Reading on the Kindle Fire?

[maxsassy]

I had ordered a Kindle Touch from Amazon but cancelled the order today because I like to read while my husband watches TV. I sit next to him and do my reading. Found out the Kindle Touch is not have a backlight but the Kindle Fire does. Do you think the books on the Fire will be as easy to read as the ones on the Touch? I have an iPad (1) but it gets so heavy I have to put it down for a little while before I can start reading again. Should I go ahead and order the Fire? I know in the sunlight it would be hard to read but I could always buy anti-glare screens and put on it.

Please someone help me make this decision.

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by maxsassy

I had ordered a Kindle Touch from Amazon but cancelled the order today because I like to read while my husband watches TV. I sit next to him and do my reading. Found out the Kindle Touch is not have a backlight but the Kindle Fire does. Do you think the books on the Fire will be as easy to read as the ones on the Touch? I have an iPad (1) but it gets so heavy I have to put it down for a little while before I can start reading again. Should I go ahead and order the Fire? I know in the sunlight it would be hard to read but I could always buy anti-glare screens and put on it.

Please someone help me make this decision.

The Fire sounds like a good choice if lighting isn't good where you want to read. Although you could also pick up the $79 Non Touch Kindle too that way you'd have the best of both worlds. The Kindle 4 NT makes a great travel reader because it's so small.

I wish I could read while mine watches TV. I am too annoyed by sounds to understand what I am reading.

[jswinden]

It depends a lot on your eyes. Some people have trouble reading for extended periods on an LCD screen. Does the iPad bother you when reading for extended periods? If so you might have that problem with the KFire too, although the screen and text rendering on the KFire are probably going to be much better than they are on the iPad, at least in terms of reading. IPads are notorious for their fuzzy text--I've got one and I can confirm that text rendered on an iPad is really crappy compared to say a NookColor.

Another issue you mentioned is weight. Although lighter than the iPad 1, the KFire is still close to a pound, and that might still be too heavy for you.

You also mentioned reading outside. I don't think any LCD device can do that well. Some claim they can, but my experience is that they will be overcome with glare from sunlight. When it comes to reading in sunlight, E Ink devices rule.

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by jswinden

It depends a lot on your eyes. Some people have trouble reading for extended periods on an LCD screen. Does the iPad bother you when reading for extended periods? If so you might have that problem with the KFire too, although the screen and text rendering on the KFire are probably going to be much better than they are on the iPad, at least in terms of reading. IPads are notorious for their fuzzy text--I've got one and I can confirm that text rendered on an iPad is really crappy compared to say a NookColor.

Another issue you mentioned is weight. Although lighter than the iPad 1, the KFire is still close to a pound, and that might still be too heavy for you.

You also mentioned reading outside. I don't think any LCD device can do that well. Some claim they can, but my experience is that they will be overcome with glare from sunlight. When it comes to reading in sunlight, E Ink devices rule.

Agreed EInk rules! I had the Coby for which is 14.4 ounces for 8 hours and found it wonderful to hold. I didn't get any of the problems I had with my K3 when trying to hold it for long periods of time. The Fire is 14.6 ounces so it weights about the same but has a better form factor and it's the same size as a K3. So I imagine holding it will not be a problem for small hands.

[dengar]

On my iPad if I change the color to sepia and lower the brightness a bit I can read with no problem. I hope it's the same on the Fire.

[covfam]

Originally Posted by dengar

On my iPad if I change the color to sepia and lower the brightness a bit I can read with no problem. I hope it's the same on the Fire.

on my phone and my ipad2 and my samsung galaxy tab and my ipod touch i have to turn the backlight down to roughtly 10-20% to read at night with sepia... reading the night time mode are just as painfull on the eys as a bright daytime mode screen,

[Jowi]

Originally Posted by covfam

on my phone and my ipad2 and my samsung galaxy tab and my ipod touch i have to turn the backlight down to roughtly 10-20% to read at night with sepia... reading the night time mode are just as painfull on the eys as a bright daytime mode screen,

Funny how different people like different things - I read using night mode exclusively - brightness down in the dark or up during the day. I love it and find it very easy on the eyes

[Katie1]

On my Tablet Kindle for Android gives you 3 backgrounds white on black... Black on white & Sepia which with a little brightness adjusting is like eInk. So dont see at this point in time ... as know one has them yet .... the Fire wouldnt do the same thing.

[wallcraft]

Originally Posted by Katie1

On my Tablet Kindle for Android gives you 3 backgrounds white on black... Black on white & Sepia which with a little brightness adjusting is like eInk. So dont see at this point in time ... as know one has them yet .... the Fire wouldnt do the same thing.

The Fire has the same 3 background color options, see Setting Text Appearance

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by Jowi

Funny how different people like different things - I read using night mode exclusively - brightness down in the dark or up during the day. I love it and find it very easy on the eyes

The white text really bothers me on the night theme. Maybe with a different font it will be better.

[jswinden]

Originally Posted by Blossom

The white text really bothers me on the night theme. Maybe with a different font it will be better.

There is a photography website www.dpreview.com I like but it has white text with black background and it gives me a headache to read it. Plus after reading it for a few minutes I see stripes in front of my eyes when I look around.

I read on PDAs for well over a decade. A lot of folks raved about how great night mode is with white text and black background, but I could never get it to work with my eyes. I still prefer black text and very low backlighting for low light reading on LCDs. For Android there is an app called Screen Filter which allows you to set the backlighting lower than the system allows and I use it a lot for reading apps that don't give enough backlighting control.

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by jswinden

There is a photography website www.dpreview.com I like but it has white text with black background and it gives me a headache to read it. Plus after reading it for a few minutes I see stripes in front of my eyes when I look around.

I read on PDAs for well over a decade. A lot of folks raved about how great night mode is with white text and black background, but I could never get it to work with my eyes. I still prefer black text and very low backlighting for low light reading on LCDs. For Android there is an app called Screen Filter which allows you to set the backlighting lower than the system allows and I use it a lot for reading apps that don't give enough backlighting control.

Yep me too! I call them blinds though. It like horizontal slats.

[maxsassy]

I ordered the Kindle Fire for the reason I can read it in the dark because it is backlit. Now I am anxious to get it. Been getting my books ready to transfer over to it. Suppose I could have gone out to a store and bought one but decided to get it from Amazon.

[Jowi]

Well, I see what you all mean after reading on night mode on the Fire last night - when the text is bright I do not like night mode. Love it on my iPod, though. I tried the "sepia" and that I really liked, too.

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by Jowi

Well, I see what you all mean after reading on night mode on the Fire last night - when the text is bright I do not like night mode. Love it on my iPod, though. I tried the "sepia" and that I really liked, too.

My problem with night mode is it's like looking in a mirror on the Fire. I can't read text words over my face! It's just weird.