Which Kindle ?

[Psamathe]

Time I bought a Kindle. One thing I really missed last summer tour was having nothing to read. Hopefully off again (no bike) later this year so looking at Kindles. Kindle as, despite hating Amazon the only real competitor looked to have a smaller range of books.

My thoughts: Cheap one has no screen backlight so probably worth avoiding

Paperwhite: mid-range and better display. I'd go for "no offers" and no 3G (I'm not going to pay more so Amazon can keep their snooping more up-to-date. You only buy books occasionally and thus Wi-Fi is more than adequate

Oasis: only benefit seems waterproof and smaller bezel. I don't intend sitting in the rain to read and a zip-lock bad will keep it protected when not in use so waterproof seems OTT. Bigger screen and smaller bezel sound nice but not at the extra cost. Paperwhite and Oasis seem close to same weight.

Am I making sensible choices (i.e. Paperwhite, no 3G and no Offers)? I've never purchased one before so I'm guessing a bit at what is useful and not useful.

I have an iPad (and there is a Kindle app) but battery life for reading would be "challenging".

Many thanks for any thoughts/recommendations.

Ian

[mr bajokoses]

Paperwhite is far superior to the basic one, and battery life is fantastic.

An advantage of the paperwhite is that you can read it comfortably in complete darkness.

I have the one with ads, and don't find it obtrusive. I'm quite good at ignoring ads (I think).

[Bez]

I have the Paperwhite, my wife has the base model (which she chose after trying both).

Personally I never use the backlight (the only reason I have a Paperwhite is that refurbs were on offer for about £60 on Amazon a while back), but if you had to read in the dark it would obviously be of use… The increase in screen resolution makes no difference to my eye; the screen is matte so the lower resolution of the base model isn't noticeable. The Paperwhite has a very slightly grippier texture to its rear; the base model is a fraction slimmer. No need for the 3G version, just create a hotspot on your phone. Both fit in a jeans pocket. The special offers aren't too obtrusive, just a swipe to unlock the screen and they're gone, but if I was an avid reader I'd pay to lose them.

I wouldn't get too excited about a smaller bezel: it just means there's less to hold.

If I was paying the normal prices I'd get the base model, no question. For my usage there's no real advantage to the others, and I feel less precious about chucking a relatively cheap one into a bag. YMMV.

[Psamathe]

Paperwhite is far superior to the basic one, and battery life is fantastic.

An advantage of the paperwhite is that you can read it comfortably in complete darkness.

I have the one with ads, and don't find it obtrusive. I'm quite good at ignoring ads (I think).

I'm very intolerant of ads so even if they are unobtrusive they will bug me. If I own the device I don't expect it to be used against my will to push ads at me. But I can accept Amazon's "model" where, in effect, the Kindle has a price but you can get a discount if you accept ads (rather than your paying to remove the ads - depends on which way round you want to view it).

Ian

[kwackers]

I'm very intolerant of ads so even if they are unobtrusive they will bug me. If I own the device I don't expect it to be used against my will to push ads at me. But I can accept Amazon's "model" where, in effect, the Kindle has a price but you can get a discount if you accept ads (rather than your paying to remove the ads - depends on which way round you want to view it).

Ian

I have the paperwhite and it's pretty good. I'd prefer a slightly bigger form factor but that's just me...
Back light is good, takes almost no battery so no point in turning it off - handy if you fancy a quick read in bed without upsetting the other half.
Wifi is fine, no need for 3G. Just load a good selection of books when you're at home.

I paid the extra to not have the ad's.
Having said that I don't know how they work - they can't pop up in the middle of a book can they...
I don't like ad's and given a choice would far sooner splurge some extra cash.

[Vorpal]

I have a basic Kindle. I find it easier on the eyes than the paperwhite. A torch or bike light hung inside a tent is enough to read by. I download books on wifi, or from my computer.

[mr bajokoses]

I paid the extra to not have the ad's.
Having said that I don't know how they work - they can't pop up in the middle of a book can they...
I don't like ad's and given a choice would far sooner splurge some extra cash.

An ad replaces the default screen that you see on the non-ad kindle. Once you have swiped the screen to unlock it you see no more ads.

[Psamathe]

....I'd prefer a slightly bigger form factor but that's just me....

I initially thought the same but the Oasis is significantly more expensive and having experience of none of them I guessed the extra £110 probably would not justify the benefits.

Ian

[mercalia]

kindle on a mobile and have an external powerbank?

[Bobbin]

What about a Kobo ?
I use the Kobo app on my iPad as well ,they both sync.so you're always on the same page.
Not had a problem finding books,in fact my wish list is growing ever longer !

[Psamathe]

What about a Kobo ?
I use the Kobo app on my iPad as well ,they both sync.so you're always on the same page.
Not had a problem finding books,in fact my wish list is growing ever longer ! 8)

I looked at them but my concern was that I'm quite specific about the type of books I read and they probably are not the big sellers. So what book they stock is very important to me and Kobo store did not seem to have the same range of titles (i.e. fewer than Amazon. Of course it all comes down to what book you want at any particular time, but bigger range means more likely.

But I'm new to this.

Ian

[Psamathe]

kindle on a mobile and have an external powerbank?

I've got power banks but found the iPad takes a lot from them and I might at times have limited access to power points so battery life for reading is a major consideration.

Ian

[mercalia]

kindle on a mobile and have an external powerbank?

I've got power banks but found the iPad takes a lot from them and I might at times have limited access to power points so battery life for reading is a major consideration.

Ian

what about a smaller phone? you can get a cheap Windows 8.1 phone like the Nokia Lumier 635 for little these days that come with cheap replaceable batterys and you could attach a powerbank to that? I got a pristine one for just £19 (incl £5 postage ) from Ebay last week. Kindle is available on that. You dont neet to put a sim in

[Psamathe]

kindle on a mobile and have an external powerbank?

I've got power banks but found the iPad takes a lot from them and I might at times have limited access to power points so battery life for reading is a major consideration.

Ian

what about a smaller phone? you can get a cheap Windows 8.1 phone like the Nokia Lumier 635 for little these days that come with cheap replaceable batterys and you could attach a powerbank to that? I got a pristine one for just £19 (incl £5 postage ) from Ebay last week. Kindle is available on that. You dont neet to put a sim in

I started writing that my phone is larg'ish (I my opinion) but still too small, but I checked and the phone is 5.8" and the Kindle only 6" so maybe I should try the phone 1st. Phone has rounded corners and a "notch" so I don't know if that will lose much reading space but worth a try. But battery life is a worry. Phone actually has excellent battery life for recording tracks (4 hr ride and battery might go 100%-85%) but that's all without the screen on. I'll try forcing the screen to stay on for a few hours and see what the battery life does (and assuming there is a Kindle iOS app, before downloading that).

Also, phone has no bezel so holding for some time might be a bit harder?

Thanks for the idea. I'm sceptical but Ive not tried it so I'll definitely try it.

Ian

[Bez]

what about a smaller phone?

An e-ink display gives much less eye strain, though, and the battery lasts weeks rather than hours.