E-Reader?

Bed & Breakfast / Short Term Rental Host Forum

Help Support Bed & Breakfast / Short Term Rental Host Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Madeleine

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 29, 2011
Messages
7,990
Reaction score
1
It's that time of year again (my birthday) and I'm looking at e-readers. If you have one, why do you like it? What would you like that you don't have? This is essentially what I want to do: read books and newspapers, connect to the internet for a dictionary or source material. I need WiFi or 3G so I don't have to download from my computer to the device.
What I don't know: is there a monthly fee for internet access or do I just use my own WiFi network? Am I limited in where I can get books based on what reader I buy? Can a reader be used for video chat?
I swore I wouldn't get one because I would spend all my money! Then I got a Sunday NYT and read the Book Reviews and I want one! I want to be able to read these books and my library is too small for everything I want them to buy!
 
I have a Kindle Fire. It connects to the Internet when you have WiFi available (any McD, library, and many of the restaurants are starting to offer it FREE) including your own. You NEED WiFi to connect to the Ama zon to download books (my Library has ebooks available for as long as 21 days and then can usually renew if needed - and they go thru Ama zon for the downloads).
I like it because when traveling I can check e-mails, add reservations or check them (RezKey), anything I can do on say a Library computer. I can read this Forum but I have not been able to get the keyboard to let me post from it. It is probably just me not knowing how to do it. I really like it. It was $199 and I spent another $30 for a travel case for it - advised by a friend who knows how clumsy I am. That was a smart move since I HAVE of course dropped it.
No monthly fee for use of it. No fines because at the end of the loan, it just disappears.
 
Google Nexus, the size is perfect, lightweight and it does everything. I have both the Kindle and the Kobo reader installed.
 
I have a kindle and love it - you can however only use amazon to buy books however the range of cheap (ie $0.99 cents) or free books is huge and anything more than 100 years is out of copywrite and free (ie dickens, bronte, austin) you can download anywhere there is wifi and its straight on your kindle.
DH - despite my clear instructions bought me a sony one - to be honest barely use it (ie not in 6 months) its a right pain - you have to download the book to your computer and then across to the reader just don't have the patience in relation to the kindle which I press buy and its straight on.
 
I have a Kindle as well. It's a basic b&w model from about 18 months ago, and I LOVE it. It doesn't do as much as some of the newer/flashier models, but I wanted it to use for books and I adore it for that. It's great being able to have a couple hundred (it holds thousands - but I just have 150 or so) in my hands. Like you, my novel library was getting out of hand - let's face it, it has been for years - and I like this as a way to be able to read what I want without having to worry about space issues.
Now, if I want to upgrade to a new model of Kindle, that's not a problem - the new model will synch all my previous purchases onto it.
 
I have an old Kindle..with 3 g. It's fine, but since I got my Samsung Galaxy Tablet, I read most of my stuff on it. Bigger and easier to read but it is heavier. The new Kindle HD looks pretty good, but I would seriously consider the new Google one. Though the new Galaxy note has a cool double screen feature and you can write on it with the stylus. Gets good reviews and you can use it for so many other things. I have WORD and EXCEL on it and I even edit some web sites from it for easier things.
 
I have a Kindle as well. It's a basic b&w model from about 18 months ago, and I LOVE it. It doesn't do as much as some of the newer/flashier models, but I wanted it to use for books and I adore it for that. It's great being able to have a couple hundred (it holds thousands - but I just have 150 or so) in my hands. Like you, my novel library was getting out of hand - let's face it, it has been for years - and I like this as a way to be able to read what I want without having to worry about space issues.
Now, if I want to upgrade to a new model of Kindle, that's not a problem - the new model will synch all my previous purchases onto it..
It has just been my DH's birthday so have bought him a Kindle Fire tablet so will report back how he gets on with it - it comes out on the 26th of October ie does all the things kindle does plus is a HD tablet.
 
I bought the Boss a Kobo last year. I like it because it is open source and a bit more flexible from what I read. If you are going to read only get the e-ink versions. Easier on the eyes, little glare, can read in bright areas, lighter in weight and better battery life. Down to $99.00 in Canada. You can get books from the local library here too.
Happy reading!
BBBBob
 
Next question...are the books downloaded on the device or are they stored online? ie- will I run out of space on the device?!
 
Google Nexus, the size is perfect, lightweight and it does everything. I have both the Kindle and the Kobo reader installed..
Eric Arthur Blair said:
Google Nexus, the size is perfect, lightweight and it does everything. I have both the Kindle and the Kobo reader installed.
So, I can get library books that use the Kindle reader if I get the Google Nexus?
 
Thanks all for the responses! I don't even have a cellphone so getting any kind of gadget is a trial. I'd love a tablet computer but cannot justify the expense.
 
Next question...are the books downloaded on the device or are they stored online? ie- will I run out of space on the device?!.
They are stored on the device, but very small. If you are buying from Kobo or Amazon, you can redownload them. Or you can use a program like Calibre to store them and sort them on your PC so that you can read them when you want and reload them.
If you are interested in the Nexus, it's $199, but wait until the 29th of October, they are likely to announce more memory for the same price. And you can deduct it as a business expense, because you can use it to show guests maps and stuff.
 
Next question...are the books downloaded on the device or are they stored online? ie- will I run out of space on the device?!.
with the kindle device with the smallest memory you get 10,000 book's space so you decide how quickly you will run out of space. However it is handy to have everything backed up with amazon ie say your kindle got stolen or broke or even you bought a more updated model in 4 years time - then you could simply redownload to your new device and it would cost you nothing.
 
Next question...are the books downloaded on the device or are they stored online? ie- will I run out of space on the device?!.
They are stored on the device, but very small. If you are buying from Kobo or Amazon, you can redownload them. Or you can use a program like Calibre to store them and sort them on your PC so that you can read them when you want and reload them.
If you are interested in the Nexus, it's $199, but wait until the 29th of October, they are likely to announce more memory for the same price. And you can deduct it as a business expense, because you can use it to show guests maps and stuff.
.
I'm thinking of waiting for the 3G version. Then I can use it in the car, too.
 
Next question...are the books downloaded on the device or are they stored online? ie- will I run out of space on the device?!.
They are stored on the device, but very small. If you are buying from Kobo or Amazon, you can redownload them. Or you can use a program like Calibre to store them and sort them on your PC so that you can read them when you want and reload them.
If you are interested in the Nexus, it's $199, but wait until the 29th of October, they are likely to announce more memory for the same price. And you can deduct it as a business expense, because you can use it to show guests maps and stuff.
.
I'm thinking of waiting for the 3G version. Then I can use it in the car, too.
.
If I remember correctly you can get limited 3g service for free with kindle, but if you want to use 3g to check email you have to pick out a provider and pay a monthly service fee.
 
It comes down to price, memory, size of display, and what else do you want to use a "tablet" type device for. I bought my dh an Android tablet for his birthday in August. It's probably overkill for what he's been using it for, since he still uses his desktop PC for most communication apps. The cost was around $500 with the service plan (it's quite comparable to the i Pad in size and available apps, etc.).
What I love about these tablet devices...portability. I use a laptop almost exclusively, but having a tablet is fantastic for travel and portability. But, I also have a smartphone for email and other data apps.
Have read some reviews recently about the new family of Kindle Fire e-readers and am hoping that I will get one for my birthday or the holidays.
regular_smile.gif
The price point is significantly less and I don't need all the other bells and whistles in the more expensive tablets.
Books are downloaded to your device. You can use most tablet & e-reader devices on WiFi networks for checking email, etc. Connectivity plans are still very expensive to my mind for tablets.
 
DH's Kindle Fire arrived yesterday (and I said I would report back) - its the same size as a kindle and very light. Easy to use and links up to your amazon account so anything you have already bought is linked up ie you don't need to rebuy anything. Only thing I would say is find when you need to type and it pops up with the mini touch screen keyboard I personally find the keys a little small - on the Ipad they are bigger. But it depends on how much typing with it you intend to do. Also like the way it keeps your popular web sites on a flick through scrole ie you simply run your finger across till you find where you want to be. It also does the same with all your books with symbols of the covers. Battery life also seems good but would definately recommend some kind of cover.
 
Back
Top