Best E-Reader for bed-bound arthritis sufferer?

[Carnyx]

Originally Posted by rwillmer

I have an Kindle Keyboard, my original Sony, and an iPad, which is what I read ebooks on, so I thought for a long time about what would work for him. I came to the conclusion that he just wouldn't be able to cope with buttons; fine for me, but for him, he wouldn't be able to see them, plus even if he could, he wouldn't have the physical capability to accurately press down on a button.

So touchscreen very quickly became the only option.

I'm very curious to see how it works for him.

Yeah, I'm still torn on touchscreen which is why I'll be interested to hear how it goes with the Kobo. One thing that has stood out from peoples' responses is that there's many kinds of arthritis and what works for one may well not for another, so ultimately the proof is in the pudding.

I thought about ipads, but came to the idea that they're too expensive and heavy; and then also the battery life problem kicks in, so in my opinion, E-Ink is the only option.

Yes, they are substantially heavier, battery life is realtively poor, and people say they're hard on the eyes compared to E-ink; so I'd guess you've made the right choice there. I also feared the learning curve might be too steep for someone new to that kind of technology. I *had* envisaged PC-like technical issues as well, but people tell me theese are very much reduced on an Ipad. Anyway, all in all, I decided an E-Reader would be a wise first step, then we could look at a tablet afterwards, *if* she takes to the E-Reader.

Ah yes, now here's the other wrinkle.

My father-in-law is in a care home 500 miles away; we don't know whether the home has WiFi there, and we don't want to stress any of the local family with the responsibility of needing to download the books.

So I've come up with a no-tech solution. If it works, then we'll buy another Kobo Touch and tie it to the same account.

So the plan is that when he gets near the end of the book, one of the local family will tell us and I'll load the next set of new books onto the 2nd ereader, and post it down with a pre-paid envelope so the lovely people in the care home can send back the other one.

So I can handle all the technical problems of buying the books and loading them, and all the local family need to do is make sure the thing is charged up (which I've made easier by labelling up the reader with large print labels saying "On/Off", "Power", "Connect" on the front of the ereader with appropriate labels.

I hope it works for him. If not, I'll have to think of something else...

Rachel

Right, you've clearly given it all quite some thought and it sounds like a good solution - good of you to put in the legwork for your father-in-law like that. Believe me, not many would bother or be able to.
I've decided 3G might work best in this case, the reasons for that being:

- there's no-one in her circle with a PC and she doesn't have WiFi
- asking carers or home staff to intervene isn't an option
- she's far enough away that me downloading books onto a card and taking them round, while possible, would introduce a delay I was hoping to avoid if possible
- if she can't do the ordering process herself(likely), then instead she can call me whenever she wants a book, I can order the book from Amazon on her behalf, and it will be magically beamed to the Kindle via 3G afterwards

Now please understand that I've only mentioned that *in case* it's an option you were unaware of, not to sound like some kind of smart #rse or to be disrespectful. It wasn't even my idea so I couldn't take credit for it if I wanted to - it was suggested by one of the fine people on this thread.
Though, from what you've said, I imagine you probably have already considered this option and it's not do'able in your case. I hope that all came out right - forgive me if not.
Thanks,
David.

[speakingtohe]

On reading your original post I made some assumptions
1. The lady wants an ereader
2. She expects to pay for it not just calling up a guy and hoping for charity.
3. She either expects to pay for books or will want library access or will be happy with classics.
4. She can handle at least a cellphone and remote control and is able to read. In which case she can manage an ereader.

If any of these is untrue, then you may want to reconsider.

Helen

[rwillmer]

Originally Posted by Carnyx

Kindle 3G

Hi David, thanks for the suggestion. Yes, I had thought of that (I have the 3G version of the Kindle and I love not being reliant on WiFi when I go travelling).

But I decided against it as a good solution for my father-in-law, just because there isn't a touch screen option available, and I don't think he could cope with the buttons to turn the pages. But if there had been a Kindle+3G+touchscreen available, that would easily been the default option.

Note to ereader vendors: I think you're missing a *huge* market with the old + infirm...

Rachel

[Carnyx]

Originally Posted by speakingtohe

On reading your original post I made some assumptions
1. The lady wants an ereader

Yes.

2. She expects to pay for it not just calling up a guy and hoping for charity.

Well, I'm sure she *would* pay for it, but I'm hoping to pay for the reader.

3. She either expects to pay for books or will want library access or will be happy with classics.

She'll be happy with just buying books but I aim to provide her with access to as many well formatted free ones as I can find as well.

4. She can handle at least a cellphone and remote control and is able to read. In which case she can manage an ereader.

She's just got a new phone which she can use, and has a bedside device that controls some stuff in the house like TV, lights.

If any of these is untrue, then you may want to reconsider.

Fair point there, but all looking good so far.
Thanks Helen,
David.

[Carnyx]

Originally Posted by rwillmer

Hi David, thanks for the suggestion. Yes, I had thought of that (I have the 3G version of the Kindle and I love not being reliant on WiFi when I go travelling).

Well I guessed you probably had but had to mention it just in case. I hadn't conceived the remote downloading idea until someone suggested it here - brilliant.

But I decided against it as a good solution for my father-in-law, just because there isn't a touch screen option available, and I don't think he could cope with the buttons to turn the pages. But if there had been a Kindle+3G+touchscreen available, that would easily been the default option.

Of course - I was disappointed the Kindle Keyboard was the only 3G option available in the UK. That said though, it appears that you can import a Kindle Touch with 3G from the US and use it in the UK, buying books from the US Amazon site.

Note to ereader vendors: I think you're missing a *huge* market with the old + infirm...

Rachel

I couldn't agree more. I've been staggered by the lack of accessibility on these devices, and by the lack of support from the companies who make/sell them when asked about accessibility.
Given that the function of an E-Reader is *so* ideal for those with restricted mobility or confined to their own home, I'm stunned how little effort these companies have put into developing assistive devices to enable such people to use them.
Thanks,
David.

[speakingtohe]

Note to ereader vendors: I think you're missing a *huge* market with the old + infirm...

Perhaps many foundations are missing out by not soliciting donated ereaders from the public as well. I would donate my PRS-600 if I was reasonably sure it would go to an infirm or handicapped person who would use it.

Helen

[wizwor]

Originally Posted by Carnyx

Hello all,
I've been asked to source an E-Reader for a Rheumatoid Arthritis sufferer in England. They're advanced in years, bed-bound, very withered(I believe they've also suffered a bone withering disease), but have some movement in their head/neck/upper body/arms.
I don't possess an E-Reader and know very little about arthritis or accessibility issues, so I'm really punching above my weight here.
I have spent a fair old chunk of time *trying* to research this on the WWW, and while it's given me some background knowledge on E-Readers, I've found it very difficult gleaning which E-Reader's best for such a user.
In terms of weight, contrast, ease of downloading books without a PC or WiFi, all roads *appear* to point to Kindle, but I was disappointed that the Kindle Touch isn't available in the UK, as I thought Touchscreen might be useful.
From my research, it appears that some E-Readers that are available in the US are not available in the UK, and I believe that, likewise, some books are also unavailable in the UK due to copyright issues. I emailed Amazon and Barnes & Noble explaining the situation, and asking what benefits their E-Readers might offer somebody in this position. To my surprise, both sent unhelpful automated replies. However I gathered from the B&N auto reply that they don't sell the Nook in the UK so I've provisionally crossed that off the list.
I don't want to miss any important considerations and pick the wrong one, so I thought that I'd put the question to the experts on this forum. Is anybody here in a position to make any recommendations on the best E-Reader to go for?
On a separate note, the carer who asked me to look into this is also considering getting a stand to hold the device so that it hangs above the bed within reach. Again I have had a look at some online, which are a variety of metal stands/tripods that lean/hang over the bed with a place to attach the E-Reader. There was also the bookseat though I'm not sure how practical that would be in this case. So I wondered if anyone has any suggestions on this, but don't worry if not as the E-Reader's my main concern at the moment.
Thank you for your time,
David.

I would guess that a TV would be more appreciated.

[Beryll Snyder]

Originally Posted by rwillmer

Note to ereader vendors: I think you're missing a *huge* market with the old + infirm...

Rachel

To me it seems the other way around: the people you mentioned missing out a huge opportunity: afraid to use unfamilar technique - and the ones used to reading prefer reading printed stuff.

[Beryll Snyder]

Originally Posted by wizwor

I would guess that a TV would be more appreciated.

That would be too easy ...

[rwillmer]

Originally Posted by rwillmer

David, I've just had to go through the same process for my father-in-law, who has advanced Parkinsons, bed-bound, poor eyesight, very limited movement capabilities.

...

I went for the Kobo Touch. I'd have been interested in the Kindle Touch but it's not available yet in the UK.

...

Tay's trying it out for the first time this weekend; I'll post how he gets on with it.

Rachel

So the verdict is mixed.

The good points: good font size, can change pages easily with the touchscreen.

The problem: because of the Parkinsons, his left hand isn't dextrous enough to hold the Kobo without his fingers going onto the screen which causes it to react by bringing up different options, etc. And then he doesn't know what to do.

But if that's the only problem, this looks potentially a solvable problem. So I've just ordered a BookSeat from Amazon and we'll see if that provides a stable enough base to hold it, so he only has to use his hand to turn the pages.

I'll update here when I have some more news.

Rachel

[polly]

Originally Posted by rwillmer

So the verdict is mixed.

The good points: good font size, can change pages easily with the touchscreen.

The problem: because of the Parkinsons, his left hand isn't dextrous enough to hold the Kobo without his fingers going onto the screen which causes it to react by bringing up different options, etc. And then he doesn't know what to do.

But if that's the only problem, this looks potentially a solvable problem. So I've just ordered a BookSeat from Amazon and we'll see if that provides a stable enough base to hold it, so he only has to use his hand to turn the pages.

I'll update here when I have some more news.

Rachel

If that doesn't work, you might try a case with a built in stand, like this one. It would give him more to hold.

[Carnyx]

Originally Posted by wizwor

I would guess that a TV would be more appreciated.

She's got a TV. Thanks for the input!

[Carnyx]

Originally Posted by rwillmer

So the verdict is mixed.

The good points: good font size, can change pages easily with the touchscreen.

The problem: because of the Parkinsons, his left hand isn't dextrous enough to hold the Kobo without his fingers going onto the screen which causes it to react by bringing up different options, etc. And then he doesn't know what to do.

Great - thanks for feeding back how it went Rachel. Glad to hear the page turning worked well.
Someone alluded to this problem earlier in the threead - accidentally changing stuff via the touchscreen when dropping or moving the reader. Maybe it could be resolved with a stand if the bookseat doesn't work out? Here's an excerpt from earlier in the thread where I pasted some links to stands:

Originally Posted by carnyx

So I was hoping for a floor stand that would hang over the bed. Here's the best of what I've bookmarked so far:

http://www.standforstuff.com/
http://www.laptopdesk.net/tower-ipad-mount.html
http://www.laptopdesk.net/mantis-ipad-stand.html

Some other options that could be used in conjunction with a bedside table:

http://www.handeholder.com/m5/10006-...ing-clamp.html
http://www.handeholder.com/m5/10005-...lamp-2-5.html]

The only problem with all these is lack of control for a bed-bound person - once it's positioned over the bed, it's there till the carer comes round.

Originally Posted by rwillmer

But if that's the only problem, this looks potentially a solvable problem. So I've just ordered a BookSeat from Amazon and we'll see if that provides a stable enough base to hold it, so he only has to use his hand to turn the pages.

I'll update here when I have some more news.

Rachel

Definitely solvable - persevere with it.
Yes please do.
Thanks,
David.

[speakingtohe]

I do not have arthritis but sometimes my wrist gets sore. I put a pillow under my comforter and make a little ledge with the comforter to hold my reader. Looks remarkably like the bookseat and is very stable.

I am sure the bookseat is much better, but an easy way to test the general usefulness to the person in question.

Helen

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by speakingtohe

I do not have arthritis but sometimes my wrist gets sore. I put a pillow under my comforter and make a little ledge with the comforter to hold my reader. Looks remarkably like the bookseat and is very stable.

I am sure the bookseat is much better, but an easy way to test the general usefulness to the person in question.

Helen

A good idea. But instead of a pillow and a comforter, I invite up the spaniel shown in my Avatar. He settles down on my lap and is the perfect Kindle-Rest.