# Kindle



## Allanon

Am I going to hell because I have just purchased one???

Also if anyone else is on the dark side have you got any tips for them?


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## Ursa major

Allanon said:


> ...have you got any tips for them?


I expect your local council has a specific area for electronic goods at its recycling centre.


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## Allanon

Aw that's harsh Ursa, Lol!

It hasnt dulled my love for books, I still think there is nothing to beat a good book, everything down to the feel and smell of it, but for convenience (sp) I think they're good.


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## Vertigo

Well I have a Sony so I can't give any tips specific to the Kindle but my biggest recommendation would be to get a copy of Calibre (freeware) as it is far and away the best eBook organiser around. If you go to the MobileRead Forums forum the author of Calibre posts there pretty regularly. Also that is a pretty good forum for getting any other help and info on eReaders.


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## Allanon

Cheers Vertigo, massive help!!!


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## Vertigo

If you want any tips on Calibre give me a shout, I'm no expert, but I found it convenient to add some custom fields to display when I read the books and where I bought them from (useful if I ever need to go back and download them again).


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## Robsia

I use the Kindle app on my iPhone which is great as it slips into a pocket and it's free.

And my book is available to purchase on Kindle if you're interested.


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## Allanon

Robsia, the first thing I'm going to do when I get home Friday is order your book! Fellow Chronites should always count me as a fan!


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## Robsia

I think I love you


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## Allanon

Imagine this smiley with blushing cheeks!!


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## chrispenycate

Well I now have a Kindle; my Christmas present.
And I managed to register; not easily, but it happened. It absolutely wanted to speak German to me.

And now, of course I can't download any books into it. Amazon UK won't touch me, can't transfer through the USB cable, only WiFi, and all instructions in Deutsch.

I've got a lot of eMails to do when I get back to civilization.


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## Vertigo

Chrispy, try installing Kindle 4 PC (or mac equivalent) then order on line on your PC and download to the PC (app is registered like the Kindle and then becomes a download option when you buy a book). Then it is relatively easy to upload the book to the Kindle. I recommend getting Calibre which amongst other things will do that bit for you.


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## Langadune

Vertigo said:


> I recommend getting Calibre which amongst other things will do that bit for you.



+1
It'll convert any ebook to just about any other format you choose as well.


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## Vertigo

Yes except you will have to add some plugins to deal with DRM'd ebooks which almost everything from Amazon will be.


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## Erin99

Hey! I think I shall have to march in here and stick up for the Kindle. I LOVE mine!  I have no room for more books in this small flat... and now I don't need it! Sure, some of the prices for ebooks on Amazon are MENTAL(!), but I suppose you're paying for convenience these days, among other things.

But the price drops if you're patient...

As for the device itself, it's lightweight, great for left AND right-handed users, and it doesn't give me eye pain! And you can set the font and font size of every book.

As for tips - don't press the screen, because you can crack the delicate layer underneath and then you'll get permanent ink dots on your screen; don't leave your Kindle next to anything electromagnetic (a support technician for Amazon told me that); and _get a cover for it_! I have a snazzy purple cover that folds into a reading stand.


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## Vertigo

All good tips Leisha! Your cover sounds like mine (except mine's boring black). Is it a Tuff-Luv case? I love mine completely hands off reading; what a luxury!


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## biodroid

Nah, you are safe from the Library Police, the Kindle is great, you can get almost any book on it anywhere in the world. I personally think it's great, the author gets paid his royalties when I purchase a book. I actually feel guilty reading a paper version. The Kindle is so much lighter and manageable and you can carry many, many books on it. It still reads like a paper version which is what you want. Enjoy!!


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## biodroid

chrispenycate said:


> Well I now have a Kindle; my Christmas present.
> And I managed to register; not easily, but it happened. It absolutely wanted to speak German to me.
> 
> And now, of course I can't download any books into it. Amazon UK won't touch me, can't transfer through the USB cable, only WiFi, and all instructions in Deutsch.
> 
> I've got a lot of eMails to do when I get back to civilization.



Have you tried to get a US account, they are worldwide. You should be able to transfer books via USB, it pics it up easily on mine and I have the Wi-Fi + 3G version. Do yourself a favour and get Calibre like Vertigo mentioned. Let me know what else you are stuck on and I can maybe help you out. Kindles are supposed to be user friendly.


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## Bugg

I've got incredibly limited shelf-space for my books. For years, at least every six months or so, I had to go through my collection and force myself to part with some books just so I could make room for new ones. So my Kindle has been a lifesaver in that regard. It's allowed me to read loads of books I was intrigued by without taking up shelf space, which is now reserved for those authors and series I specifically want to collect in treebook form. Also, if and when my eyes get tired, being able to change font size and keep reading is great. And I'm currently re-reading The Stand - 1,300 pages long and the paperback version is as big as a house, but the Kindle version is the same easy to carry size as all my other Kindle books (and even includes the illustrations). I still love paperbacks/hardbacks, but I can't knock the Kindle at all


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## CyBeR

I can't emphasize how important it is to have a nice, STURDY cover for your Kindle. I'm on my second iRiver right now, simply because I had mine in a backpack, in a home made cover...when I got pushed at one point in the train and pressed my pack against the wall for a few second, the screen just went bye bye on me. I should actually post some pictures...it's amazing how part of the screen can still function when the rest is fubar.


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## biodroid

CyBeR is right you MUST get a good cover for yours, I have heard of people rolling over theirs while sleeping and cracking the screen.


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## Sephiroth

I like my Kindle a lot (much to my surprise, since I was dubious at first), but I don't cosy up with it when I go to sleep.


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## SpaceShip

Wanted a Kindle for Christmas but got a kobo instead. Surprisingly I like my kobo. Easily slips into the pocket and is easy to read. Anyone else get a kobo? Anyone know the difference between the two and which one they think is best?


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## Valko

As I've already mentioned on other threads. I use the Kindle app on my iPad & phone but I would love a reader as they're much lighter. The other problem with both the iPad & the phone is reading outdoors. If it's sunny I have no hope of seeing the displays on either device


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## biodroid

Valko - Is there no anti-glare cover your can buy for your iPad? They look matte when you stick it on the screen.


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## Vertigo

SpaceShip said:


> Wanted a Kindle for Christmas but got a kobo instead. Surprisingly I like my kobo. Easily slips into the pocket and is easy to read. Anyone else get a kobo? Anyone know the difference between the two and which one they think is best?


 
I doubt you will find much difference except in the software. There are only one or two producers of the eink screens so all the devices are pretty much on a par as far as the most critical bit goes. After that it's down to personal preference. I quite like the Sony touch screen interface (didn't think I would but I do). So bottom line I don't think there is a huge difference between the devices except stuff like the software and the controls/buttons and the screen size which will always be exactly the same compromise as that of large or small books.


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## Valko

biodroid said:


> Valko - Is there no anti-glare cover your can buy for your iPad? They look matte when you stick it on the screen.



I'll have to look into that.

One thing I forgot to mention that really sets Kindle apart from paper books is the sample option. In the past 2 days alone I've sampled at least 5 books.


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## Null_Zone

I'm probably being spoiled but I'm amazed at the tiny differences functions make.

Sony 505 - My first Ebook and will always have a soft spot in my heart, sadly lost due to act of Dog.

Sony Touchscreen - Slightly heavier but still fit into pockets. But battery life was awfull, wouldn't even last a weeks holiday, glare was terrible outside.

Nook - Assorted bookshops had odd pricing and an odd selection. Book 2 in the series but not 1?

Kindle - Light and easy to use, Amazon is quick to pick up on pricing discrepancies and has a wider range of self published material.


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## biodroid

Valko said:


> I'll have to look into that.
> 
> One thing I forgot to mention that really sets Kindle apart from paper books is the sample option. In the past 2 days alone I've sampled at least 5 books.



Hehe, it beats having to drive out to the book store and pick up a book (if they stock it) and page through it like the other 50 people before you, and when you buy the paper version, it looks like an old used library edition from how people abuse it in the store. If it wasn't for the samples feature I would have to rely on my friends poor advice that Terry Goodkind is a brilliant writer


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## Wybren

I received a Kindle for Christmas and I love it. I wasn't sure at first, but I found it didn't hurt my eyes and as went out and bought a cover that has a built in light I don't have to worry about trying to juggle a torch/ light on my phone to read a book at night without disturbing the other half. As much as I love the feel of reading a book, our house is running out of space to store them so I like that I can have a virtual library at my fingertips without having to make room in the house for it.


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## CyBeR

It's actually really satisfying seeing people enjoying their ereaders. A lot of people I've talked to have been quite against the idea of a kindle or anything of the sort, but almost all of them come around once they get their hands on one.


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## Wybren

My husband liked mine so much I had to go and buy him one so he would stop trying to take mine with him to work.


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## Erin99

Vertigo said:


> All good tips Leisha! Your cover sounds like mine (except mine's boring black). Is it a Tuff-Luv case? I love mine completely hands off reading; what a luxury!



Yep. This one to be exact: http://www.7dayshop.com/catalog/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=&products_id=110999

It's AWESOME - and PURPLE!

It protects my Kindle when I'm on the train, too, which is a must. And as you say, hands-off reading. Couldn't ask for better!




And, Cyber, I always get sad at that; why do so many people hold grudges against ereaders? Sure, it's not a book - but it's bringing reading to the masses and making it popular and accessible to everyone.

Everyone I know has a Kindle. I can read without getting eye strain and headaches, and I can buy books without them cluttering up my tiny flat; my partner and I can read while on the train without books weighing down our suitcases; my disabled mum can read without tipping her head down and hurting her neck and arms; my partner's dad can buy books without going out or ordering books online; and my sister's mother-in-law can read again after her eyesight went too far downhill for normal small-print books.


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## willwallace

I just read a study by the Pew Research Center that said in the US, ereaders went from being in 10% of households to 19%, in one month over the holidays.  So they are becoming more popular, and no end in sight to how widespread they will be.  While I like the physicality of reading a book, it _is_ easier to carry around multiple books on a tablet.


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## CyBeR

Leisha, I agree completely. There is virtually no downside to ereaders (well...except the same that there are regarding ALL electronic devices). I'm looking forward to a sunlight powered one and then you can literally have no worries with one...except to get it stolen from you, but that's a general worry. 

I had run into a nice article a while back that basically said that more and more teens are finding interest in reading courtesy of these new devices. May be true, may not be true...but anything that gets the younguns reading I will approve of.


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## Vertigo

The one problem I have come across is with technical books. I have a few with numerous diagrams. Now the diagrams get rendered reasonably enough (though I sometimes have to zoom to read them) however with techie books I have a tendency to keep flicking back to the diagrams or even to go back and check an earlier passage. Whilst this is easy enough to do it is not as easy as in a paper book and if I'm doing it a lot (as I do with technical books) then it does get to be a pain.

Understand I'm not just talking about techie reference books but also science for the lay person books the Brian Cox Jeff Forshaw Quantum Universe. Not a reference book but I still find myself wanting to keep diving back and checking something from 4 or 5 pages back. Not a major grouch but I am more inclined to read those on the laptop where the diagrams are clearer and it's a bit easier to flick back a few pages with the faster screen refresh.


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