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Topic: Kindle people: why do you like your model?

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Subject: Kindle people: why do you like your model?
Date Posted: 11/23/2014 11:24 AM ET
Member Since: 10/30/2006
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My Nook Simple Touch is giving out warnings that it's getting ready to die. I'm hoping to nurse it thru the holidays, we'll see. I think I'm going to go Kindle this time. I went on Amazon and they have three ereaders  for sale. Quite frankly, they all look and sound pretty much the same. So, tell me, for the three e-ink models- the Touch, the Paperwhite, and the new Voyage- what's different and why do I want one over the other? My Nook is the equivalent of the Touch so the other two are newer than what I've been using. I seem to get about 2 years out of a device.

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Date Posted: 11/23/2014 2:32 PM ET
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i don't have either of those three, i have the old Kindle Keyboard.  i'd sure love to be able to get one just like mine with the lit screen (side buttons!  a keyboard i use regularly for notes!), but if i had to buy one of those three models it'd have to be the Voyage because it's the only one with page turn 'buttons'.  i don't always hold my Kindle in the same hand, and with the purely touchscreen models i can't do a page turn comfortably from both sides, only from one.

now when i travel i have to bring the lighted case i don't use at home, because all too often there just isn't enough reading light.  be nice if that were built in so the extra weight when i hold it could be avoided.

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Date Posted: 11/23/2014 3:20 PM ET
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I had a Nook Touch, and a Kindle Touch. Sold it to my Dad and got a Paperwhite. I've got a Voyage ordered but it won't be here until December. I've also got a Kobo Aura. (The smaller one, not the Aura HD)

So I can't say anything about the Voyage. I've seen some complaints about a color variation with the light on from the bottom to the top. I think some people see it and others never notice. 

I've found the screen better from the Touch to the Paperwhite. The newer the screen the more detailed you get. There's a comparison chart here. The more PPI (Pixels Per Inch) you have, the less blocky the text. For me, that's important, and why I'm looking forward to the Voyage, even if there is a color variant with the lighting. 

I think the OS on the Kindles is pretty much all the same. I'd like to see them put more work into it. For me, even the older Sony model's OS makes the Kindle's look clunky. Plus them not opening ePub as well as Mobi is annoying. 

If you're browsing, I'd suggest looking into a Kobo. They're not all over the US, but I ordered mine from Canada with no problem. But they have a nice looking OS, seem to run a bit faster, The screen is nice and the lighting even, it takes ePub files, does Collections and it has a microSD card slot to bump up the space you can use for books. They're not known for customer service though, but I've never had to contact them for anything. 

You might want to browse the MobileRead forum for Kindles Here.

There might be a discussion that would point out something that would be important to you in choosing.

But if you're going to put some money into something to last, I'd put it into the Voyage as long as it seems the variations are something you can live with. Especially when they get into stores and you can take a bad one back easily. 

 

 

 

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Date Posted: 11/23/2014 9:16 PM ET
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Gotta say, I still love my Sony PRS600.  It will be a sad, sad day when it dies.  Its replacement will either be another Sony or a Kobo.  Whatever it is, it's got to be something with page turn buttons.  I like my Nook HD but the lack of page turn buttons drives me crazy if I read on it for long periods of time.  Which I don't.

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Date Posted: 11/24/2014 8:36 AM ET
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Whatever it is, it's got to be something with page turn buttons.

Those have been going away, but the new Kindle Voyage has put page turn buttons on the sides now. Don't know how well they work, though. 

I love my older Sony's, but I wouldn't get another at this point. The machines are great, but it's the battery problem that you have to watch out for. Any older model will have an older battery, and they're the biggest part of the machines dying out. When the battery goes, they're not replaceable.

I actually got a third party battery for one of my first Sony's when it died, and replaced it. (It was one of the few models that weren't soldered in) The new battery only lasted 3 months. And Sony's out of the ebook/eReader business, so no support there anymore.

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Date Posted: 11/24/2014 8:39 AM ET
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I know, that's why I'll be sad when my Sony dies.  I can already tell the battery life isn't as good as it once was.  I know some of the batteries are replaceable.  I probably won't go that route, I'll just go for a Kobo since Sony's out of the ereader business.  Sad.

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Date Posted: 11/24/2014 8:54 AM ET
Member Since: 8/23/2007
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I have an old  Kindle Keybaord and a Kindle Touch because I like the Text To Speech option which isn't available in the newer models.

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Date Posted: 11/25/2014 8:43 AM ET
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Of the three mentioned, I would probably choose the 2013 Kindle Paperwhite. I would definitely not get the unlighted one. Lighted readers are awesome!

The Voyage is way too expensive, and a lot of people have had complaints. So I would be hesitant. Now if it was to go on sale for $149, it might be worth considering.

As for me, I don't have any eink Kindles any more. (I have 5 eink Kobos, though). What I do have, and LOVE, and recommend, is the Kindle Fire HD 6. I find the 6" Fire perfect for reading on. The size is awesome. It is a little sluggish compared to something like the Nexus 7, but when reading, that is not an issue. I had to put an anti-glare screen protector on it. I just love it and use it more than my Nexus.

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Ronda (RONDA) - ,
Date Posted: 11/25/2014 9:45 PM ET
Member Since: 3/3/2009
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I like my kindle 1 cause of the funky box it came in and cause it was the first... don't use it since getting the 3, but the box it came in is so cool.

I like my kindle 3 (renamed keyboard) for its TTS, keyboard, experimental browser and page turn buttons.  And it's flip cover covered the minutes left on the treadmill well.

I like the kindle paperwhite because of the light ... I had to have the light.  (never one for adding on a book light, too unwieldy and spotty)   The lighting is not perfect, but it works.   And it is smaller/ lighter.  I do miss the page turn buttons, touchscreen isn't as easy for me.

I like the kindle DX cause it is so much bigger... yeah fewer page turns and even better on the treadmill.  but sometimes it is too heavy.  It does have real page turn buttons, but I find the placement a little harder than on the kindle 3.

I want the voyager, but it would be kind of silly to have 5 kindles, don't ya think.

I do still use the 3 different ones depending on where I want to read.

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Date Posted: 12/2/2014 3:24 PM ET
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I have 3 Kindles.

Kindle Touch: bought it when my Keyboard had a fatal accident long past it's warranty and these were on clearance and the only model left with text to speech that you could get new. I like it but I miss the page turning tabs when laying in bed reading. This one is great for reading at work and the battery lasts forever even with daily use. (although I tend to not turn on wireless very often or for very long). Also hard to read in bathtub with any sort of waterproof protection.

Kindle Keyboard: kept leaving my Touch at work and so bought a cheap used keyboard to leave at home.  Can turn page on either side with tabs, battery lasts a super long time and easy to turn pages while in a zip lock bag when taking a bath.

Kindle Fire:  I have an older 7" HD Fire. I got this for my daughter in hopes of converting her to ebooks.  But she never used it and now I use it for watching Prime videos and listening to audible books.  I also use it for the swagbucks video apps.

I resisted the urge to buy an updated Fire during the kindle unlimited special.  I really don't need one.

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Date Posted: 12/6/2014 8:36 AM ET
Member Since: 7/8/2005
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My Kindle keyboard gave up the ghost and I got a Paperwhite. Love the lighting feature! Great for reading in darker areas. BUT I miss the 3G the old one had for free and mostly I miss the audio features: no text-to-speech reading, no Audible audio books, no head phone jack period. 

The page turning is sometimes a little iffy with the touch screen, and having the buttons back would be an improvement. But I wanted an eReader only, not a back-lit screen, and the price was right. 

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Date Posted: 12/7/2014 9:07 AM ET
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I have the Voyage now, and have to say I really like it. The OS is the same as the Paperwhite, not all that great, but the lighting is better on the new one and the fonts are very smooth.

I still think the Kobo Aura is a much better reader, as is the Sony's, but all the Kindles are okay for what they need to do. I just wouldn't load them up too full.

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Date Posted: 12/31/2014 7:57 AM ET
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Oh....I noticed I mention the 2013 Paperwhite.....well it's difficult to tell, but there is a 2014 Paperwhite, which has more storage. As long as one is buying a new one from Amazon, sold by Amazon, you'll get it.

General advice, here about the kindles.

People on ebay, and even sellers on Amazon, often have no idea what model of any kindle device they have. So unless you can tell from pictures, it's a crap shoot what you will actually get. Buy at your own risk.



Last Edited on: 12/31/14 7:58 AM ET - Total times edited: 1