E-books and e-book readers

[BaaBaa.]

I rarely read books on mine, probably 2 or 3 in 18 months but I thought the Amazon Kindle one was a shocker .

[caller]

BaaBaa, what do you mean by shocker? I'm no expert, but most experts / folks swear by them and it has a huge share of the market. I guess the queries I have will need to be addressed to Amazon?

[pharvey]

I have the Kindle Fire - now going on sale outside the US.... superb IMHO.

[BaaBaa.]

BaaBaa, what do you mean by shocker? I'm no expert, but most experts / folks swear by them and it has a huge share of the market. I guess the queries I have will need to be addressed to Amazon?

I thought the Kindle app was the worst of the few I used, it just seemed very basic which surprised me as it's a well known brand.

It doesn't reflect on the kindle hardware at all. Think you'd be nuts to buy one over a Nexus though.

At the end of the day the Kindle is just a 7" Android tablet, the Nexus just happens to be better in every conceivable way at the same price range.

[Pleng]

What's e-ink Steve? Just a type of display like LCD and Amoled?

Got to admit that battery life is brilliant.

E-ink is a type of display that only uses power to change state, that's why the battery life is so good

It's also a lot easier to read in bright light situations, and I believe it does less damage to your eyes than lcd.

[caller]

Mr Harvey, a question for you if you don't mind? On the Fire, is the ereader still e-ink as mentioned by Steve above and as per Kindles other versions, or is it at least an option? If not, have you had any problems using the ereader?

Thanks

[pharvey]

Mr Harvey, a question for you if you don't mind? On the Fire, is the ereader still e-ink as mentioned by Steve above and as per Kindles other versions, or is it at least an option? If not, have you had any problems using the ereader?

Thanks

No it's not e-ink Caller. I had the original Kindle which was e-ink, yes - maybe easier to read in bright light, but impossible to read in low-light without another light source. As far as I'm aware, e-ink is only black & white and not colour - certainly this is the case with the original Kindle.

The Kindle Fire is based on an Android OS and will also allow you to view movies, photographs, documents etc. as well as checking email/surfing the net. On sale on Amazon (UK) at around the 175-200 USD mark. Unlike the iPad etc., very easy to import movies/books etc. from outside sources (rather than paying through the nose on iTunes).

[PET]

Mr Harvey, a question for you if you don't mind? On the Fire, is the ereader still e-ink as mentioned by Steve above and as per Kindles other versions, or is it at least an option? If not, have you had any problems using the ereader?

Thanks

No it's not e-ink Caller. I had the original Kindle which was e-ink, yes - maybe easier to read in bright light, but impossible to read in low-light without another light source. As far as I'm aware, e-ink is only black & white and not colour - certainly this is the case with the original Kindle.

The Kindle Fire is based on an Android OS and will also allow you to view movies, photographs, documents etc. as well as checking email/surfing the net. On sale on Amazon (UK) at around the 175-200 USD mark. Unlike the iPad etc., very easy to import movies/books etc. from outside sources (rather than paying through the nose on iTunes).

Caller - you will find all the info on Kindle here in their shop in Bangkok www.kindle-thailand.in.th

The Kindle Touch costs Bht 5990 and the Kindle Fire Bht 9990 both delivered post free by EMS to Hua Hin

[caller]

Thanks - help appreciated. I had posted on the previous page about this and the reason for my question was that its finally available in the UK for pre-order and the spec from amazons own site (linked to) doesn't explain about the ereader part (not that I could get in any case).

The ereader is the biggest thing for me, so I think I'll wait until I can go into a store and test it out before deciding whether to buy - I'm in no great rush.

[lomuamart]

Bringing this thread up again as I'm currently back in the UK and ran across one of the Kindle thingies yesterday in Currys while looking for something else.
Although I've said before that I like the feel of a "real" book, at £70 the basic Kindle looked great value. I understand that it's linked to Amazon but are there a good selection of free and low cost books that I can purchase from Amazon? The lady at Currys said there were. Is it easy to use even for a techno-idiot like myself?
Is the Kindle "tablet" better? My brother seemed to think so and that should be around £130. It has wi-fi internet (dunno how much I'd use that in HH) and had various other features - again don't know how relevant they'd be for me.
What other alternatives are there that people are using?
Thanks for any up-to-date info. Havn't finally decided to buy but am considering it - probably just the basic one.

[Big Boy]

A lot of friends in the UK are telling me that the Kindle Fire HD is the one to get.

[moja]

If you want a tablet as well as an e-reader then yes the Fire is the one to get but if you want just a basic e-reader then it is the one you mentioned or the Paperwhite. I have a basic 1st generation Kindle without 3g and it is absolutely fine for what I use it for ie reading books; it has wi-fi internet should I need but I have never used that part as it drains the battery very quickly.
My Kindle is very very easy to use but I cannot comment on the newers one but I would have thought they were equally as easy.
Have a look on the Amazon web site and you will see all the books available - it would have to be a very special book for me to pay more than £1.99 mainly I pay either 20p or 99p but it depends on the sort of book you like. There is also Calibre for free books but I have never used that.

[caller]

Decided kindle fire not for me after all though. A friend is in NY and has got me the latest kindle paperwhite for $109, so a similar price to what Randy has been quoted for the original model in the UK - and I can use it in the dark!

Original plan was laptop, netbook and e-reader, will worry about whether to go for netbook/tablet (for travelling) later in the year!

[PET]

Bringing this thread up again as I'm currently back in the UK and ran across one of the Kindle thingies yesterday in Currys while looking for something else.
Although I've said before that I like the feel of a "real" book, at £70 the basic Kindle looked great value. I understand that it's linked to Amazon but are there a good selection of free and low cost books that I can purchase from Amazon? The lady at Currys said there were. Is it easy to use even for a techno-idiot like myself?
Is the Kindle "tablet" better? My brother seemed to think so and that should be around £130. It has wi-fi internet (dunno how much I'd use that in HH) and had various other features - again don't know how relevant they'd be for me.
What other alternatives are there that people are using?
Thanks for any up-to-date info. Havn't finally decided to buy but am considering it - probably just the basic one.

I suggest the KINDLE TOUCH ( bht 6500 from the kindle shop in Bangkok )

As for downloading books then go the Pirate Bay route ( illegal in UK ) you can get all the books and magazines you could ever want at ZERO cost ( every book published for most authors ) - PM me when you return and I will let you have the 'know how' .

[STEVE G]

I have a Kindle Touch, which I think has been replaced but is very similar to the basic one they sell now and it's one of the best electrical devices I've ever owned, I haven't bought a 'real' book since I got it and I read a lot.
I've downloaded over a hundred books from Amazon since I got it in the summer and only paid full price for a few of them, most were either older books under two pounds each or free.
To me the big advantages are the clarity of the e-ink display and the incredible battery life.
Another thing I like about stand-alone devices like this is that the software is far simpler than a tablet and hopefully will just carry on for a long time instead of getting all that nonsense you get with computers, viruses, crashes, endless updates and all that other stuff that sends you into dispair.