Kindle

InTheTrees

Just an aside... but at some point hopefully TV licencing rights will change so that anyone (for a price) can watch BBC or US TV etc etc without this nonsense of having to prove residency.

Ridiculous in this day and age that just because I'm a US "resident" I can stream ESPN in a hotel in DUblin but cant use RTE iplayer. Or vise versa.


:mad:

dredg

Just to tie this off:
Got my paperwhite this morning, shipped from Amazon UK to Parcel Motel up north and subsequently delivered down here. It was already registered to my amazon account and it works perfectly - I can buy books, read previously purchased books and my account is intact.

positron

How do you rate the paperwhite against older kindle - is the display good enough to upgrade? Thanks!

dredg

positron wrote: »

How do you rate the paperwhite against older kindle - is the display good enough to upgrade? Thanks!

I can only compare it to the 2nd gen kindle (this one). I haven't owned anything newer.

It's much smaller. The screen is actually slightly larger than the 2nd gen but the overall device is a lot smaller so now it fits in my jacket pocket. Win.
The screen refresh is so much faster and the contrast is excellent. I don't think I can go back to a second gen after using this.
The touchscreen is really nice. I felt a bit iffy going from a next/prev button to a touchscreen, but it works well.
The onscreen keyboard is nowhere near as bad as I thought it would be. With the faster refresh it's very usable.
The lit screen is excellent.

Anything else you'd like to know?

Sephiroth_dude

Ron Burgundy ! wrote: »

i'll wait and see if tesco stocks them :P

You'll be waiting a while I'd say mr ron :-P

Ron Burgundy !

yeah i emailed them and apparently they don't expect to get it till the 12th of november

Sephiroth_dude

Ron Burgundy ! wrote: »

yeah i emailed them and apparently they don't expect to get it till the 12th of november

that's not to far lol

Ron Burgundy !

Sephiroth_dude wrote: »

that's not to far lol

be interesting to see if thats true though :P

Lawros Tache

kassie wrote: »

Oh that would be brilliant Lawros... i REALLY want to buy this for my hubby as i know it would be an ideal xmas pressie for him but don't want to risk spending that sort of cash if its not going to work fully!! ***waits eagerly for your reply***

OK, had a little time to play around...

My device seemed to be pre-loaded with my details (i didn't have to register it, just turned it on and it connected to Amazon and downloaded my purchases by itself) so it that sense it worked perfectly.

I then loaded up my "other" ebooks but the kindle rendered them unrecognisable. They were still on device (still viewable when connected to PC) but not available to read.
Amazon obviously has some sort of security re books not purchased from them. (However i have read of customers having difficulties with books imported from calibre so maybe that's the issue?)

I had serious issues about this after paying €250 for the device so was all set to root.

However i then did factory reset, and re-downloaded my purchases (this time i had to enter my information to register so obviously i had re-set that info too)

I then turned off the wi-fi and put back on my calibre books and now they display perfectly

Am going to leave off the wi-fi though until i root (which i am definitely going to do)

Didn't try to use the app store as it's not what i bought it for and rooting the device will sort that end of things anyway...

Hope this helps, short answer= i'm perfectly happy with new kindle, can read all my books purchased and otherwise. I dont think it has full "benefits" available that Amazon would like but i didn't buy it to purchase apps or movies from them, i use it as an e-reader and it's excellent for that purpose. I can pop my own movies and tv shows on there but will definitely be rooting and can then have access to full app store.

Overall i'd definitely recommend purchasing.

Ron Burgundy !

any retail shops have the paperwhite in stock ? :P

kassie

Thanks Lawros for the quick review... i think i'll have to wait until it is officially available in ireland, my hubby loves the app side of things and i'd be devastated if we couldn't get it working properly, he doesn't read enough just to buy it solely as a reading device, it would be for the movies, apps, music that i'd be buying it for! I've emailed a friend who is a manager in Tesco to see if she has heard anything about it being available from their store before Xmas

Lombardo86

Lawros appreciate that..

I have never actually owned a kindle so excuse these questions if they are basic, you seem to use it a similar way to how i intend it.

If i buy the kindle fire i'll have previously purchased books etc. Will i buy these from Amazon.com yes?

I dont understand the full app store privileges root will give you also?

Last one, if i download some .mobi or .epub files etc is there a way for me to get onto the kindle fire without purchasing from amazon or can that only be done by root?

Apologies if they are basic just want to make sure i can use it like i want to. Also presuming that root doesnt affect apps etc.

If there is an FAQ about this rather than you answering that would help as well!

Cheers

Lawros Tache

Lombardo86 wrote: »

Lawros appreciate that..

I have never actually owned a kindle so excuse these questions if they are basic, you seem to use it a similar way to how i intend it.

If i buy the kindle fire i'll have previously purchased books etc. Will i buy these from Amazon.com yes?

Sorry Lombardo but dont really understand this. If you have previously bought books from Amazon then they will be still available to download from the cloud (providing you dont own more than 5 kindle devices including phone apps etc).
You will start up the kindle and register and they will download automatically. You can purchase new titles from Amazon.com as normal.
Is that what you meant? Apologies if i took you up wrong.

Lombardo86 wrote: »

I dont understand the full app store privileges root will give you also?

At present (without root) the kindle fire hd only allows access to Amazon approved apps from their own appstore, a relatively very small range and definitely not the full range from the google play store.
Rooting will provide access to the playstore and hence ALL apps.

Lombardo86 wrote: »

Last one, if i download some .mobi or .epub files etc is there a way for me to get onto the kindle fire without purchasing from amazon or can that only be done by root?

You can simply drag and drop your downloaded mobi files into the "Books" folder on the Kindle when connected to your PC. Root is NOT required to do this and they will view perfectly. The epub files are not supported by Kindle and will need to be converted to mobi by Calibre and then transferred over.

On my device, any mobi files which i did not purchase from Amazon were rendered useless by the Kindle when i connected to wi-fi. To get around this i simply leave wi-fi off. I dont know if this will happen every time (it didn't on last Kindle Fire) but didn't want to take the chance.

If you are going to use the internet connection on the device then i recommend rooting to be on the safe side.

Lombardo86 wrote: »

Also presuming that root doesnt affect apps etc.

It doesn't. In fact if you are interested in the apps side of the device then rooting is practically mandatory as it opens up the full range available.

Lombardo86 wrote: »

Cheers

No problem

Lombardo86

Legend - Appreciate that!

kassie

Sorry - but when you say Root, what does this mean?

Ron Burgundy !

dredg wrote: »

I can only compare it to the 2nd gen kindle (this one). I haven't owned anything newer.

It's much smaller. The screen is actually slightly larger than the 2nd gen but the overall device is a lot smaller so now it fits in my jacket pocket. Win.
The screen refresh is so much faster and the contrast is excellent. I don't think I can go back to a second gen after using this.
The touchscreen is really nice. I felt a bit iffy going from a next/prev button to a touchscreen, but it works well.
The onscreen keyboard is nowhere near as bad as I thought it would be. With the faster refresh it's very usable.
The lit screen is excellent.

Anything else you'd like to know?

ordered mine today

Lawros Tache

kassie wrote: »

Sorry - but when you say Root, what does this mean?

In this instance to "root" or to "have root" is basically to have administrative privileges or essentially full "ownership" of your device.

It is a manipulation of the software on the device so that you can add or remove items or make the device behave in a manner which it was not supposed to by the manufacturer but which is advantageous to the owner.

Some people just want to change the wallpaper or look of the device, others want to remove adverts (kindle fire hd ships with adverts which play as screensavers), others still want full control so they can fully customise the device.

As mentioned above, a non-rooted kindle hd will not allow you to play non-amazon ebooks (whether you purchased them or not). Rooting will fix this.

Also, the kindle hd only allows access to amazon content. The appstore is severely restricted and only a small selection will be available to you, even if you have already purchased them on other devices. Rooting will fix this.

I have various movie files and tv shows which i want to watch on the kindle but it will not allow me to do so. Rooting has fixed this and i can transfer movies, tv shows and music to my device and watch them to my hearts content.

Lots of people put off by the technical aspect of rooting, it really is very simple if you follow the instructions. But there is a danger of "bricking" your device -turning it into a useless brick!

It's probably not for everyone, but imho if you dont root the device then you are not using it to its full potential, but merely a purchasing tool for amazon.

Personally speaking i would not have purchased the device if i could not have rooted it, pretty much everything it can do while unrooted, my phone can do and more.

Rooted though it's a different beast altogether...

silvine

My third Kindle Keyboard is on its way. The screen on the first two broke, even though I use a case. Amazon in fairness to them replaced my device for free. Anyone else have this problem? If not, what kind of cover are users here protecting their Kindle with?

I've a hardback cover I bought in Currys.

Lawros Tache

silvine wrote: »

My third Kindle Keyboard is on its way. The screen on the first two broke, even though I use a case. Amazon in fairness to them replaced my device for free. Anyone else have this problem? If not, what kind of cover are users here protecting their Kindle with?

I've a hardback cover I bought in Currys.

I've had a kindle keyboard since launch so must be 2 years or more now with no problems (wife uses it now daily so it's in & out of handbag & car/work all day)

Have had a cover on it since day one and would highly recommend spending as much as you can afford, the quality varies hugely.

I have an original amazon kindle branded cover on it and it's very good quality but cost about stg£25 as far as i can remember.

I paid stg£36 for cover for kindle fire hd just a couple of weeks ago and it's worth every penny, very durable but very practical.

Ghost Train

have one of these, has lasted well, not too heavy

http://tuff-luv.com/hemp-brown-case-cover-for-kindle-3wireless-6-inch-15-cm-book-style.html

Teagwee

I have this cheap as chips one from Amazon - lugged half way round the world and not a scratch on my Kindle. Having said that, I do take good care of it and don't expect the cover to be bullet proof

kildaremum

Hi Lawros Tache - where do you find instructions to root the Kindle Fire. I have option to get one from US shortly. I already have Kindle Touch so would like to use Fire for more than just ereader but would be anxious about rooting. If I were to get one could you give me specific instructions on rooting?

Lawros Tache

kildaremum wrote: »

Hi Lawros Tache - where do you find instructions to root the Kindle Fire. I have option to get one from US shortly. I already have Kindle Touch so would like to use Fire for more than just ereader but would be anxious about rooting. If I were to get one could you give me specific instructions on rooting?

Not sure if it's allowed to be discussed on here

you can pm me if you still need the info and i'll send you some web page addresses.

Google is your friend

kildaremum

OK thanks for reply. I Googled today and found a few sites but it looks very techie for me. If I get the one I will pm you and you can maybe direct me to the site u used. Thanks again.

Lawros Tache

kildaremum wrote: »

OK thanks for reply. I Googled today and found a few sites but it looks very techie for me. If I get the one I will pm you and you can maybe direct me to the site u used. Thanks again.

No problem

It's not as techie as it seems, there's even a program that will do it for you.

You do need to have things set up correctly on your computer though in terms of drivers, but they'll provide those in the root program if you dont have them.

Quite straightforward but there is a risk of killing your kindle

By the time you get yours they will have made it much easier i'd imagine, that's usually the way it goes.

Gimme a shout anytime

Ron Burgundy !

got my paperwhite today love it so far

Lombardo86

Wow that was fast where did you order it?!

Ron Burgundy !

Lombardo86 wrote: »

Wow that was fast where did you order it?!

i bought it from waterstones and the posted it out to me

Sephiroth_dude

Going to the states in 2 wks,would i be wasteing my money buying a kindle fire?

wildwolf1

Where is Waterstones? Did you order it online or in a shop? I would love to get one of these.