Saturday, August 06, 2011
Kindles and such
Well, our two Kindles did arrive on Wednesday July 27th and we got them up and going right away. We ordered them from Amazon.com and when you do that, they arrive already setup linked to your Amazon account, registered and with the email address all setup. We got the dual connect versions that can connect by WiFi or a cell phone connection, so as soon as we turned them on they downloaded the books we had already bought from Amazon.
I really like it. The screen is good and clear with a newer version of e-ink screen called E-Ink Pearl. It seems to be better than the screen on my Sony E-Readers but the newest one of mine is now a couple of years old. And it is very light in weight! Very thin but easy to hold. We at first thought they had shorted us on the USB cord that was supposed to be in the package to connect to the computer, but the power cord to plug into the wall is actually a USB cord with an adapter on the big (computer) end- when you pull it off, what you have left is a USB cord although the device end is a smaller size plug than some of the mini-USB cords that I have for other devices.
It will also charge from a powered USB port on your computer and you can move compatible files from the computer to the Kindle by dragging and dropping them into the proper folder on the Kindle- Books, Music or Video. I had downloaded my earlier books from Fictionwise in .MOBI format that the Kindle will read, so I moved them and they are there and readable. I have also moved a few .MP3 music files but haven't yet tried listening to them. They tend to be a lot larger than books so will reduce how many books you can have on your device if you have many of them. I don't know anything about the video files, what is compatible, etc. The screen is monochrome- no color- so photos, video, etc. wouldn't look as good as it would on a computer or tablet with a back-lit LCD screen, but it is easier on the eyes which would be important for long reading sessions.
After we ordered the M-Edge book covers I was notified that my blue one had shipped but it would be 1 to 3 months before Pat's purple one came. I did a chat linkup with Amazon.com to ask about the missing one and connected to a very helpful person. We cancelled the order for the purple one, Pat picked out a mocha colored one that was in stock, so I ordered it and the helpful person said they would have it shipped by 2-day service at no charge to us as they had been ordered with free shipping offered for orders over $25.00. Pat's came last Saturday, mine on Tuesday and they are great ($35 each.) There is an easy to use light available that goes with the book cover for $20 but they are currently out of stock.
We are enjoying them. I started right away reading "The Girl Who Kicked A Hornet's Nest" by Stieg Larsson, the third and final book in that series and have finished it. It was just as good as the first two that I read in paperback editions. I wish there were to be more but the author died of a heart attack shortly after sending the original manuscripts to the publisher in 2004. If you want a good read, go get this series and if you want to get an e-book reader, I think you will like the Kindle.
I really like it. The screen is good and clear with a newer version of e-ink screen called E-Ink Pearl. It seems to be better than the screen on my Sony E-Readers but the newest one of mine is now a couple of years old. And it is very light in weight! Very thin but easy to hold. We at first thought they had shorted us on the USB cord that was supposed to be in the package to connect to the computer, but the power cord to plug into the wall is actually a USB cord with an adapter on the big (computer) end- when you pull it off, what you have left is a USB cord although the device end is a smaller size plug than some of the mini-USB cords that I have for other devices.
It will also charge from a powered USB port on your computer and you can move compatible files from the computer to the Kindle by dragging and dropping them into the proper folder on the Kindle- Books, Music or Video. I had downloaded my earlier books from Fictionwise in .MOBI format that the Kindle will read, so I moved them and they are there and readable. I have also moved a few .MP3 music files but haven't yet tried listening to them. They tend to be a lot larger than books so will reduce how many books you can have on your device if you have many of them. I don't know anything about the video files, what is compatible, etc. The screen is monochrome- no color- so photos, video, etc. wouldn't look as good as it would on a computer or tablet with a back-lit LCD screen, but it is easier on the eyes which would be important for long reading sessions.
After we ordered the M-Edge book covers I was notified that my blue one had shipped but it would be 1 to 3 months before Pat's purple one came. I did a chat linkup with Amazon.com to ask about the missing one and connected to a very helpful person. We cancelled the order for the purple one, Pat picked out a mocha colored one that was in stock, so I ordered it and the helpful person said they would have it shipped by 2-day service at no charge to us as they had been ordered with free shipping offered for orders over $25.00. Pat's came last Saturday, mine on Tuesday and they are great ($35 each.) There is an easy to use light available that goes with the book cover for $20 but they are currently out of stock.
We are enjoying them. I started right away reading "The Girl Who Kicked A Hornet's Nest" by Stieg Larsson, the third and final book in that series and have finished it. It was just as good as the first two that I read in paperback editions. I wish there were to be more but the author died of a heart attack shortly after sending the original manuscripts to the publisher in 2004. If you want a good read, go get this series and if you want to get an e-book reader, I think you will like the Kindle.
