Some Questions to help me decide if my wife will like a Kindle,

[goldberry]

Does it have a dictionary/thesaurus?

Presently have a Sony reader but the battery doesn't last more than 2-3 days of reading. I am guessing 15 hrs can we expect a lot better with a kindle?

Currently we have 100's of books, most unread, in epub format and we use Calibre to manage things. Does the Kindle load its own management program on your computer like the Sony or can you just run calibre hook it up and it will be recognized? I understand our books should be able to be converted to Kindle format but I guess that depends on whether DRM has been stripped.

Can it be used right out of the box without setting up an Amazon account with credit card?

We intend to pick one up possibly on a trip to US (from Canada) if we set up an account while in US will it then just default to Canada upon our return. We have noticed books not available in Canada on sony site.

[kranu]

Your first few questions can be answered in the descriptions here.

Kindle presents itself as a flash drive, so you just drag and drop the files onto it. Calibre works quite well with the Kindle. You can convert the epub to mobi (assuming DRM is stripped) and it will work fin on Kindle.

You can do some things on Kindle without linking an account, but if you want to buy books and browse the web, you will have to link an account. I'm not sure about linking a credit card.

As for the question about Canada, I have no idea, since I live in the US. People say they have no problems purchasing a Kindle from Amazon.com in Canada, however.

[Wielki_Imperator]

Originally Posted by goldberry

Does it have a dictionary/thesaurus?

Yes. There are 2 dictionaries.

Originally Posted by goldberry

Presently have a Sony reader but the battery doesn't last more than 2-3 days of reading. I am guessing 15 hrs can we expect a lot better with a kindle?

I got my Kindle on March 7th. I drained the battery, charged, then only charged again on 27th March. Using Wifi, whispernet, leaving it on and reading every day. I think the battery lasts for a long time.

Originally Posted by goldberry

Does the Kindle load its own management program on your computer like the Sony or can you just run calibre hook it up and it will be recognized?

It is recognised in Windows XP (and I suppose similar in other systems). You can use Calibre to manage.

Originally Posted by goldberry

I understand our books should be able to be converted to Kindle format but I guess that depends on whether DRM has been stripped.

I convert from pdf & doc to mobi format with Calibre. Other formats as well.

Originally Posted by goldberry

Can it be used right out of the box without setting up an Amazon account with credit card?

This I do not know.

[ATDrake]

1) Yes, the K3 comes with two English-language dictionaries and you can load up more.

3) No management program at all. You either download your books via the wireless, or drag and drop them via the USB. You can use 3rd party tools like Calibre to manage/set up collections.

4) Yes, it can be used for just reading out of the box, though if you want to use the wireless/web browsing and buy books, then you'll need to register it to an Amazon account.

You don't have to have a credit card on your account if you don't want to, however, and you can use gift cards to fund your purchases to avoid lots of little charges that might trigger a fraud alert with your CC company (buy them when the exchange rate is good).

5) The actual physical location from where you set your account up is not really an issue. It defaults to the address that you enter into the account.

But be warned, if the address doesn't match the IP of your computer when you make purchases and/or use the 3G, there's a chance that Amazon will block your account from further purchasing until you send them proof of residence. A VPN IP proxy for the country you intend to mimic is your friend.

Hope this helps, and enjoy your purchase if you make it!

[goldberry]

That was fast, thanks everyone.

[wvcherrybomb]

It seems your questions have been mostly answered so I'll just comment in regards to battery life.

I get 28 hours per charge WITH using the lighted cover 100% of the time. The lighted cover gets it's power from the Kindle so I'm sure people who don't use one have even an even longer battery life.

[Blog Kindle]

28 hours with light is very close to what I've estimated and never had the discipline to test in practice - good to know.

Without the light you will get much longer - on a scale of weeks even with wireless turned on.

There are many dictionaries available for Kindle, including translation dictionaries. My friend's wife (for whom English is a second language) finds these extremely useful.

As far as book management goes... there isn't much to it. Kindle is optimized for "buy-read-end-to-end-close-and-never-read-again" scenario that works well enough for me.

[teacherawards]

Great, thx

[DiapDealer]

No Collections feature if you don't register (without hacking). Could be an organizational issue if you plan on keeping hundreds of books on the Kindle.

I'm registered and I still don't use collections... but thought the feature (or lack thereof) was worth mentioning.

[HarryT]

But why would you not want to register?

[jbcohen]

So does a bookeen, but those dictionaries are more inteneded for foreign (non-enlgish) langeuge books. The Kindle is a bit harder to use then a Kobo so are you willing to undertake a steeper learning curve?

[ProfCrash]

My 11 year old Nephew picked up his new K3 and had figured out how to do everything on it in less then 24 hours. This includes changing the name of the device. It is very easy to use. It is even easier to use when you read the instruction guide that comes with it.

You do have to set up an account with a credit card to get started but you can quickly replace the credit card with gift certificates. This opens up collections and, I believe, use of the Wifi/3G capabilities.

It will be registered to whatever store you set your home address to. If you choose an address in the US, say the address of the hotel you are staying at, you will be able to use the US store. If you choose your home address in Canada you will not be able to have access to the entire US store.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by jbcohen

So does a bookeen, but those dictionaries are more inteneded for foreign (non-enlgish) langeuge books. The Kindle is a bit harder to use then a Kobo so are you willing to undertake a steeper learning curve?

The Kindle is VERY easy to use. I really think you're exaggerating the difficulties.

[wvcherrybomb]

Originally Posted by jbcohen

The Kindle is a bit harder to use then a Kobo so are you willing to undertake a steeper learning curve?

Huh??? The K3 is the most user friendly device I've ever met! You turn it on and it works. No learning curve here...

[montalex]

I agree with HarryT: The Kindle is very easy to use. The keyboard comes in very handy when searching for something in a book you are reading (if you are reading The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, for example, and you forgot who a character is), and when you want to connect to Amazon and search for a book.

I just came out of a week in the hospital (peritonitis!) and my Kindle was a godsend. Image having hundreds of books with you, getting your newspapers wirelessly delivered each day, and not having to charge your reader for at least a couple of weeks.

The Kindle is a great device, simple and highly functional.