Anyone using a kindle?

Len Amaral · Post by **Len Amaral** » 27 Nov 2011 3:52 pm

I understand there are kindles with various options. Any advise is appreciated.

Lenny

Richard Sinkler · Post by **Richard Sinkler** » 27 Nov 2011 10:59 pm

I don't have an actual Kindle unit, but I downloaded the Kindle software that allows you to view Kindle books on your PC (or Mac). It's great when you want a book and don't want to have to wait for the book to be shipped. Remember when you used to be able to go to your local bookstore and buy books? No more. The Kindle versions cost less, sometimes close to $10 less than a hard copy of the book. You can use the book on more than one computer. I have it on my desktop and my laptop. The only downside is, I like to read in bed, and it's a pain, even with a laptop. I considered getting the Kindle, but I think I would have trouble reading the small screen. Try the PC software and see if you like the format first. They give you a few free books and the software doesn't cost anything. I like it so far. You can highlight passages in the book, just like with a yellow highlighter pen, and it will keep an index of all your highlights. You can add comments and it will track those. It remembers the last page you were reading, and starts there when you open the book back up. It's really pretty cool. If I was to get a Kindle unit, I would probably opt for the touch screen one with 3G capability. That way, you don't have to find a Wifi spot to download a book. You can do it pretty much anywhere. And the 3G service is free, paid for by Amazon.

Andy Sandoval · Post by **Andy Sandoval** » 28 Nov 2011 12:32 am

Richard Sinkler wrote:I considered getting the Kindle, but I think I would have trouble reading the small screen.

Richard, you can change the font size to make it easier to read. My wife has one and uses it to read in bed and she loves it.

Len Amaral · Post by **Len Amaral** » 28 Nov 2011 6:53 am

Hey guys, thanks for the info and there are sales at several locations and it looks like a good Christmas gift for the wife and myself. Technology seems to be wonderful on this item and the price is friendly.

Thanks, again,

Lenny

Dana Blodgett · Post by **Dana Blodgett** » 28 Nov 2011 11:43 am

My wife has the basic one and She loves it and so do I, I like the fact that you can adjust the font size.I guess they will hold something like 10,000 books! I seem to be able to read faster with one. They are small and lightweight. A friend has the advanced version where you can check E-Mail. surf the web etc. but costs more. A good gift I think.

Cal Sharp · Post by **Cal Sharp** » 28 Nov 2011 2:15 pm

Be aware that Kindle reads ebooks formatted as mobi files, but doesn't support epub formatting. But there's free software that you can use to convert epub to mobi.

Richard Sinkler · Post by **Richard Sinkler** » 28 Nov 2011 7:42 pm

Cal, can you explain?

Cal Sharp · Post by **Cal Sharp** » 28 Nov 2011 8:00 pm

Sure. When you get an ebook from Amazon for a Kindle it's in mobi (mobipocket) format. Like The Beast From the Back of the Bus, for instance. You can't read it on an iPod, because iPod's read epub format. You can use Calibre to reformat an ebook. http://calibre-ebook.com/ There are other formats, and other readers, too. The ebook industry is fairly new, and has some competing formats.

I do ebook formatting, as well as covers, and it's really confusing.

Chris Dorch · Post by **Chris Dorch** » 29 Nov 2011 4:34 pm

You can generally get many publications now from your local lie-berry in PDF format which is supported by all readers...

Check with your local library to see which they support...

Richard Sinkler · Post by **Richard Sinkler** » 29 Nov 2011 6:03 pm

Dang. That Calibre program is really cool. That demo video was top notch. I wish others would follow his example. I can't believe the program is free. If I start using it. I will definitely send a donation.

I don't see myself buying a Kindle in the near future, as I really don't read anywhere outside of my home. That could change though. I still have concerns as to the size of the screen and my eyesite (even with glasses). I know you can increase font size (I had to do that on my 22" computer screen already), but it may get to the point where there are only 4 words per line which would probably aggravate me because of all the scrolling I would have to do. I guess going to Best Buy or somewhere local to check it out would be the best. My laptop works great with the Kindle software and I can see it real well. Of course, the Kindle would be more comfortable when reading in bed.

Cal Sharp · Post by **Cal Sharp** » 29 Nov 2011 10:44 pm

I read ebooks on an iPod Touch, and it's great. In bed, at a restaurant, in a line at the grocery store, during TV commercials, on an airplane, on breaks at a gig, on that desert island I was marooned on once... Also on a computer; I've got the audio version of the new Steve Jobs biography. It's real good in a car for listening to podcasts, or my shuffle playlist on the way to a gig. I play Freecell a lot on it, too. And very handy for learning songs. Would be awesome if I still worked the road.

Walter Killam · Post by **Walter Killam** » 1 Dec 2011 6:59 am

I've had mine for over a year now, and can't imagine being without it. The killer app for me is being able to download books that I would never find at a bookstore anytime I want. The battery life is great, and the screen is very easy to read. I have no interest in the new "Fire" version, I don't want to surf or watch movies.

There are plenty of sources besides Amazon for content, I've been catching up on the classics I missed at http://www.gutenberg.org/.

My kindle connects to my PC just like a USB Drive, and I have used it in the past to move files that had nothing to do with kindle content.

I haven't really used the included MP3 player, but it's there if I want it

They also have 2 services for mobi conversion where you email a copy of what you want on the Kindle to your account and they convert and transmit back to the reader. The fast one cost 10 cents the last time I used it, and the slow one (took 45 minutes to process) is free.

It's sad to see Bookstores going out of business, but they never really carried much of what I was looking for any way, and their hours generally didn't match up to mine.

Chippy Wood · Post by **Chippy Wood** » 4 Dec 2011 4:47 pm

As well as reading books on mine I have my favourite audio books,a real pleasure when the eyes are not functioning too well, yes you can enlarge text to suit personal requirements. I found it especially useful when i had to spend time in hospital ***** I recommend them.

Diane Diekman · Post by **Diane Diekman** » 5 Dec 2011 5:32 am

I posted my two memoirs, "A Farm in the Hidewood" and "Navy Greenshirt" as Kindle downloads. It's easy to do and brings in a few dollars. I also posted "Live Fast, Love Hard: The Faron Young Story" after waiting two years for my publisher who never did it. One copy sold immediately, before the publisher made me remove it for copyright violation. There's a lot of opportunity wasted by not having that available as an ebook.

Cal Sharp · Post by **Cal Sharp** » 5 Dec 2011 12:28 pm

I put some charts on an iPod once and kept it on my keyhead, and that was pretty cool, but I never did figure out a way to find the one I wanted quickly. There's probably "an app for that" by now.

Richard Sinkler · Post by **Richard Sinkler** » 5 Dec 2011 9:28 pm

If and when finances get a little better, I may have to bite the bullet and get a Kindle. I have purchased about a half dozen books so far and read them mostly on my laptop. It is so nice to get a book NOW and at a considerably lower price. A Kindle would sure beat having to take the laptop into the bathroom to read (though I have done it)

b0b · Post by **b0b** » 6 Dec 2011 10:13 pm

I have a Kindle. I subscribe to our local morning newspaper on it, so I use it almost every day. I like the "liquid paper" idea - a screen that doesn't assault your eyes.

I also have the Kindle app for iPod Touch, which is smaller and in color, but it doesn't have as much text on a page. I can download my newspaper to that if I want to, but I usually just stick with the Kindle device.

Bo Borland · Post by **Bo Borland** » 23 Dec 2011 8:47 pm

I bought one for my wife for Christmas, her mother also bought one for her. It's the new Kindle Fire.. about $200 from Amazon. Think of it like a small laptop with external memory and no fee to access the web.
I charged it up, connected it my home wireless network and started checking it out..

My wife signed up for Amazon prime so TV shows, movies..books ..all free

You can upload your charts, music, tracks, photos etc to the cloud.. and access from anywhere there is a WIFI.
I haven't tried to save doc files to it yet.

I was concerned about accessing my email or the local paper but there are apps for it.. a free email app for accessing multiple accounts.

Cal, for charts.. it's like taking a laptop with you. Save files move them to the kindle in a folder page through the file..

Except for not having a camera and a phone.. it's awesome.

Stu Schulman · Post by **Stu Schulman** » 26 Jan 2012 7:58 am

I bought my friend Jeanene one for Christmas,I'm not allowed near it,she loves it?

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 26 Jan 2012 10:10 am

I have a Kindle 3G. I love it. I read 3 times as many books now. Great for reading novels, bios, text books, poetry, philosophy, etc. I just finished reading Cal Sharp's book on it.

Ray Minich · Post by **Ray Minich** » 3 Mar 2012 6:53 am

Just finished all 1100+ pages of Atlas Shrugged using a Kindle Fire. Neat.

A little testy for engineering, science and medical books, but for mostly text publications it's the greatest.

Tony Glassman · Post by **Tony Glassman** » 3 Mar 2012 8:10 am

Cal Sharp wrote:I put some charts on an iPod once and kept it on my keyhead, and that was pretty cool, but I never did figure out a way to find the one I wanted quickly. There's probably "an app for that" by now.

Cal,

There's an iPhone app called "Set List Maker" which allows you to catalog all your tunes and make set lists from them. Each song has a screen where you can make a "Nashville Number chart" that shows up when you select the song from the set.

I programmed in swing, bluegrass and Celtic standards that are in the repertoire of a band I gig with only 2-3 times per year. I set the phone on my C6th key-head and I'm good to go. No paper shuffling and it is back-lit.

BTW, I red "Beast From the Back of the Bus"on an iPad/Kindle app. Both the iTune and Kindle apps let you search words in the text (people, words, places) on the internet. It comes in very handy......(e.g. I was reading a book about Caesar's invasion of Alexandria Egypt. I was able to Google maps of both his route and the city layout).

HowardR · Post by **HowardR** » 12 Mar 2012 12:01 pm

I live on a barrier island 65% of the time....I travel back & forth from NYC to Fire Island and have to take a ferry to get there (no cars).....from Nov to April there are only about 150 people there and the few stores that are there are closed.....so I have to pack in with food and supplies.....carrying multiple books is out of the question as well as there being no newspapers....

The Kindle is the best thing (for me) since sliced bread.....I have all of my books and newspaper delivery all on this little device.....I can't imagine ever being without it....

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