Thinking about the Kindle 3.....how does it do with Newspapers?

Smudge · 11-28-2010, 08:37 PM

I am a frequent reader and thinking of buying an e-reader. I took a look at a friend's Kindle 3 and was impressed. I would also like to be able to use this device to also read newspapers. I am not interested in a subscription, however there are days when I stop at the store and get the Wall Street Journal or USA Today. I understand that I can purchase the single daily edition of these newspapers. I have searched the web, youtube and Google Images with little success. I will use this e-reader primarily for reading books, however I am wondering how well the Kindle 3 does at displaying newspaper content? Any thoughts are much appreciated. Thank you!

FF2 · 11-29-2010, 12:36 AM

Depending on the newspaper or periodical, Calibre can download and send them automatically to a Kindle.

There's a list of almost 300 English language periodicals and others in foreign languages. You can download calibre in advance and check out what it does.

There's a subforum dedicated to it on this site.

tomsem · 11-29-2010, 12:38 AM

I would suggest going over to amazon.com and reading some of the customer reviews for the specific newspapers you are interested in.

Smudge · 11-29-2010, 06:16 AM

I have read some of the reviews for individual papers. However, the reviews seem to focus on cost of the newspapers and not viewing quality on the Kindle. The cost of the WSJ is $1 per day on the Kindle, and the same price at the store. I want to buy via the Kindle for convenience and do not mind paying the same price. Anyone with real life experience reading newspapers on the Kindle? Thanks again!

slm · 11-29-2010, 06:26 AM

I use the Kindle to read the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal most days.
I like it.
Beyond that, you'd have to be more specific about your concerns.

jj2me · 11-29-2010, 07:00 AM

The reading experience is different for me. Much more of a serial read, and missing most charts. I value the layout of paper, where an editor has taken time to place things in some order of perceived importance. And you can scan a page easily on paper.

Having said that, I enjoy my trial NY Times subscription from Amazon (though will probably drop it in favor of Calibre's). It may be because the NY Times is more suited to reading in-depth articles. I definitely prefer the USA Today in print with its nice layout and all the graphics, and can read the print edition must faster.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FF2

Depending on the newspaper or periodical, Calibre can download and send them automatically to a Kindle.

There's a list of almost 300 English language periodicals and others in foreign languages. You can download calibre in advance and check out what it does.

This advice is spot on. Download a Calibre USA Today and view it in Calibre's Viewer, which mimics e-reader layout, and see how you like it. I also get the WSJ from Calibre, though since I have a non-pay account, some stories may be incomplete. I find that Calibre periodicals aren't much different from the Amazon pay ones--I've not seen any missing content the few times I've compared side-by-side.

If you're going to buy an e-reader for reading periodicals, the Kindle would definitely be my choice, because of

automagic free e-mail delivery of Calibre periodicals - open Calibre in the morning, turn on wireless on your Kindle, et voila, newspapers and magazines appear on your Kindle as if they came from Amazon. If some fail (Calibre tells you), just right-click on your computer and send again via e-mail. You have to set up Calibre to do this.
Skip to next article. You push the right of the 5-way (or left to go to the previous article). Calibre doesn't offer this yet for the Sony (and maybe others?)

JaneD · 11-29-2010, 05:05 PM

I'm enjoying the free trial of the New York Times from Amazon. Considering continuing it when the free trial ends. Have you considered "subscribing" and checking it out for the free trial period? USA Today has a free trial period for 14 days. You can see if you like it enough, and cancel before you get billed if you don't.

Smudge · 11-29-2010, 05:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slm

I use the Kindle to read the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal most days.
I like it.
Beyond that, you'd have to be more specific about your concerns.

I guess that my biggest concern is that all content from the print edition matches that which is displayed on the Kindle. I am not too concerned with charts, graphs and pictures. As long as it is organized and readable that is most important to me.

Dave Wadsley · 12-01-2010, 09:47 AM

Just try it with Calibre, first and see how you get on with it. It is about individual taste...but I love the Calibre versions. Very intuitive, I have 3 different papers a day, scheduled to download at different times. One thing this has taught me is that news changes over the day...so the paper I read in the afternoon is subtly different from the morning paper...and from tomorrow morning's paper. I like this feature...after all paper copies have differing editions anyway as news changes. I also like to be able papers from all over the world when I want to follow up a story that interests me in their country. I would never be able to buy this variety of papers. The only problem is finding time to read novels!

desertblues · 12-01-2010, 10:24 AM

Yes, Calibre delivers newspapers just great, and for free.

SteveEisenberg · 12-01-2010, 09:46 PM

Starting today, Amazon is roughly doubling the percentage of newspaper sales going back to the publisher. In return the papers are supposed to make a greater commitment to getting their feeds in on time and in avoidance of formatting errors. My limited experience with the Philadelphia Inquirer via Amazon has been good even though that paper actually has a checkered record when it comes to getting the physical print product out on time.

I just tried a couple papers (Washington Post, Canada's Globe and Mail, and Israel's Haaretz) with Calibre. I'm not sure about Haaretz, but the Washington Post and Globe and Mail seemed to be missing a fair amount of the paper. And the order of the stories was a bit bizarre and lot different from web placement (no, the top story in Israel today is not a cell phone outage). However, the formatting Calibre did was excellent. Despite liking the absolute up-to-dateness you get from the browser, I will be using Calibre more than I have.

Bottom line is that there are a number of decent options.

Bookworm_Girl · 12-01-2010, 10:24 PM

Periodicals is one of the reasons I bought a Kindle. I think they have the best selection of the various ebookstores. I prefer to read news on my Kindle, except for the Wall Street Journal which is better on my Sony. As long as you don't mind the missing photos and graphs on the Kindle versions, then it's fine. I really like that you can "clip" articles to save them. I also use calibre "Fetch News" as other people have recommend. I like that calibre does contain images in their news feeds, it's free, and they email the news to your Kindle wirelessly so you don't even have to transfer it via USB cable. I also like the blog feeds for the Kindle too.

jondelfin · 12-01-2010, 10:32 PM

I live in toronto and subscribe to a daily newspaper - i have tried 2 of the available dailies] It is true you don not get every article or photograph but most of it is there. I now prefer it to trying to fold / turn pages in a daily newspaper. One thing i do notice [this may only apply outside the US???] is that when I receive the paper from Amazon via WiFi it has most of the pictures, but when I receive it via 3g it has maybe one or two pictures.

jondelfin · 12-01-2010, 11:07 PM

Oh - I forgot to mention - the "newspapers" that are available for download through Calibre seem to be the newsfeeds like you you see in a newsreader, so they are in no order, just the order they pop up on the web site. If you get an actual subscription via amazon, you get an actual newspaper with table of contents and different ways to browse through the paper, and organized in sections. Since I would pay for a daily newspaper anyway, it is worth it to me to pass on the calibre route. Thats it!!

Dave Wadsley · 12-02-2010, 08:57 AM

I take Calibre editions of 3 daily UK papers and occasional copies of others. Although they are fed by RSS feeds the Kindle versions are well organised, with a contents page grouping the news into various sections (UK, World, Sport, Business etc) and giving the total number of articles per section. Clicking on one of these numbers gives you short descriptions of each story in a section and you simply click on whatever you want to read. I find this helps me to focus on what I really want to read....a different experience to paper but I find it helpful.

Admittedly when looking at a paper through the Calibre Ebook reader I notice the feeds are simply listed as jondelfin says but I always use the Kindle.

So if you try to read using the Calibre Ebook reader you won't get the same level of quality as you will through the Kindle. (Unless I have missed some feature of the Calibre reader - I am still learning my way through some of this!)

11-28-2010, 08:37 PM	#1
Smudge Member Posts: 14 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2010 Device: none	Thinking about the Kindle 3.....how does it do with Newspapers? I am a frequent reader and thinking of buying an e-reader. I took a look at a friend's Kindle 3 and was impressed. I would also like to be able to use this device to also read newspapers. I am not interested in a subscription, however there are days when I stop at the store and get the Wall Street Journal or USA Today. I understand that I can purchase the single daily edition of these newspapers. I have searched the web, youtube and Google Images with little success. I will use this e-reader primarily for reading books, however I am wondering how well the Kindle 3 does at displaying newspaper content? Any thoughts are much appreciated. Thank you!

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11-29-2010, 12:36 AM	#2
FF2 Wizard Posts: 1,105 Karma: 1025784 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: WiFi Kindle3	Depending on the newspaper or periodical, Calibre can download and send them automatically to a Kindle. There's a list of almost 300 English language periodicals and others in foreign languages. You can download calibre in advance and check out what it does. There's a subforum dedicated to it on this site.

11-29-2010, 12:38 AM	#3
tomsem Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,933 Karma: 27060151 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: USA Device: iPhone 15PM, Kindle Scribe, iPad mini 6, PocketBook InkPad Color 3	I would suggest going over to amazon.com and reading some of the customer reviews for the specific newspapers you are interested in.

11-29-2010, 06:16 AM	#4
Smudge Member Posts: 14 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2010 Device: none	I have read some of the reviews for individual papers. However, the reviews seem to focus on cost of the newspapers and not viewing quality on the Kindle. The cost of the WSJ is $1 per day on the Kindle, and the same price at the store. I want to buy via the Kindle for convenience and do not mind paying the same price. Anyone with real life experience reading newspapers on the Kindle? Thanks again!

11-29-2010, 06:26 AM	#5
slm Fool Posts: 468 Karma: 4113712 Join Date: Feb 2003 Device: Kindle: Voyage,PW1,KOA, Kobo: Clara Colour, Nook GLP, Pocketbook verse	I use the Kindle to read the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal most days. I like it. Beyond that, you'd have to be more specific about your concerns.

11-29-2010, 05:05 PM	#7
JaneD Addict Posts: 324 Karma: 1057749 Join Date: May 2010 Location: LA, CA Device: Kindle Paperwhite 2013	I'm enjoying the free trial of the New York Times from Amazon. Considering continuing it when the free trial ends. Have you considered "subscribing" and checking it out for the free trial period? USA Today has a free trial period for 14 days. You can see if you like it enough, and cancel before you get billed if you don't.

12-01-2010, 09:47 AM	#9
Dave Wadsley Junior Member Posts: 6 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: Kindle	Just try it with Calibre, first and see how you get on with it. It is about individual taste...but I love the Calibre versions. Very intuitive, I have 3 different papers a day, scheduled to download at different times. One thing this has taught me is that news changes over the day...so the paper I read in the afternoon is subtly different from the morning paper...and from tomorrow morning's paper. I like this feature...after all paper copies have differing editions anyway as news changes. I also like to be able papers from all over the world when I want to follow up a story that interests me in their country. I would never be able to buy this variety of papers. The only problem is finding time to read novels!

12-01-2010, 10:24 AM	#10
desertblues Home for the moment Posts: 5,127 Karma: 27718936 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: travelling Device: various	Yes, Calibre delivers newspapers just great, and for free.

12-01-2010, 09:46 PM	#11
SteveEisenberg Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,414 Karma: 43514536 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: near Philadelphia USA Device: Kindle Kids Edition, Fire HD 10 (11th generation)	Starting today, Amazon is roughly doubling the percentage of newspaper sales going back to the publisher. In return the papers are supposed to make a greater commitment to getting their feeds in on time and in avoidance of formatting errors. My limited experience with the Philadelphia Inquirer via Amazon has been good even though that paper actually has a checkered record when it comes to getting the physical print product out on time. I just tried a couple papers (Washington Post, Canada's Globe and Mail, and Israel's Haaretz) with Calibre. I'm not sure about Haaretz, but the Washington Post and Globe and Mail seemed to be missing a fair amount of the paper. And the order of the stories was a bit bizarre and lot different from web placement (no, the top story in Israel today is not a cell phone outage). However, the formatting Calibre did was excellent. Despite liking the absolute up-to-dateness you get from the browser, I will be using Calibre more than I have. Bottom line is that there are a number of decent options.

12-01-2010, 10:24 PM	#12
Bookworm_Girl E-reader Enthusiast Posts: 4,873 Karma: 36536965 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Southwest, USA Device: Kindle Oasis 3; Kobo Aura One; iPad Mini 5	Periodicals is one of the reasons I bought a Kindle. I think they have the best selection of the various ebookstores. I prefer to read news on my Kindle, except for the Wall Street Journal which is better on my Sony. As long as you don't mind the missing photos and graphs on the Kindle versions, then it's fine. I really like that you can "clip" articles to save them. I also use calibre "Fetch News" as other people have recommend. I like that calibre does contain images in their news feeds, it's free, and they email the news to your Kindle wirelessly so you don't even have to transfer it via USB cable. I also like the blog feeds for the Kindle too.

12-01-2010, 10:32 PM	#13
jondelfin Enthusiast Posts: 36 Karma: 610 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: Kindle 2, 3, 4T	I live in toronto and subscribe to a daily newspaper - i have tried 2 of the available dailies] It is true you don not get every article or photograph but most of it is there. I now prefer it to trying to fold / turn pages in a daily newspaper. One thing i do notice [this may only apply outside the US???] is that when I receive the paper from Amazon via WiFi it has most of the pictures, but when I receive it via 3g it has maybe one or two pictures.

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12-01-2010, 11:07 PM	#14
jondelfin Enthusiast Posts: 36 Karma: 610 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: Kindle 2, 3, 4T	Oh - I forgot to mention - the "newspapers" that are available for download through Calibre seem to be the newsfeeds like you you see in a newsreader, so they are in no order, just the order they pop up on the web site. If you get an actual subscription via amazon, you get an actual newspaper with table of contents and different ways to browse through the paper, and organized in sections. Since I would pay for a daily newspaper anyway, it is worth it to me to pass on the calibre route. Thats it!!

12-02-2010, 08:57 AM	#15
Dave Wadsley Junior Member Posts: 6 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: Kindle	I take Calibre editions of 3 daily UK papers and occasional copies of others. Although they are fed by RSS feeds the Kindle versions are well organised, with a contents page grouping the news into various sections (UK, World, Sport, Business etc) and giving the total number of articles per section. Clicking on one of these numbers gives you short descriptions of each story in a section and you simply click on whatever you want to read. I find this helps me to focus on what I really want to read....a different experience to paper but I find it helpful. Admittedly when looking at a paper through the Calibre Ebook reader I notice the feeds are simply listed as jondelfin says but I always use the Kindle. So if you try to read using the Calibre Ebook reader you won't get the same level of quality as you will through the Kindle. (Unless I have missed some feature of the Calibre reader - I am still learning my way through some of this!)