<p>I know there have been a million threads posted about this… but I just had a couple of questions…</p>
<p>We are thinking of getting one for my dad for fathers day… I know I don’t want a Nook… has to be a Kindle… </p>
<p>He doesn’t even know what it is, so this is going to be a complete surprise. My dad is a very big reader - never goes anywhere without a book in his hands… never goes on vacation with less then four books in his suit case… He still belongs to one of those book clubs - where they mail you a thing each month with a list of books and sales and you mail it back with your order and soon you have hard back books showing up on your door step. (kind of like those old BMG music clubs but for books.) The selection on Kindle seems to be pretty big so I don’t think that should be an issue. Does anyone know if they have a large selection of science fiction type books because those are by far his favorite?</p>
<p>Now… Can he view the internet on it? Like mobile pages or something like that? I know it’s black and white, but just wanted to double check.</p>
<p>Is it difficult to change the text sizes?</p>
<p>Does it have any games or anything like that?</p>
<p>If he just would be accessing it from their house which is WiFi, is it worth it to get the 3g also? I really can’t see him ever using it at a non wi-fi place. He may want to use it when they are on vacation like at a hotel… but all of the hotels they stay at have free wi-fi as well.</p>
<p>I saw online you can share and loan books to each other. Has anyone done this? If so, is it difficult? My best friend has a kindle and they both like the same kind of books so it might be neat if they can share with each other.</p>
<p>It is not hard to change the font size on the Kindle, you can download games, you can send yourself (or have others send you) PDFs. It also has an audio feature for many books. It’s not difficult to share, you can also download countless free books.</p>
<p>I would spring for the 3g because I have an elderly mother and it’s in the strangest places where you need to be able to download something to save your sanity, like a doctor’s office, in the waiting room of a hospital, at the auto repair shop, on a bus. It’s not a necessity, but it’s absolutely wonderful to be able to get yourself a book when you are stuck somewhere.</p>
<p>The selection is huge for the Kindle and there are millions of free or almost free titles in the public domain. You can read magazines and even subscribe to them. When purchasing, the books are broken down into sub and sub-sub categories.</p>
<p>For a reader, the Kindle is the best gift ever. Ever. I walk around with mine everywhere and, as a joke, my daughter bedazzled the cover. It gives me such joy I can’t even tell you. Your dad will love it and bless you everytime he uses it. If you can swing it, go for the gusto and get the 3g, you will be glad you did.</p>
<p>I bought myself a Kindle within the last year and I really like it. I should have gotten one sooner. The size, weight, and versatility are ideal for a book reader. The battery life is unbelievable (up to around a month per charge).</p>
<p>The font is easy to change but after he sets it to what he likes the first time he probably won’t change it much after that anyway.</p>
<p>I got the 3G one since it wasn’t that much more money but haven’t actually used it - I’ve used only the wireless. If I was to do it again or if the cost was an issue I don’t know if I’d spring for it again. It really comes down to how one plans to use it. For reading books, one can load it up with lots of books so needing to download a book outside of the home wireless network (or especially, another wireless network), is gong to be rare for most people. But again, it’s not a whole lot more money for the 3G so it can come down to ‘why not?’.</p>
<p>If he likes it as much as I like my Kindle he’ll be very happy you gave him one as a gift.</p>
<p>Changing font size is easy, there is a dedicated button for doing that.</p>
<p>There is a browser but it doesn’t work very well. The rendering can be pretty slow, and the lack of a touchscreen means you have to navigate around using the arrow keys. I’ve used it for google maps and a few other things, but it is a little frustrating.</p>
<p>How technical is your father? Free wi-fi is great but it can sometimes be a pain to get it configured unless it is totally open. The 3g just… works.</p>
<p>If you want to spend that much, take a look at the DX. The 10 inch form factor is <em>really</em> nice for reading, and lets you set the font pretty large and still get more than a paragraph on the screen at a time. Pricey and large, though.</p>
<p>As others have stated, the font is a breeze to change. I have mine set so I don’t need my reading glasses. I’m a big fan of the 3G, but I take mine everywhere and download a lot of samples. If I see a book mentioned when I’m out I download it. I could write it down, but I’d forget. I could log into wifi if one’s nearby, but the 3Gs automatically on. If $50 is doable it’s a onetime fee I’ve enjoyed having a lot! It’s a luxury, but that’s kind of the point. </p>
<p>Your Dad will love it regardless!! What a great gift! :)</p>
<p>I saw the larger one but it’s considerably more expensive. I think what we might do is split it up between my mom my sister and myself so that it works out to be about 50 per person. I have to double check with them to make sure that’s doable. </p>
<p>Does anyone know what the new one with special offers is? It looks like it’s the wi fi version but it displays ad’s or something? Anyone have any experience with something like that? It’s cheaper but I don’t think he’d want ads popping up all over the place.</p>
<p>He’s semi-technical. he can browse the web and set up usernames / passwords and stuff, but he’s not the person you want setting up a wireless network or anything like that.</p>
<p>The ads aren’t pop-up - they display at the bottom of your home screen, and on the screen-saver (the picture displayed when the Kindle turns off). They don’t show up when you are reading.</p>
<p>Some of the special offers sound pretty good, I almost wish I was getting them on my Kindle.</p>
<p>BTW, I was in Staples this weekend. They are now selling the Kindle, the Nook, the Motorola Xoom, and another one I can’t remember, and they had working display models to play with. If your local Staples is doing this as well, it might be worth a trip so you can get some hands-on before you buy.</p>
<p>The special offers do not show up in the book itself. At the bottom of your home page there are special offerers and instead of the generic sleep page a page with offers and discounts appears. [Kindle</a> with Special Offers, Wi-Fi, Graphite, 6" Display with New E Ink Pearl Technology](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Special-Offers-Wireless-Reader/dp/B004HFS6Z0/ref=amb_link_356227962_3?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=03Q2XRBRZQTJ2YTM57PH&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1297430222&pf_rd_i=133141011]Kindle”>http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Special-Offers-Wireless-Reader/dp/B004HFS6Z0/ref=amb_link_356227962_3?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=03Q2XRBRZQTJ2YTM57PH&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1297430222&pf_rd_i=133141011) You can ignore all of them easily if you want. So it seems like a good deal. You get the latest Kindle with 3G at a much lower price.</p>
<p>I did see the sign at Staples that they were selling them now. I saw them at Best Buy yesterday too. I’ll have to talk to my mom to see what she thinks about the offers one. It’s the WiFi version with a 25 dollar price break. I have a 25 dollar gift card from work for Amazon.com so I’ll probably put that towards it also.</p>
<p>I’m not really looking at the nook and others because I think (no, I know) he’d love the ability to read his outside in the sunlight without the glare off the screen.</p>
<p>My mom kind of brought it up to him (she was hoping she could get some kind of reaction out of him to see how he felt about one) - so she told him she was looking at a Kindle at the store - and he responded with “What’s a kindle?” ;)</p>
<p>Personally, I’d pay the $25 to avoid the ads for as long as I own the Kindle…years, right? But then I hate ads. Plus I love the screensaver art. I’d hate to see a visa ad instead!</p>
<p>Yeah… I"m thinking he wouldn’t want to see the ads either but I want to double check with her.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t mind getting the special offers on mine if they were all like the “$10 for a $20 amazon gift card” or “$1 for an mp3 album” like Amazon lists on their web site.</p>
<p>I just got a Kindle finally and actually opted for the one with special offers. I like Groupon, etc so I just think it’s another way of getting offers. In fact, I bought a Kindle book that I was going to anyway and got a $10 Amazon gift card through an offer (the book was less than $10). The “ads” are not in the body of the book, so I don’t feel like it’s intrusive. Others may think otherwise, though. Either way, I really like the Kindle! Easier on the eyes than a regular screen…</p>
<p>The Nook is interesting from a geek/nerd perspective because it is relatively straightforward to “jailbreak” it and turn it into a full-blown Android tablet that costs only $250.</p>
<p>To share books with another Kindle user you have to share the same account. Would that it were otherwise, as I have many friends with Kindles, who happen to have great taste in books!</p>
<p>As noted above, the browser isn’t all that great except for text based sites. I can read gmail on it, but I wouldn’t want to read sites with photos. It displays kind of oddly. If a computer is available, I’d definitely choose that, but the browser can be handy when travelling. But assuming you don’t use it like an Ipad, then you would use the browser only to order books. The wifi might be sufficient.</p>
<p>I don’t have the 3G, but I would get it if I were buying it for an older relative. A coworker bought his mother the wifi one for Christmas, she’s halfway across the country and can’t figure out how to connect to her router.</p>
<p>And there is a sharing club, booklending dot com, you can loan out a title or borrow from other accounts, not all titles are loanable.</p>
<p>You can loan many Kindle books but only for 2 weeks at a time; I have done this a few times when I knew I would be able to finish it within the 2 weeks. Amazon also plans to start a lending library where you can borrow Kindle books from participating libraries:</p>
<p>[Amazon</a> to launch library lending for Kindle books - USATODAY.com](<a href=“Amazon to launch library lending for Kindle books”>Amazon to launch library lending for Kindle books)</p>
<p>I love my Kindle. The larger one (DX?) is good if you need color for textbooks or something, but I love the compact size of mine. As others have told you, changing text size is as easy as can be. One of my favorite things: if the wireless is turned off (I only turn it on to search and down load books) the battery lasts a loooong time.</p>
<p>If you want a reader that also functions as an internet search, I think that the IPad is worth a look. But it is larger, more expensive, and won’t last nearly as long on a charge. My smart phone gives me the internet access when I’m away from my laptop, so that hasn’t been an issue for me.</p>