Kindle - which to choose, help a girl out!

[Sherri Tierney]

Okay, so I've been saving up all of my Swagbucks and Superpoints gift cards and I am getting close to having enough for a kindle. Before I get too excited I want to figure out which kindle exactly I want and that's where the trouble comes in. I have no idea.

I DO know that I am going to skip the Fire at this point because I don't want anything back lit. I want e-ink as this will be used a lot outdoors in bright sunlight, etc. Other than that, I really don't know. Right now I am using a kindle app on my phone and reading on that teensy screen with the back light is killing my eyes. I still use it quite a bit though because its so much handier than carrying a book with me, let alone the fact I can never remember to return library books on time.

I was leaning towards 3G but I do have the capability on my phone to create a 3G hot spot that I can use for the kindle so 3G isn't a necessity. Besides, I will surely keep enough books on there that I won't need to download all the time.

Eventually I do want a Fire but more for the other functions (you know, a cheap tablet...)

Which do you have? love? suggest?

[Darcy Baldwin]

I have the 3G..and I'd go back to the regular Kindle if I knew then what I know now. If you have good wifi connections everywhere you are, then the 3G isn't really going to add much for you unless you travel a lot and need that connection on the road. The web browsing feature is seriously dinosaur-aged technology and is hard to work. If you've already got a smart phone, you don't even need that.

[Sherri Tierney]

Good to know!

So, touch or no touch? I'm wishy washy on this.

[nikkiARNGwife]

I've had mine for a while..It's the keyboard 2nd generation and I love it. I don't have 3G and have never missed it once..like Darcy said, if you have wireless you're pretty much set. I'd also get the one with ads b/c it's cheaper and the ads aren't bothersome at all. In fact I added ads to mine just b/c they have some good deals sometimes.

[nikkiARNGwife]

I like the way I can hold mine with one hand and still turn pages with where the buttons are located..I'm not sure how the touch works.

[Darcy Baldwin]

I don't have the touch, either. And definitely get the ads - they don't intrude on anything at all. I haven't had a good one in awhile, but it's not worth the price markup just to not get them. They're only there when you're kindle is at rest.

[NeverendingJen]

I have the Kindle 2 international with 3G, the Kindle Fire, and a Nook Color. My mom has the K2, the K3, the K4, the touch, the KFire, Nook Color, and Nook tablet. Dh has the K3.

Unanimously, we all love the kindles with keyboard, so the k3. the touch would be our second choice for a reading only device.

3G vs Wifi is a personal choice. I need the 3G with where I do most of my reading, Dh has the WiFi only and wishes he had 3G because he finishes books often enough when he isnt in a wifi area and gets stuck reading on his phone instead.

[NeverendingJen]

Originally Posted by nikkiARNGwife

I've had mine for a while..It's the keyboard 2nd generation and I love it. I don't have 3G and have never missed it once..like Darcy said, if you have wireless you're pretty much set. I'd also get the one with ads b/c it's cheaper and the ads aren't bothersome at all. In fact I added ads to mine just b/c they have some good deals sometimes.

how do you add the ads to yours? I'm curious to see this.

[nikkiARNGwife]

Go into you account>manage kindle>manage devices>there's a blue link on the right hand side that says "special offers" and you can subscribe to them. They'll be there the next time you power up your kindle. You can also unsubscribe at any time.

[glumirk]

I bought DH a Touch for Christmas and he loves it! He reads so much now, which I was going would happen when I got it for him. He has no complaints and still thanks me for it at least twice a week. It's so much easier to read than on an iPhone. Since you already use a smartphone the Touch should be really intuitive to use. We love it!

[Sherri Tierney]

What is the keyboard for with that version? If you're really only turning pages what is the advantage of it? Just curious because I haven't used any of the features that come with the app besides bookmarking. I haven't looked anything up or had any need for a keyboard. I'm sure I sound really naive but that's one gadget we haven't acquired yet. LOL

[NeverendingJen]

I use it for adding notes to it, etc. I don't honestly use the keyboard that much, but its the buttons I prefer. I like the one click of the button rather than swiping pages.

[Sherri Tierney]

Ah, okay. Thanks. That's something to think about. From time to time my phone is annoying because I try to hold it in one hand and swipe to the next page with that same hand.

[Darcy Baldwin]

Sherri - I don't take notes in any of my reads, and other than being on the 'net a few times when we've been on the road and I've replied to customer issues, I don't have a need for the keyboard. But that's just me.

[Libby Pritchett]

I've got the Touch Wifi with ads, and I LOVE it. I went back and forth trying to decide which one to get, and I feel sure that I made the right choice. The Touch is awesome for one-handed reading (ie when I'm nursing a baby), the ads aren't bothersome at all (and I've picked up a couple of good deals as a result), and like Darcy said, the Wifi is PLENTY for downloading the books. In fact, I keep my wifi turned off most of the time to save the battery life. I only turn it on maybe once a week or so to download any new stuff that I've purchased that week. Plus, the Touch has twice as much storage as the $79 model.

I really can't say enough good things about it. I love mine!

[Libby Pritchett]

Oh, also on the Touch, you can just "tap" to turn the page. You don't have to make a swiping motion.

[Amber Dixon]

I have a Kindle DX. I've had it for going on 3 years (sonce Mother's Day '09) and I wouldn't trade it for any of the new ones I've seen. It's large, the screen is like 9x7 or something and it isn't backlit which I really like because it's easy on the eyes. As for downloading books, I don't know how that actually works, I guess it's connecting to my wifi here in the house but I'm not sure (LOL) I know it's not like 3G or anything like that though. It doesn't browse the web but you do have full access to the Kindle Store on it. The books come to you through what Amazon calls "whispernet" and it just takes a minute for them to show up once I purchase. I like that once I've read my books I can archive them and they don't show up in the main home page. I used to have every book I've ever bought showing and would have to scroll through page after page of already read books to find the one that I want. I guess they all do this, but I love that it saves my page. Oh, and it also has a little keyboard at the bottom too and you can make yourself notes about the books you're reading too, or use it to search. Also, it's pretty durable. Mine's been dropped and banged around a lot and other than a little crack in the cover near where my old cover attached it's not received any damage. The only reason it cracked there is because I let my daughter, who was 8 at the time, borrow it and she bent the cover hinge back the wrong way and it cracked the device. Oh, something else I love about my Kindle is there is page turning buttons right by where my right thumb rests while reading so all I have to do is lightly push it and it turns the page for me, I don't have to swipe to turn it. (I *think* my daughter's Nook makes you swipe to turn the page).

My daughter (she's 10.5 now) has a Nook Color and I don't care for it at all. The books are the same and priced about the same, but the device itself is what I don't like. It's backlit and reading on it hurts my eyes also it's a lot smaller and that bothers me. It does do fancy stuff like play music and she can get apps on it but it's definitely not for me.

LOL sorry, I've written a book on the subject! When I get on a roll it's hard to stop haha!!

[Julie Billingsley]

I'll have to echo Libby, I have the Touch Wifi and am THRILLED with it. You just touch to turn the page, very easy navigation. I didn't get the 3G because I'm always able to stock up on books in my wifi zone, I've never had a situation when I've wanted a book right.this.minute and couldn't wait until I was home. And the reason I wanted a Touch over the Fire was because of the backlighting. I had also been using the Kindle Ap on my ipod touch and the backlight always made my eyes water. I never have that issue now that I have the Kindle Touch! I chose the Touch over the Keyboard or basic because I often read with the Kindle propped up on a pillow. So I don't even hold the Kindle and just touch the screen to change pages. Love my Kindle!!

[Sherri Tierney]

Thanks so much, everyone, for all of the help! You've really helped me narrow it down a lot. Its kind of nice to eliminate the pricier models too. I am excited and will, hopefully, be ordering soon. I'm determined to use only gift cards to get this so I have to wait just a bit since there's that pesky thing called tax involved.

[rach3975]

I'm another very happy Touch Wifi with ads owner. I'm glad I don't have a physical keyboard adding to the size since I'd almost never use it-I used it once when I set up collections (like folders to organize your books), and once or twice to search for a book, but that's it. I like the Touch's on screen keyboard. It's just like my phone's, but easier to use since the "buttons" are bigger. The 3G wasn't worth the extra cost to me. If I know I'm getting close to the end of a book, I just make sure I've bought my next one before I leave home. Especially since I have a 3G phone I can read on too, if I ever needed to I could buy and read on my phone for a bit until I got to a Wifi area. Unlike most users, I keep my Kindle's Wifi on all the time so that my Kindle and phone will stay synced. I still read on my phone when I have a few free minutes, like in the car line at my kids' school.

One other advantage to the Touch over the $79 model is that it has audio capability, I like to use the text to speech feature (the Kindle reads to you) while I'm scrapping or doing housework.

[Libby Pritchett]

Oh Rachel, good point about the audio! I didn't even think of that, and I'm currently listening to an audio book on mine even! Duh! LOL

[Sherri Tierney]

I think you've all helped me make up the mind. I think I'll go with the touch. Just the upgrade in storage is worth the price but having the text to audio feature sounds kind of nice too, especially when I'm doing dishes.... since I hate dishes so much and all.

[scrap2day]

Looks like I'm late to respond but I also have the Touch, wifi, no ads. I also chose that one for the text to audio feature.