Anyone own a kindle?

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whatevergirl

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I keep seeing these advertised whenever I visit amazon.com…and it has me so curious, this kindle. Just wondering if anyone here has this…and what do you think of it? It looks like it could be a good investment if you like to read.
 
Personally I enjoy normal books as I like to collect them, but I suppose the Kindle is a decent e-reader. That said, if it was me, I would wait until Apple’s iPad is released. It is coming out in March I believe, and for a “few” hundred dollars more (the cheapest model is 499) you will get colour display (the Kindle is black and white), touch screen, a computer and a video player, if those things appeal to you. But, if you just want a bare bones e-book reader, the Kindle or Sony’s e-readers would be fine methinks.
 
I’d rather buy 60 books used from Amazon.com than pay the same amount for a book reader, then pay more for the e-books. But that’s just a woman on a budget.
If all my bills were paid, my retirement was taken care of, and I was doing my share at Church, then it sounds like a lot of fun. Being able to buy a book and start to read it within 3 minutes of hearing about it is kinda neat.
 
I have a Kinde DX (the large one). It came out summer of 2009 and I bought it straight away. At first I found it difficult to read on because I was used to real books and I love books. But once I gave it a chance I really liked it. It’s thin, lightweight, and holds lots of books. Now, I haven’t actually bought any books for it. I just download free books. You can get lots of classic literature that’s no longer covered by copyright and so far this is all I’ve used it for. The downloads you buy, like for new books, cost only a dollar or two less than the real book and to me that’s just a rip off.

The Kindle DX cost $500 and when I saw the super-cool looking iPad coming out for $500 I just wanted to kick myself. :crying: I wish I had waited. So I would say if all you want is a basic no-frills e-reader get the smaller cheaper kindle or buy a used Kindle. But if you’re willing to spend $500, I’d go for the iPad.
 
SugarMagnolia said:
I have a Kinde DX (the large one). It came out summer of 2009 and I bought it straight away. At first I found it difficult to read on because I was used to real books and I love books. But once I gave it a chance I really liked it. It’s thin, lightweight, and holds lots of books. Now, I haven’t actually bought any books for it. I just download free books. You can get lots of classic literature that’s no longer covered by copyright and so far this is all I’ve used it for. The downloads you buy, like for new books, cost only a dollar or two less than the real book and to me that’s just a rip off.

The Kindle DX cost $500 and when I saw the super-cool looking iPad coming out for $500 I just wanted to kick myself. :crying: I wish I had waited. So I would say if all you want is a basic no-frills e-reader get the smaller cheaper kindle or buy a used Kindle. But if you’re willing to spend $500, I’d go for the iPad.
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Oh that stinks! :o So the ipad (I know a little bit about it from my kids) is for reading books? That IS a rip off…that the books cost close to what the paperback/hard cover costs…interesting. I don’t want to spend $500…I could buy a lot of ‘‘real’’ books for that!😛
 
graceandglory said:
I’d rather buy 60 books used from Amazon.com than pay the same amount for a book reader, then pay more for the e-books. But that’s just a woman on a budget.

LOL–I hear ya. I had no idea it was that expensive. I have seen it…but didn’t see costs…just advertisements. Buy a lot of books for that price…BRAND NEW! :eek:

If all my bills were paid, my retirement was taken care of, and I was doing my share at Church, then it sounds like a lot of fun. Being able to buy a book and start to read it within 3 minutes of hearing about it is kinda neat.
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*It has its perks. I don’t know why it’s so pricey. We bought our dd for her birthday last year, that ipod touch thing…and she can download books…good books…for like a buck. I don’t know why kindle is so expensive. Borders has come out with ‘‘the nook’’ I wonder how much that is…I saw it when I was in one of their stores last weekend…but didn’t bother to explore. *
 
Marie5890 said:
I LOVE my kindle. 🙂
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Tell us why…I don’t want to spend $500…but, I am interested in what you love about it. 🙂 I imagine what would be nice, is it is easy to transport…and you have tons of books at your fingertips. Can you download newspapers?
 
If I may interject, I have a Sony Reader. I enjoy it because I am able to get public domain (no copyright) books from Google Books and other sources if they are in PDF, ePUB, Word, Rich Text, or nearly any other text file format. I have works of G.K. Chesterton, the Apostolic Fathers, Mark Twain, Herman Melville, Edgar Allen Poe, the Douay Rheims Bible, the Latin Vulgate, the encyclicals of nearly all the Popes, and almost any other work written before the year 1920 (and many later) for free. Also, of course, I can buy the e-books online.

Just sayin’.
 
500 is a lot although they do have other models that cost around 200. It still seems really expensive when I can already get any book I like from the library for free.
 
KostyaJMJ said:
500 is a lot although they do have other models that cost around 200. It still seems really expensive when I can already get any book I like from the library for free.
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I have not checked a book out of the library in years…I always forget that it at our disposal. The only trouble for me with the library, is remembering to bring the books back when due. I was never very good at that years back. 😊
 
I love my Kindle! The age of the e-book has arrived. I have about 20 books on it, mostly classics which are very cheap. I also get the NY Times early in the morning–no fuss. You might also check out Sony’s e-reader and perhaps may want to wait for the iPad from Apple though it is much pricier than the Kindle.
 
I have a nook, which is Barnes and Noble’s version of the Kindle.

I like it a lot, b/c it allows me to takes a whole stack of books with me in a small portable device. I can adjust the font size so I don’t have to wear glasses to read. I also have so far mostly downloaded free ebooks. And you can borrow ebooks from you local library (at least my local library can) for free.

I still like real books. You can much more easily flip back in a real book to reread something from an earlier chapter, or find the place you want in a book you’ve already read. I don’t like the idea of spending money on a book that’s just in a digital format that can’t be read w/o a (somewhat) fragile electronic device.

The black and white is a PLUS b/c it’s like reading on real paper. There is no backlighting to strain your eyes. You can read it in direct sunlight.

Some newspapers are available and I expect more will be soon.

HTH
 
My problem is that you don’t really own e-books. You can’t lend them or give them away or sell them when you are finished. So you buy you favorite author’s new bestseller and then . . . what? Delete it?

Usually I’d give it to someone or donate it to my library for their sale. Let’s see you do that with an e-book. Speaking of libraries, how are they going to work in the age of the e-book?

As they are now, I think they’d be fine for stuff you want to keep – reference works, classics, your all-time favorites.
 
whatevergirl said:
I have not checked a book out of the library in years…I always forget that it at our disposal. The only trouble for me with the library, is remembering to bring the books back when due. I was never very good at that years back. 😊
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I always have a book checked out from the library and I always have a late fee. It is usually just 5 cents though and they usually just forgive it. If you get an ereader that can read the Mobi format you can get ebooks from your library and they will be returned automatically when your time is up. I rent some ebooks on my laptop but I still can’t read a whole book without hurting my eyes.

I wouldn’t count on the ipad making the kindle obsolete since the battery only lasts 10 hours and it still has a screen with a backlight that will cause eye strain.
 
I got my kindle for Christmas! It’s actually very handy. I use it all the time.
 
KostyaJMJ said:
I wouldn’t count on the ipad making the kindle obsolete since the battery only lasts 10 hours and it still has a screen with a backlight that will cause eye strain.
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I wasn’t aware of this. That makes a big difference.
 
I love my kindle!! (Admittedly, I saved up my loose change and cashed in a bunch of gift certificates, so it only cost me $60…but still…)

I love being able to download books on it - especially the free ones.

I tried a free 2-week sample of the NY Times, and it was neat to have it download itself every morning. (I hope they get some good newspapers on there; I hate the Times.)

I love being able to download free samples of books, so I can browse a bit before buying.

I love being able to cram hundreds of books in my purse at the same time. (Yes, my kindle is LOADED.)

I’m very happy with the battery life, and the ease of use.

My only complaint is the lack of a way to sort and organize your books. (When you get so many books on there, it’s a pain to scroll through them all to find the one you want.)
 
TraderTif said:
My only complaint is the lack of a way to sort and organize your books. (When you get so many books on there, it’s a pain to scroll through them all to find the one you want.)
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From what I’ve read on Amazon’s site, this is a common complaint.
It would be an improvement if we could at least alphabetize them by author’s last name.
 
I OWN A BARNES AND NOBLE NOOK!!! I LOVE IT!!! It’s a wonderful decision for book lovers.
 
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