Been awhile since we have had a thread on an e-reader I think!!!
I had one of the first edition Nook readers and did some reading on an early edition iPad I had. Don’t currently have an electronic reader.
This is not a discussion of e-reader vs. regular book in hand. I am an avid library user and am in favor of all reading methods.
I’d just like some input on the Kindle paperwhite, pros/cons. My eyes aren’t the best and I do like reading at night in bed with the lights off. Currently just use a booklight - thought a Kindle might be a better option for my eyes. Also like reading on the beach.
Other question: do you download magazines on your Kindle - is there color or is everything black and white??
I have the Kindle paper white and love it. The backlight allows me to read in bed with the lights out while my husband is sleeping and the brightness can be adjusted. There is no glare while reading on the beach or outside as there is on earlier versions or on iPads.
I have a Paperwhite but tend to just read on my little Kindle fire. I can surf the web with it as well so it doesn’t seem much point in carrying 2 devices
I use my paper white for reading outside and in a bubble bath. I use the iPad for most other indoor reading especially magazines which aren’t in color on the PW. They are on the Fire but I didn’t like my fire all that much and gave it to my mom. It was too clunky for me.
Love my paper white also. I think I’ve had it for 2 years.
I am pretty sure that it’s only black and white. I’ve never downloaded magazines on it, I have an iPad and that’s what I would read magazines on. Anymore though, I usually only read certain articles and do not download an entire magazine.
The one thing I do not like my kindle for is cookbooks. I find the format clunky and like real books for that.
I like the weight of my kindle and the ability to change the font. I subscribe to BookBub and buy most of my books cheaply. I like that I can download books and take just that instead of multiple books. And now I can hide my book addiction from my H, and have a smaller footprint of things I need to get rid of
So this model has wi-fi. So if I needed to look up something on the internet I could right? Even just general google searches, email…
I’m such a fan of the iPad - this is where I falter. Should I just get a new iPad and manage with reading from that? Maybe the newer iPads have better reading conditions off a Kindle app or Overdrive, Hoopla, etc.???
I do like the option of reading magazine - sounds like I’d miss out on that on the Kindle.
While practicality would dictate only one device, the IPad has so many useful features…but I LOVE my paperwhite…so much easier on my eyes. Hard to imagine only one device.
I love my Kindle Paper White. Originally I got it to cut out the glare when reading outside, but I love it for other features. It’s smaller and more lightweight than my iPad, which I use for newspapers and all other types of online reading. The only con that comes to mind is that the Kindle is a bit clunky for viewing images like maps and photos while reading. The images are not as good quality as in paper books and other devices.
Another here who loves the Kindle Paperwhite. I especially enjoy it when I have my monthly hair appointment and I don’t want to put my readers on with a head full of hair color. I can just increase the font size temporarily and I’m good to go! I prefer to use my Kindle for fiction, but I still buy books I might want to refer back to or where I want to look at pictures in old school print editions.
Kindle for reading e-books, less glare, you can download multiple books for the road and carry around in your purse. Ipad for everything else, surfing the web, news, communications. You can use the kindle app on the Ipad in a pinch, but for long term reading, the kindle is easier on your eyes and much lighter in weight.
If you borrow books from library and need a few more days to finish, just put kindle on airplane mode. That way, the book loans expire, but your kindle still maintain its copies until you reactivate the connection.
I prefer physical cookbooks. There is pleasure in browsing and bookmarking the pages. I have bought e-cookbooks and after a few uses, promptly forgot I owned them. But the ones on the shelves are frequently used.
@abasket I love my paper white. I got mine during one of the many sales that Amazon offers. I especially like being able to adjust the backlighting depending on the ambient light. I find it restful for my middle-aged eyes to use.
I love my Kindle Paperwhite, but I have never understood the attraction of iPads. Maybe because I am not a big magazine reader? I use a laptop most of the time. Turning pages is easy. Sometimes I have issues swiping down to get to the bookmarks/notes/home. My main quibble is that as a fantasy reader they don’t make the maps enlarge enough. DH downloaded a book which is essentially a picture book with a lot of double page spreads. Aside from the fact that the designer had obviously never considered that his color palette did not work at all in black and white, the kindle app did not seem to have a way to look at the two page spreads. DH’s kindle app on the phone worked much better for this book. There’s an experimental browser in my kindle which you might be able to use to check out web pages, but resolution was pretty sucky. However it was a godsend for downloading books via our hotel’s wifi because of password requirements.
This is year 5 of my PW and I bought it for less than $100 back then. It only serves one function so there is little need for replacement if it still functions fine. Also, depends on usage, I only need to charge the kindle monthly, while the Ipad every other day. Battery life is another big plus.
Love my PW. I read a lot outside, and it’s harder on a tablet due to glare. I also like the fact that it’s only for books - I don’t get distracted by e-mail or surfing the web or - ooh, shiny! - Where was I? In that sense, it’s more like a traditional book. I don’t read a lot of things that require color or maps, so it’s good for me.
I have an original 1st-gen paperwhite that I love and use every day. Also have a new iPad that I bought last year that I use every day. They’re really completely different experiences, IMHO.
The kindle screen and whole reading experience is a lot more relaxed and focused than reading on the iPad. The kindle is light and easier to handle, and I find the pages easier to turn vs the kindle app on iPad. Compared to a physical book, I love the ability to make fonts larger and add more spacing between lines, and of course the light is adjustable. During the day I crank the light up to almost max, and at night in bed it’s down to almost minimum. Not having to worry about the battery vs the iPad is also a big plus. Also during these winter months I love to sit in a bright sunny spot while reading, and direct sun is a problem with an iPad but a bonus with the kindle (because you can turn down the backlight and increase battery life).
You can’t really do any serious web surfing on the kindle. The e-ink is slow and the wifi isn’t all that fast. I tried a newer kindle (one gen older than the current gen) and it was pretty much the same experience. I actually vastly prefer finding books on my iPad and buying them online to be sent to my kindle, vs using the kindle to get online and buying it directly. Even when I know exactly what book I want, I’d rather use my iPad/phone/browser than get online with the kindle.
I travel a lot and always bring both kindle and iPad, just because I prefer reading on the kindle so much. Also when I’m on the road I’m not shy about eating solo at restaurants, and it’s just easier to bring the kindle to read vs the iPad. The kindle’s not only lighter, smaller, and less conspicuous, but it’s cheaper and more rugged than the iPad for knocking around in an uber/taxi and sitting at a restaurant bar potentially surrounded by boisterous people with drinks and food.
“I love my Kindle Paperwhite, but I have never understood the attraction of iPads.”
I use my ipad to read the news. I subscribe on line to multiple papers. Why would I want a big thing sitting on my lap on the train or on my couch when I can hold the ipad the way I used to hold a newspaper?
