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. :)

you dont need 3G unless you were going to be downloading books when you had no wifi connection. 3G is a mobile phone network. My old kindle keyboard has 3G but my newer paperwhite does not.

Thank you. :)

Um hello! . How about the Nook? You can download library books for free (our library lets you have up to 5 at a time). Don't think you can do that on the kindle. I got mine this week, from Argos, has a GlowLight so can read in the dark. And nook App on phone all linked. £49.

www.johnlewis.com/nook-simple-touch-glowlight-ereader/p231759497

Oh and unlike the Kindle you are able to share/transfer your e-books. Kindle you can only read stuff from Amazon - really tied in. If in the future you buy a different kind of e-book reader you will not be able to transfer all the Kindle Books to your new one. With the Nook - or others that read epubs (I think that is what they are called) you can transfer to a new device with no problems.

Sorry, haven't read the whole thread but i have the old kindle keyboard and have recently bought the basic kindle (£59) for my mum. She's not good with technology but has found it really easy to use and would definitely recommend it if you just want a basic reading device that's simple to use.

Thanks both. Have never heard of a Nook but think I'll stick with the basic Kindle now I've done al this thinking about it. Good to know it's easy to use.

Just to add I've just bought the paper white from Tesco using clubcard points. They are worth double at the moment so it only cost me £48.50 worth of points.

Regarding the flicking backwards and forwards: I'm not sure about the basic model, but on the newest paperwhite you can easily flick backwards and forwards without losing your page (a mini page comes up in the middle, with a scroll bar). I have a terrible memory for names and often used to flick back through paperbacks; this was one reason I delayed getting a Kindle, as they didn't used to have this feature.

As well as flicking, you can highlight the name of a character and use the x-ray feature to bring up previous times that they've been mentioned - this is often enough to jog my memory.

I'd be lost without Calibre, it is free software and I manage my library with it. I have a ton of books and the kindle is a disaster in managing them. I do not want to be tied to amazon and with this programme I do not have to manage my books there. I can browse, transfer, convert epub files to mobi so the kindle can read them. I have a library where books have covers, I can read blurbs and summaries, I can arrange them by topic, put series together in order and everything. Great stuff.

cuphat - re "a mini page comes up in the middle, with a scroll bar"

I have only managed to see that mini page in the middle by accident. How do you access that function on the Paperwhite?

CoteDAzur, you touch the top of the screen to bring up the menus. Then while they're up, touch the bottom of the screen where it tells you the chapter you're on - this will bring up the mini page.

You can flick through either by touching the arrows at the sides of the mini page (to flick one page at a time) or use the scroll bar at the bottom to flick more quickly. Don't touch the middle of the mini page unless you want to go to that page (i.e. be careful if you're using the arrows!).

Thank you

The paperwhite is £99 in tesco, free next day click and collect......my finger is hovering over the pay now button.....

Update

I bought the most basic one, in Waterstones, plus a snazzy case. I've so far put 40 free classics into it, mostly Wilkie Collins (because he is a God). It seems very easy to work and I think I'm going to like it.

Now, what other free books do I want? :)

Thanks again, everybody. :)

Enjoy! Confessions Of An English Opium Eater is free on Kindle. All Sherlock Holmes is free too, I believe.

Import your Amazon Wish List to eReaderIQ and get mails when their prices drop.

Will get 'Confessions.' Done the Holmes stuff already, though have read it all anyway. Got 'Dracula' too but have read it already. Any lesser known classics I won't have either read or already rejected as being crap (ie Dickens!).

First book read on it - started last night and had a lie in this morning to finish it. I like it a lot, but have a bit of a migraine so maybe not the best time to be trying it out. It's easy to get books onto (only done free ones so far) and easy to use.

Now I need to learn how to organise the titles.

I knew it! Next, you'll need to trust me and finish reading Cloud Atlas

Urgh. That day is never going to come. :)

So pleased you have got one.

I gave up on Cloud Atlas - just could not be bothered with it!

Do look at The Kindle monthly sale every month - it starts on the first Tueday of the month. I've got some gems that way for about 99p each. Also Deal of the Day - 90% of which is rubbish but the occasional gem does arrive.

Happy reading.

Thanks, Magi.

I ordered the paperwhite from tesco using reward points and boost. I generally read on my iPad but am going on a weeks holiday and didn't want to take my iPad .
Very excited now.

Glad you like it. I had a keyboard kindle and only upgraded to the paper white due to failing eyesight! Agree with some others that the page turn was better on the basic model but I do love the light.

I keep an eye on my amazon wish list then it's quite easy to catch price drops when they come up. The best ones are when amazon has to match a competitors sale, I got the whole Shardlake series for 99p per book.