Talk to me about Kindles please

[RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie]

The time has come, the Remus said,
to talk of many things
like whether I should buy one
and will I like the thing?
And how the heck do they even work
and other sorts of things.

So - are they idiot proof? What can I do on one? How does one put actual books on to it? Can I listen to music on it? How does one actually buy one and switch it on? Etc etc. And will I hate it? Please bear in mind that I cannot use/do not have a mobile phone or MP3 player or anything, so need words of one syllable or less when discussing anything technical.

Thank you. :)

As I said buy kindle that fulfils your requirements

I find I can read easier outdoors on my old kindle keyboard. I agree that you dont need a paperwhite for reading outside (I have both). I do like to read in bed though so the paperwhite is best for that if dh is trying to sleep while i am reading

Another vote for the paperwhite here. It's like upgrading a book into a marvellous magical book you can read in the dark.

Owl - Agree to disagree. Life is too short and if you don't get it by now , you never will.

I've got a keyboard Kindle. I love it but I'm on my third one! It seems to be quite common for them to just freeze and stop working.

When this one stops I shall get the paper light I think. I don't use the keyboard for much at all.

Hope you find one you get on with.

Do you know anyone that has one that you can borrow to get a feel of it?

So this thread made me dig my eBay kindle purchase out to then find it had frozen half the screen
I ring amazon, it's obviously not in warranty, and wasn't bought directly from them. Brand new kindle on it's way to me. Now that's how you do customer service!

I got my Paperwhite from John Lewis as they gave a two year warranty instead of the usual one year.

I said I'd never get one as I loved real books, however I am a convert. I still have a few real books that I haven't read yet and after using the Paperwhite since Christmas, I can't face reading them - I'm tempted to rebuy them on my Kindle instead!

I don't have any problem holding it or turning pages; I hold it in one hand and turn the pages by tapping the thumb of the same hand on the screen. It's so light and convenient - I wish I'd discovered it last year when I was breastfeeding a newborn.

It's very easy to set up and buy books. When you first turn it on, it prompts you to type in the email address and password of your amazon account which links them together. Then, when you buy a book, it goes straight to your Kindle.

I have to say that I prefer buying books using my ipad - I love browsing the free and paid charts. I also have a book wishlist and like watching the prices fluctuate. I have price alerts set up on ereaderiq, but that's not as much fun!

I'd definitely recommend paying the extra for the Paperwhite as you never know when you might want to read. I keep the light on all the time as it's much more comfortable for my eyes.

Definitely get the Paperwhite.
I upgraded from the previous version to get it. Having the back light option is invaluable for reading in low lighting conditions.
Incredibly easy to use. Click "Buy" on Amazon, turn your Kindle on, and the book is there.

Owl - Agree to disagree. Life is too short and if you don't get it by now , you never will.

Perhaps take your own advice rather than being rude.

I got the basic model (the £59 one) and it has been absolutely fine. The Paperwhite, besides being almost twice the price, only says it stores 'over 1,000 books'. Whereas the basic one will store 1,400 books. I would just go for the basic one, if I were you, especially if you won't be using it everyday.

I suppose it might depend on how you feel about the backlighting thing- a feature on the Paperwhite model. But I thought that looking at a backlit screen was supposed to be bad for your eyes? Maybe I am wrong about that? If reading in bed I just use my bedside lamp, as with an actual book. Also you can get a cover with a built-in light that will shine on the screen if needed. I got one pretty cheap from ebay.

It is basic, but fine for my needs - reading text. The only negative thing about it is it can be a problem with books that have illustrations, particularly maps and diagrams. They appear in black and white only of course, which is fine, but I find that often I cannot actually see the finer details on, say a map. You can increase the font size, but this doesn't seem to solve the problem. So if I know a book will have a lot of illustrations, usually I will wait and buy the actual book instead.

The difference in storage between 1,000 books and 1,400 books is a non-issue. It is so easy to add new books and archive old books, that space for an extra few books would never be an issue.

The light on a Paperwhite can be adjusted all the way from nothing at all, so it looks the same as a standard kindle, to quite bright. It is a massive amount better than using the cover with the light or a bedside lamp. The light is very soft so you can read in bed without disturbing anyone else. It's nothing like a tablet or smart phone back light.

Having had both, I would always recommend the paperwhite unless they genuinely could not stretch to the extra cost.

Thanks again, all. No need for discussion of different versions. I'll be getting the basic one! Went and had a quick look in Waterstones today but their demo one wasn't actually working to see what it looked like. It seemed straightforward though in terms of only having a couple of buttons to press. :) Will buy it next week, after I've been paid.

Glad you have come to a decision Remus -hope you will enjoy your Kindle.

MostWicked - about the difference is storage - it might not be an issue to you and to anyone sensible but it is to me! I have over 1300 books on my Kindle and in addition I already have about 500 archived ones. I don't know how this happened - well I do really, obsessive regular checking of deals of the day, special offers etc, and also acquiring of free books. I have scaled it down a lot recently though - well I had to, and also now the Deals of the Day seem to be mainly rubbish, or books I have already got.

I feel I have read quite a lot on my kindle, but probably only about a third or less of what's on there. Yes I do realise this is hoarding behaviour, but at least it doesn't take up any physical space!

So for me, and maybe some others, the differences in storage do matter. it would be difficult to swap to the Paperwhite or any other model with less capacity. I expect the capacity of Paperwhites may be improved on future models, possibly.

If you buy it next week, you'll just be in time to catch some bargains before the Kindle summer sale ends! Enjoy browsing! amzn.to/1orNsyg

Ooops, sorry, that link didn't seem to work .. try this one!

amzn.to/XsCGhR

Thanks, both.

If you buy it from Amazon they let you return it within a certain period of time if you don't like it. I think it's 28 days but would check that.

It's 14 days .. but, even better, you can download a free sample so you can decide if you like it before you buy!

Don't buy new remus! I got mine second hand for half the usual price!!

Pros
Great for travel/bus
V easy on eyes (have basic one, eyes v sensitive)
Get one with wifi so you can download books easily
Easy to read BIG books

Cons
Can't flick backwards or forwards easily. Pain if you want to reread a portion or check something
Too easy to stockpile (heh heh)

Hmmmmmmmmm

Nope that's it! Go for it

Thanks. No idea where I'd get a second hand one. It's payday on Friday so am buying one then, prob in Waterstones. :)

Your big books comment made me think of, 'I like big books and I cannot lie,' which I have on a badge!

They all have wifi these days

they all have wifi but only some have 3G

I have a basic (old, keyboard version) Kindle, with a lighted leather cover. The cover makes it 'feel' like a book. Love it.

www.amazon.co.uk/Amazon-Kindle-Lighted-Leather-Cover/dp/B008035AR2/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1408567622&sr=1-1&keywords=kindle+cover+with+light

Have no idea what 3G is. Sorry. Do I need to?

Thanks again everybody.