Kindle 3g ~ Are they good ??

[magbagpuss]

Hi there. Am thinking about investing in a Kindle 3g. Read up a lot but wondered if anyone had one .
How easy are they to use ? Any problems encountered ? Thanks in advance . Cheers

[Maria]

Can't comment specifically on the Kindle, but I have a Sony e reader and I don't like it much. I should add, that it was a present and not something I had particularly hankered after.

I like holding and reading a book. The e reader just hasn't the same feel. Additionally, as you lie in bed late at night, you can't flick through easily to see how many more pages there are to the end of the chapter. You can, however, increase the font size, so if you are starting to find your arms too short when reading, it is a useful trick.

The big advantage it has (and the main reason my OH thought it a good pressie) is that you can take loads of books on holiday, yet not have to pay Easyair mega bucks for excess weight.

The negatives, however, are that only one of you can read at a time ( no swapping of books with your OH), it costs as much to buy an ebook (sometimes even more) as it does to buy a 'real' book and the screen isn't that great in bright, Mediterranean type, sunshine.

The e reader probably can offer loads of other facilities (music?), but TBH I've not been taken with it enough to explore them. I should really give it another chance.

[Makaveli]

A few folk at my work have them and they all rave about them. I have used one and it seemed pretty good and the screen is excellent for reading.

Only problem I know of is that Amazon's Kindle protector/cover in leather has a felt type inner and this caused one of my work colleagues Kindle to stop working as the felt was causing static electricity and eventually it caused the Kindle's battery to die. He got it replaced by Amazon no bother and they said it is a know fault so I would hope that they do not supply that cover anymore.

[wangi]

I'm a big fan. I got one (the WiFi only model) at the end of last September and haven't looked back really. Now reading more.

Marya, on the point that you don't know how much of a chapter is left - if the book has been published correctly then on the Kindle you'll see the chapters on the progression bar at the bottom.

And on Makaveli's cover issue - I've got one of those covers too and no problems. I think about 30% of those with that particular cover do have issues, and it's down to the metal clips used to attach it to the Kindle loosing their paint and then causing the device to short. The version with the light doesn't have this problem; nor do the many 3rd party covers.

It's surprisingly good for a quick browse of the web too. The web in B&W!

L/

[magbagpuss]

Got one , Love it . Already downloaded over 80 books , mostly free or under £1.00. Found authors I would never have come across. Thanks for the advice . If anyone was thinking about a Kindle I'd say Go for it !!

[CatzVP]

Love my Kindle (wifi) (technically bought it for Mrs Catz), great screen, selection of books, quality, etc...

Did a check on the rest and Kindle came out tops

Good choice MBP.

=^o.o^=

[Pal of Porty]

We have the 3G version and love it. About 3 seconds to download a book and really easy to read and navigate. Mrs PoP has gone from a position like Marya to being a total convert.

[bearcub]

http://www.metro.co.uk/news/861119-eboo ... sal-threat

Repeat of the music industry "fears". You would think they would have learned.

Read an article a while ago that said that the book industry was trying to stick to their RRP's for online books, ie. upwards of £15 for a hardback, and seeing as those are already "recommended" in name only, as superstores and online bookshops never charge them due to bulk-buying/discounting, it will be a losing battle if they try to enforce the same prices for eBooks.

No-one is going to pay more for an eBook than they would for a paper-copy...and, like the music industry, it will only encourage people (who in most cases would be happy to pay a reasonable price) to look elsewhere for their downloads.

[wangi]

Petition for VAT to be abolished on ebooks (ebooks are at 20%; paper books 0%)

https://submissions.epetitions.direct.g ... itions/114

[rathbone]

Don't have a Kindle, but do have an i-pad which has become invaluable.

the i-pad is brilliant for reading books, in and out of bed and as wangi said, the chapter and page count is on the bottom of the screen. Loads of cheap and free books. Go for it.

I use it mostly on the train, where I can also pick up the news channels. The advantage of the i-pad is I can also write things like this on the move. Commuting has never been the same.