[Closed] Amazon Kindle - Are they any good ?

Yes.

Have had an older version for about 4 years and recently got a new Kindle Paperwhite. Really like it. Easy to use and long battery life (as long as you remember to turn off the wireless after you download a book)-one feature I like is the backlighted screen which allows me to read in bed without any lights on---thereby avoiding arousing the ire of Mrs busydog.
I looked at Kindle Fire, but don't need it for anything but reading, so the Paperwhite model is fine.

If you like reading books yes they are worth it. Cheap, cheerful, easy to download stuff.

[url= http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/ereaders/1302628/updated-27-09-nook-simple-touch-with-glowlight-drops-to-49 ]i have one of these[/url] and the mrs has the kindle. The glowlight is ace. Maybe not enough to double as a headlight though.

What ever you ended up with make sure you use calibre software to load the ebooks. Then you can buy books from anywhere, not just amazon.

lots of free books on Project Gutenberg too

Yes. Love my Paperwhite.

Thanks for the feedback guys ! Id never heard of "calibre" will do some more research.

I was sceptical until I got a Kindle Paperwhite for traveling and now I do most of my fiction reading on it. It's less good for anything with pictures or diagrams though so for text books and manuals best stick to dead trees or a tablet.

If I bought again I would get one of their competitors (eg Kobo) because Amazon irk me by not paying any tax

But yes, eReaders are awesome!

Yes, have a Kindle Paperwhite.

Probably the best bit of tech I've ever had.
It's simplicity is refreshing, it's designed for one thing and does it incredibly well.
Having said that I'd like the ability to play audiobooks on it, but that's nitpicking.

The e-ink display is very easy on the eye and I like the ability to change type size, spacing and font.

Highly recommended.

Think there's a new, slightly better one out now.
You can't go wrong really.

I have a regular kindle and it's great - kind of wish I'd gone for the paperwhite but hey ho. Normal books are pretty good, and a lot of slightly out-field ones tend to be cheap as chips, or free. As said above, Project Gutenberg is great, and you can find other sites (I mean proper legal ones!).

Oh and for series of books like err terrible David Weber books *cough* quite often a lot of them are free, to get you to buy the new ones. 😯

I've been touring with someone who took their kindle - it was crap for maps, but she did have the Rough Guide to Scotland on it, which was useful..

What ever you ended up with make sure you use calibre software to load the ebooks.

Fantastic bit of software whatever e-reader you use, I just wish someone made something as good for music.

At that price it's worth it just for the free books that are available.

 

I love my Paperwhite 🙂 I thought that the lack of a physical book would mean I wouldn't ever adopt an e-reader, but the Kindle is so convenient. I'm based in India and getting stuff sent here is a PITA so being able to download books virtually instantly alleviates that issue. Having a whole library in one device is great, but there is the downside of not being able to lend a book to a friend.

Cheers, Rich

At £49 that's good value, I have one of those, excellent travelling, holidays. I love that it sync with other devices as well, put the Kindle down, pick up on the tablet.

My wife has a Nook Simple with the backlight. It's a really nice bit of kit, can use open source books (e.g. library books) without any conversion faff, and best of all means we didn't have to use Amazon.

yes. amazingly simple and efficient.

Yes they are great but the paperwhite is worth the extra IMO.

Love my Kindle, but after a few years' use the screen is starting to die - there's a long line of dead "pixels" at the top of the screen, which makes part of the text hard to read. Out of warranty, too.

Still, will almost certainly replace with another one.

Any recommendations for a reasonably-priced cover for a Paperwhite?

Thanks. 🙂

I use one of these: http://www.amazon.co.uk/AMAZON-KINDLE-TABLET-LEATHER-HOLSTER/dp/B006DUTOY4/ref=tag_stp_s2_edpp_url

Perfectly adequate for £6.99.

Thanks but I think the Paperwhite has slightly different sizing. Not inclined to pay £30!

Sorry, I keep posting the wrong link. There's a sub ten pound paperwhite version somewhere on there.

OK, thank you. 🙂

They seem great, I bought my Mrs a Paperwhite, and now I have eReader envy.

But! They have a small downside in that they don't work with UK libraries like some others do (including iPad/iPhone using Overdrive app), which would be 100% of awesome.

Whether this will change in time is another matter, but it's a terrific service if you can get it.

They're so good I'm now on my 5th. Largely due to my own clumsiness. Screens are pretty fragile.

If you want to dip a toe in the water without committing to Amazon world then the nook glowlight, equivalent to kindle paperwhite, is on sale in a few places for less than £50, and can apparently be rooted easily to run Android, allowing you to run the Kindle app, as well as other e-reader software.