Kindle questions from a newbie

Northern_Light · 04-15-2011, 07:06 AM

Hi, I'm new to both your forums and to e-readers. I've looked around at the various kinds and I'm leaning strongly to the Kindle, but I have some questions to make sure it's right for me.

-I have an iPhone. There are a few books (those involving practical exercises, like cookbooks) where it would be really helpful to be able to read them on my iPhone. Is there a way to have the same book on both devices?

-I need to be able to highlight and make notes on some of the books I want to buy. Can I do that with Kindle?

-I'm concerned about the inability to handle epub format. My biggest concern is that a lot of the e-books I'd buy in the future are Pagan books that would be small press published/self-published. Does anyone know enough about that market to tell me if I'd be okay with the Kindle? For instance, Lulu books are available as PDF for Adobe Digital Editions. Can the Kindle read that?

-I'd also like to be able to read fan fiction and other web-published fiction. Calibre handles that for Kindle, right?

-How sturdy is the Kindle? With a cover, if I drop it on, say, a linoleum floor, will it be okay?

Thanks in advance-- there's an awful lot of confusing info to wade thru if you're completely new to this! So far the Kindle is looking like a good fit for me. I went to Best Buy and I liked how it handled over the Nook.

tvjohn · 04-15-2011, 07:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Northern_Light

....
-I have an iPhone. There are a few books (those involving practical exercises, like cookbooks) where it would be really helpful to be able to read them on my iPhone. Is there a way to have the same book on both devices?

-I need to be able to highlight and make notes on some of the books I want to buy. Can I do that with Kindle?

-I'm concerned about the inability to handle epub format. My biggest concern is that a lot of the e-books I'd buy in the future are Pagan books that would be small press published/self-published. Does anyone know enough about that market to tell me if I'd be okay with the Kindle? For instance, Lulu books are available as PDF for Adobe Digital Editions. Can the Kindle read that?

-I'd also like to be able to read fan fiction and other web-published fiction. Calibre handles that for Kindle, right?

-How sturdy is the Kindle? With a cover, if I drop it on, say, a linoleum floor, will it be okay?

Thanks in advance-- there's an awful lot of confusing info to wade thru if you're completely new to this! So far the Kindle is looking like a good fit for me. I went to Best Buy and I liked how it handled over the Nook.

Just download the Kindle app from Apple's App store

Highlighting, yes, just do a web search & there'll be lots of results. You can make primitive notes, or install the note taking app from the forum.

For ePubs, search for "FBReader" & "FBKindle" on this forum. I installed it a few days ago & it seems ok, saving a conversion step.

I'm afraid there's no substitute for lots of research & reading with most devices nowadays.

Can you point us to this "awful lot of confusing info", as there seems to be lots of replication, understandably, but not sure about "confusing", unless you mean the info' assumes a great deal of knowledge from the reader?

DiapDealer · 04-15-2011, 08:25 AM

Quote:

-I have an iPhone. There are a few books (those involving practical exercises, like cookbooks) where it would be really helpful to be able to read them on my iPhone. Is there a way to have the same book on both devices?

Yes. The Kindle for iPhone app will allow you to do this.

Quote:

-I need to be able to highlight and make notes on some of the books I want to buy. Can I do that with Kindle?

Highlights, bookmarks and notes... check.

Quote:

-I'm concerned about the inability to handle epub format. My biggest concern is that a lot of the e-books I'd buy in the future are Pagan books that would be small press published/self-published. Does anyone know enough about that market to tell me if I'd be okay with the Kindle? For instance, Lulu books are available as PDF for Adobe Digital Editions. Can the Kindle read that?

The Kindle can read pdf's. Whether or not it's an enjoyable reading experience depends on the pdf. Experiences with pdf's on a 6 inch kindle screen range from "wtf" to "I guess that doesn't suck." However, Adobe Digitital Editions will probably (but not certainly) have DRM--the Kindle won't be able to read that without stripping the DRM first. I know nothing about Pagan Books, but if they sell DRM free books, then you can convert them to mobi with Calibre.

Quote:

-I'd also like to be able to read fan fiction and other web-published fiction. Calibre handles that for Kindle, right?

I don't know about Calibre solutions for this, but there are many browser add-ons that convert web-pages to Kindle compatible ebooks.

Quote:

-How sturdy is the Kindle? With a cover, if I drop it on, say, a linoleum floor, will it be okay?

How tall are you?

I'd like to say it would survive, but I wouldn't want to find out. My Kindle 2 has taken a couple of hard knocks with no issues, but I can't attest to the Kindle 3's sturdiness. Let's just say "no' to this question to play it safe.

kindlekitten · 04-15-2011, 08:32 AM

re: droppage, it also depends on the cover. there are some relatively flimsy cloth type covers that would do little, and then there are some beefy covers. my Kindle has had a fairly rough and tumble life and is doing ok. then there is someone who whacked herself on the head with her kindle (

I'm just reporting here!) and broke her Kindle

. check out the covers thread above for all sorts of options

Merry Meet!

ProfCrash · 04-15-2011, 11:45 AM

Would the average laptop or netbook survive a fall from a decent height? The Kindles weak point is the screen. I treat my Kindle the same way I do a netbook or laptop.

I have dropped my K1 a few times from about four or five feet and it has survived just fine. Both times it landed on a corner and not on the screen so that probably has something to do with it.

The K3 is really light bit nothing about its construction makes me worry that it is fragile, other then the screen issue. I have mine in a sleeve and am very comfortable with that.

Deja Moo · 04-16-2011, 12:56 AM

I dropped my K3 a couple of months ago (by coincidence on a linoleum floor). It landed on a corner and cracked the screen. It was in a sturdy case, too! It was just a small crack, but....

edit: Customer Service sent me a new one immediately. All I was really expecting was a deal on the repair.

alansplace · 04-17-2011, 02:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deja Moo

I dropped my K3 a couple of months ago (by coincidence on a linoleum floor). It landed on a corner and cracked the screen. It was in a sturdy case, too! It was just a small crack, but....

edit: Customer Service sent me a new one immediately. All I was really expecting was a deal on the repair.

check out this thread:

Kindle customer service too good to be true!
--
Alan

whitearrow · 04-17-2011, 04:09 PM

If you are worried about accidental damage, you can get a two year Square Trade warranty that includes such protection for a pretty reasonable price.

Also, check out archiveofourown.org for fanfiction... any story can be downloaded in mobi format.

04-15-2011, 07:06 AM	#1
Northern_Light Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Virginia, USA Device: none	Kindle questions from a newbie Hi, I'm new to both your forums and to e-readers. I've looked around at the various kinds and I'm leaning strongly to the Kindle, but I have some questions to make sure it's right for me. -I have an iPhone. There are a few books (those involving practical exercises, like cookbooks) where it would be really helpful to be able to read them on my iPhone. Is there a way to have the same book on both devices? -I need to be able to highlight and make notes on some of the books I want to buy. Can I do that with Kindle? -I'm concerned about the inability to handle epub format. My biggest concern is that a lot of the e-books I'd buy in the future are Pagan books that would be small press published/self-published. Does anyone know enough about that market to tell me if I'd be okay with the Kindle? For instance, Lulu books are available as PDF for Adobe Digital Editions. Can the Kindle read that? -I'd also like to be able to read fan fiction and other web-published fiction. Calibre handles that for Kindle, right? -How sturdy is the Kindle? With a cover, if I drop it on, say, a linoleum floor, will it be okay? Thanks in advance-- there's an awful lot of confusing info to wade thru if you're completely new to this! So far the Kindle is looking like a good fit for me. I went to Best Buy and I liked how it handled over the Nook.

04-15-2011, 08:32 AM	#4
kindlekitten Professional Adventuress Posts: 13,368 Karma: 50260224 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: The Olympic Peninsula on the OTHER Washington! (the big green clean one on the west coast!) Device: Kindle, the original! Times Two! and gifting an International Kindle	re: droppage, it also depends on the cover. there are some relatively flimsy cloth type covers that would do little, and then there are some beefy covers. my Kindle has had a fairly rough and tumble life and is doing ok. then there is someone who whacked herself on the head with her kindle ( I'm just reporting here!) and broke her Kindle. check out the covers thread above for all sorts of options Merry Meet!

04-16-2011, 12:56 AM	#6
Deja Moo Enthusiast Posts: 32 Karma: 8228 Join Date: Nov 2010 Device: PaperWhite	I dropped my K3 a couple of months ago (by coincidence on a linoleum floor). It landed on a corner and cracked the screen. It was in a sturdy case, too! It was just a small crack, but.... edit: Customer Service sent me a new one immediately. All I was really expecting was a deal on the repair. Last edited by Deja Moo; 04-16-2011 at 01:00 AM. Reason: Hyping Amazon Customer Service

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04-15-2011, 11:45 AM	#5
ProfCrash Tea Enthusiast Posts: 8,554 Karma: 75384937 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Somewhere in the USA Device: Kindle1, Kindle DX Graphite, K3 3G, IPad 3, PW2	Would the average laptop or netbook survive a fall from a decent height? The Kindles weak point is the screen. I treat my Kindle the same way I do a netbook or laptop. I have dropped my K1 a few times from about four or five feet and it has survived just fine. Both times it landed on a corner and not on the screen so that probably has something to do with it. The K3 is really light bit nothing about its construction makes me worry that it is fragile, other then the screen issue. I have mine in a sleeve and am very comfortable with that.

04-17-2011, 04:09 PM	#8
whitearrow Guru Posts: 808 Karma: 2260766 Join Date: Apr 2008 Device: Kindle Oasis 2	If you are worried about accidental damage, you can get a two year Square Trade warranty that includes such protection for a pretty reasonable price. Also, check out archiveofourown.org for fanfiction... any story can be downloaded in mobi format.