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<p>Oh, goodness there are bestsellers on overdrive.That’s the provider for the Philadelphia library as well. Project Gutenberg books are all ones whose copyrights expired. I’ve read several books on my nook that are current.</p>
<p>
The ‘this’ (Kindle Fire) is really a tablet computer, as is the iPad, only it’s based on a different operating system than the Apple one. The Kindle is based on the Android OS which is also used on tablets from a lot of other manufacturers including Samsung and others. </p>
<p>All of the tablets, including the iPad, are pretty similar. They’re somewhat general purpose computers in the tablet form factor with a touch screen that allow one to run built-in apps as well as apps vreated by third parties which number in the thousands. Most of the available apps for the iPad and teh Android based tablets are either the same (made by the same creator but specific to the OS) or similar.</p>
<p>You really need to look at features, size, weight, price, how nicely it’s put together, perhaps speed, memory (although with cloud storage this area gets murky since not as much storage on the device is needed), how nice the screen is, etc. to decide what to get.</p>
<p>The Amazon Fire is appealing on the surface of it so far due to the low cost. It should help drive down the prices of those offered by others or cause them to come out with new lower cost versions of their tablets.</p>
<p>
You have the same ability to read the books available through Kindle but of course, the advantage to me in the actual Kindle device is the cost, smaller size, lighter weight, super long battery life, and the display for reading books (only books - not as good for most other things).</p>
<p>I also have the Kindle app on my iPhone and have used it at times. The cool thing is I can access all the same books as on my Kindle reader.</p>
<p>Hello! Am I getting this right? The big difference to me, between this and ipads and androids, both of which I have and love,is in addition to being cheaper to buy, is FREE 3 G! Wow! Not always worth paying for, but really nice to have!</p>
<p>BTW, our family also has and loves first & second gen kindles with wifi but not 3G, and In old school Fujitsu tablet which I LIVED on, before the Ipad.As for as I can tell, current tablets don’t have the same ability as my “old school” tablet pc, and can’t really replace a “real” laptop computer, but as soon as that is at the right price point, I’ll go for that too!</p>
<p>Shrinkrap - NO! The Kindle Fire tablet does NOT have free 3G (or 3G at all I believe).</p>
<p>A free no-contract 3G service for such an Internet-browsing optimized and video content delivering device such as a tablet computer will totally cost any company more than it’s worth in data charges.</p>
<p>It will never ever ever be available, in any such tablet computer, ever. Guaranteed. That’s like a car company selling you a $10,000 car and offering to buy you free gas, free maintenance, free rentals, free air travel, free hotels, free metro-passes, free groceries, and free college tuition for you and your kids’ entire lifetimes.</p>
<p>The free 3G you are thinking of is not for the Kindle Fire tablet. It’s for the regular line of E-Ink Kindle devices. You use the free 3G to access the store and download books and receive periodicals and subscriptions, and access Wikipedia. Past Kindles have also let you do basic web browsing over free 3G (email, Facebook, mobile-optimized news sites, weather, etc) but this new line seems to designate that browsing can only be done over WiFi instead.</p>
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I’ve found that browsing the internet on a Kindle is one of the most painful things ever. I tried it a few times and gave up, most sites I tried don’t work right, navigating with the keyboard is horrible.</p>
<p>It’s ok to find books on Amazon’s web site, that’s about it.</p>
<p>Sigh. I thought it was too good to be true, but I could have sworn I saw that. So did anybody find out how the data plan will work?</p>
<p>Nvm; wifi only.</p>
<p>VH-
I am with you- My family has all the electronic toys, but I do not. I have a blackberry and a small netbook for travel (laptop is too big/heavy). I can read my email on my bb. I have played with my DH’s Ipad but dont feel the need to own one. However the ads for the features on the new one coming out do look cool.</p>
<p>I have a 2nd generation Kindle with 3G. I got an Ipad2 with 3G last June. I still use the Kindle for 95% of my reading. It’s lighter and easier to use in bed and in the bath where I do a lot of my reading (I have a waterproof case for it). While I use my IPad several hours a day, I don’t like reading my books with a back light - it tires my eyes after looking at a PC all day and I have ‘floaters’ that make extended reading on a back lit, white background somewhat annoying. </p>
<p>As for the 3G on the iPad…I researched and agonized over this to the point that I ordered a 3G, and then changed the order to wifi only and then changed my mind again and changed the order to 3G (all this changing set back my shipment for weeks). I am glad every day that I got the 3G. I do use it. I find I only need the $14.99 plan and I can cancel it after each month if I don’t need it (I’ve never canceled because I do use it). </p>
<p>To give you an example, I went to see my beloved dermatologist last week. She’s the best but because she is so thorough, she has a tendency to run 45 minutes behind schedule. That 45 minutes flew by because I used my iPad 3G to answer emails and do some work on the internet. I often use it in the car when hubby is driving us on a trip. I used it when the power was out at our house for most of an evening last week. The 3G does come in handy. Could I live without it?? Of course, but it’s definitely nice to have at times.</p>
<p>Gawd, I feel stupid. May I ask my virtual friends some really dopey questions?</p>
<p>So let’s say I get a Kindle. Not a Kindle Fire, just a plain ole’ Kindle. </p>
<p>How do I download a book?</p>
<p>How am I charged for said book?</p>
<p>Can I download a book from anywhere?</p>
<p>Are just about all books available for download?</p>
<p>Can I get them for free from a library or do I have to pay for them?</p>
<p>If I can get them from a library, do I have to be at the lib to get the book? </p>
<p>Is there a finite number of people who can “take out” the book from the lib at one time?</p>
<p>How about magazines and newspapers?</p>
<p>What is the difference between WiFi and 3G?</p>
<p>Is the difference between the plain ole Kindle and the new Kindle Fire the fact that you can browse the internet on the Fire?</p>
<p>What are the other differences?</p>
<p>That’s enough to start with. Thanks. Don’t laugh at the stupid kid. :o</p>
<p>[Remember I’m the one who started the thread, “Technology is passing me by!”]</p>
<p>How do I download a book? Register your kindle on amazon.com, then click kindle shop, then find what you want, then click download.</p>
<p>How am I charged for said book? On an amazon account you set up or link when you register your kindle.</p>
<p>Can I download a book from anywhere? If its first gen kindle, only when you have access wifi (a wireless network)</p>
<p>Are just about all books available for download? No</p>
<p>Can I get them for free from a library or do I have to pay for them? Don’t know</p>
<p>If I can get them from a library, do I have to be at the lib to get the book? Don’t think so.</p>
<p>Is there a finite number of people who can “take out” the book from the lib at one time? Don’t know</p>
<p>How about magazines and newspapers? I believe on the newest kindle, not sure, but not with colored pictures on the ones I have (first and second).</p>
<p>What is the difference between WiFi and 3G? Wifi is generally “free” if somebody offers it nearby, or in a residence and you have a code. 3g is usually part of a data package with a cellphone, but is then available to you wherever you have cell phone coverage. </p>
<p>Is the difference between the plain ole Kindle and the new Kindle Fire the fact that you can browse the internet on the Fire? Pretty much.</p>
<p>What are the other differences? you should check that out on amazon.</p>
<p>see compare kindles near the middle.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-eReader-eBook-Reader-e-Reader-Special-Offers/dp/B0051QVESA/ref=amb_link_357628522_2?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1YAF9MPSHSDGQNQRW3QR&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1321401782&pf_rd_i=133141011[/url]”>http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-eReader-eBook-Reader-e-Reader-Special-Offers/dp/B0051QVESA/ref=amb_link_357628522_2?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1YAF9MPSHSDGQNQRW3QR&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1321401782&pf_rd_i=133141011</a></p>
<p>Thanks, Shrinkrap. That helps. Considerably.</p>
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<p>When you buy a book from Amazon, you can either connect your Kindle to the internet (via Wi-Fi or via 3G, depending on the model), or you can connect to your computer with a USB cable. Then the process on the Amazon website to “manage your library” is pretty seamless and self-explanatory.</p>
<p>Alternatively, you can make the purchase directly from the Kindle, in which case I believe the whole process happens by magic.</p>
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</p>
<p>The credit card registered to your Amazon account.</p>
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<p>From Amazon, from some public libraries, and from websites that have e-books in formats that Kindle can read (which includes PDFs). You can get free books from sites like Project Gutenberg, which has various books that are in the public domain. (My public library’s site links to this as well as to their own collection.)</p>
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<p>No, but many are. However, be aware that sometimes they are priced close to the price of a hardback and more than a paperback.</p>
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<p>As of last week, you can borrow them from your library if they use the Overdrive system.</p>
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</p>
<p>No, you don’t. You can browse the electronic resources of your public library online and then download the book. The instructions are on the Amazon site. I haven’t tried with a Kindle yet (just with a Nook) but it looks like Amazon has linked up with the Overdrive service so that books you “check out” are added to your collection on your Amazon account, and you download them (via WiFi–you cannot use 3G for this) just as you would a book you bought from Amazon.</p>
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<p>Yes, your library has a finite number of copies and you may have to join a waiting list to get a given book, like you would reserve a popular title of a hard-copy. But if you create a “wish list” and put holds on several books, you can eventually have a more or less steady stream of books to check out. There is a finite lending period after which the file turns into a pumpkin and you can’t read it any longer. My library allows 4 titles out at once per card, but I don’t know if that’s universal.</p>
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<p>You can buy them from Amazon but I don’t think my library lends them…I haven’t checked on that.</p>
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<p>Wi Fi works where you are in range of a wireless internet service, like at home or in a Starbucks or some hotels. 3G works all the time to access the internet, like your smart phone.</p>
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<p>You actually CAN browse the internet on the other Kindles but the interface is clunky. It’s not what you’d want for that purpose but it might do in a pinch if you didn’t have another device and needed to get online for some reason. The new Fire runs on Android platform like a Nook or like a Droid phone. It is probably quite different. Also, it’s color and the others are black-and-white, with white background and black ink, looking like a regular sheet of paper rather than a backlit screen. A lot of people like that and find it easier on the eyes than reading a lighted screen.</p>
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</p>
<p>Some of the new models are touch-screen. You can also get the old-style “Kindle Keyboard.”</p>
<p>If you’re on the fence, VH, I’d say go for it. Of all of today’s electronic toys and gadgets, I think Kindle has always been one of the simplest and most intuitive ones out there :)</p>
<p>I just downloaded the Kindle app to my laptop from Amazon. There are free Kindle books available (How bout Sherlock Holmes? 
) Is the Kindle experience on a laptop similar to the actual Kindle? I will see how I like reading books electronically. I may even take my laptop to bed with me. If I like it enough maybe I will purchase an actual Kindle.</p>
<p>wow… I just went to my library’s website (Charlotte) and borrowed a Kindle book, which sent me to Amazon, and I downloaded the book to my kindle for PC. Wonder if the book is any good…</p>
<p>"Is the Kindle experience on a laptop similar to the actual Kindle? "</p>
<p>To me, a lot would depend on the size of your laptop, and even compared to my light, “old school” fujitsu tablet, the kindle is MUCH lighter, more discreet, user friendly, is more like reading a book, and has MUCH more battery life.</p>
<p>If you find you can enjoy the ebook experience on a laptop, then you will definitely enjoy reading on a Kindle Fire. But to me - the key draw about ebook readers is that they have a E-Ink screen that is not backlit. Therefore, they are just like reading off a printed page instead of a computer screen, with the added benefits of changeable fonts/etc.</p>
<p>I may have missed this point, but is the Kindlefire backlit?</p>
<p>I have a Nookcolor, which is backlit and has wifi. I love it for reading, and like it somewhat for wifi/web. I wish I could use it more easily outdoors. The touch screen is a tad jumpy–popups for preferences appear out of nowhere and are difficult to make disappear. The keyboard is OK, but difficult to correct mistakes. It is a bit heavy compared to simple e-readers. Overall, I like it.
I’ll be curious to see how the less expensive Kindlefire compares.</p>