E-Book reader, anyone?
- Thread starter greg334
- Start date
I will be returning my Kindle Wi-Fi to the store to exchange it for a Kindle 3G Wi-Fi.
The 3G frees you from using your laptop or finding a Wi-Fi hotspot for content downloads. Having discovered the daily newspapes, blogs and news feeds that are available via Kindle, the automatic and continuous download capability that the 3G Kindle offers is something I want.
Note that it is now "my" Kindle. Diane will have her own Kindle 3G as soon as we can find a store that has one in stock.
We are learning that much of our laptop use was for reading. With Kindle now providing content, we expect a significant decline in our laptop use. I have already noticed a more disciplined and thoughtful reading experience.
The Kindle provides news and information without the links, videos, pop-ups and other distractions of a web page. Reading news and information on a Kindle is a more peaceful and focused experience. This peace comes at the price of paying for your content but it is a price I am willing to pay. It is nice to read something without having an army of marketing people behind the page who are capturing infomation about your online behavior and trying to direct your attention elsewhere.
We have also made use of the Whispersync, read-anywhere features. Once you buy a Kindle book or publication, you can read it on your Kindle, laptop or smart phone. With only one Kindle in the truck now, I read it while Diane read Kindle content on her laptop.
The 3G frees you from using your laptop or finding a Wi-Fi hotspot for content downloads. Having discovered the daily newspapes, blogs and news feeds that are available via Kindle, the automatic and continuous download capability that the 3G Kindle offers is something I want.
Note that it is now "my" Kindle. Diane will have her own Kindle 3G as soon as we can find a store that has one in stock.
We are learning that much of our laptop use was for reading. With Kindle now providing content, we expect a significant decline in our laptop use. I have already noticed a more disciplined and thoughtful reading experience.
The Kindle provides news and information without the links, videos, pop-ups and other distractions of a web page. Reading news and information on a Kindle is a more peaceful and focused experience. This peace comes at the price of paying for your content but it is a price I am willing to pay. It is nice to read something without having an army of marketing people behind the page who are capturing infomation about your online behavior and trying to direct your attention elsewhere.
We have also made use of the Whispersync, read-anywhere features. Once you buy a Kindle book or publication, you can read it on your Kindle, laptop or smart phone. With only one Kindle in the truck now, I read it while Diane read Kindle content on her laptop.
The new K3 will give many thousands of page turns between charges, especially if 3G is kept turned off except for a few minutes a day to get current downloads. At that rate it probably has to be recharged 15-18 times per year. If 3G is left on 24/7 then maybe a week on a charge.
Amazon says the device will go one month between charges with 3G or Wi-Fi turned off. If you use your computer to download content, it charges automatically while plugged in the USB port.
The charging cord is delightfully compact. One end plugs into the device. The other end plugs into your computer USB port. It comes with a compact AC plug to plug into a wall outlet. The USB end of the cord plugs into the other end of the AC plug. There is no brick between the ends of the charging cord or big block on one end. It is easy to use and easy to stow
I suppose you can leave the 3G or Wi-Fi on all the time but there would be no need. Just turn on 3G or Wi-Fi long enough to do your downloads. They don't take long. I downloaded the entire Bible in less than 60 seconds.
The cord is longer than most charging cords to make it easy to use the device and charge it at the same time. Charging does not take long. The unit I bought came from the store with a half charge on it. In less than an hour plugged in it was fully charged.
The charging cord is delightfully compact. One end plugs into the device. The other end plugs into your computer USB port. It comes with a compact AC plug to plug into a wall outlet. The USB end of the cord plugs into the other end of the AC plug. There is no brick between the ends of the charging cord or big block on one end. It is easy to use and easy to stow
I suppose you can leave the 3G or Wi-Fi on all the time but there would be no need. Just turn on 3G or Wi-Fi long enough to do your downloads. They don't take long. I downloaded the entire Bible in less than 60 seconds.
The cord is longer than most charging cords to make it easy to use the device and charge it at the same time. Charging does not take long. The unit I bought came from the store with a half charge on it. In less than an hour plugged in it was fully charged.
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dieseldiva
Veteran Expediter
Expanding on Phil's post about exchanging his Kindle for one that has both 3G and wifi.......if you don't have easy access to wifi, then the K3 with BOTH is the one for you. I was able to save a little and get the one with wifi only because we have wifi with us at all times.
Freightdawg
Expert Expediter
I bought a Kindle for my wife. She absolutely loves it! I was amazed at all the free books available.
This is a good tip. Thank you. We bought today a second Kindle Wi-Fi (not 3G) for Diane and I kept my Wi-Fi Kindle.
A Wi-Fi router can be purchased at Best Buy for $100. The price difference between the Wi-Fi Kindle and Wi-Fi/3G model is $50. The $100 we saved on two Wi-Fi Kindles paid for the router.
With the Wi-Fi router we can better network our two laptops (wireless) and provide a network on which our Kindles will work. The router will support future additions to our Wi-Fi network like a printer, wireless truck camera system, etc.
The router is compact enough to fit with a laptop in the same case so as long as we are with our laptops, which is almost always, we are with Wi-Fi for our Kindles.
dieseldiva
Veteran Expediter
Good for you! You came up with a far better way than just exchanging your original K3. We use Verizon's mifi for our signal and wouldn't be without it.
So readers (including me) may learn more, please explain, why wouldn't you be without it? And, how exactly do you have it set up in your truck?
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dieseldiva
Veteran Expediter
It's the replacement for our air card, which only services the computer that it's plugged in to. The mifi is not tethered to the computer, has it's own battery that lasts about two hours or will work while plugged into the regular wall socket and will service up to 5 devices.
We've canceled the internet at home and use the mifi when we're there as well.
Actually, it sounds like you've got basically the same thing with your wifi router but HERE'S the link to check it out if you'd like.
It is a Wi-Fi router into which you plug an air card. Both of our computers can then access that internet connection, as can both of our Kindles. I have not set it up yet but that's the theory. Importantly, the device is small, about the size of a smart phone.
After we sold our house in 2004, we never set up an at-home internet connection. Our air cards (his and hers) have always done the job. We need two air cards because we are heavy bandwidth users. The option remains to plug the air cards directly into our laptops. We bought the router to provide an always-available Wi-Fi hot spot for the Kindles.
After we sold our house in 2004, we never set up an at-home internet connection. Our air cards (his and hers) have always done the job. We need two air cards because we are heavy bandwidth users. The option remains to plug the air cards directly into our laptops. We bought the router to provide an always-available Wi-Fi hot spot for the Kindles.
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dieseldiva
Veteran Expediter
His and hers air cards sounds expensive but I understand the heavy bandwidth use. We lucked into being "grandfathered" in to unlimited data use with our mifi because we'd had our air card for so many years. If you're new to Verizon then you're offered different data plans at different prices.
Dakota
Veteran Expediter
It's not like me not to embrace new technology, but, what is wrong with a good old fashioned paperback? I really don't get the purpose of an E-reader.
Then again a couple years ago I didn't get texting and kept asking my Wife why not just call someone. Now I text everyone and barely call anyone. LOL
Then again a couple years ago I didn't get texting and kept asking my Wife why not just call someone. Now I text everyone and barely call anyone. LOL
One purpose of the ereader is space conservation. In the space of one Reader's Digest I have the complete works of Conan Doyle, Twain and Chesterton plus about 220 various novels and non-fiction plus National Review and Reader's Digest. The periodicals download automatically whenever I turn on the 3G. Obviously I wouldn't take that many books with me even when I was in the truck but it's nice to have everything along so that I can choose whatever to read. It also keeps track of just where I am so I never lose my place. Also, if I want to read while I eat it lays nicely on the table and takes a quick tap of the page turn button with my knuckle so no greasy fingerprints on the "book" and unlike a paperback it never snaps closed so you lose your place.
greg334
Veteran Expediter
E-Ink technology does not have back lighting because it is supposed to be like paper which uses a solid white back on the display. There are readers out there that use LCD technology which have back lights because the LCD technology changes the light path. There is one reader using LED technology that I know of in prototype form which is pretty nice but still not as good as the E-Ink ones. The E-Ink is easier on the eyes, LCD display takes some getting used to for close up reading and the LED display is a mix of the two but it seems not to dim as well as it should be.
As Leo said, space conservation is one benefit, as is picking up instantly where you left off.
Diane and I have his and her Kindles and the paper books are rapidly disappearing from our truck. A good-size cabinet that used to hold books will be nearly empty after we get home for Christmas. It is just too easy to use the Kindle.
Example: We are at a pick up and the shipper says it will be 30 minutes before the freight is ready.
Old Way: Think about what I might want to read and then overcome inertia to dig the book or magazine out of the sleeper to start reading it.
New Way: Pick up the lightweight Kindle which is never far from reach and then think about what you might read. Turn it on, press "Home" to see what all you have on it.
Maybe I feel like reading about business. Go to the magazine I subscribe to and it will open instantly to where I left off when I last looked at the magazine. If I feel instead like reading a little Sherlock Holmes, go to that book and the Kindle will again take me to exactly where I left off.
I don't look for books and magazines to read any more. I read my Kindle. Business topics, the classics, humor, the Bible...whatever my reading mood and interest at the time, it's on my Kindle.
Also note what has already been said in this thread. There are more free Kindle books available than you could read in a lifetime. Paperbacks cost money.