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Am I wrong? Kindle Paperwhite a dud?

clifffaith

clifffaith

TUG Member
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Location
San Juan Capistrano, CA
Resorts Owned
Formerly: Marriott, ILX, Westin, Diamond, Worldmark. Timeshare free as of 12/24.
So why does the new Kindle do less than my old Fire? No solitaire apps, no color, stupid squat little screen that has to be swiped and swiped and swiped. Has anyone gone from Fire to Paperwhite and liked it? Maybe I'm better off returning new Kindle and moving content to iPad? I can't believe my wonky old machine (struggles to charge) is way better than brand new latest and greatest.
 
I love my paperwhite. But it really is only an e-reader. If you’re looking for other features like you listed, you are probably better off with a different model that is actually a tablet.
 
If you ever WANT to read outside then the ereader Kindle is a requirement. If you only ever read inside, then your Fire option is more versatile.

I sail with tradewinds frequently and I sit outside by the pool on occasion, you can't read very well on a Fire as there is too much glare off the screen.
 
I gave up on Kindle machines a long time back. I read on my Samsung tablet with the Kindle app. I read on my laptop with a Kindle app. I read on my cell phone with the Kindle app. (Notice a trend here?) I'd say return the paper white and go with an inexpensive tablet - you'll get the best of all worlds that way. :)

Dave
 
I read on my iPad mini with Libby, the form factor fits my hand nicely and I use the new night mode to get white text on black background.

I bought my wife a new ipad pro for xmas, talk about WOW factor, I’m jelly.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
 
I read ebooks on a Samsung tablet using the Moon reader pro app, not as good as the paperwhite but much more versatile
 
I'm coming to the defense of the Paperwhite. It's not a table - it's an e-reader. My kindle can be held with one hand, easily , for a long period of time (super important when I commute standing up on a subway / public transport). You can turn the page with a single light tap of your finger that you are holding it with (no swiping). You can read in ALL lighting conditions - including bright sun. And a huge benefit - it holds it's charge for a long , long time (several weeks). There is also something super pleasurable about zero distractions from alerts on the Kindle (yes, yes I know I can turn them off on a tablet but I don't even need to bother on my Kindle) . For those who love to read, you cannot beat a Kindle.
 
The problem is outside. You can't really sit by the pool, beach or in a park and read with the tablet. The glare/light is overwhelming. The kindle is fine outdoors.

Plus a decent size tablet is MUCH heavier and bigger than a kindle. I slip my kindle into my pants pocket every day and pull it out anywhere. Waiting line at lunchtime, doctors office, bathroom at work, etc....

My wife says it is the other woman in our relationship. She calls it Kindella.

Joe
 
joestein said:
The problem is outside. You can't really sit by the pool, beach or in a park and read with the tablet. The glare/light is overwhelming. The kindle is fine outdoors.

Plus a decent size tablet is MUCH heavier and bigger than a kindle. I slip my kindle into my pants pocket every day and pull it out anywhere. Waiting line at lunchtime, doctors office, bathroom at work, etc....

My wife says it is the other woman in our relationship. She calls it Kindella.

Joe
Click to expand...
The last time I traveled I forgot my Kindle and felt a little anxious the whole trip
 
The Paperwhite and Fire are just different things, for different purposes.

The paperwhite is an e-reader, and that's all it is, but it is very very good at that. As others have mentioned, great in daylight. I don't mind bringing it to the beach despite the sand, etc. I also like it better at night with the soft backlight.

The Fire is a general purpose tablet. It runs a kindle app, but lots of other apps too. You have to make some sacrifices in "just reading" to get the other stuff it does.

I have both an e-reader (a Paperwhite without ads) and a tablet (an iPad). I use them for different things. But, if I could only have one of them, I would keep the paperwhite.
 
The books I have on my kindle tend to be series, cheap (out of copyright, and new possibly self published things, and stuff that pops up on specials for a dollar or two) -- like the Anne of Green Gables series and all of Jane Austen). Early on I was buying the latest Stephen King or John Grisham, because why did I need more paperback books piling up. Then I realized piles of books are good because I can resell them in twos or threes on eBay and recoup a bit of my money. Then I discovered Tess Gerritson (Rizzoli & Isles), Patricia Cornwall (Kay Scarpetta) and Michael Connelly (Bosch) and it would cost a bloody fortune to buy those on Kindle rather than buy a box load on eBay and resell it when done (I'm on book 12 of 22 Bosch paperbacks; gotta get those read before we move). And truth be told I play far more solitaire on the Kindle than read. Reading is for doctors offices, solitaire is every night for 3-4 hours with TV.

I have to get Cliff to pry the new Kindle out of its case, then I'll see about printing a return label. Next step is to see if I can register my phone with Amazon, then load Anne, which I'm semi-actively reading, and solitaire to it. Big challenge will be to learn to remember to take phone when I leave the house. Now it lives downstairs in my purse and doesn't see the light of day most of the time -- everyone who calls us calls on our landline. Seems like a disappointing new Kindle purchase may lead me to more fully utilizing the iPhone Cliff insisted on buying me last Christmas, when I was happy as can be with my clamshell phone, turned off, in the bottom of my purse.
 
I just spent a weekend in Las Vegas. Took my Samsung tablet and iPhone. During the flights in both directions, in the condo, waiting at the airport, whatever, I never even turned on the tablet once. I did everything on my phone, including reading and playing a game or two.

I may need to evaluate whether to even take the tablet on short trips in the future.

Dave
 
Most of my e-reading comes from my library. I can borrow books for three weeks at a time, and have up to ten checked out. All free. I may have to wait a bit for the newest hottest releases, but there is plenty to pick from.
 
In my best Gomer Pyle voice, "well golleeeee!!!". We are such rubes, really knowing nothing about today's new technology. Here I sit grinning from ear to ear with Anne of Green Gables, 27% into the stories, right where I left off, on my phone! Don't need a reader at all. Next step is to find a solitaire game, then eventually march myself to the UPS Store with my return. Maybe someday we'll have music on something other than CDs...
 
bnoble said:
Most of my e-reading comes from my library. I can borrow books for three weeks at a time, and have up to ten checked out. All free. I may have to wait a bit for the newest hottest releases, but there is plenty to pick from.
Click to expand...
Wow! Up to 10 checked out at a time? My library has a limit of 3 e-books and 3 weeks. There have been times that I don’t finish a book in 3 weeks, but just keeping the paperwhite in airplane mode keeps it from auto-returning.
 
We have 2 Kindle Paperwhites, an iPad mini, and 2 10" Kindle Fire tablets. I download books on all 5 - it is possible to sync them all so that you are always at the last page read but we do not do that because we both have Paperwhites and Kindle Fires and while we share the books, we read at different paces. (Years ago I did that, but it was just my Kindle, iPad and phone - then hubs wanted a Kindle.)

We use the Paperwhites at the pool and beach because you can read it easily. The battery lasts for a long time - I can read several books on one charge. I was using both the iPad and Paperwhite for several years, but we saw a super sale on the Kindle Fire tablet in September so I bought one for hubs. He loved how he could make the print larger :) and told me that I should get one too. The battery does not last as long as I wish. The iPad battery lasts longer. Neither of us play games on our phones or tablets, but like the movies that we can download. With the tablets, I can check TUG :).

Check out www.BookBub.com for cheap and free books.
 
I think it boils down to whether or not you want one gadget that does everything mediocrely, or several gadgets that each do one thing superbly. E-ink reader do reading superbly, but they don't do much else very well.

Personally I want several gadgets that do each thing well. YMMV
 
clifffaith said:
Big challenge will be to learn to remember to take phone when I leave the house. Now it lives downstairs in my purse and doesn't see the light of day most of the time -- everyone who calls us calls on our landline. Seems like a disappointing new Kindle purchase may lead me to more fully utilizing the iPhone
Click to expand...

My iPhone lives in my purse too. It may be days before I find a text from the few folks who do have my cell number. But, we will most likely move to just cell phones when our Magic Jack contract ends, so I will have to get better using the iPhone too. I do not like reading on mine though - I like larger pages and have a smaller phone.

You should be able to find Solitare on the iPhone.
 
If it were NOT for reading while sailing I would have never got the eReader. But since I do sail often it was pretty much essential.

Using older model trade in and sale days made the offer pretty sweet. I got the new waterproof reader for $40 with a trade in offer discount, a Prime day sale, and another promo, which all combined.
 
pittle said:
My iPhone lives in my purse too. It may be days before I find a text from the few folks who do have my cell number. But, we will most likely move to just cell phones when our Magic Jack contract ends, so I will have to get better using the iPhone too. I do not like reading on mine though - I like larger pages and have a smaller phone.

You should be able to find Solitare on the iPhone.
Click to expand...

Two weeks ago I used my phone to text a garden helper our address because after a year Cliff still can't retain how to text from his new phone. So this guy has my number and starts texting me his schedule a couple days later. My phone is dinging and dinging in my purse, and I figure it must be a busy news day for FOX and the WSJ because they seem to be in cahoots with Apple and I get several unsolicited alerts from them during the day. Finally after two hours of dings (which I only heard because I was sitting downstairs at my desk where my purse lives) I thought to look at the phone and sure enough the dings were texts from Cliff's helper. No one texts me so I didn't get it! We'd planned to get rid of the landline when we move to Carlsbad, but it is possible we'll be required to have one for security purposes at the old folks home. I did load Solitaire to my phone. Of course I'll use the Kindle Fire until it absolutely won't take a charge, and it is on its best behavior right now.
 
I just wanted to mention that I combine the Kindle with Kindle Unlimited. I usually buy an annual subscription during Prime Day. It costs me around $70/yr. I am able to read as many Amazon published books as I wish. There are literally 10's of thousands of books and growing exponentially. I think that Amazon has deals with some publishers that allow their books to be included as well.

You can have up to 10 books out at a time. Unlike the local library, I don't have to wait for their 'electronic copy' to become available. All available books are available to be loaned out at all times.

I am usually reading many different series. There are some authors who I have discovered who I really have grown to love. Currently reading 'The Unbelievable Mr. Brownstone' series. 22 books about the title character. 8 books about his daughter attending a magical school (obviously a Potter takeoff) and 14 books and counting on his daughter's adventures after school. None of these books are going to win literary awards, but they are interesting and entertaining.
 
joestein said:
I just wanted to mention that I combine the Kindle with Kindle Unlimited. I usually buy an annual subscription during Prime Day. It costs me around $70/yr. I am able to read as many Amazon published books as I wish. There are literally 10's of thousands of books and growing exponentially. I think that Amazon has deals with some publishers that allow their books to be included as well.

You can have up to 10 books out at a time. Unlike the local library, I don't have to wait for their 'electronic copy' to become available. All available books are available to be loaned out at all times.

I am usually reading many different series. There are some authors who I have discovered who I really have grown to love. Currently reading 'The Unbelievable Mr. Brownstone' series. 22 books about the title character. 8 books about his daughter attending a magical school (obviously a Potter takeoff) and 14 books and counting on his daughter's adventures after school. None of these books are going to win literary awards, but they are interesting and entertaining.
Click to expand...
You and I are cut out of the same cloth. I love my Kindle and all it offers to me. Reading is one of life's pleasures.
 
joestein said:
I just wanted to mention that I combine the Kindle with Kindle Unlimited.
Click to expand...

Have you read any Jeff Wheeler? I enjoyed the KingFountain Series and other series which area all on KU. With an added bonus it is available in Audible as well as book form.
 
clifffaith said:
So why does the new Kindle do less than my old Fire? No solitaire apps, no color, stupid squat little screen that has to be swiped and swiped and swiped. Has anyone gone from Fire to Paperwhite and liked it? Maybe I'm better off returning new Kindle and moving content to iPad? I can't believe my wonky old machine (struggles to charge) is way better than brand new latest and greatest.
Click to expand...

As others have said, these are two very different products. The paperwhite is also not the latest and greatest... both have their purposes, and you should absolutely use what suits you best.

I have an original paperwhite which I use occasionally when outside on trips, otherwise always use my iPad for reading.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
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