kindle?

[NewLife4Me]

Hoping for somebody to help a very poor techno person.

I am considering buying a kindle for dd 11, but don't understand the first thing about them.

My first question is why are some books available for free but others are still lots of pounds?, and does it make it cost efficient?

1. Is it really simple to download books?

1. Which one is the best on a budget, so not in the £100's.

1. Is black or white case better?

1. Is there anything else on the market which is as good or better?

Also, any other info/ advice you could offer.

Tia

There are different types of Kindle. Make sure you understand the difference between e-readers and tablet types (Kindle Fires).

Some books are free because they are out of copyright - classics such as Austen, Dickens, for example. Some are free because the publisher chooses to offer, say, the first book in a series free to get people hooked into buying the rest.

It's very easy to download books as long as you have a WiFi connection.

Whether it's cost effective depends on what type of books you buy. Self published books are usually cheaper than traditionally published books.

Most people like e-readers because of the convenience of being able to carry a whole library around with them.

Do you want one just for reading or also other functions like games? The basic Kindle is fine for the former the Kindle Fire is the latter. Both are about £50, although Fire can be more for a larger screen.

Books are priced according to demand. Free ones are often out of copyright like classics. Most are 99p up to £5. Very easy to download one once an Amazon account is linked to the device although you can set it to request a password before the transaction goes through. Other basic tablets access different sources of books so do not necessarily have the same range to choose from.

I love the Kindle PaperWhite but if I were to get one for a girl that age, I'd get the Kindle Fire, because you can borrow books from the library.

Ah, that's really interesting and thanks.

She has decided at this age she wants The Hunger games series and Harry Potter series, having turned her nose up in the past.

I struggle with reading from screens so have never looked at them before as they weren't available when our older dc were children.

The carrying a whole library in her bag is a huge advantage for her and I hadn't considered this.

Oh, can you put child restrictions on them? She is away from home a lot?

I have a Kindle Fire HDX which I use for everything. Really simple to download books and perfect for internet use.
I just bought DD a Kindle Fire for her 8th birthday while it was on a deal at £50. Other e-readers were more expensive and didn't have the tablet function so she will get more use from the Kindle Fire.
Black covers show up less scratches. I highly recommend a decent case (I have this one) and a screen protector too.

There is a kids' version of the Fire with parental controls.

And yes, you can put Parental Controls on it.

I was looking at the HP books, OP, and they're free with Kindle Unlimited - otherwise they are £5.99. Having said that, they're free at the library, too.

If she has a Kindle, birthday and Christmas presents are sorted for ever more - everyone can just buy her Amazon vouchers.

You might find it useful to browse the Kindle customer discussion forums and faq. Go to the Kindle home page on Amazon and click on Discussions near the top right hand corner.

Thanks Harriet

I have read the reviews of customers but didn't know about the discussion.

Imperial, This is what is making me think twice really. I wouldn't buy all the books in the series for her as it would just be another load on the book case that she has read but won't want to part with along with The full famous five set.
What's kindle unlimited? Do you buy it separate. I'm coming to the conclusion I'm well out of my depth here.

Kindle Unlimited is a subscription service where you can download as many books as you can read for £7.99 a month. You can read about it here