Amazon Kindle

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malchior
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Re: Amazon Kindle

Post by malchior »

I was ranting about this on the FB today. It makes so little sense that you have to wonder if there is an audience for it at all despite Amazon claiming to already have to many orders to fulfill on launch day.
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Re: Amazon Kindle

Post by Jeff V »

Kindle Oasis: Who will buy a $290 ebook reader?
Spoiler:
The author could only come up with space-faring billionaires.
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gilraen
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Re: Amazon Kindle

Post by gilraen »

People are so spoiled :) I paid $480 for my DX back in 2008.
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Re: Amazon Kindle

Post by tiny ogre »

A few years ago, I really thought the direction Kindles were heading was free-ish. Like I really expected to see a free Kindle with a prime subscription by now. Guess not!

I'd love to have buttons again. I don't think buttons cost hundreds of dollars.
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Reemul
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Re: Amazon Kindle

Post by Reemul »

My Kindle Keyboard cost £109 back in December 2010. It has page buttons and a full keyboard.
The Oasis is £270 in the UK, I just cannot see how it is worth it at all.

I also think it is too expensive to push down the price of the Voyage which if it gets near to £100 I will buy to replace my keyboard version.
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YellowKing
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Re: Amazon Kindle

Post by YellowKing »

I'm not even sure what improvements they could make to the lighting. I was looking at my Voyage last night in a pitch black room, and I couldn't see any issues with uneven light. On my wife's Paperwhite you can tell a bit where the lights are spaced, but it's not enough to be distracting.

I think it's interesting that Amazon is finding a way to charge us more now for a feature (buttons) they charged us to phase out.
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Re: Amazon Kindle

Post by Jeff V »

gilraen wrote:
People are so spoiled :) I paid $480 for my DX back in 2008.
People also payed $10K for a TV that costs a few hundred today. I don't think many are pining for those overpriced halcyon days. The problem with all such things isn't the price necessarily, but the value. Compared with a $100 Kindle, are the added features worth the extra price? Magic 8 Ball seems to say "No."
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Reemul
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Re: Amazon Kindle

Post by Reemul »

Also that higher price was for a 1st gen, it was brand new tech. Gen 2's were way cheaper, like I said my 2nd Gen was only £109 which is still £40 higher than the touch is now.

£70 for a Touch
£270 for an Oasis

Just can't see how this works.
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Re: Amazon Kindle

Post by McNutt »

Built-in lighting is a must for me. I will pay for that. Buttons and improved ergonomics are nice, but not $170 extra nice. It's madness.

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Re: Amazon Kindle

Post by Isgrimnur »

McNutt wrote:Built-in lighting is a must for me. I will pay for that. Buttons and improved ergonomics are nice, but not $170 extra nice. It's madness.

Sent from my LG-D850 using Tapatalk
The Paperwhite and Voyage have lights.

And turn off your Tapatalk signature.
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Re: Amazon Kindle

Post by McNutt »

Dammit! I had to reinstall Tapatalk and it defaulted to that sig. Thanks for alerting me.

I know the Paperwhite and Voyage have the lights, which is why I think it's so crazy to think that the little the Oasis offers is worth the price increase.
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Re: Amazon Kindle

Post by Covenant72 »

Yeah, I love Kindle's so I tend to be an early adapter on their new offerings. I did this with both the Paperwhite and the Voyage, and though they were pricey, I considered them worth the cost and have been very happy with them. This new Oasis though? Yeah not happening. Battery life is already awesome, and I am perfectly happy with my haptic(sp?) buttons on the Voyage. Plus let's not forget all the extra weight that battery case and side button thingy must be adding. Any word on what the specs are for that?
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Re: Amazon Kindle

Post by stessier »

Not on the case, but the unit itself is thinner than any other offering and about half the weight of the Paperwhite.
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Re: Amazon Kindle

Post by Carpet_pissr »

Carpet_pissr wrote:
coopasonic wrote:
Carpet_pissr wrote:
Zaxxon wrote:Just curious, but what was the Free time problem? It's worked fine for me so far, though I haven't done a ton with it.
Apparently they have not thought about people who want to buy 2 Kindles, and have two Freetime accounts in the same family. It's a shared thing. And I have one 11 YO and one 8 YO. They have an option now for "teen" Freetime, but I would say it's on the verge. Anyway...they are interested in completely different content, and apparently there is no easy way to do that.
My 9 and 6 year olds each have their own Fires with their own profiles in Freetime with their own settings and content.
Can you please teach Amazon customer support how you achieved that? They really should know.

Do you have two, single Freetime Unlimited accounts, or the family plan?
Quoting myself here for reference. Very ranty - you have been warned.

I am definitely done with Kindle Fires for kids (and would never consider one for myself). I will reiterate that I have an unhealthy love for most things Amazon, but their Kindle Fire line is on my permanent shit list.

The OS is complete garbage, really, compared to the fleshed out Android OS, and pales even more in comparison to iOS. If this were 3 years ago, I would point out that the roughly equivalent specced iPad vs. Fire is 2x more expensive, but that is no longer a valid argument after Amazon realigned its product line and pricing.

My previous kid accounts dilemma was never solved, and several cust. svc. reps basically told me I couldn't set things up for multiple kids the way I wanted, without deleting THE ACCOUNT. Not just the content on the device, my entire account (I verified twice that they really meant that).

Since I have an 11YO, who is too old for Freetime, but not old enough for me to want to allow her unrestricted access to the internet, I ended up just giving her an older iPhone so she can use it as an iTouch, and wow, what a difference in terms of being able to tune it to appropriate content.

As much as Amazon touts how kid friendly its OS is, IMO, it is seriously lacking compared to iOS - not sure about Android. Primarily, the browser in Fire OS is either blocked, or not blocked, there is no middle. With iOS, I can set restrictions for EVERYthing, including the web, and multiple levels at that, for multiple countries (if you think the ratings in the US are too puritanical for instance!:P) You can choose to allow/restrict apps, movies, even books, and of course the web, based on ratings.

Really the only thing that Fire OS has over iOS in terms of parental controls is the ability to set time limits for certain activities.

But for me, that alone is not worth the trade off for the lack of control for pretty much everything else. The funny thing is that you see so many glowing reviews about how "parent friendly" the Kindle Fires are, and I say hogwash to that. Maybe if you've never used any other tablet, sure, but I think some parents writing those overly optimistic articles drank the Kindle Fire Kool-Aid in this case (including myself, who has bought 2 for my kids).

And Fire OS is just a hassle to manage IMO...every time I need to "fix" something on my middle kid's Fire, I get so frustrated and pissed at the poor design of the UI, I started cursing.

Yeah, I get it, they are CHEAP. But that kind of petty annoyance is not worth the dad-rage when there is so much better on the market.

:evil: :horse: :tjg: :grund: and now... 8-)
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Re: Amazon Kindle

Post by Zaxxon »

On a side note, our old Roku 2 used on our dining room distraction TV has started to give out, so I put my Fire TV Stick in as a replacement.

The Roku 2 is far, far better. Holy crap the Fire OS is slow as molasses on this device, and the interface is clutter-rama compared to Roku's simple elegance. And the Roku 2 is quite a bit slower and less capable than the 3 we have on our 'main' TV.
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Re: Amazon Kindle

Post by Jeff V »

My only complaint is that both of my kid's Kindle Fires regularly lose their wifi connection, and the solution seems to be to login with my administrator password, turn off the wifi, turn it back on (sometimes having to put in admin pw several times) to reconnect it, all why the upset kid is raging in my ear.

But...$33 today on the Prime Day sale. Maybe I should stock up on a couple of more for the new kid that's coming in September... :think:
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Re: Amazon Kindle

Post by McNutt »

I have a Roku stick and a Fire stick and the Fire stick has worked much better for me. The Roku stick had a very slow interface and there was a problem with the RF on the remote only registering 10% of the button pushes. I had a replacement sent and it had the same problems. The Fire stick has had no problems and is much faster.

I've never used a full-sized device though, so my comparison is only between the sticks.
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Re: Amazon Kindle

Post by Isgrimnur »

Courtesy of the parents, I have a new Paperwhite for my birthday. I may have opened it a few days early. :ninja:
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Re: Amazon Kindle

Post by Zaxxon »

I'm still loving my OG Paperwhite, and my wife's Voyage is swell so I'm not in the market... But Amazon's got discounts up to $30 on all the Kindle readers this week, for Prime members only. If you've been waiting to strike, the iron is warm.
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Re: Amazon Kindle

Post by gbasden »

Carpet_pissr wrote:

But for me, that alone is not worth the trade off for the lack of control for pretty much everything else. The funny thing is that you see so many glowing reviews about how "parent friendly" the Kindle Fires are, and I say hogwash to that. Maybe if you've never used any other tablet, sure, but I think some parents writing those overly optimistic articles drank the Kindle Fire Kool-Aid in this case (including myself, who has bought 2 for my kids).

:evil: :horse: :tjg: :grund: and now... 8-)
I know I'm weird, but I just don't really understand the whole "locking down the internet" thing. My kid's 13, and he's had free range for awhile. He's incredibly computer savvy. His traffic goes through the proxy just like the rest of the family, and I've told him we'll have to talk if there's anything egregious that shows up. Frankly, though, I trust him to make good choices and I'm just not overly concerned if he sees something that's moderately adult.

And he still loves his Fire, and I've been perfectly happy with it.
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Re: Amazon Kindle

Post by Kasey Chang »

Not that Fire is much of a web browser. It'll play videos and stuff, but it's not really much of a Google experience. Hahaha. :)

But I love mine. It's how I do 2-3 books a day.
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Re: Amazon Kindle

Post by Fretmute »

Seems that they've updated the Oasis; it's got a bigger screen, and is waterproof, for when you absolutely need to read in the ocean.

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Re: Amazon Kindle

Post by Pyperkub »

Fretmute wrote:Seems that they've updated the Oasis; it's got a bigger screen, and is waterproof, for when you absolutely need to read in the ocean.

Image
I actually like reading in the bathtub, and a kindle (even not waterproof) is a lot better for it than a paperback (or heavy hardcover).
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Re: Amazon Kindle

Post by malchior »

Pyperkub wrote:
Fretmute wrote:Seems that they've updated the Oasis; it's got a bigger screen, and is waterproof, for when you absolutely need to read in the ocean.

Image
I actually like reading in the bathtub, and a kindle (even not waterproof) is a lot better for it than a paperback (or heavy hardcover).
Me too. Jetted tub is awesome after workouts but not electronics friendly.
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Re: Amazon Kindle

Post by Isgrimnur »

10th Anniversary Sale

Limited-time Offers
Kindle $79.99 $49.99
Kindle Paperwhite $119.99 $89.99
Kindle Voyage $199.99 $169.99
Kindle for Kids Bundle $124.98 $69.99
It's almost as if people are the problem.
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Re: Amazon Kindle

Post by gbasden »

Isgrimnur wrote: Mon Oct 23, 2017 3:55 pm 10th Anniversary Sale

Limited-time Offers
Kindle $79.99 $49.99
Kindle Paperwhite $119.99 $89.99
Kindle Voyage $199.99 $169.99
Kindle for Kids Bundle $124.98 $69.99
Bastards didn't discount the Oasis. :(
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Re: Amazon Kindle

Post by gilraen »

Got a refurb Kindle Fire on Woot almost (but not quite) a year ago. A couple of days ago it decided to die. As in, it was in the middle of casting a video to the TV, suddenly shut off, and I was never able to power it on again. Took the cover off, tried unplugging the battery from the motherboard and plugging it back in, and that's about all I know how to do with this thing.

I guess they are cheap enough (if I wait for another Woot sale) that I can give it another shot - although I'm not thrilled with how disposable this thing turned out. Certainly this makes it pretty obvious why comparable Samsung tablets are $250 and up, and Fires can be had for $40.
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Re: Amazon Kindle

Post by hitbyambulance »

likely a battery issue. keep the battery disconnected from the system board overnight, then reconnect and plug into charger. if there's still no activity, it's likely the battery went bad and a new battery will work fine.
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Re: Amazon Kindle

Post by gilraen »

hitbyambulance wrote: Sun Apr 07, 2019 1:23 am likely a battery issue. keep the battery disconnected from the system board overnight, then reconnect and plug into charger. if there's still no activity, it's likely the battery went bad and a new battery will work fine.
Thanks, I tried your first suggestion, and it didn't work. I will try a new battery, although I think "new" in this case is a misnomer, as Amazon doesn't exactly sell them outright, so anything I get will be of questionable origin.
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Re: Amazon Kindle

Post by em2nought »

These things need senior locks so my mom can't accidentally change her font size, and then have to wait until I visit to start reading again. LOL The only thing she should be able to do is wake the thing up and turn pages. :mrgreen:

Other than that, the 8th generation Paperwhite has been great for a VERY tech unfriendly 93 year old with Glaucoma and Macular Degeneration so far. Too bad we didn't try one sooner. Really didn't think she'd go for it.
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Re: Amazon Kindle

Post by Madmarcus »

They are phenomenal for people with eye problems. Being able to control your own large print edition without making the book bigger is terrific. On the other hand you are absolutely correct that the touch screen models have some issues because they respond to random touches or slightly different placement of touches.
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Re: Amazon Kindle

Post by Isgrimnur »

New Oasis dropping on July 24.
It's almost as if people are the problem.
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Re: Amazon Kindle

Post by em2nought »

These would be so much more old person friendly if they add the tech to be able to just lay it on top of the charger instead of having to put that little plug into it. I haven't even bothered trying to teach my mom how, I just make sure to charge it for her every month or so. That reminds me. :mrgreen:

I like that new idea of the pages being able to look more old school the color of actual book pages if you want.
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Re: Amazon Kindle

Post by Isgrimnur »

It's almost as if people are the problem.
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Re: Amazon Kindle

Post by Hrothgar »

Isgrimnur wrote: Sun Jun 30, 2019 1:25 am New Oasis dropping on July 24.
Lighting color temperature adjustment? That's the big new feature? Hopefully they got the cases right this time. Last time they ended up pulling them from the market.

If they clear out the old ones cheap, I'd suggest grabbing one since there's not much difference. It really is a pleasant reading experience. I wouldn't have got one for myself, but my wife got me one for Christmas. Apparently, I'm difficult to shop for. I got this case. It looks great, fits and protects well and didn't have the problems of the Amazon cases.
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Re: Amazon Kindle

Post by El Guapo »

What's the easiest way to have separate "reading lists" for multiple kindles under a family Amazon account? I'd like for a way for my daughter to just see her books when she's looking for a next book to read on her Kindle.
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Re: Amazon Kindle

Post by Isgrimnur »

El Guapo wrote: Mon Jul 01, 2019 12:10 pm What's the easiest way to have separate "reading lists" for multiple kindles under a family Amazon account? I'd like for a way for my daughter to just see her books when she's looking for a next book to read on her Kindle.
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Re: Amazon Kindle

Post by EvilHomer3k »

One of my resolutions was to read a book every month this year. I almost always read on my phone but I already spend too much time staring at screens. Would a kindle be better for reading with less eye strain? Does it have the same issues with keeping you up at night? I tend to read before bed most of the time (or in the bathroom). I've shied away from buying a kindle before because I always have my phone. What would be a good, inexpensive (possibly used) one to try?
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Re: Amazon Kindle

Post by McNutt »

The e-ink Kindles are fantastic for this in my opinion. The only light will be from either a lamp or from the screen backlighting, which is very nice. I have a backlit Kindle Voyage and I have no trouble going to sleep after reading. It actually helps to make me tired just like a paperback.
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Re: Amazon Kindle

Post by Zaxxon »

I find it to be far better to read on a Kindle. The Paperwhite is the one I'd recommend.
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