Is the Kindle Paperwhite suitable for my mother?

[skb]

Yep, my 88 year old mother.

She will be freaked out by popup ads (or any pop up dialogs). She will never, ever want the dictionary. She is a total technophobe.

Her requirements are:

• Open book
• Read book
• Close book
• Rinse & repeat

Basically, I need to get her a device that will be able to be configured so that she can't accidentally tap something and ANY non-book opening dialog box pops up. Any options or whatnot will stop her using the device.

I need something that's reliable but has absolutely no bells & whistles (or, I can turn them off).

If not the Paperwhite, any other suggestions? Also, as she's easily spooked (and no amount of explaining will work, trust me), it can't be too expensive because at the first sign of trouble, she won't use it.

Oh and I have to be able to feed books etc into using Calibre or at least my OPDS library.

Am I kidding myself?

[Cinisajoy]

There are no pop up ads in the actual books.
You have to press to get the dictionary.
I don't think she should have any problems with an ereader.

[Atunah]

Things to do to keep kindles simple. I would not buy one with ads. Since if she touches the add, or the banner on the home page, it opens up somewhere else. Been a while I looked at one, I think its the store?

Second turn off all the home screen view new options we have. In settings, device options, advanced options turn it off and also turn off all the stuff in reading options. Things like popular highlights, public notes, about this book. Although that only comes on first time one opens the book. But to keep it bare bones, I'd turn it off.

Set home page at list view, I think that is easier to read the titles than look at the smaller covers.
Don't link goodreads.

There is of course still the top menu bar with the store/shopping cart icon.
Show her the home icon looking like a house. Always gets her back to where her books are listed in case something gets touched she didn't mean to.

That should keep it as simple as possible and close to how early kindles functioned. I wouldn't even do collections. So all she would have are her books listed on the home page, or pages.

Would you put the books on the device for her?

Not sure if you can prevent all popups, some are unavoidable depending on what one does.

[skb]

Thank you Cinisajoy & Atunah!

Atunah I would put the books on for her (whether purchased or Calibre'd) and I would only put a small number at a time.

Sounds as though it's worth a shot.

Thanks again!

[barryem]

I live in a retirement home in rural Arkansas. It's a HUD subsidised place so the residents are both old and poor and mostly technophobic. I've helped a number of them get started with Kindles and offhand I'd say 80% of them take to them pretty well. I've been doing this since about 2009 so not all of the Kindles have been Paperwhites. The Paperwhite is easier for them though.

The 20% who don't get comfortable with it, without exception, are the ones who are so afraid of it they won't really try. Usually I'll loan them a Kindle and show them how to use it and then check back to see if I can help a day or two later. The ones who try 2 or 3 times get it. The ones who don't get it usually just pick it up and look at it a time or two and are afraid to even turn it on. I usually know 5 minutes into explaining it to them which those will be.

Anyway that may help you decide about your mother. If she'll try it she can do it. If she won't, and some just won't, that's that.

The former manager of this place, who just recently retired, is 82. She wanted a Paperwhite and I helped her get it and I've probably spent 30 minutes about once a month with her and that's the only time she ever picks it up. She always has some reason. She's yet to read her first page. She's had it for about 2 or 3 years now. I think she just enjoys having me show her how to use it.

Barry

[skb]

Yep, that sounds like my life, Barry.

I'm sure she'll love it if she just gives it a go. I'll have it open to a book to start (so she can read the book before she has to check the library) and once I've got her hooked, I should be able to get her the rest of the way.

That’s the theory anyway.

Of course, I've just posted something because I can't make the dratted thing do what I want, so...it could be an interesting learning curve for both of us.

[Dr. Drib]

If her hands are unsteady, it's possible (I would imagine) to accidentally touch the top portion of the Menu bar and trigger a number of things that might be 'unpleasant' and cause undue 'anguish' - due to her age, of course.

However, given her age and other issues she may have, I think a Kindle is a very good choice.

[skb]

Thanks Dr Drib. She is indeed, quite wonky.

However, I introduced her to the Kindle this morning and so far...it's all good.

As she's just about to have cataract surgery in a few days, her vision isn't up to much either. But I adjusted the brightness and the font size and she was happily reading when I left. She wasn't even overawed by the menu at the top (still, early days yet).

I am, however, investing in one of the covers that turns the device on & off when opening/closing. The button is impossible for her to see (black on black - whoever thought that was a good idea must be under 30 and/or have perfect vision).

[JSWolf]

(IMHO) for someone with eyesight problems, a larger screen (larger than 6") that also supports hyphenation (not just with a special format), would be best for reading.

[NullNix]

Originally Posted by skb

I am, however, investing in one of the covers that turns the device on & off when opening/closing. The button is impossible for her to see (black on black - whoever thought that was a good idea must be under 30 and/or have perfect vision).

The button protrudes, so you don't need to see it (good thing too, since it is indeed more or less invisible): you just run your hand along the bottom of the Kindle until it hits a lump, then press the lump.

[barryem]

I always had trouble finding the button on my Paperwhite. It never took more than a few seconds but that's a long time to look for the button on such a simple device.

It now has a cover that wakes it up and puts it to sleep, making it much easier.

The Kindle Voyage has the cover on a very logical place on the back of the device and it's never a problem finding it.

Barry

[silverraven]

Originally Posted by skb

Thanks Dr Drib. She is indeed, quite wonky.

However, I introduced her to the Kindle this morning and so far...it's all good.

As she's just about to have cataract surgery in a few days, her vision isn't up to much either. But I adjusted the brightness and the font size and she was happily reading when I left. She wasn't even overawed by the menu at the top (still, early days yet).

I am, however, investing in one of the covers that turns the device on & off when opening/closing. The button is impossible for her to see (black on black - whoever thought that was a good idea must be under 30 and/or have perfect vision).

My mom is 90 and after cataract surgery her vision is better than mine!
She nor my dad (91) have any problems with the Kindle. Yes, I do take care of putting on/taking off books, but I don't mind. I just load it up when I visit.
S

[skb]

The device has been a huge hit with mum (although still only in day two ;-). We only had to have a bit of re-training regarding not having to press the sides to turn pages. She's got the idea about only having to touch now.

That's reassuring info, silverraven, thanks. She's a bit worried about the surgery, so I'm hoping there'll be a marked improvement.

If she continues reading on the device, I will create an Amazon account for her and instead of printed books, we can buy her ebooks instead (which is much less dusting after they've been read).

Thanks everyone for the excellent advice and encouragement.

[Atunah]

Yay, so happy its working out for her. So great she can enjoy books in whatever size font she needs now.