Kindle help needed please!

[kakn7294]

I'm planning to buy a Kindle very soon but I'm debating with myself which one to purchase. I would love to hear your opinions please!!! I'm having difficulty deciding between the original Kindle ($69), the Paperwhite ($119), and the Fire HD 7" ($199). Here's a little background info: I have an iPhone with the Kindle app and an extensive Kindle ebook library so my purchase will be a Kindle - no other e-readers will be considered and as much as I'd love an iPad mini, it's not in the budget. I do love the convenience of reading on my phone as it's ALWAYS with me but it does sometimes bother my eyes if I read for long periods of time. I have read that the e-ink of the Kindle / Kindle Paperwhite is easier on the eyes than the Fire. I'm also thinking that I will likely only use the Kindle for reading but that's where I'm getting confused. I do seriously love my iPhone and I have tons of apps but I wasn't planning to get a 3G Kindle so it seems that much of the Kindle Fire's features might be rather useless without 3G? I have a laptop at home so I have no need for a tablet at home. And with an iPhone, do I really need the Fire's extras? I don't want to buy the Fire then not really use it or have it bother my eyes but I don't want to not buy one then regret it later. The price for the original Kindle is tempting but I read alot at night so I would need an external light - I've never been a fan of clip-on booklights. The Paperwhite has the built-in light which is great but I'm not sure if it's worth $50 for a built-in light despite my hatred of booklights. If you have a Kindle, which one do you have and what do you like or dislike about it? Again, I am only considering Kindles and I am leaning towards the Paperwhite. Thanks!

[AgentC]

I have a Kindle Fire HD and a basic original Nook. I am not mentioning the Nook as a suggestion but as a comparison since it is similar to the basic Kindle.

My kids love the Kindle Fire and use it a lot, but they don't use to read basic books. They use is for app, children's books with pictures, games and videos. I do have a few books on it because I also have the Kindle app on my iPhone and the library carried over, but I tend to still read those on my phone. Not having the 3G is only a problem if you want to download something and are not in a WiFi zone. We have run into a few instances on the way to school when my son has not been able to download a book, so if you are going to be in an area without WiFi you definitely need to plan ahead.

For most basic reading, I still use my Nook. I really don't need anymore than that. I do not have the version with a light and though I don't mind using the clip on light, the batteries always seem to die when you least expect.

If you are not going to use all the multumedia features and the apps, I would go with the Kindle Paperwhite. I think it is the best choice for regular reading.

[Bethis26fan]

I have the kindle fire and love it. I wanted the ipad mini as well but like you said it wasn't in the budget. The kindle is a lot like it. I've had mine since Christmas and have really had no problems with it. I use it to read, check out social media and watch Netflix.

[BrerGnat]

I have a regular Kindle, a smart phone, and an Android based 7" tablet (not the Fire).

My opinion is that for READING, the Kindle is still the best. I like how light it is, how long the battery lasts and the way the words appear on screen like it's a real book. My eyes never bother me when reading on my Kindle. For around $40, I purchased a leather cover for the Kindle that has a pop up built in light that uses the Kindle battery as a power source. It works very well. I have the 3G one, and I hardly ever use the 3G. I do all my purchases of Kindle books either on my laptop or my smart phone. I just sync over the wifi whenever I need to download purchaes to the Kindle. I do love the way the whispersync works, where I can read a few pages either on my tablet or smartphone and when I go back to the Kindle, it will start where I left off, and vice versa. It's a really neat feature! However, to use it, the Kindle needs to be connected via wifi. It doesn't work over 3G.

I might make a case for getting the 3G version of the Kindle IF you are a frequent traveler who is away from wifi access and/or you read VERY fast and will need to purchase books on the fly. Otherwise, the wifi version is adequate.

The Kindle Fire is a tablet, albeit with a very limited and closed operating system. The availability of apps and media from the Amazon store is quite small, and the Fire really is very expensive for what it is. At $150 or less, it would be a good bargain, but for $200 the tablet competition is quite fierce and the Kindle app is available for Android and iOS, so there is no benefit to having a Fire. The battery life is good, but the tablet is a good bit heavier than a Kindle and the battery life is not nearly as impressive (my Kindle will last a few weeks on a single charge).

I admit I don't know much about the Paperwhite, but I don't like that it's a touchscreen. I like the page turn buttons on my Kindle.

Also, I'm sure you're aware of this, but the lower prices include "special offers". This basically means that every time you power on your Kindle, you will be forced to endure Pop Up style advertisements. That would be really annoying to me. I would pay the $20 premium to get the device without "special offers".

[AgentC]

. . .
The Kindle Fire is a tablet, albeit with a very limited and closed operating system. The availability of apps and media from the Amazon store is quite small, and the Fire really is very expensive for what it is. At $150 or less, it would be a good bargain, but for $200 the tablet competition is quite fierce and the Kindle app is available for Android and iOS, so there is no benefit to having a Fire. . .

Also, I'm sure you're aware of this, but the lower prices include "special offers". This basically means that every time you power on your Kindle, you will be forced to endure Pop Up style advertisements. That would be really annoying to me. I would pay the $20 premium to get the device without "special offers".

I agree with Natalie on the price of the Fire. I got mine on a special with Amercian Express. You can tweet deals and get a special price. I got mine for $149.

I did get the version with the ads. I thought it would drive me crazy, but it really doesn't. It's on the lock screen and I ignore it just like any picture or screensaver that would be there.

[Janmac]

I bought the wifi Kindle Fire HD 7" last October for my husband ($159 at the time) but I and my 8 yr old grandniece also use the tablet. A couple of weeks before buying our Kindle my sister bought the same tablet. Her daughter bought a Kindle e-reader maybe a year ago. She has been unhappy with the e-reader and wishes she had the wifi Kindle Fire that the rest of us have.

We do not have a lap top to take along when traveling so we bring our Kindle Fire. We also do not have smart phones - we live in a rural area with 3G only, and pretty much only through ATT.

The only one who wishes we had a 3 or 4 G Kindle is my grandniece who would love to play her games while we're traveling. I like her not being able to play.

We took the Kindle to Disney in February and this month with us on a quick weekend trip to Austin and were happy with what we wanted to do with it - check weather in the evenings at a motel or at McDonalds. At home DH likes to use the Kindle to search his favorite on-line classifieds website.

We are reading on the Kindle all the time. We download free books from our public library. I have not experienced sore eyes yet (and when working on my desk top a lot, my eyes can become tired), and love being able to make the font bigger so I don't have to have my glasses on. I notice that DH reads a lot more with the Kindle as opposed to a real book. He does wear his glasses but has no eye strain either. He only read a real book for a short time, because of eye strain.

We are on our second Kindle. The first one worked fine until our return from Disney in February. At that time when we plugged the charger in, the device would turn off. I contacted Amazon and within a couple of days we had our second Kindle.

I have contacted Amazon a couple of times because I'm not technically adept. At the Manage Your Kindle area at Amazon there is a Contact Us orange button. They call either immediately or within 5 minutes - your choice - and have always been very helpful. It is so awesome to be able to chat with a real person so quickly.

If I had to pay $200 for the Kindle Fire wifi version, I think I'd scrape it together someway. It's been light, handy, and I so like having DH reading more instead of vegging in front of CNN. Quite possibly we have saved the price of the Kindle already in gas to the library (40 miles one way) and in fees for books returned late.

I understand your not wanting to pay for duplicate services (phone, reader, etc) but I doubt that anyone ever said, gee I wish my device could do less.

Jan

[buzznwoodysmom]

I got the Kindle Fire HG 7 for Christmas and I love it. My SIL recommended it to me. I use it for reading, internet, apps, games, and more. Our main household computer crashed not long after Christmas and we have yet to replace it. Between the kids, my husband, and my husband's home office we still have one PC and two laptops in the house, but I still use my kindle most of the time for basic internet needs. I think you'll be pleased, and will end up using it much more than you anticipate.

[MizMissy]

I have the original Kindle 3G and the Kindle Paperwhite. My DH bought the paperwhite for me as a present and they did not have the 3G in stock at the time. I miss the 3G because we have a camp with no wi-fi and that is where I do most of my reading (and purchases). So, I bring my Kindle 3G along as backup for those times.
However, let me say, I LOVE MY PAPERWHITE!! Sorry for yelling, but the fact that it is backlit is the best thing in the world. It is so easy to read, sunlight and night time. My 3G has the cover with the light in it, but it is not in the same league as the paperwhite option. I read alot on my iphone also and love the convenience, but that really is impossible in the sunlight.
If you are a reader and want the Kindle just for reading, I would highly recommend the paperwhite.

[MizMissy]

I admit I don't know much about the Paperwhite, but I don't like that it's a touchscreen. I like the page turn buttons on my Kindle.

I agree that I do like my page turn button on my original Kindle better than the touch screen, simply because the touch screen is a little "touchy" or "sticky" - i.e. it does not work as well as my iphone and sometimes takes a few pushes to go forward, or will skip a page if you press too hard sometimes. However, because I am so used to touch screen on my phone, I enjoy the convenience of it otherwise.

[justice11]

I have the kindle fire 8.9, a kindle fire and the black and white kindle reader. I love my kindles. I bought 4 grandkids the kindle fires for Christmas, ages from 5 to 18 and we are hooked. I do think the paper white sounds great with the light, I am like you and dislike clip on lights, but for reading outside the kindle fire is not as good, but my family is addicted, to our kindle fires

[caryrae]

Just read this from Technobuffalo website but who knows if/when it would happen.

$99 Amazon Kindle Fire HD in the Works, Report Suggests

By Todd Haselton | March 20, 2013

Amazon’s Kindle Fire family currently consists of the Kindle Fire ($159), Fire HD ($199) and two larger 8.9-inch tablets that cost $269 and $399, respectively. But the company may be trying to introduce an even more affordable tablet with an HD display.

TechCrunch said its sources have revealed that the online retailer has a $99 7-inch Kindle Fire in the works that will sport a 1280 x 800-pixel resolution display. That’s not quite the “full 1080p HD” resolution that we’ve seen on a number of new high-end smartphones, but it’s a pretty sharp screen for such a low price point. IDC analyst Tom Mainelli told TechCrunch that it’s very plausible for the company to introduce a newer, low-priced Kindle Fire.

““If they can sell the product at roughly what it costs to build, that fits their long-term vision to make money selling you content on that device. It’s entirely possible – physically possible – to create a device that costs $99, particularly at the scale that Amazon would do it,” Mainelli told the news outlet.

Amazon already admitted that it breaks even on the Kindle Fire, so it would come down to component costs. The company currently makes money from the tablet after users begin purchasing books, music, videos and applications directly from Amazon’s extensive ecosystem.

[DizneyRox]

Given those choices I'd grab the Kindle Fire HD and get a "real" ROM on there whiich turns it into a proper tablet. While you said you don't need a tablet because you have a laptop, I've got 5 PCs in the house that have been 95% replaced by my iPad, even the laptop.

We're in the discussion phase on what to get the little one. I like the app selection for the iPad. I've been burned by an Android tablet in the past and having similar issues wth my phone. I'm not 100% sold on the Android OS in terms of support.

I thought about giving him my iPad and get a mini for myself, however the 7" form factor to me is too small for a tablet.

[FloridaTeacher]

I have an ipad and a kindle paperwhite. I love them both, but for reading anywhere, any light, any time....it is hands down my kindle paperwhite!! It's always with me (well all of my devices are). I use my ipad for surfing, email, and apps. I tried it for reading for a while, but it's just too big, too bulky, and too bright. My paperwhite is perfect. I'm in love with it, what can I say??

[Figment104]

I had the original Kindle with 3G (that after a ton of use and many years of ownership just died), an iPad, and iPhone. I honestly thought that the iPad would be fine to use and not bother with replacing my kindle. Like you I have a large library of kindle books so if I was going to do anything it was going to be some sort of kindle. Well I've noticed that when reading for long periods of time on the iPad my eyes start to feel strained and I get a bit of a headache. I never had that happen with my kindle so I realized I needed to get something. Again, like you I was tempted by the price of the original kindle. Well after thinking about it a lot, I decided to go with the paperwhite with the built in light. I couldn't be happier with my purchase. I realized that a lot of my reading was at night and it always drove me insane when we were traveling and in a hotel and I didn't have somewhere else to go to read with a light on, and I hate clip on lights (they just never seem to illuminate the right areas).

I've had my paperwhite for a couple of weeks now, and am just loving it. I do miss the fact that my old kindle had the free 3G (it was the only option when I got mine). But really, with how many places offer free wi-fi I don't think I'm actually going to miss it. I think it's more missing the idea of if (if that makes sense). So, my recommendation would be to pay the bit extra and go with the paperwhite. If you have any questions about it compared to the iPhone app or the original kindle just let me know since I have/had both. Good luck with your decision!

[kakn7294]

Thanks for all of the great replies. I think I'm going to go for the Paperwhite and hold off on a tablet until I can afford that iPad mini. I think my eyes will appreciate reading on an e-ink device and having the built-in light is a much more attractive option than using clip-ons.

[DANAM]

Not sure if you bought your kindle yet but buying from amazon is much cheaper than a retail store. First you save the tax ( our tax is 9%) so thats a plus for me. You grt free amazon prime for a monthh with any kindle purchase from amazon. And there Warranty is really great. I have fire but when I was having a problem charging it, I called and they over night ed me a new one. I sent the old one back a couple days after I got my replacement. Haggle free. There customers Service is great.

[kakn7294]

Thanks for the reply. I haven't purchased it yet. I already have Amazon Prime so I get free 2 day shipping. I still have to pay taxes no matter where I purchase as I live in PA and they getcha in income tax if you don't pay it upfront.

[roses]

I have no idea which version I have right now, I got it for my birthday a couple of years ago. It was right before the Fire came out. I absolutely love it - I love that I can read it outside without struggling to find a shaded spot and even then not cover it so I can see the words. I also love that it doesn't have anything where I could distract myself (like going on the internet) while reading. Good luck!

[kakn7294]

Update - purchased a Paperwhite. I'M IN LOVE!!!