Talk to me about eeaders........

cindys732003

cindys732003

Sweet Shoppe Designer
I have no knowledge of them whatsoever LOL.....but I am thinking about getting one for dh for father's day.
What is the battery life of them? my dh travels so it would be used on the plane and would have to last a while to be useful.
What is the selection of books like?
are some brands better than others? (I'm in canada, so I'm not really sure about what is available here, I've seen something called the Kobo at Chapters and a Sony eeader at Best Buy, but that's about it)
Any info is appreciated...thanks! :)
 
I don't know about the other brands, but I LOVE my Kindle Touch. The battery life is a month or more, and I use it ALL the time. Like seriously, every single day. Amazon has just about everything for kindle it seems. Plus they have a great selection of free books, too. And (at least in the US, not sure about Canada) you can check out library books for the Kindle.

I'm sure someone else will give you a more in-depth review, but I just wanted to say how much I love mine!
 
I'm a Kindle girl myself(we have 3 of them in my house). I love it. I read EVERY day on them and charge them once a week at most, usually every 2-3 weeks, plus they charge really fast so it only takes a few hours to recharge them. I'd recommend either the Kindle Keyboard or Kindle Touch if you were looking at getting one as a gift.
 
I have a Nook & the battery lasts a long time in it, too. The books are d/l'd from Barnes & Noble's website- do you have B&N in Canada? I love it. It took me awhile to warm up to reading on an eeader. Now I don't think twice about it!
 
Do not get a Sony reader ... I had three of them , they kept breaking. They did replace them of course as it was not my fault but it was just such a pain.

I am totally in love with my Kindle Fire. tons of books, tons of free books, book sharing, book borrowing from libraries, plus it is a mini tablet so dh can watch Netflix or play games and such while traveling as well!
 
I will also say that, personally, I love the e-ink. I thought I'd be fine reading from the kindle/nook apps on my ipad, but my eyes were killing me after a few chapters. The e-ink is so easy on the eyes... and I found this week that I can read it in the blazing bright sun too! :)
 
go with a kindle! (if it will get to you in time). For purchasing the books you just do it through amazon.com and its super easy :)

B&N isn't available in canada, I know people have gone around ways to get a nook but I think that seems like a pain if you ask me.. from the reviews i've read the kobo doesn't stand up as well as the kindle but I"m sure it would still be a good one!

I <3 my kindle! In canada we have the option to get any of the ereader ones but not the kindle fire.
 
I have a Kindle Fire and a an older model with the e ink. I much prefer the older model for reading. I have the one where you have to push a button to turn the page and it's fine for me. The e ink is much easier on the eyes and can be read outside with no problem. I get most of my books for free from the library. You have to have a library card and then the checkout process is done through Amazon. It's super easy. The battery life on both is really good, but the Fire does run down more quickly since it's more of a tablet, but still has really long battery life. My older Kindle has incredibly long battery life and you only have to charge it every few weeks. Hope that helps.
 
I have the old-school kindle keyboard and still love it. I prefer the e-ink also but I read outside a lot. I do use my Kindle app on my ipad and iphone as well. I've had mine for nearly 2 years and can't imagine not having it. Also I dropped mine and the screen broke while still under warranty and Amazon shipped me out a new one that day no questions asked. Their customer service is so great. But I shop through amazon for just about everything so a Kindle for me was a no-brainer.
 
does the e-ink display just make it easier to read in bright surroundings?
If I go with a Kindle, can you only order the e-books through Amazon?

Sorry for all the questions, but I seriously have no knowledge when it comes to this :D
 
The e-ink is not backlit..so you have to have an external light source just like reading a book..my kindle cover has a built in book light..but it is much more easier to read outside where you'd have a glare on a tablet like the Fire or iPad. Another advantage to just e-ink is the battery life is way better..I charge mine probably every 3-4 weeks and that's with daily use.
 
Yea basically eink is like looking at a book, there is no monitor glare.

You can get your books thorugh amazon.com and its automatically delivered to your kindle, many libraries are starting to offer ebooks too so check with your library! The only pain is there isn't a huge selection with the libraries yet (so it seems) and often there is a wait list with the books.

There are always so many good deals with sites like www.pixelofink.com that offer free lesser known books (many geared towards women though so not as much selection for the men)
 
If your gonna go with a tablet over just the ereader(kindle fire, over kindle), I vote to go with the ipad, then he can use ibooks and the kindle app. I don't know anything about regular kindles though, sorry.
 
Love my Kindle! I have the Kindle 2, but I'm saving my Swagbucks and Superpoints to get a Kindle Touch. I don't know if Amazon Prime is available in Canada, but with that you can borrow books from Amazon. You can also borrow kindle books from the library if your library uses the Overdrive system. Love, love my Kindle!
 
I love my Kindle (with keyboard)... I love it for travel and the battery life is awesome! I think I charge once every 3-4 weeks (especially if I turn off the wireless connection). I'm another who reads daily... I would be totally lost with out my kindle. I also have the kindle cover with built in reading light and DH loves it... no more light in his face at night but I still have plenty of light to read by.
 
I have a Kobo, and I love it... DH has a kindle fire.

I love my Kobo. It has at least a month of battery life, and I can get books from anywhere.. I'm not limited to one store.
 
Those of you who have an iPad & a Kindle, can I ask why? I have an iPad and I read one book on it, but I admit, I didn't much enjoy it and just went back to actual books. I do read a lot though.
 
cindys732003 said:
I have no knowledge of them whatsoever LOL.....but I am thinking about getting one for dh for father's day.
What is the battery life of them? my dh travels so it would be used on the plane and would have to last a while to be useful.
What is the selection of books like?
are some brands better than others? (I'm in canada, so I'm not really sure about what is available here, I've seen something called the Kobo at Chapters and a Sony eeader at Best Buy, but that's about it)
Any info is appreciated...thanks! :)
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We have the Kindle Touch with 3G and Kindle Touch with Special Offers. Both are e-ink and we've noticed the charge lasts a pretty good long time.

I'd suggest spending the extra money for the Kindle Touch with 3G if he travels, so that he can buy books no matter where he's at. I have the Touch with Special Offers and need a wifi connection to buy a book, which is really not a big deal at all for me, but I don't really travel much. I know that if I did a lot of traveling, I'd want to have a Kindle that would allow me to buy a book whether or not I had a wifi connection though.

I love our iPad too, but the Kindle Touch is smaller, lighter, and easier to just toss into a bag, purse or carry on. But then, the iPad is awesome for checking your email, playing games, etc. I also have a word processor on mine and a small keyboard for those rare times that I need to get some work done when I am out and about. The other advantage of the iPad is that you can use all sorts of eeader books on it: Amazon Kindle, ePubs on Apple iBooks, plus I'm pretty sure there are apps for most of the major chain bookstores so he wouldn't be restricted to one bookstore. He could also watch movies through Netflix on the iPad (which could expensive without a wifi connection), but I don't think he would be able to use Amazon's streaming. The iPad charge doesn't last anywhere near as long as the Kindle Touch ereader, though. But as long as he could plug it into a power source, he would be fine. There are also, I think, some portable chargers available now. We use a USB converter in our car when we are out and about to charge the iPhone, but it would probably easily work for the iPad and the Kindle as well.
 
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I bought DH a Kindle Touch for Christmas and he uses it all the time! He always wanted to get back into reading, but never had the books with him. He loves that he can use his phone or amazon web count to pick right back up where he was and it will sync to the new location when he gets home to his kindle. There are also 3rd party programs that can convert PDFs to be read on the Kindle or even get blog posts sent to your kindle. He listens to some podcast where he learns all of his tricks, and it's really become a hobby That he loves.

One thing he lives about having the e-ink version is that when he picks it up he won't be distracted by texts, emails, Facebook etc like he knows he would with a tablet. And the e ink I really much better on the eyes.
 
lovely1m said:
Those of you who have an iPad & a Kindle, can I ask why? I have an iPad and I read one book on it, but I admit, I didn't much enjoy it and just went back to actual books. I do read a lot though.
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I don't have a kindle, but I can't imagine reading regularly on the ipad. I REALLY like the eink and it really feels like you're reading a book. I don't read enough anymore for a kindle, but if I was going to get an ereader, I would definitely do a kindle with eink (not the fire).
 
KristinCB said:
Cindy - Does your husband read books more or would he be wanting to read magazine and do other stuff?
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That's a hard question....he is really not a HUGE reader, but he does read alot when he travels by plane. He does prefer books over magazines though. For other stuff he usually has his laptop with him anyways. but he does like to surf the net and stuff.
The ipad is more money than I am looking to spend right now so that's why I was looking into eeaders
 
I would have to agree with everyone else... if you want it for READING more than surfing the web or playing around then e-ink is the way to go. The Kindle Fire is a great substitute for the ipad though. It doesn't do as much but when you compare prices it sure does a lot to make it worth the price!

We have 2 e-ink Kindles here (and I was just asking a few months ago what I should get for my first one!). I have a Kindle Touch and my daughter has a Kindle 4 (simple, $79 version) that she's getting for her birthday in a few days. Eventually I WANT to get a Kindle Fire but not for reading. I want it for games and browsing the web, etc. since it is bigger than my phone and the tiny screen on my phone annoys me sometimes. My kids would love to watch videos on it too and for my 6 year old who still reads books with pictures the color would be a nice option. Truthfully though, the back light hurts my eyes. It hurts my eyes on my phone, on my computer monitor, and sometimes the TV even hurts my eyes so that was my biggest consideration when it came to deciding what to get. If your husband is reading for a few hours at a time, it may be a consideration for you. He could surf the web and such with the Fire but I doubt he could do that FROM the plane, you know?
 
I am in Europe so I am not much help I guess.
But I can tell you, I love mine and wouldn't want it different now. It's so easy to read. It's like a book so you need light (no backlight in mine) but it's much lighter.

My battery lives about a week when I am ready about full time (like on holiday). So when he's just on my bed side table it lasts for weeks. So your husband can fly about four times around the world reading full time, LOL.

I tried to read on our tablet....but I got a headache from it...just because of the backlight. I have a Sony eeader....already for more than a year. Perfect for holidays because if we were away for 14 days I had about 7 thick books with me and came short most of the time. Think of all the weight you don't have to carry. And I find enough (new) books on the internet to read perfectly free of charge (although it's a bit illegal).
 
I really love my Kindle Touch. I read a lot as I wait various places for appts and picking up Logan, etc. The e-ink of the Kindle Touch is so fabulous. Previously, I had been reading on an ipod/iphone and the backlight was killing my eyes. Since I've switched to the Touch, my eyes have been fine and I really love it.
 
I am not sure how the Kindle works.....but on the eeader by Sony ( I didn't break mine yet though).... You can ready any pdf source file or something that ends with .epub.

I love it....I read everyday...
 
Me + my kindle = LOVE :)

And e-ink is definitely not like a backlit monitor/screen. I can read on the kindle for hours just fine. Oh, and you will actually need light for it. It's not lit itself.
 
lovely1m said:
Those of you who have an iPad & a Kindle, can I ask why? I have an iPad and I read one book on it, but I admit, I didn't much enjoy it and just went back to actual books. I do read a lot though.
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We have a Kindle Touch with Special Offers, a Kindle Touch with 3G, and an iPad.

We bought the iPad for educational reasons and it's been great for that, as well as entertainment. I often do read books on the iPad and I love that if I'm reading a non-fiction book, I can quickly look up something that relates to what I am reading. I also will use apps like Noteability to do some writing and notekeeping. And I use a word processor on it if I have to do some serious writing but we're out and about. The iPad plus my keyboard is lighter to carry than a laptop and more versatile, in my opinion, than a netbook. I have a laptop, but it really got heavy to carry around and I realized that what I was using the lapbook for, I could accomplish on an iPad. I also go to occasional conferences or to hear speakers, and it's nice to use for taking notes with a stylus, and again, is less of a hassle than a laptop. There are also some great educational apps for the kids that we've thought were well worth it. But if we are just going out and about, I often don't even want to carry an iPad around.

I have a zippered case for my Kindle Touch and it's very light. It fits in my small purse. I wouldn't want to carry and read the iPad when we go to the swimming pool, for example, or while I'm waiting in line somewhere. The Kindle Touch is just way more convenient that way. I don't have to think about whether I plan to take it with me anywhere, because it is always there in my purse.

I have a lot of books that I might be reading at one time and it's just nice having a choice as to what I am going to read without having to think about it. And since a lot of what i read is non-fiction and I highlight and take a lot of notes, that's a real benefit to me.
 
Ginger_79 said:
Me + my kindle = LOVE :)

And e-ink is definitely not like a backlit monitor/screen. I can read on the kindle for hours just fine. Oh, and you will actually need light for it. It's not lit itself.
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And of course, you can purchase a reading light for a Kindle that will fit on or in the case if you need to read in the dark.
 
I just have the regular Kindle w/Special Offers and absolutely love it! I carry it everywhere with me in my purse or tote bag and it's nice being able to pull it out if I have to wait somewhere or I can even keep the kids occupied reading on it. Amazon offers lots of free books so I download things I think the kids will like when I see them for free. It's also great for reading while lounging by the pool while the kids swim, since there is no glare with the e-ink and I don't have to worry about getting a regular book wet. The battery life is really good too, I use mine almost daily and only have to charge it every couple of weeks.
 
I LOVE my Kindle Touch.

I think that e-ink helps me with less eye strain. Like others have said, you will need a light source in the dark. (I have a case with a built in light).

I use mine all the time when I am waiting.

If it broke, I would purchase another Kindle.
 
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