Kindle for a non-technical person

elemenoP · 07-04-2014, 09:34 AM

My sister bought my mother a Kindle Paperwhite. My mom is in her 70s and can barely "get the email in" as she puts it. I'm not sure she is going to take to the Kindle or not, but what the heck, I would like to try to help her with it. I figure we can register the Kindle to my or my sister's account, leave the wifi on at all times, and if my mom wants a new book, one of us can buy it for her and send it to her Kindle. So all she will have to learn is how to turn pages, and how to go to the home screen and choose a new book.

Does this sound feasible? Does anyone here "manage" a Kindle for someone else, or know a non-technical person who has a Kindle and likes it? Any tips?

eP

GoSharks · 07-04-2014, 10:19 AM

Yes this is very doable, at least it was for my father. Though you are in for some repetitive demonstrations in the beginning...I hope you live close! What really tipped it for him on the learning curve in the beginning was playing a few games (he likes solitaire). This gave him an environment inside the PW that he could learn tap/swipe/pinch without getting lost or changing things accidentally. The only near catastrophe was when he managed to insert the usb plug upside down when trying to charge it (yes this is possible if you are determined!)... my easy fix for this was to color mark the topside of the plug so he could see it.
Hope it goes well for her (and you)!

Smartie · 07-04-2014, 10:52 AM

if you buy book for her, should you turn wifi off?

HarryT · 07-04-2014, 10:54 AM

No. The book won't be delivered to the Kindle if WiFi is off.

Mike L · 07-04-2014, 11:05 AM

The only minor point you seem to have missed is that she will have to know how to charge the battery - and how to know when to do that. Presumably, that won't be a problem, but it's something to keep in mind.

Apart from that, your plan sounds perfectly feasible to me.

Mike

ElspethB · 07-04-2014, 05:31 PM

About three years ago I bought my mom (then age 70) a Kindle Keyboard. She lives 500 miles away, so I waited to give it to her until we were visiting her for a week on our annual summer vacation. She is a non-technical person, but I spent some time with her over the course of the week showing her how to operate it. She also wrote out a crib-sheet for herself that she could refer to when I wasn't around. She adapted to it very well. I buy books for her and tell her when to turn on her wifi to receive the books. She loves it because she can adjust the font size to a comfortable level and because she always has a book with her.

Good luck!

JSWolf · 07-04-2014, 05:34 PM

My mother has a Sony Reader PRS-T1. She's in her mid 80s. She knows how to use it pretty well. But I have things setup so I can help her remotely. All she has to do is plug in her T1 to the computer and i can remote access her computer and help as needed.

Katsunami · 07-04-2014, 05:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elemenoP

My sister bought my mother a Kindle Paperwhite. My mom is in her 70s and can barely "get the email in" as she puts it. I'm not sure she is going to take to the Kindle or not, but what the heck, I would like to try to help her with it. I figure we can register the Kindle to my or my sister's account, leave the wifi on at all times, and if my mom wants a new book, one of us can buy it for her and send it to her Kindle. So all she will have to learn is how to turn pages, and how to go to the home screen and choose a new book.

Does this sound feasible?

Very. I actually do something similar with my aunt's Kindle (and she's just in her 40's...). I buy the book she wants, do the de-DRM-ing, and stash it into my own library in case it's ever needed again. Then I'll send it to the Kindle's mail address so she can read it, and I'll send it to her normal mail address as an attachment so she can save her own local copy.

AnemicOak · 07-04-2014, 06:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elemenoP

I figure we can register the Kindle to my or my sister's account, leave the wifi on at all times, and if my mom wants a new book, one of us can buy it for her and send it to her Kindle. So all she will have to learn is how to turn pages, and how to go to the home screen and choose a new book.

Does this sound feasible? Does anyone here "manage" a Kindle for someone else, or know a non-technical person who has a Kindle and likes it? Any tips?

My mom isn't quite that non-technical in that if forced to she can order her own books, but she's somewhat intimidated by going on Amazon's website and doing so. I don't buy her books through my account, she has her own, but I do often log in to her account and place the order for her when she calls me and says she wants X book.

Ian.M · 07-04-2014, 06:48 PM

If you have a *REALLY* non-technical senior cit izen to support, it may be worth getting a 'dock' 3D printed for the Kindle to provide reliable connector alignment and using a hardware USB over TCP/IP network solution so you can remotely administer the Kindle from your own PC.

That's for the grade of user you cant trust not to *(&)(*&$%^ it up if you aren't immediately available to provide remote assistance when they connect it to their PC!

You probably want a relative's Kindle on a separate Amazon account, even if you manage the associated email address and payments on their behalf. It avoids all sorts of problems if their competence to handle money is ever called into question or if there is a family dispute.

elemenoP · 07-06-2014, 11:34 AM

Thanks for the encouragement, everyone! My sister and I both live far away but we are here with my mom for the week and we will try it out.

eP

07-04-2014, 09:34 AM	#1
elemenoP Wizard Posts: 1,717 Karma: 3790058 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: NYC Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Sony 650	Kindle for a non-technical person My sister bought my mother a Kindle Paperwhite. My mom is in her 70s and can barely "get the email in" as she puts it. I'm not sure she is going to take to the Kindle or not, but what the heck, I would like to try to help her with it. I figure we can register the Kindle to my or my sister's account, leave the wifi on at all times, and if my mom wants a new book, one of us can buy it for her and send it to her Kindle. So all she will have to learn is how to turn pages, and how to go to the home screen and choose a new book. Does this sound feasible? Does anyone here "manage" a Kindle for someone else, or know a non-technical person who has a Kindle and likes it? Any tips? eP

07-04-2014, 10:19 AM	#2
GoSharks SQUIRREL!! Posts: 1,636 Karma: 8400000 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: California Device: K-Fire, PW2, PW3	Yes this is very doable, at least it was for my father. Though you are in for some repetitive demonstrations in the beginning...I hope you live close! What really tipped it for him on the learning curve in the beginning was playing a few games (he likes solitaire). This gave him an environment inside the PW that he could learn tap/swipe/pinch without getting lost or changing things accidentally. The only near catastrophe was when he managed to insert the usb plug upside down when trying to charge it (yes this is possible if you are determined!)... my easy fix for this was to color mark the topside of the plug so he could see it. Hope it goes well for her (and you)! Last edited by GoSharks; 07-04-2014 at 10:21 AM.

07-04-2014, 11:05 AM	#5
Mike L Wizard Posts: 1,479 Karma: 3846231 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Edinburgh, Scotland Device: Kindle 3, Samsung Galaxy	The only minor point you seem to have missed is that she will have to know how to charge the battery - and how to know when to do that. Presumably, that won't be a problem, but it's something to keep in mind. Apart from that, your plan sounds perfectly feasible to me. Mike Last edited by Mike L; 07-05-2014 at 01:02 PM. Reason: Minor spelling corrections

07-04-2014, 06:48 PM	#10
Ian.M Connoisseur Posts: 71 Karma: 57134 Join Date: Aug 2013 Device: Kindle 3 GB 3G	If you have a REALLY non-technical senior cit izen to support, it may be worth getting a 'dock' 3D printed for the Kindle to provide reliable connector alignment and using a hardware USB over TCP/IP network solution so you can remotely administer the Kindle from your own PC. That's for the grade of user you cant trust not to (&)(&$%^ it up if you aren't immediately available to provide remote assistance when they connect it to their PC! You probably want a relative's Kindle on a separate Amazon account, even if you manage the associated email address and payments on their behalf. It avoids all sorts of problems if their competence to handle money is ever called into question or if there is a family dispute. Last edited by Ian.M; 07-04-2014 at 07:04 PM.

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07-04-2014, 10:52 AM	#3
Smartie Addict Posts: 285 Karma: 1150760 Join Date: Apr 2011 Device: Kindle PW,KOBO H2O	if you buy book for her, should you turn wifi off?

07-04-2014, 10:54 AM	#4
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	No. The book won't be delivered to the Kindle if WiFi is off.

07-04-2014, 05:31 PM	#6
ElspethB Passionate Reader Posts: 276 Karma: 1829152 Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Central Jersey, USA Device: Samsung Galaxy Tab S3, Kobo Clara HD, Fire HD 8, Voyage, Oasis 3, PW5	About three years ago I bought my mom (then age 70) a Kindle Keyboard. She lives 500 miles away, so I waited to give it to her until we were visiting her for a week on our annual summer vacation. She is a non-technical person, but I spent some time with her over the course of the week showing her how to operate it. She also wrote out a crib-sheet for herself that she could refer to when I wasn't around. She adapted to it very well. I buy books for her and tell her when to turn on her wifi to receive the books. She loves it because she can adjust the font size to a comfortable level and because she always has a book with her. Good luck!

07-04-2014, 05:34 PM	#7
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 79,582 Karma: 145863177 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	My mother has a Sony Reader PRS-T1. She's in her mid 80s. She knows how to use it pretty well. But I have things setup so I can help her remotely. All she has to do is plug in her T1 to the computer and i can remote access her computer and help as needed.

07-06-2014, 11:34 AM	#11
elemenoP Wizard Posts: 1,717 Karma: 3790058 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: NYC Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Sony 650	Thanks for the encouragement, everyone! My sister and I both live far away but we are here with my mom for the week and we will try it out. eP

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