No drama? Chuck, you've seen people here nearly come to blows over what glue to use.
Naive to think there would be no drama talking about getting a new electronic device. Enjoy the Paperwhite. Be sure to get new waterproof model.
Kindle Opinions
- Thread starter cwbullet
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Naive to think there would be no drama talking about getting a new electronic device. Enjoy the Paperwhite. Be sure to get new waterproof model.
One tip with the Kindle. SAVE THE USB cable!
Seriously mark it with something and keep it safe! Any micro USB cable will charge the Kindle, but you need a "data"
cable to connect it to your computer. Several places on line have free/low cost books available. If you download them to your computer you will need to transfer them to your kindle.
I joined TOR publishers internet book club and downloaded a few books to my computer. Then I had to search for the "data" cable. It only took me about 2 hours and 20ish cables to find it. It is now marked and protected.
Seriously mark it with something and keep it safe! Any micro USB cable will charge the Kindle, but you need a "data"
cable to connect it to your computer. Several places on line have free/low cost books available. If you download them to your computer you will need to transfer them to your kindle.
I joined TOR publishers internet book club and downloaded a few books to my computer. Then I had to search for the "data" cable. It only took me about 2 hours and 20ish cables to find it. It is now marked and protected.
For those that use Kindle Unlimited, what percentage of books does it currently contain? As in, if you were to buy ten current books, what portion would be available via Unlimited? I need to take another look at it myself.
@Marc_G I was not impressed with Kindle Unlimited for the brief time I used it. The vast majority of content available is self-published eBooks/Kindle Singles. Popular titles are few and far between.
You will have better luck finding eBooks you've actually heard of through Overdrive if your local public library supports it.
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Good decision on the Kindle Paperwhite. Everyone in our family has one, we have owned a dozen over the years.
1. Bright sunlight reading, like at the beach
2. Reading in bed without a separate book light
3. Long battery life
Paperwhite, while not Amazon's most expensive device, is to me their best.
It has one weakness that I wish they would correct: the backlight is not adaptive. I have to turn it up in the daytime and turn it down in bed at night. No big deal, but still.
There are actually some good books in Unlimited. I love it when an author puts their first book in a series on Unlimited, so I can try it for free. And I'm happy to pay the same price whether it's a physical or digital book. The digital version is better at night in bed and available in a pinch on my phone or laptop.
1. Bright sunlight reading, like at the beach
2. Reading in bed without a separate book light
3. Long battery life
Paperwhite, while not Amazon's most expensive device, is to me their best.
It has one weakness that I wish they would correct: the backlight is not adaptive. I have to turn it up in the daytime and turn it down in bed at night. No big deal, but still.
There are actually some good books in Unlimited. I love it when an author puts their first book in a series on Unlimited, so I can try it for free. And I'm happy to pay the same price whether it's a physical or digital book. The digital version is better at night in bed and available in a pinch on my phone or laptop.
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Oh, trivia fact: at one time you could download the AltimeterThree app and run it on Kindle.
But we stopped supporting it because it wasn't worth the trouble.
But we stopped supporting it because it wasn't worth the trouble.
I just ordered my wife a PaperWhite because of this thread. I know she loved her original Kindle with this type of screen and after she got other tablets she missed the "paper" printing on a tablet. She's been using ipads and the Kindle app, or Kindles with non-ink screens, and I just looked over the PaperWhite and saw it's waterproof so I ordered her a 32 GB version to arrive Thursday.
She'll smile and enjoy it, so that's good enough of a reason for me.
She'll smile and enjoy it, so that's good enough of a reason for me.
Happy Kobo owner here. A few things I'll mention about these devices:
IMO, Kobo beats Nook hands down. I owned Nook devices for years starting with the first generation, then a simple touch (loved it) and simple touch glow (loved it more). I needed more memory, so I tried their then-new Glowlight 3 (IIRC?) device about 2 years ago. That device took a full second or more to turn pages. Very annoying. It went back; I bought the Kobo Aura One and have been happy since.
Hope this helps expand options for some ebook readers out there.
- I can search for and download books from my public library on the Kobo device. I put my library Overdrive account information into the device to enable this. This is far easier than trying to use the awful Adobe Digital Editions software to load epubs.
- I can sideload free epubs using the free Calibre software.
- I use Calibre to help organize books on my Kobo's "shelves". I have shelves for sci-fi, business, engineering and others. I have about 100 books on the Kobo. Not even close to filling it.
- I have a larger Kobo Aura One on my night stand and a smaller Kobo Clara HD for travel (back when I traveled often). They sync with each other automatically, so both are on the same page for every book (not sideloaded content).
- A lot of book titles on the Kobo store used to be (maybe still are?) DRM free. I have downloaded and saved them for backup. However, it seems Kobo has quietly dropped the "DRM free" notices and tags on their store. Each book used to state its DRM status.
- Just looked into this a ittle more. The Kobo ebook store now states "most" books have DRM. However, you can still download books from the Kobo store for use on other devices, you just have to download the epub and use Adobe Digital Editions. This is only if you want to use a non-Kobo device or app to read titles purchased on the Kobo ebook store.
- Once setup, Calibre automatically converts epubs into kepubs. This format enables the Kobo device to estimate how much longer it will take to read the next chapter and the remainder of the book. I find this helpful in the evening when deciding if I go one more chapter or not.
- The backlight can automatically adjust color at night to reduce blue light. It may automatically adjust intensity too, but I just leave it set to the color I like (amberish) and the very low intensity I need at night so I don't bother my wife. Battery life is fine with this approach.
- I charge the devices about once a month. I'm happy with the battery life.
- It's competition for Amazon. I have prime, but I like the idea of having something (e-books) outside their system.
IMO, Kobo beats Nook hands down. I owned Nook devices for years starting with the first generation, then a simple touch (loved it) and simple touch glow (loved it more). I needed more memory, so I tried their then-new Glowlight 3 (IIRC?) device about 2 years ago. That device took a full second or more to turn pages. Very annoying. It went back; I bought the Kobo Aura One and have been happy since.
Hope this helps expand options for some ebook readers out there.
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bronicabill
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As others have said, since you already own an iPad, don't bother with the Kindle Fire. I have a Fire 7" that I bought back at Christmas on sale, and while it's okay, I think the battery life sucks compared to my Apple products! I do use the Kindle frequently, but have to keep it plugged in all the time when not in use so that it has a sufficient charge for when I DO want to use it... a bit of a hassle, and not that conducive to long battery life!
I bought a Paperwhite. It made the most sense. I think you for your suggestions.
I live on my iPad, but this thread has me wondering if I should get a Paperwhite as well.
o1d_dude
'I battle gravity'
I have both.
Whenever I use the kindle...mostly after turning in for the night...I think I should get up out of bed and get my iPad from the coffee table in the living room.
YMMV.
Why? You mean that you prefer reading books on the iPad instead of the Kindle, or something else? Which Kindle?
o1d_dude
'I battle gravity'
Kindle Paperwhite. My biggest gripe is the screen is too small so I am constantly flipping the page.
With the iPad I enjoy being able to jump out of the Kindle reading mode to look up some random factoid or add an entry to my to-do list for the following day or check my email.
Before iPad, I tried reading via the Kindle app on my Samsung phone but eyestrain became a problem.
Not an Apple fanboy...I have built several gaming Intel/AMD PC’s...but I can recline on the sofa and surf the web via iPad and with the PC tower...not so much.
When at the launch site, I open up my Samsung Android phone as a hotspot and use it for internet connectivity for the iPad: Google Earth, Thrustcurve, etc.
Having choices is a good thing.
rharshberger
Well-Known Member
The kindle Oasis is a slightly larger and waterproof version of the Paperwhite iirc. The Oasis's screen is 1" larger than the standard Paperwhite.
But the best feature of it is the physical page turn buttons!
I don't think they are for worth twice the price for most people but if you read a lot of eBooks it is a very nice product.
OOPS!!!!!! I was going to post, but thought it said cuddle options.
I've used a Paperwhite daily for 6 or 7 years, finally traded in for a new one last week as the old one was responding slower and needed more frequent charging (Amazon is giving 20% off for the trade). For reading in bed it's way easier than a book and smaller, lighter than an ipad. They don't make it easy, but Amazon has a Lending Library for Kindle owners. I 2nd Joe's rec of BookBub, I regularly buy their discounted Kindle books (get on the daily email list). Your library will also have ebooks deliverable to your Kindle, I use that a lot too.
