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Kindle Fire - oh, the free stuff!

For discussion about electronic reading devices and related issues (pricing, formatting, accessories, comparisons, etc.)
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Leyland
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Kindle Fire - oh, the free stuff!

Post by Leyland » Fri December 2nd, 2011, 8:26 pm

I bought my first Kindle product earlier this week at Wal-Mart for the usual $199 primarily because I saw so many free downloadable multi-genre books I was really interested in. Many of the classics are there - now's my chance to finally try The Moonstone. I hope more chidrens' books become available to download for free, too.

The reality is that I've just run out of room due to all the TBR's and this may be the way to keep the TBR's dwindling physically to a more comfortable level for the non-readers in my household! You know the ones who can't understand "why so many books?", lol!

And I downloaded some interesting magazines. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_ ... +magazines as well. Harper's!

There will be times when I pay to download new books, of course, but I do appreciate the amount and quality of the free stuff. Since I don't have a smart phone, I also chose the Fire so that I can check e-mail and Facebook, etc.

Happy Fire camper, so far :) . Any other happy campers here?
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SGM
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Post by SGM » Fri December 2nd, 2011, 10:17 pm

Kindle Fire is not available over here yet* but I was holding fire intending to get one when it eventually crossed the pond. But, too late, because I caved and got an iPad. I had decided, in fact, to get a Windows 7 tablet but although they were on show, there were none available for sale so I got the iPad.

I regretted it for quite a while because I thought I couldn't borrow library books on or and it appeared not to want to read Archive PDFs. Eventually, I asked Google the correct question and now have the Overdrive app for library books and today I figured out the PDF problem which turns out not to be about the graphics capability of the iPad at all.

So no Kindle for for me for quite a while (I hope) because I can now use the iPad to read Kindle, epub, PDF and listen to audiobooks all on the same device.

*Although I have just seen a side ad on my email account for Kindle Fire for £188 so maybe it is on its way. However, I don't think much of the exchange rate mechanism on this ($199/£188) so I am glad I didn't wait for the Kindle and did get the iPad.
Last edited by SGM on Fri December 2nd, 2011, 10:49 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Currently reading - Emergence of a Nation State by Alan Smith

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Misfit
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Post by Misfit » Sat December 3rd, 2011, 12:17 am

I love the kindle, but I still finding myself reaching for the dead tree books and forgetting the *stack* in the kindle. I don't plan on getting the Fire anytime soon, I hear the screen is not as easy on the eyes for just reading like the older models are.
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Susan
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Post by Susan » Sat December 3rd, 2011, 1:51 am

[quote=""Misfit""] I don't plan on getting the Fire anytime soon, I hear the screen is not as easy on the eyes for just reading like the older models are.[/quote]

This is what I am concerned about also. I know for certain that the Kindle's ease on the eyes allows me to read faster. I got my Kindle in July 0f 2010 and so far in 2011 I have read 5,000 more pages than in 2010.
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Post by boswellbaxter » Sat December 3rd, 2011, 2:27 am

I was really tempted with the Fire, but I'm not much on movies or videos, so my old Kindle suited me fine. What I really wanted was something I could edit documents with on the road (to keep from back-seat driving when we're traveling to see my daughter), so I gave in to the ghost of Steve Jobs and bought an iPad.
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Alisha Marie Klapheke
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Post by Alisha Marie Klapheke » Sat December 3rd, 2011, 4:04 am

[quote=""Misfit""]I love the kindle, but I still finding myself reaching for the dead tree books and forgetting the *stack* in the kindle. I don't plan on getting the Fire anytime soon, I hear the screen is not as easy on the eyes for just reading like the older models are.[/quote]

When you say that the older versions are easier on the eyes, are you speaking of the non-backlit versions? I am considering a Nook (non-backlit type) for Christmas, but my very generous mother wants to buy a Fire for me. I wasn't sure if I was right in saying that the Fire is backlit and therefore can bug my eyeballs. I'd rather give up FB and email capabilities and have the one that doesn't turn my eyes into cottonballs.

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Misfit
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Post by Misfit » Sat December 3rd, 2011, 4:07 am

[quote=""Alisha Marie Klapheke""]When you say that the older versions are easier on the eyes, are you speaking of the non-backlit versions? I am considering a Nook (non-backlit type) for Christmas, but my very generous mother wants to buy a Fire for me. I wasn't sure if I was right in saying that the Fire is backlit and therefore can bug my eyeballs. I'd rather give up FB and email capabilities and have the one that doesn't turn my eyes into cottonballs.[/quote]

I believe that is the case, but please go to the Kindle forums at Amazon and read and research todecide what works best for you. I have only glanced through the threads, and not the ultimate excpert. It is my understanding that the Kindle fire screen is very different from the non-backlit/e-ink screens.
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SGM
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Post by SGM » Sat December 3rd, 2011, 4:10 am

I don't have a problem with reading a non-e-ink reader and my Kindle 3 hasn't made a ha'porth worth of difference to the amount I read which is now simply split between paper and electronic (e-ink and backlit) and will continue to be so probably for most of the rest of my life. This is simply because it will be quite some time before all the non-fiction I read will be available electronically and even if it were available, I really couldn't buy them all (however much I would like to). I do find the backlit screens very good for night reading now my eyesight is not what it was.

My local library is part of a consortium about ten boroughs which gives me access to quite a considerable range of books but even then I have to supplement that with membership of the City of London libraries, yet another borough library, two university libraries and the British Library.

As I said, I don't have any issue with reading the screen on the iPad although because of its size, I do find it more difficult to hold particularly when travelling on the tube but then the reason I got it was because it had the larger screen which makes it possible to read the PDFs I download from the Internet.

I have absolutely no idea how many books I read, let only the number of pages and the only thing that would affect that would be if I won the lottery and no longer had to go out to work.
Currently reading - Emergence of a Nation State by Alan Smith

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Mythica
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Post by Mythica » Sat December 3rd, 2011, 10:58 am

[quote=""Alisha Marie Klapheke""]When you say that the older versions are easier on the eyes, are you speaking of the non-backlit versions? I am considering a Nook (non-backlit type) for Christmas, but my very generous mother wants to buy a Fire for me. I wasn't sure if I was right in saying that the Fire is backlit and therefore can bug my eyeballs. I'd rather give up FB and email capabilities and have the one that doesn't turn my eyes into cottonballs.[/quote]

Yeah, the Fire is backlit. If you can't read for long periods on a backlit screen, definitely don't get the Fire. But Kindle do have 3 other current e-ink models available in the US (4 if you count the DX).

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Alisha Marie Klapheke
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Post by Alisha Marie Klapheke » Sun December 4th, 2011, 1:22 am

Thanks very much for the information, everyone. One more question: would you say that a backlit kindle puts out as much light as a laptop?

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