I don’t get Kindles…
What can it do that my smartphone or tab can’t…?
More money than sense…?
[quote=“Prozak”]I don’t get Kindles…
What can it do that my smartphone or tab can’t…?
More money than sense…?[/quote]
Kindles are cheap. They use electronic ink not led screens. Entirely different reading experience. Much easier on the eyes, you can read in bright daylight, and adjust the font size. If you read a lot your eyes will thank you.
Please expand on this. My Tablet is HD, can it not emulate simple black and white text?
I really don’t get it. My Tablet is a computer in my hand. It gives me internet access, games, and hi res text.
There are even Kindle apps for Android devices.
Why would I need an antiquated text based slab that is so limited in it’s performance to give me a bulge in my trousers…?
It looks like paper. And I’m sure you’ll agree that paper is easier to read than your phone/tablet.
Regular screens rely on backlight, so they fail in bright daylight. E-ink relies on reflection, like paper, so bright light only makes things easier.
You should borrow one/try one at a store sometime. It really is a different experience. In any case, they’re cheap.
Like a book, with a Kindle you can sit reading for hours at a time without eyestrain. You can’t do that with a tablet.
And, you can just read. You won’t be tempted to jump on Facebook, play a game, watch YouTube.
[quote=“Mucha Man”][quote=“Prozak”]I don’t get Kindles…
What can it do that my smartphone or tab can’t…?
More money than sense…?[/quote]
Kindles are cheap. They use electronic ink not led screens. Entirely different reading experience. Much easier on the eyes, you can read in bright daylight, and adjust the font size. If you read a lot your eyes will thank you.[/quote]
That was the first generation kindles. The Kindle Fire and the Kindle Fire HD have multitouch color screens instead of e-ink screens, so all those things about eye strain doesn’t apply anymore. Reading a newer kindle is exactly the same as reading any other tablet.
The main point for the new Kindles is that they use the Android Open Source Project code to build their own (Amazon’s) version of the OS, instead of the Google builds. As such, they don’t have access to the Google apps or Google Play store, and you have to take the apps and media from Amazon’s own app store.
The good part is that Amazon sells the Kindles generally cheaper than the competition (they are priced similar to the Nexus devices), and, providing you know what you’re doing, they can be hacked to install the last stock android versions.
Please expand on this. My Tablet is HD, can it not emulate simple black and white text?
I really don’t get it. My Tablet is a computer in my hand. It gives me internet access, games, and hi res text.
There are even Kindle apps for Android devices.
Why would I need an antiquated text based slab that is so limited in it’s performance to give me a bulge in my trousers…?[/quote]
I think you are savvy enough to look up e-ink. What I’ll tell you ishow it works subjectively. Kindle gives you a superior reading experience. If you read a lot you get a Kindle. Text is sharper than any HD screen and there is less glare than even paper. And almost everyone who gets a Kindle says they same thing: they read more. The experience is just so good and the fact it is so limited means you read and don’t surf or email every 5 minutes.
Kindle apps btw just let you read your Kindle books on smartphones, they don’t emply e-ink.
Btw if you were with me now you would see the difference. Iphone screen glary in the morning light. Kindle sharp and glare free.
[quote=“Blaquesmith”][quote=“Muzha Man”][quote=“Prozak”]I don’t get Kindles…
What can it do that my smartphone or tab can’t…?
More money than sense…?[/quote]
Kindles are cheap. They use electronic ink not led screens. Entirely different reading experience. Much easier on the eyes, you can read in bright daylight, and adjust the font size. If you read a lot your eyes will thank you.[/quote]
That was the first generation kindles. The Kindle Fire and the Kindle Fire HD have multitouch color screens instead of e-ink screens, so all those things about eye strain doesn’t apply anymore. Reading a newer kindle is exactly the same as reading any other tablet.
The main point for the new Kindles is that they use the Android Open Source Project code to build their own (Amazon’s) version of the OS, instead of the Google builds. As such, they don’t have access to the Google apps or Google Play store, and you have to take the apps and media from Amazon’s own app store.
The good part is that Amazon sells the Kindles generally cheaper than the competition (they are priced similar to the Nexus devices), and, providing you know what you’re doing, they can be hacked to install the last stock android versions.[/quote]
Kindle paperwhite is still using e-ink and sells well.
I don’t think they’re that great, but I can understand their allure to people that travel a lot. My mom swears by them because buying books online and reading them with an e-reader sure beats buying books and trying to transport them back and forth to different places.
I’m old school though and while adopting most forms of new technology–this hasn’t included the kindle…love antique book cases (we have a few) and old books populating them. To me, the pleasure of reading includes the heavy feel of the book, its sleeve, its smell etc.
There’s a reason kindle was first heavily adopted by older people unlike most new technology. Eye strain.
And Amazon Kindles are cheaper but full of crap bloathware probably.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
[quote=“Belgian Pie”]And Amazon Kindles are cheaper but full of crap bloathware probably.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk[/quote]
Kindles are cheaper because you are basically locked into buying Amazon content. They make money from the content and not the device.
Loooooovvvvee Kindles. Anyone who says that you can have a similar reading experience on a tablet or smartphone, obviously hasn’t tried one. Its the same as reading on paper, no glare just lovely. Carry a hundred books anywhere you go. E-ink is great and the technology comes from Taiwan.
Kindle Fire is an Android tablet and completely separate from the e-reader range.
Kindles with epaper technology also has longer battery use time per charge. LED screens needs a back light, and each LED has to be electronically switched on and stay powered if they want to display a pixel. That’s why if your phone’s screen is almost always on, it will eat up most of your power very quickly.
e-paper needs none of that. It only needs power when it needs to wipe or change a screen. If you use it for reading books, then it doesn’t need to change what’s displayed that often and one charge usually lasts for weeks. The trade off is screen refresh rate and limited color capability.
The best thing about e-paper is that there is no glare under the sun.
There were technologies to replace e-paper and LEDs, such as Qualcomm’s mirasol/IMOD and some liquid ink thingy that Phillips has, but it seems like they’ve all ran into a wall…
Maybe in another 5 years we can get ultra low energy colored screens with high refresh rate, then we’d be back to buying a desk lamp, because the screens don’t light themselves.
finally, kindle comes with free dictionaries. if you buy a spanish book fro example, it automatically also downloads the spanish dictionary for you. It also has built in vocab lists and flash cards.
No, they don’t - they’re quite minimalist.
It’s true that Amazon make a shitload of money from content (because it’s so easy to buy stuff) but you’re not “locked in”. They will cope with any e-book format, including pdfs.
The only thing that really bugs me about Kindles is that they’re too fragile. They should be made with steel cases. It would add very little to the cost and go a long way to preventing breakages.
But I suppose they have to have some method of keeping sales up …
You can read a Kindle on the patio of a cafe in the middle of a sunny afternoon. Try that with a tablet or smartphone.
I love my kindle- for all of the reasons everyone just cited plus one more- lack of blue light.
I have problems with insomnia, but I love reading at night before I sleep. IF I read on my phone or laptop, the blue light (which interferes with melatonin production) will keep me tossing and turning up to 3 or 4 hours after I turn the thing off. I read the kindle for an hour every night before sleeping and it doesn’t mess with me at all. In fact I think it’s even better than the light I used when reading a paper book.
Also if you work on screens a lot (editing/writing etc.) then it’s a huge break for your eyes.
At 4000 nt it’s one of the best purchases I’ve made this year.
[quote]The only thing that really bugs me about Kindles is that they’re too fragile. They should be made with steel cases. It would add very little to the cost and go a long way to preventing breakages.
But I suppose they have to have some method of keeping sales up …[/quote]
True, but Amazon have a great returns policy. Have fixed my Kindle three times for free and paid for postage both ways, no questions asked.
Also, you are not locked into the Amazon store, but you are locked into the Mobi file format unless you use a tool like Calibre to convert files. Doesnt bother me in the slightest though, Calibre is great for managing ebooks.
[quote=“OrangeOrganics”][quote]The only thing that really bugs me about Kindles is that they’re too fragile. They should be made with steel cases. It would add very little to the cost and go a long way to preventing breakages.
But I suppose they have to have some method of keeping sales up …[/quote]
True, but Amazon have a great returns policy. Have fixed my Kindle three times for free and paid for postage both ways, no questions asked.[/quote]
I’ve had mine for a little over 2 years and never had an issue with build quality or fragility. A bit over a year ago my wife got one from a seller on Yahoo TW and it had battery problems. We asked Amazon if there was anything we could do (not thinking that it had a warranty with them) and they immediately sent a replacement that arrived 3 days after the online chat with them. 
I’ve a yellow filter app to counter blue light while reading before going to sleep.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
Well, it’s true that the old e-ink models are still selling. I had an e-ink reader (not a Kindle, another one, but with the same e-ink screen) and it’s very convenient, but a little bit bulky (not heavy at all, though). I think that for reading outdoors, it beats even a paper book, since wind doesn’t screw with the paper sheets, and it is readable even under direct sunlight. However, text doesn’t look crispier than in my phone’s screen. I have an HTC One and I’ve read a lot on it too, and it’s actually easier to hold. Battery on the e-ink reader lasts looooooooooooooooong, though… I could read “Journey to the west” on it, on a single charge.
For comic books, I use my iPad, which has a bigger screen (not crispier, though… i can see the pixels, the same as in the e-reader).