Quick Kindle Questions!

[lullabylily]

I'm considering getting myself a Kindle, could possibly get it as a b-day/Christmas gift next week, but I'm not 100% convinced Kindle is what I need. Therefore: all of you Kindle-owners, could you please help me out

Comments

[vaysh]

I've owned a Kindle now for two months.

1. I don't know about accessing amazon.co.uk from Belgium but I know that you cannot buy all eBooks from amazon.com if your Kindle is not registered to the US. Especially recently published English-language books are not copyrighted for the European market (I guess because they are still trying to sell translation rights) and those cannot be bought in eBook version via the Kindle. My Kindle automatically goes to amazon.de, and I can only buy those foreign-language books that are offered through amazon.de. (There are complicated illegal ways around that. Check the nets. ;))

2. I haven't tried reading PDFs yet. But for fanfic reading, the Kindle is heaven. I simply save the LJ posts in .html format, send this file to my Kindle address, and short minutes later the file will appear in perfectly well-formatted on my Kindle. It's what I use the Kindle most for, and it's awesome to be able to have long fics with me to be read everywhere. Also, as leashy_bebes said, there is Calibre, and fic from A03 can be

[catsintheattic]

This is great news about transferring LJ posts and mobi-format from AO3. I'm also thinking about getting an e-reader (especially for fanfic, since I still prefer books on paper) and started reading about Kindle & Co.. But the Kindle doesn't work with library formats, right?

Do you have the keyboard version or the other one?

[vaysh]

With library format you mean ePub, yes? It is my understanding (but I never tried it out) that with Calibre you can convert most formats into mobi.

I have the keyboard version, mostly because I am extremely impatient with input devices. But really, the Kindle is not note-taker or anything. The Add Notes option is extremely bothersome if you want to add notes of more than just a few word. I've given up on it. Now I keep a small notepad with the Kindle. ;)

[catsintheattic]

Thank you!

Yes, I was talking about ePub. Without remembering the right expression. LOL.

I think I could live with taking notes on a notepad. So I guess the version without a keyboard is a good choice if one uses the Kindle mainly for reading.

I probably just have to give it a try and see for myself how I like it.

One last question: why did you pick the Kindle over the other e-readers? (If the answer won't need half an essay and you have the time.)

[vaysh]

Yes, I'd say now that the version w/o a keyboard is a good choice. If you like touch screens, perhaps it's worth to wait for another couple of month. The touch-screen Kindle is soon to be sold in Germany, too

[catsintheattic]

Awesome review is awesome!

You did it, bb - I'm going to order right away. *happy grin* After all, the holidays are perfect for figuring out the technical quirks and readying the Kindle for use. *squees* And no, touch screens are not necessarily what I like - too many finger prints everywhere.

Thank you for helping me to decide. :-)

[vaysh]

I just checked whether the Kindle is really the cheapest reader, and there is the Weltbild reader, which is only 60 EUR. It only has an 8-hour Akku capacity, though, whereas the Kindle goes for a month without needing to be recharged. I recharged mine once now, and have been reading every day.

*grin*

[catsintheattic]

No, Weltbild reader doesn't come near the Kindle.

*squish*

[lullabylily]

Thanks for your discussion!! You asked so many questions that I had myself! Very useful :-)
I hope you'll like your Kindle!!! I might not order mine straight away... I think I'll have to wait until Christmas to see what's in the 'birthday budget'... (having your b-day and X-mas on the same day has its appeal, on the other hand, I often feel like I get less gifts like the 'but it's a very large gift so you only get one for both occasions' thing... I do feel like a petulant child for complaining though :p)

[catsintheattic]

I'm glad that you found the discussion helpful. I felt a bit selfish for hijacking your journal. *blush*

A friend of mine had the same problem of Christmas and her birthday being in the same week. It's not fair, and you get to celebrate only once a year instead of twice.

So good luck with your budget and ordering soonish!

[lullabylily]

Amazon should totally give you free sparkly ebooks for that review! :D
Thanks so much for all this detailed information!!!
I hope I'll manage to get a Kindle pretty soon :-) It does sound like a very useful piece of electronics!
One question; you have the keyboard version but not the 3G? I think now the standard WiFi version doesn't have a keyboard, only the 3G version does..

[vaysh]

I think now the standard WiFi version doesn't have a keyboard, only the 3G version does.
I have something that is called the Kindle Keyboard. At least in Germany, there is a wifi version fo 119 €, and a G3 version for 159€.

[lullabylily]

Sorry for stalking this old thread, but I got a kindle!!! Woohoo!!! I love it :-) I'll probably write a post about how much I love it, in fact ;-) I just had a question abut the sending html files to the kindle e-mail address. How does that work? My kindle is connected to the wifi and I send the file as an attachment to my kindle address with 'convert' in the subject line... But nothing seems to happen? What am I doing wrong? :-)

[vaysh]

Yay, you got one, too! ♥ You don't even need to add the "convert" to the subject line, just sent to your amazon Kindle address. Sometimes it does take a bit longer, so be patient. And I have two or three files that just didn't work. I have yet to find out why.

[lullabylily]

Thanks! After a couple tries, I got it to work. But how about stories posted on LJ? I've only tried AO3 (I downloaded html files for the ones the mobi link didn't work for), so do you just save the entire webpage? Or is there a save button for LJ posts so that you save only the content of the post?

[vaysh]

I save the entire LJ page, complete with comments and what not. Usually it works. But it does depend on the page lay-out how well it comes through in the Kindle. With some lay-outs I had to throw the entire fic into a word doc, and sent that to the Kindle. Also, with the new fucking LJ changes, I find it hard to get read of the formatting sometimes. What I want is a white page with black letters, but sometimes LJ just doesn't seem to give me that, no matter whether I go My Own View or not. I wish there was something like a button where you could just save content.