Help me make a decision: E-readers

[Chickerdoodle13]

Hey guys! I'm back for some advice.

I started a new job which can sometimes (not THAT often, but occasionally) have some downtime. I've been resistant to buying an e-reader for some time because I really enjoy the feeling of real books. However, it is difficult to carry around so many books, especially hard covers and especially when I am nearing the end of one book and don't want to be caught without another to start. I've been looking around at some different types of e-readers and I like the look of the Kindle Fire. The price is very good and it seems to have a lot of extra things like the capability to have apps to fool around with. I do wish it came with 3G internet though...

Which E-reader would you recommend? If you have the Kindle Fire, how do you find the battery life to be? I will be sitting in an ambulance during my downtime, so I either need something with good battery life or sometime I can plug into the cigarette lighter. Is the screen easy to read or does it hurt your eyes? There are some other kindle options which do come with 3G internet, but they don't seem to have all the extras that the Kindle Fire does.

Thanks in advance for your opinions!

 

[ASweetHeart]

I have a kindle w. wifi and love it. It's easy to use, and the screen is easy to read. I rarely have to charge. Frequency varies, the battery life is longer if I shut the wireless off.

The customer service is great, too. The screen went on mine in August. I went into a chat with a a rep. The next day I had a brand new replacement in my hands. Now I did have to return the broken one, but they sent the new one up front so that I wouldn't have to be without.

Biggest con I find is while I can get online and browse any site, its slow as can be and can/will freeze up. This seems to happen with non-amazon sites.

 

[True Grit]

I got a new regular Kindle for Christmas. My DH didn't get the Fire because it is larger and for travel he figured smaller was better. I don't have a lot of experience with it yet other than downloading and reading some freebies but I wanted to recommend the case he also bot me for it which enables me to hold it like it was a book. The kindle goes in the right side and the left hand side also has an elasticized strap that you can slip your hand into to hold the "book" in one hand. It's a very comfortable accessory.

 

[Nitrous]

I have read tons of books on my Android smartphone. The Kindle app is free and you can transfer the books to a Kindle, if you ever buy one. Oddly, I really love it and read more on my phone than with books. And I'm a book person!

 

[HEChicken]

I got the Kindle 3G and really recommend it if what you are primarily looking for is an e-reader. I originally started out thinking I was going to get the Fire but the more I looked into it, the more it seems like it is set up to try to compete with an iPad more than be an e-reader. It was larger and heavier and has a different type of screen so my understanding (having not ever actually used one) is that the eInk display is not as good because what it is mainly designed for is movies, photos etc.

I got the Kindle 3 with keyboard and the eInk display is really fantastic. You can read it in almost any light and even outdoors which I'm told is not so possible with the Fire.

Also, just a hint....there are many, MANY books available for free for the Kindle. I knew I was getting the Kindle for Christmas so I ordered around 30 books to be downloaded, all for free. Some are recipe books but mostly they are novels. On Christmas morning I turned it on and it went zap, zap, zap (literally 1-3 seconds per book) and there they all were. I was pretty impressed. I'm now up to about 70 books and I have yet to pay for a single one of them. I've used the recipe books several times (love the search feature as I can just search on a keyword and it takes me right to the page the recipe is on) and completed 7-8 full length books. Why are they free? Well, different reasons. In some cases they are new authors trying to get a toehold. The first book I read was the first of around 20 books already published by the author. They are hoping that I enjoyed it enough to want to buy some of the others by the same author. The book I just finished yesterday is the first of a Trilogy. Because the book ended with loose strings, and it was a well written book, I think I probably will buy the 2nd and 3rd when they come out (Book 2 scheduled for release April 2012). Anyway, keep that in mind when purchasing - to look at the lists of free books available.

 

[woodmort]

Our whole family has one or the other kind of Kindle--DX, Fire, Touch and $79 one. If you have access to wifi the ones without the 3G access are great. If you don't have wifi then you'll have to be in an area where it exists to get downloaded books--we have it at home so no problem. I have the DX with 3-G and find it downloads books faster than my DW's Fire which has just wifi. On the other hand both my grandkids(13 years old) have the $79 ones and love them. My older daughter has the Touch and wouldn't be without it. The only advantage of the Fire is that you can get color which allows magazines and other apps--i.e. Angry Birds--if you are just interested in reading then stay with the cheaper versions. BTW, I also have an iPad2 that has the Kindle app--I never use it for books, iTunes books are more expensive and not as extensive.

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

Thanks for the suggestions guys!

I do have wifi at home so that shouldn't be a problem. I guess with the fire my biggest concern is screen readability and battery life. I do like that it is in color and also that the screen is backlit.

I still may go with one of the others that has 3G. It looks like those are better for reading.

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

I was given a Sony EReader a few years ago and enjoyed it. It was easy to read and hold. The downside is that it was harder to get free books for it. You had to buy them through certain bookstores. As I am an Amazon nerd, I finally broke down and bought a Kindle right after Christmas.
I got the basic model ($79) and love it. All I want to do on it is read and I have ready access to wi-fi. If you can't get wi-fi get the version with 3G. My mother has that one and has really enjoyed it. My sister has the one with the keyboard. If all you are doing is reading, then you don't really want that one. It makes the unit heavier and harder to hold. The Fire is great if you want color, but it is expensive.

Really, if all you want to do on it is read, go for the cheapest one. There are a TON of free books on Amazon. If you like the classics, you can get a ton of free books off www.gutenberg.org. In many areas you can "borrow" free books from the local library. I just figured out how to do that and love it.

I love holding a real book in my hand and turning the pages. I like the feel and the smell and the whole process. But the Kindle is a great alternative for those times when you don't want to haul books around with you. It is small and lightweight and you can cram a lot of books in it. It is great for traveling or for situations like yours. I still buy real books, but I tend to borrow them for free first to make sure that I love them. Then I go buy the ones I like best for my real library.

Edited to add- Dad has the Touch. He has since said that he should have just gotten the basic model. The touch can be somewhat moody. It wasn't worth the extra money he spent.

 

[redhen]

I have a nook and a kindle fire..
I really like them both, but maybe my kindle a bit more becausei found several sites on fb that give you tons of free books daily...good books too.
Actually posting from my kindle now..

 

[SassyKat6181]

I got the Kindle Touch for Christmas and love it. The E-ink is amazing, and choosing the size font you prefer really makes it nice. I got the Marware leather holder for it and it's really easy and comfortable to hold. I've read 5 books already. I looked into the Kindle Fire, but heard that the text display wasn't nearly as nice and that the battery didn't last long either. I haven't had to charge my Touch yet. I also turn the WiFi off when I am not downloading books. My husband is the typical "real book" kind of guy and when he took a look at my new Kindle, it was love at first sight....lol. I have also found it easy to go on the Amazon website with my laptop and choose books to be sent to my Kindle. This way, as soon as I turn it on, the books start downloading. I find searching for books on the Kindle to be a little more time consuming. Hope this helps. You can also do a google search for Kindle reviews....this is what I did. OH....the only downside I have seen in the Kindle Touch is that the screen is not backlit, so you have to have the light on to read.