does anyone still use a Kindle 2?

[OonaMistwalker]

Hi there! I usually read books on my phone but someone gave me a pristine Kindle 2 and i find it easier on the eyes. Is anyone else using one? I realize it's ANCIENT, but I think it's beautiful. I sure would be grateful for some guidance.

I can download Magic Catalog for Project Gutenberg but I can't download any books. I'm told Basic Browser can't establish a secure connection. I can't even download the mobiguide. I get the same result.

I spent hours chatting with Amazon in the worst customer service experience of my life and I've come away from it more confused than I went in.

Can the Kindle 2 only read files sent to it from the Kindle store?

Does Calibre no longer work with the Kindle 2?

My Kindle 2 isn't jailbroken. Does that mean it won't read sideloaded files?

Thanks for reading this far, even if you don't respond

[j.p.s]

It can read non-DRM mobi files. You can connect it to a computer over USB and it will show up as a drive. mobi files copied to the documents directory should show up and can be opened.

[DiapDealer]

I still own a Kindle 2, but I don't use it. The battery wouldn't hold a charge last time I dug it out.

I believe there was an update (a security certificate) that needed to be installed to keep the 3G whispersync/browser working a few years ago. It's probably a moot point trying to find the update and manually installing it, though. What with 3G basically at the end of its life and all.

[OonaMistwalker]

Thanks for your responses, J.P.S and DiapDealer. I did install that update and enough stubborn people are clinging to their 3G phones that Verizon has indefinitely delayed ending its 3G network, so maybe it's not dying yet.

Is it okay to ask another question in this thread?

I'm one of those who LIKES the screensaver images on the Kindle 2. Does the Kindle 2 jailbreak allow us to copy the images off the Kindle for personal use on our other devices?

[Gazerwolf]

Originally Posted by OonaMistwalker

Hi there! I usually read books on my phone but someone gave me a pristine Kindle 2 and i find it easier on the eyes. Is anyone else using one? I realize it's ANCIENT, but I think it's beautiful. I sure would be grateful for some guidance.

I can download Magic Catalog for Project Gutenberg but I can't download any books. I'm told Basic Browser can't establish a secure connection. I can't even download the mobiguide. I get the same result.

I spent hours chatting with Amazon in the worst customer service experience of my life and I've come away from it more confused than I went in.

Can the Kindle 2 only read files sent to it from the Kindle store?

Does Calibre no longer work with the Kindle 2?

My Kindle 2 isn't jailbroken. Does that mean it won't read sideloaded files?

Thanks for reading this far, even if you don't respond

Two of my sons use that model, one Jailbroken one not.

Can the 2 only read files Dld from amazon? No, it can read DRM free Mobi files and Text files.
Calibre works fine with the 2. I use it with my Sons'.
Doesn't have to be Jail broken to read Sideloaded books, they just have to be DRM free or DL'd from amazon for that particular Kindle (register it, and use the download to computer option, pick that kindle as the destination.)

I prefer using Calibre to load my books.

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by OonaMistwalker

I'm one of those who LIKES the screensaver images on the Kindle 2. Does the Kindle 2 jailbreak allow us to copy the images off the Kindle for personal use on our other devices?

Yes, if you jailbreak, you can copy the sleep screen images.

[SteveEisenberg]

I have an old vs. new question that I will put here.

I am personally hard on things -- and I take an eReader almost everywhere. As a result, the life expectancy of the screen on my older Kindles -- bought used for this reason -- is maybe a year or two.

I'm going to be as careful as I can be with my new Kindle Kid's edition. But my question is -- should I expect that the eInk screen, like those on smart phones, has greatly improved in durability over the past ten years? Or are they just as prone to cracking as ever?

[salamanderjuice]

The ones made with a glass substrate are just as prone to cracking as ever as far as I know. You can get models which use a plastic substrate like the Kobo Forma or Boox Note 3 that will be a little more durable as the layer below the part of the screen you see is plastic instead of glass. Now they still can put a top glass layer that can break.

[Tarana]

Originally Posted by SteveEisenberg

I have an old vs. new question that I will put here.

I am personally hard on things -- and I take an eReader almost everywhere. As a result, the life expectancy of the screen on my older Kindles -- bought used for this reason -- is maybe a year or two.

Are you getting decent covers to protect these kindles? My cousin took his everywhere (BLM - Alaska) and he's not particularly careful, breaking only one screen over 8 years. Of course, dropping on concrete would be different from dropping on permafrost.

[SteveEisenberg]

Originally Posted by Tarana

Are you getting decent covers to protect these kindles?

Apparently not always decent enough.

Originally Posted by Tarana

Of course, dropping on concrete would be different from dropping on permafrost.

With me, I think it is more a matter of sitting on it than dropping.

Before starting with my new Prime-Day Kindle Kids Edition, that comes with an Amazon-brand case, I was, for a while, using this case for a Kindle 4 (basic model released September 28, 2011). I think that old case does an outstanding job of keeping the cover up and away from the glass, at the price of a bit of reading experience interference. That Kindle 4 still works great.

I have also experienced something like this, at least once, on the Kindle Keyboard.

[BookCat]

With me, I think it is more a matter of sitting on it than dropping.

This is why I buy brightly coloured cases.