Amazon Kindle

McNutt · Post by **McNutt** » Wed Jul 15, 2015 11:46 am

I read somewhere that Amazon likes having three tiers of Kindles and that the price point seems to fit their sales goals. I REALLY want a Voyage and am just as hesitant to upgrade my perfectly fine Paperwhite (1st gen) just to get the buttons and higher resolution. I can't help but feel like a peasant every time I have to move my thumb and tap the screen to turn the pages. It's especially aggravating since my older Kindle Keyboard had buttons that were a total joy to use. If only it had a backlit screen.

stessier · Post by **stessier** » Wed Jul 15, 2015 11:47 am

I have to say I don't think 300 dpi is really necessary on the Paperwhite. But then, I'm old and don't use the default resolution. I also don't like the idea of the auto adjust lighting. Now get off my lawn.

Zaxxon · Post by **Zaxxon** » Wed Jul 15, 2015 11:50 am

stessier wrote:I have to say I don't think 300 dpi is really necessary on the Paperwhite. But then, I'm old and don't use the default resolution. I also don't like the idea of the auto adjust lighting. Now get off my lawn.

Photos and illustrations on the older 212 ppi Kindles continue to suck.

stessier · Post by **stessier** » Wed Jul 15, 2015 11:51 am

Zaxxon wrote:
stessier wrote:I have to say I don't think 300 dpi is really necessary on the Paperwhite. But then, I'm old and don't use the default resolution. I also don't like the idea of the auto adjust lighting. Now get off my lawn.
Photos and illustrations on the older 212 ppi Kindles continue to suck.

Ah - yeah, that's probably true. I only read text, so it's never really bothered me.

coopasonic · Post by **coopasonic** » Wed Jul 15, 2015 12:04 pm

The only illustrations I see on my kindle are the ones from ads and I don't care how bad they look.

Fireball · Post by **Fireball** » Wed Jul 15, 2015 12:06 pm

Covenant72 wrote:If price isn't an issue, then the Voyage is the way to go. The addition of side buttons, improved screen, improved touch response, and improved auto adjusting light make it pure joy to use. It's pricey though... $200 for a single function device is a hard nut to swallow.

Agreed, it's great. I picked one up, using the excuse that I need a new Kindle to proof the file for my second novella.

Zaxxon · Post by **Zaxxon** » Wed Jul 15, 2015 12:07 pm

coopasonic wrote:The only illustrations I see on my kindle are the ones from ads and I don't care how bad they look.

Opening a map in, say, ASoIaF or WoT is an exercise in frustration.

stessier · Post by **stessier** » Wed Jul 15, 2015 12:16 pm

Zaxxon wrote:
coopasonic wrote:The only illustrations I see on my kindle are the ones from ads and I don't care how bad they look.
Opening a map in, say, ASoIaF or WoT is an exercise in frustration.

I just reference the mural I have painted on my study wall. Everybody has that, right?

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Wed Jul 15, 2015 1:25 pm

I just ordered myself a Fire HD 7 (4th gen, latest). I miss my HDX 7 but they don't make them any more. Can't go wrong for $99. I'll probably try to dual boot it, CM on one side and Amazon on the other.

McNutt · Post by **McNutt** » Wed Jul 15, 2015 2:11 pm

Do the new Fire HDs allow you to download movies and shows off of Prime (not ones you've paid for but all the other Prime stuff)? My HDX did that and that feature was great for travel.

TiLT · Post by **TiLT** » Wed Jul 15, 2015 5:06 pm

Unless you're really strapped for cash, there's no reason why you shouldn't pay a little bit extra for the new Paperwhite instead of the regular old Kindle that is starting to show its age. The difference between them is much larger than the small price gap might indicate.

I got the new Paperwhite almost two weeks ago, and I'm loving it. It's my first new Kindle in 5 years. My old one was comparable to the basic Kindle you can get right now, except that mine had a keyboard instead of touch.

LawBeefaroni · Post by **LawBeefaroni** » Wed Jul 15, 2015 5:13 pm

McNutt wrote:Do the new Fire HDs allow you to download movies and shows off of Prime (not ones you've paid for but all the other Prime stuff)? My HDX did that and that feature was great for travel.

While I'm loathe to get another kindle due to my experiences with the last two, it may be the best option for the kiddo right now. I checked and this is what it says for the HD 6 and 7:

Prime members can now download over half of our collection of Prime Instant Video movies and TV shows to Fire tablets. Watch downloaded videos anywhere—on a plane, on vacation, in the car, or wherever you don't have a wireless connection. Prime Instant Video is the only U.S. online video subscription streaming service that offers offline viewing, included at no additional cost.

So "over half" leads me to believe it is a limited selection that is downloadable, based on licensing.

McNutt · Post by **McNutt** » Wed Jul 15, 2015 6:03 pm

It's always been limited, but it seems to be growing in number lately. It's a great feature and I hope they do expand it to all Fire tablets.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 9:10 am

Kindle Paperwhite is $100 today ($20 off) and that seems like a really good deal. Almost makes me wish my old Kindle Keyboard was busted...but it's still going strong (5+ years). Regardless, I think all the Kindle units are on sale but I know the Paperwhite is highly-rated.

EDIT: Also - going back to the first page of this thread is hilarious.

Rumpy · Post by **Rumpy** » Mon Nov 30, 2015 10:26 pm

So, I have a 2nd Gen Kindle Keyboard 3G+Wifi and I think I must have had it for at least 5 years now. But lately, I've been finding that the battery hasn't been keeping charge as well. Recently I had it charged, used it for about 4 days while on a trip and it had been half depleated by then. It sat unused for a few weeks until a few days ago when I went to pick it up to read only to find the battery needing to be charged. It's been doing that a few times in the past. Talking to a friend, I hear it's pretty common as they age. So, I happened to mention this to my parents, who decided to get me a new Kindle for Christmas. Looks like I'm getting the Voyage as it's been bought tonight.

Zaxxon · Post by **Zaxxon** » Mon Nov 30, 2015 10:36 pm

Nice. I still love my first-gen Paperwhite, but am a little jealous.

hitbyambulance · Post by **hitbyambulance** » Mon Nov 30, 2015 11:01 pm

Rumpy wrote:So, I have a 2nd Gen Kindle Keyboard 3G+Wifi and I think I must have had it for at least 5 years now. But lately, I've been finding that the battery hasn't been keeping charge as well. Recently I had it charged, used it for about 4 days while on a trip and it had been half depleated by then. It sat unused for a few weeks until a few days ago when I went to pick it up to read only to find the battery needing to be charged. It's been doing that a few times in the past. Talking to a friend, I hear it's pretty common as they age. So, I happened to mention this to my parents, who decided to get me a new Kindle for Christmas. Looks like I'm getting the Voyage as it's been bought tonight.

i realize you're trying to justify the upgrade, but battery replacements are about $20 and takes about five minutes to swap out. it's not like it's broken...

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Kindle+2+B ... ment/14081

Smoove_B wrote:Kindle Paperwhite is $100 today ($20 off) and that seems like a really good deal. Almost makes me wish my old Kindle Keyboard was busted...but it's still going strong (5+ years). Regardless, I think all the Kindle units are on sale but I know the Paperwhite is highly-rated.

not directed at you, but i've seen people wishing their things were broken so they could get new things. i don't understand this wish for fragile products. just freakin' sell it and recoup a few $$.

Defiant · Post by **Defiant** » Mon Nov 30, 2015 11:27 pm

McNutt wrote:Do the new Fire HDs allow you to download movies and shows off of Prime (not ones you've paid for but all the other Prime stuff)? My HDX did that and that feature was great for travel.

They should, and, AFAIU, they also allow you to save them to the SD card, which gives more room to store them. OTOH, their resolution will be lower than that of your HDX (720P for the 8 and 10 and under that for the new 7 inch ones).

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Tue Dec 01, 2015 12:18 am

hitbyambulance wrote:not directed at you, but i've seen people wishing their things were broken so they could get new things. i don't understand this wish for fragile products. just freakin' sell it and recoup a few $$.

It's more of an observation. I'm not sure what the projected life cycle of the original Kindle units were but mine is still chugging at 5+ years so it's hard to justify buying a new one as it works perfectly fine as a surrogate bookshelf. This is in contrast to my iPhone 5 which I'm guessing has about a year left of life if I'm lucky. For reference, I'm driving a 13 year old car. Why? Because it works fine. No reason to replace it.

Rumpy · Post by **Rumpy** » Tue Dec 01, 2015 1:49 am

hitbyambulance wrote:
Rumpy wrote:So, I have a 2nd Gen Kindle Keyboard 3G+Wifi and I think I must have had it for at least 5 years now. But lately, I've been finding that the battery hasn't been keeping charge as well. Recently I had it charged, used it for about 4 days while on a trip and it had been half depleated by then. It sat unused for a few weeks until a few days ago when I went to pick it up to read only to find the battery needing to be charged. It's been doing that a few times in the past. Talking to a friend, I hear it's pretty common as they age. So, I happened to mention this to my parents, who decided to get me a new Kindle for Christmas. Looks like I'm getting the Voyage as it's been bought tonight.
i realize you're trying to justify the upgrade, but battery replacements are about $20 and takes about five minutes to swap out. it's not like it's broken...

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Kindle+2+B ... ment/14081

Hmm, thanks. Well, wish I had known ahead of time. If I had known it was that easy to swap out? I probably would have gone that route. Kind of feel silly now, though like I said this is a Christmas present. I might still try to cancel the order if there's still time.

Edit: And cancelled.

hitbyambulance · Post by **hitbyambulance** » Tue Dec 01, 2015 3:55 am

i'm not really into amazon (and i'm definitely not a J. Bezos fan), and i even much rather prefer reading real physical paper books to ebooks, but i can recognize that the Kindle e-reader line of devices are pretty good products. they're reasonably well-constructed and sorta user-serviceable. an e-reader is probably the one gadget i would rather not do without, and the free 3G data service clinches it for Kindle. when i thought i lost my second gen Kindle due to a stupid accident on my part, i immediately went out and purchased a third gen. (the original was found almost a year later, and i kept it and use both - that's how much i like these things.)

Rumpy · Post by **Rumpy** » Tue Dec 01, 2015 4:32 am

Oh yeah, definitely. I can't do without mine. Actually it's much better this way, so thanks for pointing it out. It's been very durable and seeing as I've been taking good care of it, it hasn't been beat up, so when my parents told me they were thinking of getting me a new one after I mentioned the battery issue, I really wanted to make sure it was a problem, as all in all, it's in good shape. I was really debating it, even before I pulled the trigger. Knowing that the battery can actually be easily replaced makes this a much easier decision. My parents have already had large expenses recently and with the Canadian dollar being rather low right now, it was rather expensive, so I'm sure they won't mind that the money can be used elsewhere.

Maybe in a few gens. I could perhaps see this lasting 10 years if I'm being optimistic. Part of it is I'm just so comfortable with this particular Kindle. Amazon really hit a sweet spot with the design of this kindle, and you see some things returning in the Voyage, like the physical presses for the page turns.

Reemul · Post by **Reemul** » Tue Dec 01, 2015 5:26 am

I have a 2nd Gen Keyboard version with the Kindle leather case+light and love it. The thing I like the most is the click buttons on the side allowing back and forth of the ages without touching the screen. It means I can hold it and turn pages without having to move my hands.

I really dislike the touch screen page turning, mine original second gen broke and I bought a newer one and ended up buying a second hand keyboard version to replace it again. However my battery is starting to bug out as well and replacing it sounds pretty simple however a Kindle Voyage also seems really nice, better resolution, back lit and page turning on the side and a lot smaller.

Maybe for Xmas if I am lucky but it cost £170 which is not cheap if it was closer to £100 I would be all over it.

Rumpy · Post by **Rumpy** » Tue Dec 01, 2015 1:30 pm

Yeah, that's the same one plus the lighted cover that I have. And like I said, it was a sweetspot of design, because they did so many things right with it. The keyboard may be clunky, and it may be a little slow to do some things, but I still love mine. Until replacing the battery was mentioned, I was actually kind of feeling sad about having to leave this one behind. And seeing as how inexpensive battery kits are ($8-$12), I just can't justify the expense now. Even if I were getting a new one, I don't think I would go with the most expensive one. Just made me think a bit.

Hypnotoad · Post by **Hypnotoad** » Tue Dec 01, 2015 2:23 pm

I'm interested to know why so many dislike page turning with a touch screen. Why is a little tap on the screen so much worse than pushing a button?

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Tue Dec 01, 2015 2:29 pm

For me it's how the device rests in my hand. With my old-school Kindle two, it's nestled in my palm and I can just squeeze the page turn button with my thumb; it's effortless.

Reemul · Post by **Reemul** » Tue Dec 01, 2015 2:30 pm

Hypnotoad wrote:I'm interested to know why so many dislike page turning with a touch screen. Why is a little tap on the screen so much worse than pushing a button?

Because I can lie in my bed on my right side holding the kindle in my left hand with my finger resting on the page turn button, the covers up to my chin and turn pages with nothing more than a muscle twitch unlike having to physically move a finger to touch the screen instead.

Sounds like a stupid reason but having had a touchscreen version and having to do this over and over just got on my nerves and meant I ended up shifting around all the time.

rshetts2 · Post by **rshetts2** » Tue Dec 01, 2015 4:11 pm

Reemul wrote:
Hypnotoad wrote:I'm interested to know why so many dislike page turning with a touch screen. Why is a little tap on the screen so much worse than pushing a button?
Because I can lie in my bed on my right side holding the kindle in my left hand with my finger resting on the page turn button, the covers up to my chin and turn pages with nothing more than a muscle twitch unlike having to physically move a finger to touch the screen instead.

Sounds like a stupid reason but having had a touchscreen version and having to do this over and over just got on my nerves and meant I ended up shifting around all the time.

Way back in the day, we we wanted to read, we had to pick up this heavy brick like object made of leather and paper. We could only use this object in a very well lit room and when we were finished reading a page we had physically grasp the paper with our hands and forcibly flip it. Up hill, in the snow both ways!

I just got my $35 Fire today. Nice little unit for a helluva price. The tech beastie in me wanted to spring for the 10" version but honestly Im only going to use it as an e-reader for the most part so it would have been wasted money. This will do the job for me.

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Tue Dec 01, 2015 4:47 pm

rshetts2 wrote:Way back in the day, we we wanted to read, we had to pick up this heavy brick like object made of leather and paper. We could only use this object in a very well lit room and when we were finished reading a page we had physically grasp the paper with our hands and forcibly flip it. Up hill, in the snow both ways!

I've bought a couple of physical books in the past year. One because the print edition was really cool, the other because the hardcover was cheaper than the Kindle version.

In both cases, I never finished reading them because it was such a pain in the ass. And I'm not actually joking.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Tue Dec 01, 2015 4:57 pm

YellowKing wrote:In both cases, I never finished reading them because it was such a pain in the ass. And I'm not actually joking.

Yeah, I feel bad because I still have extended family members that give me hard copy books for Xmas. It feels like a chore to read them - not something I ever thought I'd feel or say. Crazy!

Zaxxon · Post by **Zaxxon** » Tue Dec 01, 2015 5:11 pm

Yup. I'm the same way. We need our 4 oz, 800 ppi, 10", color e-ink Kindle stat so we can put this nonsense to rest for good and retire all dead-tree books.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Tue Dec 01, 2015 5:20 pm

I only buy used books from thrift stores and used bookstores. And only if I find them worth reading and I probably won't' get them any cheaper online.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Tue Dec 01, 2015 5:22 pm

Just make sure you have some way to charge up your Kindle for when the apocalypse comes and you have time enough at last!

Maybe someone needs to rewrite that story for 2025?

hitbyambulance · Post by **hitbyambulance** » Tue Dec 01, 2015 5:32 pm

i actually like handling real books. it's hard to explain, other than i like feeling i'm contributing to the wear of the physical object? not to say i'm hard on them, though.

rshetts2 · Post by **rshetts2** » Tue Dec 01, 2015 5:50 pm

Smoove_B wrote:
YellowKing wrote:In both cases, I never finished reading them because it was such a pain in the ass. And I'm not actually joking.
Yeah, I feel bad because I still have extended family members that give me hard copy books for Xmas. It feels like a chore to read them - not something I ever thought I'd feel or say. Crazy!

Im the same way. Once I got an e-reader, paper because cumbersome and obsolete. Ive tried reading paper books and I just prefer the ease and simplicity of an e-reader now.

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Tue Dec 01, 2015 10:14 pm

The biggest thing I miss about physical books is going to the bookstore and looking at the covers, picking them up, reading the blurbs, etc. Shopping for books online is just not much fun. There was a time when the only good way to know if a book was good or not was to read it, or trust the comments printed inside. I'd spend an hour or two in the bookstore just browsing around. Now it takes under a minute to look up a couple of reviews and buy whatever you want.

On the other hand, that convenience has allowed me to continue reading voraciously even with a house full of kids. If I didn't have that, I doubt I'd read much at all anymore.

Zaxxon · Post by **Zaxxon** » Tue Dec 01, 2015 10:17 pm

Om with you on all that. Although the upside is I find a book I want and I'm reading it 45 seconds later without exiting the toile^Z^Zhouse.

Rumpy · Post by **Rumpy** » Tue Dec 01, 2015 10:24 pm

I still sometimes browse books at the bookstore, make notes of what interests me and later buy them on the Kindle. But yeah, I do really love the convenience of it being instantaneous. There have only been a few misfires where the cover made me interested but the writing let me down after buying them. Sometimes I love a concept but the writing structure just isn't there.

gilraen · Post by **gilraen** » Tue Dec 01, 2015 11:32 pm

There are certain books that I want in my collection (some in English, some in Russian) - usually hardcovers; but there are not that many of them.

I bought my first Kindle in 2008, when I started getting into different book series and realized that I had no room to store all the paperbacks I wanted to read. It was a 9.7" Kindle DX, at $489, the most expensive gadget I had owned to date. But I wanted a bigger screen and the DX version also had the ability to display PDF files without conversion (which was crucial, as it couldn't display Cyrillic alphabet otherwise; Kindles have come a long way since then).

A couple of years ago I bought a regular Kindle Keyboard on Ebay, just to have one that fit in my purse.

As tempting as it is to get a Paperwhite version, I just can't justify adding yet another gadget to my growing stable of toys

Matrix · Post by **Matrix** » Wed Dec 02, 2015 1:28 am

gilraen wrote:There are certain books that I want in my collection (some in English, some in Russian) - usually hardcovers; but there are not that many of them.

I bought my first Kindle in 2008, when I started getting into different book series and realized that I had no room to store all the paperbacks I wanted to read. It was a 9.7" Kindle DX, at $489, the most expensive gadget I had owned to date. But I wanted a bigger screen and the DX version also had the ability to display PDF files without conversion (which was crucial, as it couldn't display Cyrillic alphabet otherwise; Kindles have come a long way since then).

A couple of years ago I bought a regular Kindle Keyboard on Ebay, just to have one that fit in my purse.

As tempting as it is to get a Paperwhite version, I just can't justify adding yet another gadget to my growing stable of toys

Ohhh a fellow Russian on OO, good to know.