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#1 |
Junior Member
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Karma: 10
Join Date: Dec 2009
Device: Kindle, Sony Xperia Z, iPad,ipod
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Replacement for Kindle
Hi All
I am looking for your views on a replacement ereader. I currently have a Kindle 6" screen but am looking to replace this. My reasons for replacement are that Amazon have altered the way the device works (wifi turn on/off is no longer in the main menu) without asking and I find that although wifi is turned off when the Kindle is attached to the computer via usb cable it has automatically turned on when the device is unteathered from the computer! I tend not to have wifi on at all. I am also disturbed by increasing reports of Amazon closing down accounts which means you can't access content for which you have paid. I source my books both from Amazon and elsewhere and use calibre for conversion with a pluggin to remove DRM so that I can store them for later use should, as I now contemplate, buy a different device later. So, I am looking for a new device preferably one that is not tied to a particular retailer where wifi can be permanently turned off (I realise to get a reader without wifi is likely to be difficult). As an aside I did think of deregistering the Kindle but can find little info on the net about this. I am not 'techie' in that I don't do code but I can be tenacious in rooting out ways to do what I want to do with a device if it's not to difficult :-) I live in Europe and not the US which may affect the devices available to me. Thanks for your help in advance. |
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#2 | ||||
Bookaholic
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Location: Minnesota
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Last edited by AnemicOak; 10-24-2012 at 10:04 AM. |
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#3 |
Junior Member
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Karma: 10
Join Date: Dec 2009
Device: Kindle, Sony Xperia Z, iPad,ipod
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Thanks for your response AnemicOak. I keep my kindle in airplane mode all the time, my concern is that despite the kindle being in that mode when attached to the computer when I de-attach it the wifi has turned on automatically.
With regard to the closure of accounts, I accept that this might be that I have become more aware of reports BUT the fact that Amazon consider this to be an acceptable response I find disturbing. With regard to deregistering, I know how to do this but was wondering if doing this made the kindle an independent device (I accept that the wifi probably wouldn't work), having tried to find info on the net about using it as a deregistered device most hits seemed to be about how to deregister rather than using it after deregisteration. Thanks for the suggested alternatives, have been looking at the pocketbook, will do homework on the others. I think I need to get something that will 'read' as many file formats as possible without tying me down to a particular provider. |
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#4 | |
Wizard
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Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: North Yorkshire, UK
Device: Kobo H20, Pixel 2, Samsung Chromebook Plus
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I've no problem at all with you getting another device, but just to play devil's advocate, and maybe to save you some money:
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Is the mild annoyance of having to switch off wifi after sideloading your books really enough to justify buying a whole new reader and, probably, go through the process of converting your book collection? Graham |
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#5 |
Wizard
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Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: USA
Device: Kindle, iPad (not used much for reading)
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If the Kindle is going into wi-fi without you telling it to, it is defective. I'd call Kindle Support about this.
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#6 | |
Junior Member
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Join Date: Dec 2009
Device: Kindle, Sony Xperia Z, iPad,ipod
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![]() Graham, thanks for your response. I started backing up after reading about account closures by Amazon but am happy that I have done so as I am much more aware now of the issues around digital content and their ownership. I am not going out to buy a new device immediately but I have a teenage son who I am thinking of passing my kindle to so could be in the market for a new ereader after Christmas. I am interested in looking at alternatives to the kindle and Sony models that seem to be so prevalent and to be honest am uncomfortable with the amount of control Amazon seem to be able to exert should they wish to do so - I accept I may be slightly paranoid but that doesn't mean they're not following me ![]() |
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#7 |
Wizard
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Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Minneapolis
Device: PWSE, Voyage, K3, HDX, KBasic 7 & 8, Nook Glo3, Echos, Nanos
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I can't answer your other questions, but deregistering your kindle is certainly a valid option. You can side load without a problem.
So long as your books do not have a DRM, they can go right onto the kindle. I lend my 6 inch out occasionally and deregistering eliminates access to my Amazon account. The person can still read the books that are already on the kindle. When I get the kindle back, I can simply reregister it. |
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#8 |
Cockatoo Mom!
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Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Ontario, Canada
Device: PW4, Kobo: A1, Clara, Libra 2, iPad Pro 11, iPad Mini
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You're agreeing to their terms when you sign up for your Amazon account. If you're buying things that you shouldn't because of geo-restrictions then they have the right to close your acount. You don't own it. You are in essence renting the items because of Digital Rights Management. Read the TOS. It's in there.
If you're buying stuff you're entitled to buy for the country in which you live, you'll be fine. As to the Wifi, I don't belive the unit is defective. I believe you don't have it set correctly. Airplane mode on or off is a little more confusing terminology than simply Wifi on or off. You want Airplane mode ON which means no Wifi. Airplane mode OFF means the Wifi is on. Connecting and then disconnecting the reader to your computer doesn't turn Wifi on or off. I think it was already on, then turned off when you connected to the computer and reconnected to the Wifi network when you disconnected from the computer. And as for changing the location of the Wifi settings without asking, they don't have to. |
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#9 |
Junior Member
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Join Date: Dec 2009
Device: Kindle, Sony Xperia Z, iPad,ipod
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Thanks for your response Tarana, it's good to know what options are out there.
Shopaholic, I am uncomfortable with the idea that a retailer can arbitrarily take away access to items that I have bought and expect to be able to use in perpetuity, as I understand accounts have been closed due to a high volume of returns of physical items thus denying access to digital media. I assume that airplane mode is activated when the airplane icon is visible in the top right hand corner of the screen, thus wifi is off. I am not mistaken about how to use the device. |
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#10 |
Connoisseur
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Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Spain
Device: Kindle K4, Kobo mini, Samsung Galaxy Tab
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I would suggest that you keep your kindle for just Amazon downloads and buy a cheap additional ereader which allows you to do all the stuff you want to do and which you never connect to the internet. This is what I have done and it is working fine for me. I had/ still have a Kobo Touch (now broken) and it kept breaking down, so I have cut my losses and am going with the bog-standard Kindle 4. I also have an Icarus Go bought from Holland and this allows me to do all the stuff like playing music, having audio books etc. I think the Kindle 4 is the VW Polo of the ereader world, not glamourous but it has been around long enough for them to iron out the problems. I bought the 2 year extended warranty too: I don't normally buy these but ereaders are fairly prone to break down, especially if you like playing with them and exploring the possibilities and even more so if they have all the bells and whistles that some of the new ones have.
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#11 |
Non-Techy
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Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: WV---USA
Device: Samsung Cell Phone & Amazon Fires & Kobo eReaders
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I have a K3 wifi Never had it turn its self on. Most of the time its off & I forget to even turn it on when buying a ebook! I dont even pay attention till I want to put the ebook on my Sony T1... Then I end up pluggin in my K3 & downloading ebooks I purchsed thru Calibre. So I dont understand How yourss keep getting turned on.... Which Kindle do you have? Perhaps its defective & you need to let Amazon know. I really like to know the kindle model I sure dont want to buy some procduct that malfunctions. Thanks!
BTW IF your computer ever goes down you may wish you had WiFi. My Computer was in the shop for 2 weeks got all my emails & surfed the net thru my K3! No I never hacked it ... one of the extra features I Love about the Kindles! Last edited by Barbara1955; 10-27-2012 at 05:06 AM. |
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#12 |
Junior Member
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Join Date: Dec 2009
Device: Kindle, Sony Xperia Z, iPad,ipod
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Thanks for your replies Bertolt and Katie1, I have a kindle 6" given to me as a present last Christmas. I like the idea of a second cheap ereader Bertolt which is why I started the thread. AnemicOak suggested an Onyx, Bookeen or pocketbook none of which are easily available where I am - but I am resourceful ;-) Also the nook will be available soon in the Uk so that's a possibility if I just don't register the device.
As an aside I found this article from 2010 (probably familiar to most here but new to me) on what information is collected from your ereader https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/0...-guide-privacy And this from 2009 http://blog.ying.li/2009/10/amazon-w...both-ways.html I realise I'm late to the party but I imagine that in the 2 yrs since this article the amount of info available to retailers like Amazon is huge. As I routinely strip the DRm from my books and store them in a cloud 'till I want to read them because I don't want to be restricted to Amazon for the rest of my life, I am concerned that at some point Amazon will take action - hence my desire for an unafiliated alternative. cheap cheerful and reliable, it doesn't have to be pretty, I don't want to browse the web just load content and read. I do want e-ink though so no tablet. |
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#13 |
Junior Member
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Karma: 10
Join Date: Dec 2009
Device: Kindle, Sony Xperia Z, iPad,ipod
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I think the easiest thing to do is deregister the kindle and use the Kindle for pc app for amazon downloads, thus I don't have to buy another device - yet :-)
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#14 |
Non-Techy
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Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: WV---USA
Device: Samsung Cell Phone & Amazon Fires & Kobo eReaders
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I DRM strip mine & store them in a Flash Drive
![]() ![]() In the 1st article they menation a FBreader...whats that? ![]() Since most ereader by Amazon are 6" you didnt narrow it down LOL |
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#15 |
Tea Enthusiast
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Carrie, any of the ebook sellers can block access to your account and all of the ereaders with WiFi can remotly remove books from your ereader. It is a hazard of the technology.
Amazon has closed accounts because they have been hacked, a buyer abuses the return policy, or a buyer violates the terms of service by opening a new account when an old one has been closed or by doing something like buying georestricted material. Once every few months someone will post about the injustice of it all. People get all pissed off at Amazon. Others ask questions and by the end of day 2 it turns out that the Kindle was broken, the "victim" admits that they violated the TOS in some egrigious manner, or the "victim" owns up to returning a ton of goods or ebooks in a short period of time. I would guess that BN has shut down a few accounts but they are not as large as Amazon so we have not heard about it. I know that other companies have removed content from peoples accounts. All of the smaller ebookstores did so when Agency Pricing came into play. Since they did not have contracts with the Publishers, they no longer had the rights to sell the books, and they removed them from peoples accounts. If the books had not been downloaded to someones computer, then they lost the book. My point? You face the same risk with a Sony or a Nook or a Kobo. They all have WiFi and they can all pull books. You face the same risk at any ebook store. The risk is relativly small with all of them, Amazon sells how many ebooks across the globe and we hear about this how frequently? The only people I have ever seen post on it on this board are people are new to the site or the story is told by someone who does not own a Kindle and found an obscure blog on the matter. Back your books up on your computer and you will be fine. The folks who bought Ninteen Eighty Four and had it backed up on their computer were able to manually reload the book and had no problems keeping it on their Kindles. Take it one step further and backup your books and remove the DRM. |
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