Do you have a Kindle?

REMLIG · May 6, 2012

I'm interested in buying a Kindle. I need help selecting the right one.

Which one do you have?

Why did you buy it?

What are your favorite features?

How much did you pay for it?

Are you happy with it?

Any other advice I should know before buying one?

MissWrite · May 6, 2012

I have the Kindle Fire and I love it. I just bought it actually. I used to use the Kindle for PC, and that was okay, but kept me tied to the computer. I love that I can not only read books on it, but I can surf online, and do just about anything including play all my favorite game apps that are available for android. The color output is great. So you can tell I'm happy with it, right? haha. I didn't pay anything for it though, actually. I got it through a rewards program at my hubby's work. They get so many points for each hour worked.

FOTSGreg · May 6, 2012

I have the Kindle app on my iPad, my Acer A100 tablet, my cell phone, and on my desktop computers (all pcs). I've had a Nook Color which has no capacity to utilize the Kindle app, and I'm looking at purchasing the basic $79 Kindle for a friend's son who's limited to computer access due to a head injury (but can read just fine).

I like the portability of a tablet-sized unit. A 1500-page "bible" weighs the same as a 3-page short story and I can carry around a thousand books in my pocket and they weigh exactly as much as my tablet or cell phone.

If you're looking at reading outside you're going to need an e-ink device as LCD screens suffer fade out from glare in full daylight.

Kindles start at $79 and go up from there to $199 for the Kindle Fire. My iPad ran me $553 out the door at Best Buy. My Nook Color cost $199. My Acer A100 cost $328. A $79 Kindle is very reasonable, very lightweight, and very capable as an e-reader. It is not, however, a tablet device.

Get a device which is expandable with microSD memory or has cloud storage (most Kindles have both), but books are tiny, memory-wise, so you don't have to go whole-hog with some massive 32GB card when a 4, 8, or 16 will be perfectly adequate.

Katie Elle · May 6, 2012

I have a kindle 2, which I guess is about three years old. My 2 cents is the best thing about a kindle is the experience feels like reading a normal book. The black and white text is crisp. It feels like the right weight since I always preferred mass market paper anyway. It just works.

I have used an iPad for a few months as well and the reading experience didn't seem very good to me because of the backlit screen and additional weight. I also found it had too many applications and I would get distracted and waste time surfing the net or something rather than reading. I interpreted it as what it was, a computer device, not a book. I imagine that my reaction to the Fire would be similar. I may still buy one for looking up stuff online, but it wouldn't really replace a kindle for me.

My kindle has the keyboard, I think it's unnecessary. I've never once taken a note or surfed the web on it. I can't imagine what a touch screen would add either. In fact, my only critique of the device when I first got it was I thought they should lose the keyboard so it would fit more easily in my purse. So I'd just get the cheapest option. Unless you want a tablet that's going to do things like surf the net and show movies, then I'd get a Fire, but to me that loses a lot of what I like best about the kindle.

fireluxlou · May 6, 2012

I have a Kindle Keyboard WI-FI & a Kindle Touch 3G (which came out last month in the UK).

The first one I bought because I wanted an ereader with no distractions & that Amazon Kindles were really reliable, Amazon support is really good and a very good community, and much better than the Sony Ereader and the Kobo. and the second one because I wanted 3G and a touch

.

Reading is my favourite features and the shop. I also use the text to speech service.

first one £109, second £159 (with £10 voucher).

Very Happy with it. and that you can download books from anywhere if there is a .mobi version.

theengel · May 6, 2012

I do not have a kindle--or any other pad. I use an old cell phone with a big (ish) screen and I read ebooks off that. But I have to download them first and turn them into a text file and then save it on the cheap phone's sd card. Then I can read.

thothguard51 · May 6, 2012

As with any device, it will depend on what you want the device to do...

I got the Kindle Fire, $199, because I wanted something more than an e-reader, but I did not want to pay big $$$ for a tablet device.

For me, the Kindle Fire works. I not only use it to read books I want, but to review my own work. I can also watch movies, TV shows or other video's. My grand kids play games on it. I can surf the web and even send/retrieve email from my email accounts.

If I need to do more, I always have my desk top or lap top...

leahzero · May 6, 2012

I have a Kindle 3, with a physical keyboard and wifi. I use it every day and love it. It's lightweight, the battery lasts ridiculously long, and the eInk screen is non-fatiguing. I like that the features are limited and it's really just an e-reader, not a tablet.

Poppy · May 6, 2012

I have a Kindle Fire.

My husband bought it for me for my 40th birthday. He paid $199.00 for it in December 2011. He thought I would enjoy using it for reading as well as surfing the web.

And he was right. I love that I can read on it as well as surf the web. I have a full-time job, but enjoy writing for fun and profit on the side so carrying my Kindle Fire with me helps with this because I can check e-mails, Facebook, Twitter, and even AW for updates, publishing news, etc. while I'm away from home. I also have a car stereo with a USB and can use a cord to connect my Fire to my stereo and listen to the music I have in my Amazon Cloud drive. And yes, I use it for reading. I like how I can have many books with me in one single device instead of having to carry several books with me. The backseat of my car thanks me for that. I used to keep a mini library back there. Now I just have a Kindle Fire in my purse. Every once in a while, I can read at work so it's nice to have it then, too.

Whatever you get, I highly recommend buying a cover and storing it somewhere where nobody will sit on it. We've lost two Kindle readers (not Fires, just regular e-readers). Someone sat on my stepdaughter's (she shouldn't have left it on the couch obviously), and then my husband dropped his while reading on the front porch. I have dropped my Kindle Fire two or three times, but have a cover for it which absorbed the shock.

Anyway...good luck. Hope you find something you like.

Literateparakeet · May 6, 2012

My son has the Kindle Touch.

I like that it is very light. It has "text to voice" which means it will read (in a canned computer voice) any book we buy (unless the publisher objects). Since he is 10 and working on his reading, this was a huge plus for me.

He likes that in addition to being an ereader, it plays MP3's. It can download some apps as well.

EarlyBird · May 6, 2012

I've got the Kindle with the B&W screen...love it. Personally, I'd never buy a color Kindle (Fire) because we have an ipad and it's impossible to see it outside, plus I get eye-strain easily. I love reading and prefer a dedicated device.

I'd say my reading is about evenly split between electronic and traditional print. I still love paper books, but you can't beat a Kindle for convenience.

JCedonia · May 6, 2012

I have a Kindle 3 because the newest version hadn't come out yet and I didn't want a touch-screen nook. I like buttons. My favorite features are the games you can get on there, but I promise I read on mine. I paid about $100 for it. I am incredibly happy with it. No advice, other than to keep it fully charged and don't try to do 20 things at once.

Carlene · May 6, 2012

I just got a Kindle Fire for my birthday. It was $199 at Walmart. Love the color, the apps, the ability to connect to the Internet - well, everything. The best part is that you can borrow books from the library on your Kindle. Of course I still buy books but have limited funds, so am happy I can still get library books. Go to: www.Library2go.com and you can find out how. Also, www.worldlibrary.com has daily deals - many of them FREE.

Carlene

theichibun · May 6, 2012

I have a Nook Color. Got mine on eBay for about 120 USD and I love it. I was thinking for a while that a B&W thing would work well, but then I remembered about how Nooks can handle comics.

Most of why I got a Nook device is because my wife got a Nook for Christmas. It made sense to me if we had the same thing so we could share plugs and stuff.

Al Stevens · May 6, 2012

I have one of the original small ones. There is no better reading experience than e-ink for taking to the beach on a sunny day.

merrihiatt · May 6, 2012

I use the free Kindle app on my iPad. Love it!

Nick Russell · May 6, 2012

I have a Kindle keyboard WiFi and my wife has a Kindle keyboard 3G/WiFi. We love them! I also have a first generation iPad, but find it too heavy to comfortable hold to read. I also love the e-ink screen on a Kindle much better. And in a pinch, I have the Kindle app on my Droid smart phone in case I'm stuck somewhere without my Kindle.

REMLIG · May 6, 2012

A few more questions...

Thank you all for your insight. It's very helpful.

I have been fighting the change because I love books, holding them in my hands, flipping pages, the smell, their feel, you know all the things that go along with them. But, I'm going to offer my manuscript/book also as an eBook and I need to experience what my readers do. So here I am.

I have no desire to play games. Never did. Never will. Wouldn't watch TV or movies on it. Too busy.

I'm not sure I would use it for much more than reading. I'm into basic. Nothing fancy. Just a good display and large enough to read and easy to keep your place and come back to what you are reading with out too much complications of downloading books.

Is there a cost to subscribe to a service in order to read your emails and surf the net? Is it expensive? And who hosts them?

RobJ · May 7, 2012

I got a Kindle Keyboard with Wi-Fi/3G for Christmas. It's made my life complete.

MichelleJean · May 7, 2012

I have a Kindle Touch that I absolutely love. I don't do anything other than read on it and it's just perfect for that.

I will add though - that there is a new Nook coming out with a glow light for reading in the dark which I am very taken by.

theichibun · May 7, 2012

REMLIG said:
I have no desire to play games. Never did. Never will. Wouldn't watch TV or movies on it. Too busy.

That's what I thought too. And if it was't for the comics I would have gotten one of the basic black and white display ones. But it is nice to know that I could play some games if I wanted.

REMLIG said:
Is there a cost to subscribe to a service in order to read your emails and surf the net? Is it expensive? And who hosts them?

I can't speak for Kindle, but with the Nook as long as you have WiFi available you're good to go. It has an email application already on it. Just put in your information and you're good to go. It can notify you on new messages if you want it to. I can't imagine that I'd enjoy a black and white internet though, and all of the color devices that I've looked at also have the ability to have games and watch video. Of course, you could always be like my wife's mom and just not utilize that ability at all.

brainstorm77 · May 7, 2012

I have a Kindle. I got it for Christmas and I'm not sure how much it cost. I use it frequently.

Jersey Chick · May 7, 2012

I have the $79 Kindle w/special offers and a Kindle Fire ($199.) I love both - all of my book reading is done on the Kindle, but I read magazines/newspapers and play Angry Birds on the Fire. I haven't tried watching any movies or tv shows on it because I haven't had the need to, and I couldn't just sit and read an entire novel on it because my eyes would probably fall out of my head.

The Kindle, though, is awesome for reading. I read faster on it and find I read more often now because of it. It's probably the best $79 I've ever spent. It fits in my purse (which is ridiculously small so I don't collect a lot of junk), and the battery holds charge forever, even when I forget to turn the wireless off. The only drawback is it doesn't have the Wi-Fi, so if I'm not at home (or a hotspot I guess) I can't use the wireless.

Soccer Mom · May 7, 2012

I'm on my third Kindle. This one is the Kindle touch and I love it, as in almost four hundred books read on Kindle love it. My son also has the touch. My dad and sis and husband all have the 2, although my sis prefers her iPad.

I'm not tech savvy and I find the Kindle extremely easy to operate. It holds the place, syncs between my devices (sometimes I read on my phone) and is easy to put the books in "collections" for organiation. I only use it for reading and so I don't pay for any subscriptions.

I paid $149 for it last December. I chose the one with both 3G and WiFi, so I don't have to be someplace with WiFi.

J. Tanner · May 7, 2012

I have a Kindle Keyboard with 3G and ads. It was $140. I much prefer reading on an e-ink screen after working on a PC all day--it's just a better reading experience to me. The advertising seems very unobrusive since I don't care about the what's on the screen when I'm not reading. I don't use the store from within the Kindle nor the 3G all that much and so I probably would have been equally satisfied with the cheapy $79 one. (Not that I'm unhappy with this one--it's just arguably more than I turned out to need. The reading experience itself is nicer than a physical book for fiction.)

Do you have a Kindle?

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