I need a Kindle Education, please. :) Versions--pricing?

[SuzanneSLO]

I apologize if I am hijacking this thread, but I have questions about how people use the kindle once they own it. Do you spend more or less on books than you spent in your pre-Kindle days?

Are you successful in getting exactly what you want to read when you want it at a price you want to pay or are you the type who is pretty much happy with anything if it's at your price?

Finally, how is borrowing from the library working for you? Personally, I have had 2 library subscriptions for more than a year now and have only checked out 3 books and only finished one of those (reading on my iPad). I am not a big fan of the Overdrive search engine. Amazon has spoiled me. Thanks -- Suzanne

 

[Sandy321]

Thanks to everyone else who offered tips/suggestions/thoughts.



My question as well. TIA!

I knew I was giving too much information

Kindle WiFi is what I have - its the $139 version - I download books with our wifi and Amazon's whispernet stuff! (I am so not technology savy, I'm hoping I'm telling you correctly!)

to use the library feature you need to go to

http://www.overdrive.com/#2

put in your zip code and see if your library participates. You 'check' out a book for 2 weeks - if you finish early, you should return the ebook so others waiting can get to it - however, I've read that you have to do something to return it through your Amazon account (get to know "manage my kindle" We buy gift certificates to keep in our amazon accounts - my mom, my dd, and I are all on one account - we don't keep all the books that each other has purchased - even the freebies - but we have access to them - this can be confusing, and again, you can do a search at kindleboards.com to see how others work this)

otherwise, after 2 weeks the book will magically be returned, and off your kindle. I haven't used this - I have so many books on my kindle right now, and there's nothing I'm wanting to read -

 

[Sandy321]

Keyboard information - the more I talked to DD - the more I realize we wouldnt be happy without the keyboard:

Kindle Keyboard - DD uses it for games (mindsweeper is one) as well as shortcuts, she also buys her books with her kindle, so uses the keyboard in her "search" function. I tend to go to the website and search on my computer to buy books (again so many many freebies - I couldnt do that in a search - but she's very comfortable using the kindle for searching for books) She also uses the keyboard to make notes in what she is reading - again, its a feature she uses not me - and she doesnt use it on all her readings - but sometimes if she has a character analysis, or plot point - she uses the kindle for her notes.

here's a link to the list: (keyboard shortcuts)
http://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Amazon_Kindle_Keyboard_Shortcuts

know that mobileread.com is also a great tech resource for the kindle

I have wifi and I got my mom wifi +3G because she travels...

I know I spent a lot of time trying to decide between a Nook and a Kindle, and I read kindleboards.com to see what features were best for us -

Then I also went through online and read the Kindle users guide, before the kindle came - as did DD, it might be why she uses the keyboard more than I do!

I will also add another great program we use with our kindle books is calibre - it is a way for us to manage our books - and if we get books from other places than Amazon - calibre will convert them into the kindle language (for instance smashword.com you can get books - I knit and can get free knitting books from knitting daily - I put them on my computer, then transfer them into Calibre. DD is working on Harry Potter Fan fiction - so she makes her own documents - then transfers to calibre - then with the usb port you connect your kindle to your computer and calibre takes care of it - it also organizes our collections much better!)

http://www.kindleboards.com/index.php
Kindleboards - lots of information, message board

http://calibre-ebook.com/

 

[Sandy321]

Lisa -

I know its a lot of information - I really think from reading your last post you should go with the Kindle keyboard -

and when you buy this - make an account on Amazon.com - then start buying FREE books... you can get books before your kindle arrives - and I warn you - once you start looking, you are going to want a kindle!!

in order to set up an account they do ask for a credit card.

I have an account with my mom, and my dd and we buy gift cards on Amazon.com - that we apply to our account. Its really easy and convenient, I keep track of who spends what, and my mom trusts me to keep the balance up - its really very easy!

I put links to Kindleboards.com and amazon kindle discussion boards -

both have threads for FREE books - and there are a lot of sci fi choices -

if you go to kindleboards.com check the "book bazaar" board - its a sticky for free and another sticky for Bargain books -

I love getting books for 99 cents - even $3.99 for some books is a huge Bargain imho

 

[Sandy321]

I apologize if I am hijacking this thread, but I have questions about how people use the kindle once they own it. Do you spend more or less on books than you spent in your pre-Kindle days?
I have my kindle set up with "collections" I get lots of free books that I think I will enjoy- I buy bargain books - and I really watch the free site, esp in the mornings - sometimes they arent free by afternoon... there is a website that you can set up for price reductions on books also - I just watch the amazon.com kindle discussion board - they tell me what I need -

and I still buy paperback books from goodwill - or garage sales! But when I travel, or when I'm in the car picking up DD - I have my kindle with me - if I go out to lunch by my
self, I read my kindle! I love it!

Are you successful in getting exactly what you want to read when you want it at a price you want to pay or are you the type who is pretty much happy with anything if it's at your price?
again, it may take time - but for instance The Hunger Games trilogy went on sale for under $5 - it has gone up again - so you do have to watch! I also get books from other sources - and I use calibre to get them on my Kindle

Finally, how is borrowing from the library working for you? Personally, I have had 2 library subscriptions for more than a year now and have only checked out 3 books and only finished one of those (reading on my iPad). I am not a big fan of the Overdrive search engine. Amazon has spoiled me. Thanks -- Suzanne

I've not used the library yet - I only know to put in my zipcode and register - I've looked at the books available there are over 40,000, but I have so many books already on my kindle - from bargain priced to free - most in my genre that I like - so I'm good without the library, but I know my mom wants the library feature - she checks out books, and then after 2 weeks they go back to the library... its working for her, but I'm not exactly sure how!!!

 

[laughinplace199]

Do the touch and the basic model have a virtual keyboard to make notes, etc? If so, what advantage is there to having the kindle with an actual keyboard?

Thanks!

 

[billwendy]

Hi!

I've been wondering about the Kindle Fire - we've got IPOD's here, would all of my itunes stuff be able to go onto the Fire? My mom said she would like a tablet, mainly for email and to surf the web when she had wifi - but Im thinking that isnt enough to justify the hefty price of an IPAD. Or, is there another Kindle that would do this for her????? Thanks!!

 

[Ephany]

I don't even know the difference between 3G and wi-fi. I think 3G means you don't require wi-fi, right? What would that capability be used for anyway?

I think of 3G like my cell phone service. I can download books pretty much anywhere I can get a signal (there's a little indicator on the Kindle). I've downloaded books at the beach, driving down the highway (as a passenger), my DH works in really remote areas so he's downloaded books when he's out in the woods. This is when the keyboard comes in handy for us, sometimes I don't have access to a computer, but I can look up and search books using the keyboard. Wifi is usually your home wireless account for your internet or when you go to a hotel/restaurant/etc where you can join their network and access the internet.

Is the Fire like an IPad? I had considered iPad, but wasn't sure on its price and thought the eReader alone would be a better fit.

It's a tablet, so like an Ipad. It's backlit and you can surf the web, watch movies, in addition to being an e-reader. It doesn't have e-ink so it'll be harder to read outside but he could read it in bed without an extra light.

I will definitely get a cover. One last question--are their gift cards for books? (Kind of like iTunes gift cards?)

You can use regular Amazon.com giftcards, although places like Target or Best Buy sell ones that say 'Kindle' on them. You can also order them direct from Amazon.

 

[vicki_c]

I just purchased the Kindle Touch as a surprise for my DH for our anniversary in November. Hope he wants it!

We had a Kindle a while ago and sold it when we went on a crazy "sell everything, declutter, we want cash" binge! And we use the Kindle apps on our phones.

But since then we have purchased Kindle 3s for our kids (keyboard Kindles) and I have an iPad that I read on. I decided to get the Touch for DH because I think it will be easier to read with the bigger screen and print than the phone (we're moving into reading glasses era at my house). I hate the keyboard thing on the kids' Kindles and would never get another keyboard one. But we are touchscreen people - phones and iPad.

I didn't choose the Fire. I almost did since it only cost $10 more than the Kindle Touch I chose, but didn't due to:
-no 3G which I wanted
-no e-ink, which was a big part of buying a Kindle vs. saving up for an iPad (I love my iPad but the glare can be difficult for reading at times).

 

[vicki_c]

Finally, how is borrowing from the library working for you? Personally, I have had 2 library subscriptions for more than a year now and have only checked out 3 books and only finished one of those (reading on my iPad). I am not a big fan of the Overdrive search engine. Amazon has spoiled me. Thanks -- Suzanne

I have checked out 3 books from the library for the Kindle app since they announced it last week and read two already! I am really excited to be able to get books from the library. Of course, they don't have everything and I'm on a wait list for a handful of things, but they seem to have enough that I am interested in. And it's super easy - the link on the library site takes you right to Amazon and it looks just like purchasing a book, except the little button says something else (can't remember) instead of "Purchase" or Add to Cart. Very slick.

 

[Sandy321]

Hi!

I've been wondering about the Kindle Fire - we've got IPOD's here, would all of my itunes stuff be able to go onto the Fire? My mom said she would like a tablet, mainly for email and to surf the web when she had wifi - but Im thinking that isnt enough to justify the hefty price of an IPAD. Or, is there another Kindle that would do this for her????? Thanks!!

Amazon is competing with Apple - Amazon has a "cloud" Apple has "iTunes" so they won't be compatible

the Fire does not have a slot for an SD card - there is talk about downloading music from your iTunes into your Fire - but since the Fire hasn't come out - I'm not sure....I'd have to google, but because the Fire is only 7" and because it is a computer screen - NO e-ink - I just don't see it for my uses... I did read a side by side comparison with the Fire and the Color Nook, and honestly, the Nook seemed better!

I like my smartphone to surf the web and do email - but I can see where your mom may prefer the 7" - but for that I think I'd look into one of those netbooks - and I'll tell you my mom wanted an iPhone but didn't want to be "dumb" (she is also techno challenged, my dad had one,, but she was afraid to goof it up - I bought it for her, and she's coming along - then I bought her the Kindle -my brother thought, what a waste , but give her time - and when she spends time with people like dd, me, and dh, and my aunt - she's getting the hang of it - so dh went to WalMart and bought her a Dell laptop for $400 - since I'm also techno challenged and since DH is a software engineer - I bow to his knowledge -
mom loves her laptop - my dad has a desktop computer - but he spends more time on mom's laptop!!

I think a laptop with a keypad may be better for your mom then the touch keypads -

but you know your mom better - it is a matter of taste, choices, and there are a lot of choices out there!

 

[Sandy321]

Amazon has put 100 books on sale for October! $3.99 or less

http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.ht...d_t=101&pf_rd_p=1315815282&pf_rd_i=1286228011

 

[cats mom]

Do the touch and the basic model have a virtual keyboard to make notes, etc? If so, what advantage is there to having the kindle with an actual keyboard?

Thanks!

That's my understanding. I haven't had this problem, but some folks have worn the symbols completely off their kindle keyboards. So in that way the virtual keyboard will be nice, but I wonder how much screen space it will take up?

I've got a 3G touch in my cart, but I'm still trying to decide if thats what I really want or not. I've got plenty of time to make up my mind.

 

[AmandaNied]

I'm thinking I want to upgrade to the Fire or the touch...someone at work wants to buy my old kindle (with the keyboard). Do I just 'deactivate' to remove the data? do I lose it or will it hang out until I get my new device and then sync?

 

[cats mom]

I'm thinking I want to upgrade to the Fire or the touch...someone at work wants to buy my old kindle (with the keyboard). Do I just 'deactivate' to remove the data? do I lose it or will it hang out until I get my new device and then sync?

Your content is tied to your Amazon account, so it will be available to download onto your new device whenever you register it.

As for your old kindle... if you just deregister it anything you've purchased and downloaded will still remain on the device. If you don't want to pass along your content, delete your downloaded items before deregistering it.

I believe there's also an option to reset the kindle to factory defaults, which would automatically remove downloaded items. I've never done that, so I'm not sure of the exact steps though. Maybe someone else will have more info.

 

[MrsPete]

I apologize if I am hijacking this thread, but I have questions about how people use the kindle once they own it. Do you spend more or less on books than you spent in your pre-Kindle days?

Are you successful in getting exactly what you want to read when you want it at a price you want to pay or are you the type who is pretty much happy with anything if it's at your price?

Finally, how is borrowing from the library working for you? Personally, I have had 2 library subscriptions for more than a year now and have only checked out 3 books and only finished one of those (reading on my iPad). I am not a big fan of the Overdrive search engine. Amazon has spoiled me. Thanks -- Suzanne

After having my Kindle for 3-4 years, I am spending more on books than I used to, but I'm also reading more.

About 50% of what I read is free stuff, and I'm happy enough with the prices I pay for other things. I do get a little ticked if the price is more than $9.99 -- but that doesn't happen often.

The library and borrowing options are definitely second-rate features of these machines. Our library doesn't lend e-books and I don't want to pay to join another county's library, so I'm entirely out of luck there.

 

[MrsPete]

Amazon has put 100 books on sale for October! $3.99 or less

http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.ht...d_t=101&pf_rd_p=1315815282&pf_rd_i=1286228011

This would be much more impressive if most of those books hadn't been free at some point over the last weeks/months.

 

[vicki_c]

I believe there's also an option to reset the kindle to factory defaults, which would automatically remove downloaded items. I've never done that, so I'm not sure of the exact steps though. Maybe someone else will have more info.

There is - and it's in the menus. Kindle customer service had to help me with my DS' device and we ended up doing that and it was in the menus somewhere.

 

[nunzia]

another dumb question..if you don't have the model with the keyboard, how do you put in information for the book you want to download? I'm debating on this..and thinking about my Mom and DD..my friend has one and she insists that the wi-fi ones work fine anywhere, so I guess I don't get what she is talking about, since I'm guessing my Mom would really need the 3 G one since she has no computer and I don't know about wi fi close to her. My DD has wireless in her house through her internet company, as do I, but is there any odd set up junk that would need to be done? I haven't even touched a kindle before, so I'm totally in the dark on all this.

 

[cats mom]

another dumb question..if you don't have the model with the keyboard, how do you put in information for the book you want to download? I'm debating on this..and thinking about my Mom and DD..my friend has one and she insists that the wi-fi ones work fine anywhere, so I guess I don't get what she is talking about, since I'm guessing my Mom would really need the 3 G one since she has no computer and I don't know about wi fi close to her. My DD has wireless in her house through her internet company, as do I, but is there any odd set up junk that would need to be done? I haven't even touched a kindle before, so I'm totally in the dark on all this.

The new kindle models have a virtual keyboard.

With the basic model you type on the keyboard by moving a cursor via arrows on a navigation button, similar to entering on screen text with a video game controller. A bit clunky, but workable.

With the touch model you'll navigate the keyboard via a touch screen. That model doesn't come out until November, so no first hand reports on how it works yet, but should be super easy.

If your mom doesn't have wifi at home I'd definitely get her the 3G version. Sheesh, even with wifi I was having so many problems keeping a connection at home that one day I actually grabbed my kindle and drove to Starbucks just so I could claim an offer before it expired. After that experience I sold my wifi only kindle and got a 3G version and I've been much happier. While on a cruise a few months ago I was able to buy a book and check my e-mail in the middle of the ocean without paying the exorbitant rates the cruise line charged for internet access. And I don't have to battle to keep a connection with my tempermental home wifi anymore.

All that said, for most people the wifi model is probably fine though.