Kindle - Can someone explain something?

NeilF

NeilF

NeilF

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Looking to get my mum a kindle.

There's the new e-ink one for £89, but looking around there's talk of it not being a touch screen (so how do you type), and there being adverts?
 
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It isn't touch screen. You use the DPad to controll an on screen keyboard. I don't think the touch screen Kindle is sold here yet.
 
Haven't used the keyboard much on our 1 year old non 3G keyboard Kindle so not sure about it's uselfullness. Not sure if I'd like the adverts though.

Looks like they've done away with the non 3G Kindle though so it's a fair difference in price.

If the adverts aren't obtrusive then you I'm sure anyone can live without the keyboard. If the Kindle is for reading books or PDF then all you need is your navigate buttons, menu and things to use it.
 
Menu screen and idle screen apparently, or at least that's what they say at the moment. It'd be awful if they could slip a link or something onto every read page.
 
Tealc said:
Menu screen and idle screen apparently, or at least that's what they say at the moment. It'd be awful if they could slip a link or something onto every read page.
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I woudn't even bother, your paying £90 for something yet they are still cashing in the money from ads. Why are they worth your custom?
 
There are no adverts on the UK models. The adverts are on the reduced price US models (which are $30 cheaper than the non-advert versions over there).

I have the £89 UK Kindle 4 (no keyboard). It has no adverts. It is not touch screen, which after using it I actually prefer as it's size is small enough that you can hold it in one hand and use the forward and back buttons without having to swipe across the screen (and getting it mucky) at every page turn. The onscreen keyboard is not needed much (I think I have only really used it for creating collections to put books in and for setting up the WIFI SSID/password) ... it's no worse to use than any other cursor controlled onscreen keyboard on a bit of consumer electronics.
 
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memyselfandi said:
There are no adverts on the UK models. The adverts are on the reduced price US models (which are $30 cheaper than the non-advert versions over there).

I have the £89 UK Kindle 4 (no keyboard). It has no adverts. It is not touch screen, which after using it I actually prefer as it's size is small enough that you can hold it in one hand and use the forward and back buttons without having to swipe across the screen (and getting it mucky) at every page turn. The onscreen keyboard is not needed much (I think I have only really used it for creating collections to put books in and for setting up the WIFI SSID/password) ... it's no worse to use than any other cursor controlled onscreen keyboard on a bit of consumer electronics.
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Sounds perfect then... Thanks!

IYHO, is it grandma friendly, if I set up the wireless access networking etc etc?

Do you just buy the books on the PC and then they are automatically downloaded to the Kindle?
 
NeilFawcett said:
Sounds perfect then... Thanks!

IYHO, is it grandma friendly, if I set up the wireless access networking etc etc?

Do you just buy the books on the PC and then they are automatically downloaded to the Kindle?
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If your grandma is anything like mine she wants to be able to feel the book.
 
When you buy books on the PC you tell Amazon to "deliver to my Kindle" as the delivery option then the next time the Kindle connects to the WIFI and can talk to the internet it will check for new purchases and automatically download them. They will then appear in the main book list on the device.

Whether it is Grandma friendly ... will depend on how good your Grandma is with technology. If you are not using collections on the Kindle, (equivalent to folders which you can move books into instead of having them in one long list), then it is as simple as arrowing down to the book you want and then hitting the button to start reading. You then page back and forwards through the book as wanted using the side buttons, and lock the screen if you are not reading using the button on the bottom. If you exit a book it will take you back to where you were in it when you re-enter the book.

I would suggest that you maybe pick up the optional 3 pin to USB socket charger so she doesn't have to plug it into a computer to charge.
 
memyselfandi said:
When you buy books on the PC you tell Amazon to "deliver to my Kindle" as the delivery option then the next time the Kindle connects to the WIFI and can talk to the internet it will check for new purchases and automatically download them. They will then appear in the main book list on the device.

Whether it is Grandma friendly ... will depend on how good your Grandma is with technology. If you are not using collections on the Kindle, (equivalent to folders which you can move books into instead of having them in one long list), then it is as simple as arrowing down to the book you want and then hitting the button to start reading. You then page back and forwards through the book as wanted using the side buttons, and lock the screen if you are not reading using the button on the bottom. If you exit a book it will take you back to where you were in it when you re-enter the book.

I would suggest that you maybe pick up the optional 3 pin to USB socket charger so she doesn't have to plug it into a computer to charge.
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She's happy buying stuff online, so I don't see that as being a problem.

If she's reading two books at once - imagine - I assume it's fairly easy to flick between them, and it remembers where she is with each etc?
 
NeilFawcett said:
She's happy buying stuff online, so I don't see that as being a problem.

If she's reading two books at once - imagine - I assume it's fairly easy to flick between them, and it remembers where she is with each etc?
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Single button takes you back to the home book list from where the other book can be selected. It seems to remember where you are and reopens books at the point they were last open at, (there is a additional bookmark function as well but I just let it remember).
 
I really don't see the point in these things. You are paying £89 (for the cheapest) to read a ebook that costs as much (and often more than) a proper book. Give me a physical book anyday.
 
pastymuncher said:
I really don't see the point in these things. You are paying £89 (for the cheapest) to read a ebook that costs as much (and often more than) a proper book. Give me a physical book anyday.
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Well the book I am reading at the moment is approximately 7x thicker in the large hardback on my bookshelf (which also ways significantly more than the Kindle) .... oh and having the electronic copy as well cost me nothing due to Baen including CD's of ebooks in the back of some of their hardbacks which means that when I go away I can have the equivalent of about a shelf and a half of hardbacks to choose from in something I can slip in my pocket for no extra book cost.

I do agree with you that the cost of ebooks sometimes is maybe higher than it should be, (I was looking at a book the other day which looked interesting but the paperback version was cheaper than the Kindle version). But not in all cases, the last book I bought on the Kindle was £5.99, the cheapest I could find the (lot larger and heavier) hardback was £9 so I consider that a reasonable buy .... the book before that was only available on the Kindle, was <£3 and was a pretty good read.
 
pastymuncher said:
I really don't see the point in these things. You are paying £89 (for the cheapest) to read a ebook that costs as much (and often more than) a proper book. Give me a physical book anyday.
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My wife thought the same, but now she's absolutely in love with her Kindle. She has never done as much reading, and because the Kindle suggests unknown authors of the genre she is interested in (mostly cheap or free), she also has a much more varied diet of author now too.
And it's a little easier to take a Kindle to Morocco/Cuba etc than it is to hump books around.
Horses for courses really, but I think once you get over the initial outlay and put a nice case on it, you may be surprised. ;)
 
You don't need a PC at all to buy/download Kindle books. You can visit the Amazon Kindle Store on the device itself and purchase the book. You can only do this when you've registered your Kindle to your Amazon account. The download takes a matter of seconds and then you've got your new book.

There's a web browser on the Kindle which relies on using the keyboard a fair bit but if it's not going to be used for browsing that won't be an issue.

Apart from one or two people that didn't give the Kindle a fair go I've yet to meet any one that didn't love it. I didn't think I'd be able to give up on "real" books (not that you have to) but I find I don't miss them at all. When you're engrossed in a book you forget you're holding a piece of tech. That's what makes it so good for me.

You should check out the Kindle Users Forum ( HERE ) if you want some in-depth answers to anything Kindle related. I'm a mod over there. Just like here, they're a friendly bunch.
 
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