Who has a Kindle?
 

I love to read - it's my number one favorite thing to do (besides play with my Yorkies :D).

I've been reading about the Kindle and trying to decide if I should buy one. Are they worth the money? What do you like about yours? Which one do you recommend?

I was on the fence about this exact thing for a LONG time. When Amazon released the graphite colored Kindle I finally caved. I never had really cared for the white color and I also found out that there is a 30 day return policy. So I figured if I spent the money, then didn't like it when I got it at least I could return it. Well, it was the best decision I ever made. I've had my Kindle since September and I haven't read a "real" book since.

I got the $189 WiFi/3G Kindle because I wanted the ability to get online anywhere if I really needed to. I don't have or really want a smartphone for various reason, but I have found myself wishing I could check my email or look at Google Maps or check Wikipedia while away from home. The K3 lets me do that without having to pay for a data plan. Granted, it's not super fast or in color but it works great when you're looking for the closest Braum's!

I don't know very much about the Nook, but from what I do know the biggest pro for it is that you can use it to check out books from libraries that lend eBooks in the ePub format. Kindle doesn't support ePub (yet), but in my area, we don't have any libraries who have jumped on the eBook bandwagon so it wasn't a big deal to me. I believe the Nook's battery life is much less than the Kindle's as well due to the touch screen and soon-to-come color screen. I don't read books that have colored pictures so I don't care about that either. My Kindle's battery usually lasts me about a month with the WiFi capability turned off and I read on average 2-3 hours a day. I just turn the WiFi on when I need it, but leave it off most of the time.

And one last thing...the eInk screen really is all that the hype claims that it is. You don't realize it until you've spent some time reading on the Kindle, but the lack of eye strain is wonderful! Words just can't express the difference in this eInk screen and a regular screen. It's hard to describe, but it is a pretty big deal.

If you have any particular questions or anything you'd like to know, please ask! I love to talk about my Kindle (obviously...) and I'm not a salesman for them so I'll answer honestly! :D
-C

I have had my Kindle for about a year and a half. About a week ago I noticed that the sleep screen on the top third of the screen would not shut off. I called Amazon and my options are to buy another 2nd generation Kindle for only $89 or a new one for $139. The refurbished 2nd gen. one would only have a 90 warranty. If you google Kindle there is a class action suit against Amazon for Kindles that crack on the side from being in a Kindle cover. If that was my problem, I would get a replacement free !!! I thought about cracking mine and then calling back. :)
With all that said, I hate that I have to buy another one, but I love it. So easy to carry and download books. I am an avid reader and to all my books available to read wherever I am is great. I did a lot of research on all the e-books and the Kindle is the best. After much thought, I will be calling Amazon today and ordering my replacement. I still think it's a great product. I would advise you to buy an extended warranty.
Also, go to amazon.com and read the reviews for yourself. Hope this helps.

I have the kindle app on my iphone & I love it, but tend to use my ipad more to download reading material.

I have the Sony E-Reader Daily Edition. It was more expensive than the Kindle, but I compared the two when I bought it and preferred the Sony.

We have a Kinfle and have had it since they first came out with them. Not one problem, nice screen, easy to use, and great to travel with. I may buy my wife a new one and keep the one weh ave for muself. Make sure you use the YHR Amazon link if you get one.

I have the Barnes and Noble nook and I LOVE it! It's the best thing ever! You can lend certain books to your friends who have the nook, they give away a free e-book every Friday, you can read the books in store for free, and they have freebies every week for nook owners. Just this past weekend, I was able to take advantage of a free smoothie at the B&N cafe and get $10 off their whole cheesecake.

I highly recommend it.

What sold me on the nook was the fact that I can walk into any Barnes & Noble and get help if I have any questions about my nook.

I have the Nook and love it..It is so nice to download free books from the library. The only negative, no built in light for night reading!

I love my kindle, and also have the latest WiFi/3G one. I tend to bounce between books a lot, and it's nice to have them all in one spot. Plus, I tend to do a lot of traveling and with the 3G I can download books no matter where I am in all of 15 seconds :D I also purchased the cover that has the built in light that is powered from the Kindle, it also is amazing, way better than trying to use an airplane light when you know it's just keeping your "neighbor" awake. They are pricey but it is definitely a great buy and I would recommend it to anyone :D

I love my Sony E Reader! The reason why I went with Sony is the fact I own my books and get it downloaded when I purchase them. With some of the others out there you never own it and if the publishing house or author gets into a disagreement with the kindle they can remove your book because you never actually had custody of it. But has wi fi can get the Times and journal daily on it! Yes no backlight but a great screen for clarity.

Great info! This model is the one I've been looking at the most, and you've just added some good reasons I hadn't thought of for why I should get it. I'm just starting to look into them, so I should have plenty of questions about it. Thanks!! :)

I like that it supports different formats.
On the cruise, some friends we made wanted to give us their e-mail addresses, of course none of us had paper and pen handy. But I was able to put them in my Sony Reader.

I have also used it in the kitchen:D Transferred a recipe from the computer to the Reader instead of printing it out (saves paper), and then was able to use the recipe in the kitchen.

I'm really liking this model the more I read about it. How does it do in sunlight? I love to sit out on patio on pretty days - would there be much glare?

Should I buy a cover for mine? I guess they have different types of covers? I wouldn't need the one with a light, but I probably should get one for added protection since I'd be using it a lot. ;)

More good reviews. :) I'm gonna wind up talking myself into buying one, I just know I am.

Steve, thanks for the reminder. I will be sure to use the YHR link to Amazon, so those pups can get the benefit of the extra $$$ that way. :thumbup::thumbup:

I don't have an iphone or ipad. :( I want them, but they'll have to be waaaaay off in the future for me. Glad to hear you like the kindle app - I didn't even know they had one on the iphone.

I've never even heard of the Sony E-Reader. It sounds like something I need to look into, though. Are the books as readily available for this as they are for the kindle?

You can input and save info on these (like you did with the recipe)? That would be a terrific benefit. I need to find out if you can do that on the Kindles.

Thank you! :)

The Nook is the other one I knew about and was looking into. I really like the idea of reading free books from the library. :thumbup:

But I was a little nervous about going with the Nook. I may be wrong, but I thought I heard they were having financial problems and closing some stores a while back. Has anyone else heard this? I don't want to buy something from a chain that may be going under in the foreseeable future.

I have the Kindle 3G/WiFi and love it. It does WONDERFUL in bright sunlight. The contrast on the screen is unbelievable. I bought a cheap clip on light to read at night and it works fine.

I bought a cheap case on Ebay for mine just to protect it when it is in my purse. I saw recently where Target now sells the Kindle.

The only "con" about buying it at Target is that you will have to register it yourself as opposed to Amazon registering it for you. You can download Kindle to your computer and read books from your computer if you want to. Then, once you order your Kindle from Amazon they will load all the books you've downloaded to your computer onto your Kindle and you are up and running in no time.

I feel "naked" if I don't have my Kindle with me. It comes in so handy at lunch time and whenever you have to be in a waiting room or waiting line. Whip it out, turn it on and start reading. I too love my Kindle. I highly recommend the 3G/WiFi ($189). You won't regret it.

I'm so glad you posted about Target selling them now. They have them in stores? I'll probably be ordering mine from Amazon, but I've never even SEEN a Kindle so I'd like to get an idea of what I'd be buying.

I had a doctor's appointment this morning and sat in the waiting room for almost 45 minutes. The only magazines they had were Parents (I don't have kids) and that auto/mechanical one. I was soooooo bored - one of these would have been perfect for today.

Thanks for more great info!! :)

Yes, they have them in the Target store. Target is also selling the iPad as well. At least in the St. Louis area they are. I couldn't believe it either so I had to go see for myself and sure enough, they have them.

Yes, a Kindle would have been PERFECT today in the waiting room. Another thing I like is it takes you right to where you left off reading. No more dog earring pages in books!

Oooh I hate that! My friends often give me nice bookmarks as gifts, but if one of my munchkins gets hold of one of them,it's history, so I don't like to use those (shhh! Don't tell my friends I don't use their gifts :p).

How much does it cost to download a book?

I've tried reading books off an Ipod Touch, though it wasn't the kindle application, but all I know is that it annoyed my eyes. The Kindle is just like reading with a book, no glare in the sunlight and having a book light is handy but not necessary as long as you have the light you would need to read any regular hard copy book. You don't need a book cover, but I would recommend one, I purchased the one I have because I'm a "butter-fingered" person and will own up to already dropping this beloved object. I don't know if it would have survived without the cover, plus I like to drop it in my over-sized purse and who knows what kind of sharp objects lie at the bottom of that thing :P
The cover I bought in brown :D
Amazon.com: Kindle Lighted Leather Cover, Black... It makes it a little bulkier, but again if you have a tendency to drop expensive electronics I will definitely recommend it :D

Yikes, sorry for the double post XD

It's free to download, even using the 3G (if you download from the Kindle store) all you pay is the price of the book, which is usually discounted from the cover price.

The Kindle store on Amazon has hundreds of free books and if you pay for a book they are various prices. I've ordered books for free, for $2.49, for $5.00, etc........

There's absolutely no glare when you read in the sun. Though I have noticed that when I'm in the sun and the Kindle begins to warm up, the pages "turn" slower. Not so much that it is annoying, but also not as quickly as when the Kindle is at room temperature.

As for covers, I ended up going with a sleeve instead of a binder type cover. This protects the Kindle when it's in my purse or I'm not using it, but since I take it off to read, it doesn't add weight to the Kindle. This is totally a preference thing, though. They also make "skins" for the Kindle, which are protective (and decorative too) stickers that help keep the casing from getting scratched. I didn't get one myself, but many people do. (Sleeve case: Amazon.com: BUILT Neoprene Kindle Sleeve (Fits 6"... , Skins: Amazon.com: DecalGirl Protective Kindle Skin... )

You can convert most documents into a format that the Kindle will display and it also supports pdf files. I already owned a large number of eBooks that I've collected over the years and I just got a free program to convert them over to the .mobi file type and added them to the Kindle. It was surprisingly simple. The reason this doesn't work with the ePub library books is because those files have DRM protection to keep people from stealing the files and you'd have to go to a lot of trouble to strip that off (it's also illegal) before you could convert it.
-C

I've been known to drop things a time or two. And who knows what lives at the bottom of my purse. :rolleyes: I really like this cover. Do you like the brown color? It would be between the brown or the black for me. :)

Glad you asked this question. And glad to learn you only pay the cost of the book and not any downloading fees. :thumbup:

books are readily available. When you get the E-reader you install the E-reader app on your computer. You can download books into your computer and transfer them to the e-reader (or you can download directly into the reader from the Sony store as it has built in wifi to the Sony reader store.
If you log on through the Reader on your computer there is also access to the google free books site and there are lots of free e-books to download from there (these are books that are in the public domain, I have downloaded a lot through there). there are also free e-book websites out there too, plus you can also download from the Gutenberg press.

For the recipes. I just opened up the Reader app in the computer, went to File and imported the recipe file into the library. (I actually imported my whole recipe folder into the library, so I can just transfer which recipe I want into the Reader.

I can open up the memo app in the E-reader and type in anything I need - like the e-mail addresses of those friends we made on the cruise.
I can also put photos into the reader, and music. Need the headphones to listen to the music though, but enables you to listen to music while reading.