E Books, Tablets, I Pads, what to read an electric book on

[ford34/2]

Missus could maybe fancy an electronic book thing!!! them computer type screens you can see in all lights -even brilliant sunshine!! and then read it just it like a book, dont suppose it needs nowt too fancy like internet or computer stuff as she doesnt do computers.

So whats the score, what are they, whats the best to consider, and how do you get the electric books onto the machine, buy them then download??? or preloaded?

I know nowt about them, help appreciated.
Thanks
Stan

 

[ajlelectronics]

You have probably specified the Kindle.

 

[daleyd]

Kindle from Amazon is probably the best known, they come in various types, eg with a light in so you read at night, without a light etc etc.

There are other manufacturers who do similar, eg nook, kobo reader etc

My wife has the kindle with the backlight (paperwhite) and it's quite good. If you travel a lot and read a lot it saves carrying several books with you.

You buy the books on Amazon and they are downloaded to the reader. (You need a wifi connection to download but after that they are on the reader and you don't need any internet connection).

You can read books on a tablet such as an iPad with the kindle application but it's not very easy on the eyes and not to be recommended for anything other than occasional use. The proper e readers have much nicer screens to look at for long periods.

 

[mike os]

from your description kindle paperwhite is the only sensible choice

 

[landyman1]

kindle is by far the best to use if only reading books,new paperwhite spot on,wife is on her 3rd,she wears them out.i have an original and kindle fire hd ok for playing games and web browsing but still use original on beach situations better in bright light,tried hudl etc but screen glare gets annoying,happy shopping
ps loads of daily free downloads constantly changing,

 

[p0689109]

I bought my wife the basic Kindle a couple of years ago but this year I have got her the latest Kindle Fire. Full internet facility and they do them in different screen sizes and memory size. She loves hers.

 

[eSCHEn]

Same as the others for the Kindle. OH has a Fire HD and loves it. I am currently a facebook widower like most nights *sigh*

 

[Cyberprog]

My mum started off with the kindle e-Reader, but has now graduated from that to an Android Tablet (the 7" Samsung Galaxy Tab2) - though she didn't take my advice and buy one with 3g, so she's upgraded this xmas to the Tab 3 8.4" and passed the other one to my sister

 

[cumbriasteve]

Had my Kindle now for a couple of years and it's used every night, I read a lot, so my vote goes to the Kindle.

Books are easy to get, I got one of those 20,000 books for £3.99 from ebay, fair enough there was a lot of rubbish but there is probably enough good stuff to keep me going for years.

 

[eSCHEn]

Loads of classics and public domain ones on Project Gutenberg: www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Free_Kindle_Books

 

[waldershelf]

E readers like the Kindle paperwhite have three major advantages over a tablet the first is battery life, weeks rather than hours. The second is they are much easier on the eye reading for long periods. The third is battery life (you see what I did there, the battery life really is that important.) Tablets are great for multimedia applications, maps, internet, sat nav etc etc but don't work too well for reading books. I have both and they aren't really interchangeable.

 

[cumbriasteve]

Loads of classics and public domain ones on Project Gutenberg: www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Free_Kindle_Books

That's very true and if you decide to buy from one of the sellers on ebay make sure you are not buying simply the classics if you like thrillers or crime/horror etc, a bit of careful reading of the listings soon details what's supplied.

 

[daleyd]

E readers like the Kindle paperwhite have three major advantages over a tablet the first is battery life, weeks rather than hours. The second is they are much easier on the eye reading for long periods. The third is battery life (you see what I did there, the battery life really is that important.) Tablets are great for multimedia applications, maps, internet, sat nav etc etc but don't work too well for reading books. I have both and they aren't really interchangeable.

+1 on this - if it's primarily going to be for reading novels then an e reader is the way to go.

I have the kindle app and use it on my iPad if I'm away for a night but you wouldnt want to read a whole book on it, the screen just strains the eyes too much. E readers are much easier on the eye.

 

[skotl]

+1 for Kindle Paperwhite. I can read it in bed with the bedside light off, so wife doesn't complain, and it has 30 days battery life.

I bought one when I was in Australia cos my Mark 1 Kindle broke while I was there. Wife loves it, so that's her xmas sorted out

 

[Normsthename]

I had the earlier Kinfle and they work really well when there's ggod light.
But, when the light is not so good you have to rely on silly LED lights that fit to the kindle.
I changed mine to the Kindle Paperwhite with the backlighting and it is much better!

Andy

 

[cecotto479]

If it's only to read books on, the Kindle PaperWhite is definitely the one to go for.

 

[pedrobedro]

My wife has a Barnes and Noble Nook simple touch glowlight and you can download free books from the local library as epub files and read pdf books. I have a Nook HD+ but it is Cyanogen modded to a tablet and runs the B&N Nook android app which works just like the original. Tesco has the 6" Kindle Fire HD on offer at the moment I think.

 

[rockweasel]

Another vote for Kindle paperwhite.
I have the Kindle app on my 7" Galaxy Tab and Microsoft Surface. The Kindle store is easy to use, quick to download a from and cheaper than real books. The store also has customer reviews and many books let you download a sample to read before you buy. The only drawbacks with my devices are the weight and battery life. If I was after a reader-only device it would be a Kindle paperwhite.

 

[ford34/2]

Brilliant response, thanks to all of you, Guess its down the Kindle avenue we go.
help appreciated.
Stan