Kindle

I saw one yesterday and was impressed. Rather than buying one on impulse which is what I would normally do I thought I would ask for some input.

Is a kindle a subset of tablets? What is the difference? What do you recommend? What are the choices?

I did try to do some research but the information highway ran me over and my brain imploded.

I have both kindle and a tablet, to me they are not interchangeable. My kindle is a book, any book, it's for reading, period. The tablet is for everything else. Reading on a Kindle, at least the original ones that are not back lit, is like reading a book, easy on the eyes, no glare, usable in bright sun light, but does need a book light to read in the dark. I can read my same kindle books on the tablet, or the computer, or a cell phone, but i rarely do. It's just not as comfortable or as enjoyable.

I don't know anyone with a Kindle who doesn't prefer reading on it to reading on a back lit device. E-ink looks and reads like a book. The only thing I miss from "real" books is the ability to flip back through pages scanning for something I want to re read quickly, i can do it on the kindle, but not as easily. I'm getting better at book marking things as I read that I might want to check later. But that is a small thing compared to having my whole library with me wherever i go.

Do you keep both with you? The one my Son-in-law showed me has a browser and seems to me to be a very capable smart phone or a very small computer. I like the functions my phone has but am not a skilled thumb typist. The size of the Kindle touch pad is more to my liking.

archer wrote: I have both kindle and a tablet, to me they are not interchangeable. My kindle is a book, any book, it's for reading, period. The tablet is for everything else. Reading on a Kindle, at least the original ones that are not back lit, is like reading a book, easy on the eyes, no glare, usable in bright sun light, but does need a book light to read in the dark. I can read my same kindle books on the tablet, or the computer, or a cell phone, but i rarely do. It's just not as comfortable or as enjoyable.

I don't know anyone with a Kindle who doesn't prefer reading on it to reading on a back lit device. E-ink looks and reads like a book. The only thing I miss from "real" books is the ability to flip back through pages scanning for something I want to re read quickly, i can do it on the kindle, but not as easily. I'm getting better at book marking things as I read that I might want to check later. But that is a small thing compared to having my whole library with me wherever i go.

I only carry my smart phone with me.... It is capable of doing everything I need on the road, unless I'm on a trip, then they all go with me. Most reading I do at home, and use the kindle. I got the tablet also to use at home, it's just more convenient than a laptop, and I can use it hooked to the TV in AZ for Bronco games that are only broadcast in the Denver market....I love dish anywhere!. But for reading, it's the kindle. We're you looking at the kindle fire? My daughter has one she uses to watch movies in the ambulance, and for Web browsing, but isn't that back lit? If you don't read much outside in the sunlight the fire is pretty slick, but lacks the apps that Android or the Ipad have. It's all in how you plan to use it. And, of course how much you want to pay. Any tablet can use the kindle app for free.

archer wrote: I only carry my smart phone with me.... It is capable of doing everything I need on the road, unless I'm on a trip, then they all go with me. Most reading I do at home, and use the kindle. I got the tablet also to use at home, it's just more convenient than a laptop, and I can use it hooked to the TV in AZ for Bronco games that are only broadcast in the Denver market....I love dish anywhere!. But for reading, it's the kindle. We're you looking at the kindle fire? My daughter has one she uses to watch movies in the ambulance, and for Web browsing, but isn't that back lit? If you don't read much outside in the sunlight the fire is pretty slick, but lacks the apps that Android or the Ipad have. It's all in how you plan to use it. And, of course how much you want to pay. Any tablet can use the kindle app for free.

Kindle is an app? I looked up Kindle and there are at least 7 variants. I do not know what I will get yet. I like the idea of bells and whistles as long as they do not drain the power too fast. My phone GPS navigation is a marvel but on battery it only last abt 60 minutes.

Many Kindle's are for just reading but a Kindle Fire can do much more.
Personally.....I prefer the tablet. You can download a Kindle App with either android or IPAD and read your books on it.
A tablet is much more versatile than a Kindle in that you have a broader range of apps that you can utilize on it so it resembles a laptop in many ways.....only smaller.
Ipads are incredibly user friendly but pricy. Android tablets work in a similar manner as an IPAD.
I bought my Mom an android tablet last year and she is able to navigate it pretty easy. She is 90.
Apps are more abundant and less expensive. (Many are free.)
I own a Kindle, an IPAD 2 and an IPAD mini.
I rarely use my Kindle anymore.
Hope this helps.

Both Android and Apple have an app you can download that will link your amazon Kindle account to your devices from "The Cloud".....including a laptop or desktop PC.

I have an older Kindle similar to what Archer mentioned. Just for reading, no bells & whistles. I absolutely LOVE it. You can download books, arrange them by categories, and read your heart out. Battery life is excellent. I currently have over 300 books on mine in a variety of genres. We're taking a cruise next year and no matter what I'm in the mood to read I'll have it. We have a laptop for computer stuff. My kindle is just for reading. I have a light that clips into the case so reading in the dark is not a problem. My Kindle is roughly 5x7 so it's easy to hold and stuffs into my purse

Also, there are loads of websites for downloading full price, reduced price, and free books and I'm reading many new (to me) authors that I wouldn't have risked $$ on buying their books.

Amazon has evolved the Kindle mass data to permit the user to store ALL selected books on line and download to BOTH Kindle AND Android based tablets......Soooooooo the Android tablet is obviously more versatile and can accept Kindle Books....Users can also simultaneously download audio versions of many selections that are interactive with the text books........and you can loan books to other Amazon folks.......explore....lots there and more to come.

Science Chic wrote: I operate similarly to archer and frogger: I have both a Kindle (version 2 I think, I've had it a long time), and the Kindle apps on my iPhone and iPad. If it's daytime, I prefer reading on my Kindle - it's easier on the eyes and the battery lasts for weeks. If it's nighttime or I'm away from home, I read on my iPad because I hate reading lights and I don't carry my Kindle with me. If I'm out and about and have time to kill in between meetings or waiting with the kids at the doctors' office for example, I'll read on my iPhone if I don't have my iPad with me. The apps are nice because they will sync between devices (usually I have different books open) but supposedly if you read to a certain point on one device (say iPad), then pick up a different device a few days later (your iPhone) and open it to the same book, it goes to the last page you read. To grab a new book, go to your collection stored in the Cloud and download it!

The Kindle Fire I would recommend only buying if you don't have a smart phone or other type tablet and you want to be able to surf the web and read books with one device. It allows you to browse the internet unlike the basic Kindle, but it's much more limited than an iPad or other similar-type tablet. Since it's not the e-ink, it's not as easy on the eyes and doesn't have as good of a battery life.

Here's the Apple Kindle app: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id302584613
The Android app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... ndle&hl=en
And the Microsoft app (so you can read on your PC): http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-us ... eb75e799f3

I beg to differ. Before my recent trip to Prague I purchased the new Kindle Fire HD 2013 (this is the redesigned Kindle Fire HD 2012, NOT the new HDX). It's regular list price for a 8gig tablet is $139.00.

I have an IPAD and decided not to take it on this trip, basing my use of it on past intercontinal travel.

I purchased it for three reasons. I wanted to lighten my load as much as I could on my trip (this tablet is under a pound, the IPAD 2 is about 1.4 pounds), I wanted something with a little smaller footprint for the table tray on the plane (ever try to juggle an IPAD, food and a drink at the same time on a postage stamp sized tray table on a plane) and I wanted something to be functional, entertainment packed, work related (my research for my play) and I wanted to have all the travel data I needed in one digital place.

I had 3 full length movies on the tablet, 5 or 6 games (mainly puzzle games), digital copies of all my travel documents, apps for subway and transit maps, apps for my various online booking services I was using and music (although I never listened to any music on the trip).

A Kindle HD is a full fledged tablet computer, running on a flavor of the Android operating system. It is darn near as versatile as an IPAD and gets better overall battery usage. The "Silk" browser is as much as you would ever need on the go and it's easy to use.

All the posting I did on MMT was from the Kindle Fire HD 2013.

And I decided the Kindle had less chance of being attractive to a thief than my IPAD.

We have 3 Kindle Fires in the house. The original HD, the 2012 HD and the 2013 HD (we dont' have the newest HDX). One of them I use next to the bed as an internet radio most of the time (the original HD).

$139.00 is about as good as you are going to get for a fully functional, dolbly stereo, high definition 7 inch tablet that runs almost all Android apps.

It's my pick for a low cost, highly functional tablet.

We had an IPAD 3 with us for the trip. But that was because my girlfriend had to have certain high level productivity apps so she could offer long distant tech support for her company from Prague.

If it wasn't for that need, my partner would have left the IPAD home and only taken her 2012 Kindle HD.

The newest Kindle is the Kindle Fire HDX, which sells normally for $199.00. Unless you want a camera and have some need for a higher definition screen, I would recommend the Kindle Fire HD 2013 version.