Does anyone have a kindle?

[Meka]

@ Bighuey, Great idea! 8000 books in a coffee cup, I LOVE IT!

[Bighuey]

If I had that many books in this small house I would have to sleep outside.

[patrickt]

Is there a limit to how many ebooks you can store on your ereader? I would hate to not be able to go back to something once I've bought it and read it. And do you have some kind of "library" where you can see what books you have? It makes me happy to look at the books on my shelves. They are like portals to many worlds just sitting there waiting for me to enter, and I like knowing I can do so at any time. The ereader doesn't take that away from you, does it?

With my Kindle, I delete each book as I read it. When I delete it, it goes to the archive at Amazon and if I wish I can retrieve it from there at a later date. So, on my Kindle right now I just have 22 pages of books waiting to be read.

[StephenKingman]

Ok, so after a trip to London where in almost every tube ride i took, i saw at least 3 people buried in their Kindles reading away, i browsed a few shops and see that the basic package can cost you less than 200quid and they come with a wide range of accessories, including some very stylish covers, i have decided i will get one for around Christmas. Now i have a few simple questions for the Kindle newbie so forgive me but if anyine has the answers please get back to me ta:

1. How exactly do you download the books? I assume you log on to a site and transfer to a USB device then upload that to the Kindle? Or maybe you download wirelessly?

2. Is payment with credit or debit card or both?

3. How do you go from page to page when reading? I assume its just a tip of the screen but i dont know.

4. Does the battery last long and does the charger come straight out of the box?

5. Can you dowload new releases straight away or is there a set time period to wait before they are available?

6. Should i get one???????

I would be grateful for answers to these questions and before the end of the year your magnificent mod may be Kindle-ing away with the best of them.

Thanks guys

[A24]

Kingman, I'm at that same point as you with all those same questions! I was thinking sooner though as my bday is in August. I'd love to hear the feedback as well.

[Margarita]

1. 3G, you get it anywhere
2. both
3. button click (no need to move your hand)
4. almost 2 month if you turn 3G/wifi off. Any mini usb can charge it. You won't need a wall charger
5. anytime
6. try it in store. I love mine

I have a "free book thread" you may find helpful

Ok, so after a trip to London where in almost every tube ride i took, i saw at least 3 people buried in their Kindles reading away, i browsed a few shops and see that the basic package can cost you less than 200quid and they come with a wide range of accessories, including some very stylish covers, i have decided i will get one for around Christmas. Now i have a few simple questions for the Kindle newbie so forgive me but if anyine has the answers please get back to me ta:

1. How exactly do you download the books? I assume you log on to a site and transfer to a USB device then upload that to the Kindle? Or maybe you download wirelessly?

2. Is payment with credit or debit card or both?

3. How do you go from page to page when reading? I assume its just a tip of the screen but i dont know.

4. Does the battery last long and does the charger come straight out of the box?

5. Can you dowload new releases straight away or is there a set time period to wait before they are available?

6. Should i get one???????

I would be grateful for answers to these questions and before the end of the year your magnificent mod may be Kindle-ing away with the best of them.

Thanks guys

[Fran]

OMG Mike they got you at last .... Gannon will be so cross ... another one gone over to the dark side as he says!

Now I'm no nerd so my answers are that of an ordinary Josephine Soap

1. You buy the book on the Amazon site (select the Kindle Shop from the drop down menu) & from there it's almost exactly as you buy a regular book on the site. It downloads 'magically' to your Kindle immediately if your Kindle is on & is picking up a WIFI connection (this could be your own Broadband wifi at home or if you have wifi at work or on a free wifi site in a hotel or coffee shop or wherever. If your Kindle is turned off or is not picking up a wifi connection then the next time you turn it on or it picks up the wifi it will download ... zooomm just like that. You can access the site from the Kindle unit or your laptop/PC. Personally I usually use the laptop & I have found that if the Kindle is at the other end of the coffee table bu the time I reach across for it my book is there waiting for me.
As I say absolute magic ... wonder how they do it?

2. That's the sore bit ... you have your account set up with Amazon as for regular book purchases and zoooooom the charge goes to your Visa or whatever every bit as quickly as the book downloads. You get the e-mail confirmation same as with a regular purchase. And when you get the visa bill there it is with the currency conversion of course!

3. It's not touch screen so a button on either side panel changes the pages forward or backward and you can use left or right hand or both if you're ambidextrous! And you can do it onehanded ... I mean hold the Kindle in one hand & move the pages with the same hand (would have been useful for Admiral Nelson!)

4. It comes with a USB lead for charging from the laptop or PC. Personally I think its mean not to provide a mains charger as standard but I gather you can buy one fairly cheaply on ebay. The battery time is really good I've only charged mine about 3 times since Xmas but obviously it would depend on the use it's getting ... and I'm still not weaned off the regular book!

5. Books seem to be available every bit as fast as the regular publication.
And of course there are loads of the Classics free.

6. I definitely recommend it ... and as you know I resisted manfully or womanfully! My negatives would be that they don't supply a mains charger as standard & the carry case is extra.

All in all it's the most 'idiot proof' (as the nerds say) piece of technology I've come across!

[StephenKingman]

^ Thanks a mill Fran for the info.

Im thinking of the space here in front of me and my 4 shelves are stacked very creatively but soon they are gonna just say "Mike, enough is enough, put up another shelf!" so digital books are very attractive right now. Plus im a bit curious now as to how it would feel reading the electronic books from start to finish.

I get the gist of it now, the downloading option is easy enough it seems, but yeah a bit stingy that you dont get a mains charger as standard but i can live with charging from PC. Meant to ask Fran, are the books (both new and older) expensive, whats the general damage per book? Classics for free is a good option.

I will not be getting one until end of year and im definitely going for a snazzy cover (im currently looking for a diamond-encrusted one!) but im looking forward to how i will take the transition. Still have yet to see many of them around Ireland though, maybe they are hiding in trains or the Luas who knows.

[Fran]

^ Thanks a mill Fran for the info.

Im thinking of the space here in front of me and my 4 shelves are stacked very creatively but soon they are gonna just say "Mike, enough is enough, put up another shelf!" so digital books are very attractive right now. Plus im a bit curious now as to how it would feel reading the electronic books from start to finish.

I get the gist of it now, the downloading option is easy enough it seems, but yeah a bit stingy that you dont get a mains charger as standard but i can live with charging from PC. Meant to ask Fran, are the books (both new and older) expensive, whats the general damage per book? Classics for free is a good option.

I will not be getting one until end of year and im definitely going for a snazzy cover (im currently looking for a diamond-encrusted one!) but im looking forward to how i will take the transition. Still have yet to see many of them around Ireland though, maybe they are hiding in trains or the Luas who knows.

Everything I've got so far has been between EUR5 - 7 (incl the currency convertion) and of course I got a load of the free classics.
Go on the site & click the Kindle Store option & you can compare prices easily. If you have a specific book in mind you could compare the Kindle Store price, the Amazon regular book price & then your local store. I don't see many books in local shops under EUR10.00 do you?

[Awillis50]

Plus think about having everyone of those books on the shelves at your fingertips anywhere you may travel.

[A24]

I bit the bullet and ordered one today along with the cool green lighted cover! Unfortunately, my daughter will go in the hospital next week for a week-long stay. The Kindle will be a lot easier to take with me than a bunch of books.
I read a bunch of reviews and opted for the Wifi one without the special offers. I thought they would be annoying over the lifetime of having my Kindle.
I do hope it is true that they get the Kindle version of books in the library systems by the end of the year...Kindle books aren't real cheap!

[Buttons]

This has been quite interesting reading all the comments on Kindles, for I have been debating as far as the convenience goes. But I still am not convinced.....I guess one of the factors in which I am leary about is 3-5 years from now (perhaps sooner), would you have to buy a new one or upgrade in anyway?

[Maud Fitch]

No wonder we are losing leisure time, we seem to be spending more time maintaining our electronic devices.

Just because e-reader technology is amazing, I don't think this means it will last the distance of a real book. Similar to a computer program, an e-reader may need updates, upgrades and/or eventual replacement. Meanwhile, back at the homestead my real book sits patiently waiting on the shelf.....

Also, no-one holds exclusive rights to out-of-copyright books and classics. They are available free via many different sources including public library e-book downloads.

And to those who think e-readers are kinder to the environment, e.g. saving trees, please think again. Where will all the dead e-readers go? Recycled, biodegradable? Or into your rubbish bin and into permanent landfill?

[BookSpyGal]

I would have to recommend the Nook. You can put ANY kind of text format on there, no restrictions. I believe the Kindle has some kind of DRM protection so it is a bit harder to just put stuff on it. Mind you, this was a year or more and things may have changed, but I still love my original Nook I honestly read 10x more now with it than I did before.

[A24]

I got my Kindle with a lovely lighted green cover! So far, I love it! I still have a few books I'm currently reading that I've bought in hardback, so I'm not using the Kindle too much yet. I can't wait until the libraries get the books available for downloads (hopefully, by the end of the year I hear). My friend also has a Kindle and we tend to read the same books/genre. We will be "sharing" books on our kindles which will lessen the costs quite a bit. One thing I love is that it is so much lighter and easier to keep with you than a book.