Just got a Kindle and I'm so excited!

fountainofbeauty · 12-22-2009, 12:22 AM

Hi all,

I have been drooling (literally!) over the Kindle since it came out - was it 18 months ago or so? And my husband has finally given in to my constant begging (nagging?

) and bought me one for Xmas / my birthday.

I am an American ex-pat living in Australia and am so excited about this device. I love to read but as my eyes are getting older - only my eyes - not the rest of me! - I am finding books harder to deal with. The idea of being able to make the text bigger is fantastic.

Plus, I travel heaps and can now bring lots of reading matter without breaking my arms carrying it all.

I'm looking forward to reading about everyone else's experiences with their reading devices and learning from you all.

Thanks,
Meryl

lene1949 · 12-22-2009, 01:43 AM

Hi Meryl

Congrats on your kindle and welcome to MR...

Where in Australia are you? I'm from Brisbane... I don't have a kindle, but I do have Kindle for PC on my desktop computer and my Netbook...

The only thing I don't like is the extra $2 US you have to pay to get books from Amazon, but there are other places you can get kindle books without the surcharge.

kroma · 12-22-2009, 01:43 AM

Hi,
Another Aussie here..

I've had my Kindle for 3 weeks, and was a bit disappointed at first, wireless reception was terrible, and local news sources haven't come to the party at all.
After some digging around, I've picked up a number of useful tips to aid the Aussie Kindler:

If you want to use wireless, it's a little different to the US.
The Kindle can use any provider (Telstra, Optus ETC), but in my cas always seemed to select the worst signal to work with.
The fix for this is to go to your settings menu; While you have that selected, type 311 on the keyboard, and the Kindle will rescan.
When it's done, it displays a list of providers detected, and you can select one.
I've generally found selecting Telstra 3G gives good results everywhere.

Charging the beast. I don't like having one custom cable, so researched this as soon as I got the Kindle.
The USB cable is the same as that used by the Blackberry, and some Nokia phones (the blackberry clones), so you should find a spare in your local phone store.
A number of electronic stores sell plug packs tah have a USB connection on them, so you can use these to recharge the Kindle, without the need of your computer.

Hope that was of some use to you.

Peter

fountainofbeauty · 12-22-2009, 03:24 AM

Thank you both so much for the warm welcome. I am loving my kindle but not the extra charges! I had no idea I would have to pay extra to download the books I've already purchased from Amazon onto the kindle. Is there any way to do this via the USB cable or is there no other option by to download wirelessly? If so, I think that's a bit of a rip off.

I just subscribed to the trial version of the NY Times only to find I have to pay an extra $4.99 a week just to download. When the 2 weeks are over, I will have to cancel which is a shame.

I am on the far North Coast - near Byron Bay - so not far from Brisbane at all.

As I said, I am really loving reading on my kindle - but the extra charges seem more than a bit like discriminating against non-Americans (and I'm an American by birth! LOL) Hopefully, now that Amazon is trying to expand overseas, they will find a way to make a level playing field for their loyal customers.

All the best,
Meryl

PS - the download I made just before of the NY Times was pretty quick - but we don't seem to get any of the pictures you get in the US either so that would have sped things up for sure!

Jonas777 · 12-22-2009, 04:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fountainofbeauty

Is there any way to do this via the USB cable or is there no other option by to download wirelessly?

Use the USB-cable and connect to you computer, the Kindle will appear as another harddisk (ie USB-storage). As long as your books are not DRM-crippled you are free to drag and drop books on it. Use the documents folder.
Even DRM-crippled books *bought for your* device should work too.

MickeyC · 12-22-2009, 07:14 AM

Hi Meryl and welcome to MobileRead. I fell for eInk devices the day they came out and finally got a Sony in early 08 and have been addicted ever since. Like you say, they are excellent for travel.

Latinandgreek · 12-22-2009, 07:20 AM

Welcome to MobileRead and congratulation on your present. Make sure to download some free public domain books for your new kindle, you can find them on this site under e-books.

fountainofbeauty · 12-22-2009, 02:23 PM

What a wonderful place to come for help and advice - thank you! I also heard from Amazon support and they have removed the charges that I was charged to transfer my books to the kindle and also told me about dragging them in - fantastic!

I can see that there will be a small learning curve, but I spent hours last night reading (got a book light so I can read in bed without waking up the generous gift-giver LOL), taking notes in the columns without feeling guilty and experimenting with other stuff like bookmarks and the like.

I also appreciate the pointer to the free public domain books - I can see that I will have to rediscover reading again and that is a really good thing :-)

All the best,
Meryl

Ervserver · 12-22-2009, 06:37 PM

Hello Meryl, what will be your first book?

fountainofbeauty · 12-23-2009, 01:48 AM

Well, this isn't REALLY my first book because I have been reading ebooks on my iphone (and before that, on my JasJam) for a while now. But my first Kindle books - two really - are The Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging which I just finished. It was much more fun then I expected and very easy reading. The other book is Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson. I have been considering this one for a while and will start reading it tonight. This is such a treat for me but the timing is perfect. I read and review books - mostly about health - all the time and never get to read just for ME. The Kindle is a great excuse and the Xmas holiday is the best time for me to make that excuse.

What books have you guys loved for the kindle?

Take care,
Meryl

12-22-2009, 12:22 AM	#1
fountainofbeauty Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: Kindle	Just got a Kindle and I'm so excited! Hi all, I have been drooling (literally!) over the Kindle since it came out - was it 18 months ago or so? And my husband has finally given in to my constant begging (nagging?) and bought me one for Xmas / my birthday. I am an American ex-pat living in Australia and am so excited about this device. I love to read but as my eyes are getting older - only my eyes - not the rest of me! - I am finding books harder to deal with. The idea of being able to make the text bigger is fantastic. Plus, I travel heaps and can now bring lots of reading matter without breaking my arms carrying it all. I'm looking forward to reading about everyone else's experiences with their reading devices and learning from you all. Thanks, Meryl

12-22-2009, 07:14 AM	#6
MickeyC Grand Sorcerer Posts: 16,732 Karma: 12185114 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Florida Device: iPhone 6 plus, Sony T1, iPad 3	Hi Meryl and welcome to MobileRead. I fell for eInk devices the day they came out and finally got a Sony in early 08 and have been addicted ever since. Like you say, they are excellent for travel. Last edited by MickeyC; 12-23-2009 at 06:50 AM.

12-23-2009, 01:48 AM	#10
fountainofbeauty Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: Kindle	My first book Well, this isn't REALLY my first book because I have been reading ebooks on my iphone (and before that, on my JasJam) for a while now. But my first Kindle books - two really - are The Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging which I just finished. It was much more fun then I expected and very easy reading. The other book is Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson. I have been considering this one for a while and will start reading it tonight. This is such a treat for me but the timing is perfect. I read and review books - mostly about health - all the time and never get to read just for ME. The Kindle is a great excuse and the Xmas holiday is the best time for me to make that excuse. What books have you guys loved for the kindle? Take care, Meryl

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12-22-2009, 01:43 AM	#2
lene1949 Wizard Posts: 1,952 Karma: 213930 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Middelfart, Denmark Device: Kindle paper white	Hi Meryl Congrats on your kindle and welcome to MR... Where in Australia are you? I'm from Brisbane... I don't have a kindle, but I do have Kindle for PC on my desktop computer and my Netbook... The only thing I don't like is the extra $2 US you have to pay to get books from Amazon, but there are other places you can get kindle books without the surcharge.

12-22-2009, 01:43 AM	#3
kroma Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Sydney, Australia Device: Kindle Palm tx	Hi, Another Aussie here.. I've had my Kindle for 3 weeks, and was a bit disappointed at first, wireless reception was terrible, and local news sources haven't come to the party at all. After some digging around, I've picked up a number of useful tips to aid the Aussie Kindler: If you want to use wireless, it's a little different to the US. The Kindle can use any provider (Telstra, Optus ETC), but in my cas always seemed to select the worst signal to work with. The fix for this is to go to your settings menu; While you have that selected, type 311 on the keyboard, and the Kindle will rescan. When it's done, it displays a list of providers detected, and you can select one. I've generally found selecting Telstra 3G gives good results everywhere. Charging the beast. I don't like having one custom cable, so researched this as soon as I got the Kindle. The USB cable is the same as that used by the Blackberry, and some Nokia phones (the blackberry clones), so you should find a spare in your local phone store. A number of electronic stores sell plug packs tah have a USB connection on them, so you can use these to recharge the Kindle, without the need of your computer. Hope that was of some use to you. Peter

12-22-2009, 03:24 AM	#4
fountainofbeauty Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: Kindle	Thank you both so much for the warm welcome. I am loving my kindle but not the extra charges! I had no idea I would have to pay extra to download the books I've already purchased from Amazon onto the kindle. Is there any way to do this via the USB cable or is there no other option by to download wirelessly? If so, I think that's a bit of a rip off. I just subscribed to the trial version of the NY Times only to find I have to pay an extra $4.99 a week just to download. When the 2 weeks are over, I will have to cancel which is a shame. I am on the far North Coast - near Byron Bay - so not far from Brisbane at all. As I said, I am really loving reading on my kindle - but the extra charges seem more than a bit like discriminating against non-Americans (and I'm an American by birth! LOL) Hopefully, now that Amazon is trying to expand overseas, they will find a way to make a level playing field for their loyal customers. All the best, Meryl PS - the download I made just before of the NY Times was pretty quick - but we don't seem to get any of the pictures you get in the US either so that would have sped things up for sure!

12-22-2009, 07:20 AM	#7
Latinandgreek Warrior Princess Posts: 5,038 Karma: 9724231 Join Date: Sep 2009 Device: PRS-505; PRS-350, PRS-T1, iPad, Aura HD	Welcome to MobileRead and congratulation on your present. Make sure to download some free public domain books for your new kindle, you can find them on this site under e-books.

12-22-2009, 02:23 PM	#8
fountainofbeauty Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: Kindle	What a wonderful place to come for help and advice - thank you! I also heard from Amazon support and they have removed the charges that I was charged to transfer my books to the kindle and also told me about dragging them in - fantastic! I can see that there will be a small learning curve, but I spent hours last night reading (got a book light so I can read in bed without waking up the generous gift-giver LOL), taking notes in the columns without feeling guilty and experimenting with other stuff like bookmarks and the like. I also appreciate the pointer to the free public domain books - I can see that I will have to rediscover reading again and that is a really good thing :-) All the best, Meryl

12-22-2009, 06:37 PM	#9
Ervserver Wizard Posts: 2,624 Karma: 1008294 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Iowa, USA Device: Nook Simple Touch	Hello Meryl, what will be your first book?

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