eReaders - which to buy?

JOJO ROSS

I'm planning to buy a Kindle/eReader as a gift for Christmas but have absolutely no idea where to start. I know very little about gadgets so all advice is appreciated. Max budget is €150

blatantrereg

Some e-readers use electronic ink and some use lcd displays like a tablet. The first thing you might want to decide is which type of display you want.

Electronic ink has properties similar to ink on a page, from the point of view of looking at it. There is no glare and no restriction on viewing angle. Conceptually it renders pages by rotating balls which are black on one side and white on the other. This makes it ideal as an e-reader, but it has a very slow refresh rate which makes it unsuitable for many other applications, and only renders in black and white. The basic Kindle is this type of e-reader, and they carry one that is the same type, but with a light as well.

Lcd-based e-readers are essentially mini tablets. Personally I would consider just getting an actual tablet instead if you decide you would prefer this type.

tenandtracer

I particularly like the Kindle paperwhite, one advantage is that you can read in the dark as it is backlit - handy if wife wants to get zeds.
£109 sterling, I would recommend getting a cover.

The nice thing about a kindle is all you can do is read!

Teagwee

tenandtracer wrote: »

I particularly like the Kindle paperwhite, one advantage is that you can read in the dark as it is backlit - handy if wife wants to get zeds.
£109 sterling, I would recommend getting a cover.

The nice thing about a kindle is all you can do is read!

I would agree re the Paperwhite - looking at this for myself for Xmas I have the Kindle keyboard for a few years now and love it, despite initially wondering if I'd ever get over my love of actual books and real pages. Now I fancy the backlit function, the ability to flip through previous pages and the smaller size of the new Paperwhite.

Whatever e-reader you buy, download Calibre to manage your library - it's essential (free) software and makes organisation so much easier. Worth making a donation for IMO.

Dades

If you're buying a Paperwhite (which I recommend you do) make sure it's the newer model. They just released one and there's probably places still selling the older one.

Mark.87

Kindle Paperwhite all the way!!!

PucaMama

I have both an ereader and a tablet with the ereader apps. I use the tablet only for my college books as I find reading from the tablet theres too much glare and you cant really enjoy it as much. My kobo looks just like a page in a book. I got it as I wanted something totally different to a tablet or laptop etc for reading.

JOJO ROSS

Thanks so much for the advice. It's really helpful. It's looking like it will be the Kindle Paperwhite!
Thanks again everyone.

donglen

+1 on the paperwhite. I've mine since last Xmas after upgrading from their original entry level kindle. Didn't consider it much of an issue at the time but couldn't do without the backlight now that I've had it for a while.
Also, an earlier poster mentioned "calibre" - download it, it's free and i'd consider it essential.

bombs away

Dades wrote: »

If you're buying a Paperwhite (which I recommend you do) make sure it's the newer model. They just released one and there's probably places still selling the older one.

How do I know I'm ordering the newer model, they look exactly the same

somdaysn

My husband bought me the Kindle Fire Hd last Christmas. I'm an avid reader and although I use it for that, if that's what you primarily want to use your e reader for than I would go with the basic kindle. This one is capable of a lot more but it also has a glass screen which creates a lot of glare which requires you to turn the brightness very high when outside and kills the battery very fast

jem

Ok Have a sony ereader for a good few years. getting to end of life- freezing a lot etc.
I have a load of books on calibri and wondering can I convert them to use with a kindle or would I be better to stay with sony?
j

Teagwee

jem wrote: »

Ok Have a sony ereader for a good few years. getting to end of life- freezing a lot etc.
I have a load of books on calibri and wondering can I convert them to use with a kindle or would I be better to stay with sony?
j

You should have no bother converting books to mobi format (for Kindle) on Calibre - it handles the conversion from epub seamlessly

jem

thanks

ElNino

jem wrote: »

Ok Have a sony ereader for a good few years. getting to end of life- freezing a lot etc.
I have a load of books on calibri and wondering can I convert them to use with a kindle or would I be better to stay with sony?
j

I had an old Sony PRS-505 which I had for years until the screen started going on it recently. I switched to the new Kindle Paperwhite and I am very happy. Calibre will automatically convert all your epub books to mobi when you load them on the Kindle assuming of course that you have stripped any DRM off purchased ones.

The only slight annoyance for me is the way that the Kindle's way of handling collections is more awkward than with Sony ereaders but you can work around that.

Dades

bombs away wrote: »

How do I know I'm ordering the newer model, they look exactly the same

Unless you're buying from Amazon - I would specifically ask. The newer version has a better contrast/resolution.

If they don't know - it's almost certainly the older model.

kowloon

Can anyone recommend me a cover for a Kindle Paperwhite (new model, if it makes a difference). Buying one as a gift but don't want to hand it over without a cover. The Amazon prices seem like a bit of a rip-off (£30 for a cover).

Teagwee

kowloon wrote: »

Can anyone recommend me a cover for a Kindle Paperwhite (new model, if it makes a difference). Buying one as a gift but don't want to hand it over without a cover. The Amazon prices seem like a bit of a rip-off (£30 for a cover).

Amazon also sell cheaper covers that are fine - not leather, but PVU. This is a good example and won't break the bank, but there are others and other colours.

ElNino

I just got this cover on ebay and I am happy with it. It has the magnetic wake up function which will turn on the paperwhite automatically when you open the cover.