Kindle E-Reader

sambora

I am looking to buy a Kindle eReader. The 3G doesn't really bother me. Where is the best place to buy one in Dublin?

angel01

sambora wrote: »

I am looking to buy a Kindle eReader. The 3G doesn't really bother me. Where is the best place to buy one in Dublin?

You are better off just going to Amazon.com and buying one that way. Currys are supposed to be stockists but rarely have stock. If you are heading to Dublin airport, you may get one at the Currys airport store but quicker just to buy one from Amazon.

Aishae

I can only answer some of this


[*]Whats the general availablity of college books for kindle etc? I know it'll probably vary from author to author, but has anyone been using it sucessfully for college? - I really dont have the answer to this because I've never had too find out if course material is in ebook form but i think it may be to an extent as there is currently an iPad instead of school book pilot


[*]Can you highligh sections? - yep

[*]Can you add notes to a page? - also yep

[*]If so, is it typed in our can you freehand with a stylus? - you use the qwerty keypad as it is not a touch screen

[*]Does it handle other filetypes, such as pdf or scanned notes? - it does handle other types such as txt files. Unsure About exactly how many file types it can read but there is a free programme called calibre that can convert books/ some files to the mobi file type that kindle handles best. Have never tried to convert PDF so on that score I don't know

[*]If you're going between several books, can you mark the page you were on? - it remembers where you left off on books without having to bookmark.

[*]Are downloads cheaper than the paper version? - yes but how much cheaper varies

[*]Would I be better getting a tablet if the added functionality made it worthwhile, and if so, have you any recommendations? - someone else might have better experience and knowledge on this one.

Padraig Mor

Aishae wrote: »

[*]Are downloads cheaper than the paper version? - yes but how much cheaper varies .

Just on that point: I have come across books which were more expensive as Kindle versions than printed (even hardback)!

angel01

Padraig Mor wrote: »

Just on that point: I have come across books which were more expensive as Kindle versions than printed (even hardback)!

The most expensive book I have bought was £2.99 on the kindle! Bargain

Outkast_IRE

i do see some of the college text books are available for it now at the usual ridiculous prices college text books tend to be , One i seen was 90 for the book , or 69 for the ebook .
it is a bit of a saving but i dont think i can justify it , its too hard to find the page you want on a kindle if you need to go back or forward a load.

lunacyfoundme

angel01 wrote: »

You are better off just going to Amazon.com and buying one that way. Currys are supposed to be stockists but rarely have stock. If you are heading to Dublin airport, you may get one at the Currys airport store but quicker just to buy one from Amazon.

3 questions.

Is it any cheaper to buy in the airport than in the other stores?

Does anyone use the Kindle for reading PDFs? What are the images like?

I would be using it for reading computer books with lots of screenshots.

Do the PDFs have to be proper text PDFs only or can it display the ones where pages are just scanned from a book?

angel01

lunacyfoundme wrote: »

3 questions.

Is it any cheaper to buy in the airport than in the other stores?

Does anyone use the Kindle for reading PDFs? What are the images like?

I would be using it for reading computer books with lots of screenshots.

Do the PDFs have to be proper text PDFs only or can it display the ones where pages are just scanned from a book?

I dont think so but they rarely have any stock in any of the other stores.

Padraig Mor

angel01 wrote: »

I dont think so but they rarely have any stock in any of the other stores.

OK, not in Dublin but I bought one in Stansted a few months back and it was cheaper than Amazon - albeit not hugely.

WDW1111

lunacyfoundme wrote: »

Does anyone use the Kindle for reading PDFs? What are the images like?

I would be using it for reading computer books with lots of screenshots.

Do the PDFs have to be proper text PDFs only or can it display the ones where pages are just scanned from a book?

The Kindle is not great for images - it is OK for photograph type images but not screenshots. I've downloaded a few computer manuals from Amazon to test it out and find them too hard to read. I believe if you have the Kindle DX with a 9" screen they are fine but I have the standard Kindle 3.

I have put several work manuals onto my Kindle but I converted the .pdf to .mobi using Calibre (which is free to download). It is too hard to read the .pdf but they are perfect when converted first. The manuals I have don't have any screenshot type images though only a few charts which are fine to read.

bellz23

hi
just wondering where would be the best place to buy the kindle ? online or instore? pricewise comeback if something happens to it that sort of thing ?

Aishae

bellz23 wrote: »

hi
just wondering where would be the best place to buy the kindle ? online or instore? pricewise comeback if something happens to it that sort of thing ?

You won't find it cheaper in shops and when you do, it's not much. Can be hard to find one that has it in stock. Amazon is your best bet, you'd have to deal with them anyway if something goes wrong. They have very good customer service.

shuffles03

How many books can it store? I'm off traveling in a few weeks and thinking of getting one. Would I be alright with the wifi version or is 3G a must?

Aishae

3g is sooooo handy - wifi can be pretty limited in many areas.
if it were me id get the 3g (which i have)

it stores well over a thousand books. depends on the sizes of the books

shuffles03

I'll be gone for a year and was looking at the coverage for some of the places and there wasn't any. I was thinking of pre-loading it with about 20 books and then downloading more when I connect to wifi along the way?

Aishae

shuffles03 wrote: »

I'll be gone for a year and was looking at the coverage for some of the places and there wasn't any. I was thinking of pre-loading it with about 20 books and then downloading more when I connect to wifi along the way?

you could do, yeah.

WDW1111

The Kindle stores 3500 books. As well as buying your 20 books I also recommend downloading lots of the free books (classics and other freebies - see http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/digital-text/?tag=kwab-20 and also places like http://www.gutenberg.org/ for lots of legitimate freebies) - that way you will never be stuck for something to read.

I have the 3G although rarely use it mostly it's just wifi at home. If I was going travelling for a year though I would get the 3G as it might also be handy to check email etc (annoying slow but do-able).

shuffles03

A friend has one andsays the only downside is that he can only download books from Amazon.com and not .co.uk so not all the books he's looking for are on .com.

He bought his online so if I was to buy mine in PC World, will I have the same problem?

Aishae

shuffles03 wrote: »

A friend has one andsays the only downside is that he can only download books from Amazon.com and not .co.uk so not all the books he's looking for are on .com.

He bought his online so if I was to buy mine in PC World, will I have the same problem?

The only thing you can do is ask them if the kindle is registered to amazon.com or not.

There is one plus to having to use the us store. Books seem a bit cheaper

Ghost Train

shuffles03 wrote: »

A friend has one andsays the only downside is that he can only download books from Amazon.com and not .co.uk so not all the books he's looking for are on .com.

He bought his online so if I was to buy mine in PC World, will I have the same problem?

yeah will be the same, links to your amazon account which will have irish address, so will use the .com store

shuffles03

I saw Sony have a touch edition and a pocket edition for sale. How do they measure up against a Kindle?

WindmillWarrior

Finally decided to take the plunge on a Kindle.
Am I right in saying you can't buy it from the UK? Only from amazon.com?

Aishae

WindmillWarrior wrote: »

Finally decided to take the plunge on a Kindle.
Am I right in saying you can't buy it from the UK? Only from amazon.com?

Yes that's right.

Outkast_IRE

WindmillWarrior wrote: »

Finally decided to take the plunge on a Kindle.
Am I right in saying you can't buy it from the UK? Only from amazon.com?

Sometimes this works in your favour sometimes against, i got the games of thrones books 1-4 in a bundle for much cheaper than the UK site at the time.

Aishae

Outkast_IRE wrote: »

WindmillWarrior wrote: »

Finally decided to take the plunge on a Kindle.
Am I right in saying you can't buy it from the UK? Only from amazon.com?

Sometimes this works in your favour sometimes against, i got the games of thrones books 1-4 in a bundle for much cheaper than the UK site at the time.

It's true - with the exchange rates euro/ dollar euro/gbp I have found a lot of books cheaper even if it's only a little in some cases.

Even with customs charges,my own kindle worked out a little cheaper than the uk one when converted to euro

shuffles03

Just bought the wifi version and the leather case with the light in PC World. I've registered the device but haven't added a credit card yet. I tried to download a free ebook from the store (Dracula) but it wouldn't let me. Apparently I have to add a card first even if it's free.

Thing is, I won't be able to add a card for a few days. What can I do in the meantime?

shuffles03

I downloaded Dracula there from project gutenburg. I dragged it into a program called Calibre and I added a cover picture from google images. When I transferred the book to the Kindle it opened fine but the cover image was not there and also there were 2 or 3 pages of writing talking about project gutenburg itself before the booked started. Is there a way to delete this and just have the book itself and is there also a way to add a cover image?

shuffles03

Ok got the picture to appear but can't delete all the crap about project g. before the book begins.

shuffles03

I borrowed a credit card to see how the process worked and downloaded Game Of Thrones. pretty awesome device! I've since deleted the card as it's not mine. I'm thinking of getting an O2 money card to take with me on my travels and was wondering if Amazon would accept this on my account? If so I'd be sorted. The US prices are pretty sweet. I got G.O.T. for €5.40.

juke

You're right - it is awesome

As regards book prices, I always check the prices on both the .com & .co.uk site, do a currency conversion and buy from the cheeper. It's very random - sometime little/no saving, sometime a few euro - but better in my pocket than theirs.

Enjoy