (the politician not the porn star).

You have altogether too much time on your hands.

In response to your question how on earth could the weight increase even microscopically? These devices receive information wirelessly and digitally, they don't acquire anything else external in order to store information.

[Nuitdelune]

I am a bit of a fool as I will not succumb to the death of the paper book by getting a Kindle or the like and for travel, you have to get unabridged audiobooks. Can listen while not doing anything or drive/cook/ do whatever and listen at the same time. Amounts to the same thing of course but I feel less disloyal by listening rather than watching on a screen!

[Twa Cairpets]

What is wrong with you? I thought I was bad spontaneously imagining Theresa May naked (the politician not the porn star).

You have altogether too much time on your hands.

In response to your question how on earth could the weight increase even microscopically? These devices receive information wirelessly and digitally, they don't acquire anything else external in order to store information.

The problem is these thoughts keep me awake and therefore generate the time. How else to ponder the mysteries of the universe?:greengrin

I know they get the information wirelessly, but does the addition of the information to an otherwise blank bit of memory mean that there are extra electrons or units of charge somewhow held within the machine that would increase mass even by a teensie weensie wee bit. I'm a chemist by education, not an electrical engineer.

And Theresa May is much much worse. My therapy starts Tuesday to excoriate the image.


I am a bit of a fool as I will not succumb to the death of the paper book by getting a Kindle or the like and for travel, you have to get unabridged audiobooks. Can listen while not doing anything or drive/cook/ do whatever and listen at the same time. Amounts to the same thing of course but I feel less disloyal by listening rather than watching on a screen!

Aye, but you can download audiobooks onto a kindle too. I was once like you, and will never forsake paper books because they just look so damned good on a shelf, but have succumbed to the magic idea of being able to take an entire library on holiday or on a trip rather than a book I might end up hating.

[Leicester Fan]

Can you download a newspaper onto the kindle? =)

Yep, most of the British nationals and some foreign ones too.

[lapsedhibee]

Entirely odd thought.

Does downloading a book increase, even by microscopically small amount, the weight of a Kindle? I'm thinking "no, of course it doesnt you bloody fool", but the thought is nagging away at me.

Any techie type able to confirm one way or t'other?

If you believe that different digital sequences have different weights, then it follows that whole digital books can have different weights. But shirley the labels "1" and "0" are just conventions, not grams or kilos, so there's no reason to suppose that 11111111 weighs more than 00000000. And digital sequences are there "in" the kindle whether or not you've downloaded War and Peace.

Likewise, the odd thought that you've had does not weigh any more than an even thought.

[Jack]

If you believe that different digital sequences have different weights, then it follows that whole digital books can have different weights. But shirley the labels "1" and "0" are just conventions, not grams or kilos, so there's no reason to suppose that 11111111 weighs more than 00000000. And digital sequences are there "in" the kindle whether or not you've downloaded War and Peace.

Likewise, the odd thought that you've had does not weigh any more than an even thought.

Does a 16GB micro memory card weigh more, or maybe even less, than a 32GB card? :devil:

Does a photograph of a ton of feathers weigh more than a photograph of a 1 ton weight? :faf:

Questions like these don’t keep me awake at night. :greengrin

[Twa Cairpets]

If you believe that different digital sequences have different weights, then it follows that whole digital books can have different weights. But shirley the labels "1" and "0" are just conventions, not grams or kilos, so there's no reason to suppose that 11111111 weighs more than 00000000. And digital sequences are there "in" the kindle whether or not you've downloaded War and Peace.

Likewise, the odd thought that you've had does not weigh any more than an even thought.

That's the one that clarifies it for me. Ta