Which kindle...???

[crich70]

Which Kindle would be the best for an older person? I've got a Kindle 3 with Wi-Fi myself and my mother has seen me playing round with it often enough that she wants a Kindle now. Only I understand they are no longer making the Kindle 3 (keyboard) with Wi-Fi (at least it doesn't show up on their page) and I don't have any experience with the newer ones yet. Also being on a limited income I have to watch my spending. Mom is 69 yrs old this month so if I can get one for her soon it will be a late birthday/mother's day gift as well.

[hellraiser06]

can you buy a kindle touch for yourself and give her your kindle? If that is not an option then you can by her a kindle 4 nt. I am thinking you believe that touch is gonna be an issue for her. Otherwisebuy kindle touch for her.

[Sydney's Mom]

I got both my in-laws a Fire for Christmas. They both had Kindle 2s (which we also gave them), and they loved them. But when they were here, they had some issues with low light, so I thought a Fire would be perfect. As one ages, you need more light to read (focus) so I thought the backlit Fire would do the trick.

[susan_cassidy]

You could always buy her the Kindle Keyboard with 3G and wifi. If she doesn't have wifi at her home, it would be perfect.

[RainingLemur]

I'd cast a vote for the Keyboard w/ wifi and 3g.

[crich70]

Well I know she does have Wifi as we share living space and my K3 with wifi works perfectly well. I got the wifi model because at the time it was cheaper than what the 3g model cost (the wifi was $139.00 at the time) and we didn't have 3g coverage in our area either. I don't know if that has changed now or not. It's been over a year. Still at least the 3G model is less expensive now at the price the wifi used to be at. It would be nice if it would drop still lower. Being on a limited income makes things harder at times.

[MikeOxlittle]

If budget is an issue then there is nothing wrong with the cheapest option.

Easy to use and navigate. Is she really going to use the keyboard enough to justify the price increase?

Plus you'll be there to help her getting used to it, adding books, etc.

The Fire is not only more expensive but the backlit screen will add more eyestrain.

K4 @ $80 is a great product/price.

[Synamon]

The basic Kindle should meet your/her needs.

[silverraven]

My mom (85) had the Sony T1, but she had problems with the touch screen. It was just hard for her to navigate around and figure out how to do things, and she was constantly accidentally hitting the screen. I got her the K4NT. It is much much easier for her to use. It is lightweight for her arthritic hands, doing things like turning on/off the wifi is very easy, changing font size is just a couple clicks away. It is really designed for a beginner in mind. As far as typing goes, besides her wifi password, which I typed in for her, I don't know of any other typing she will ever do on it. The screen is easy on her eyes, much easier than an screen like is on the Fire. Sending her books through email straight to the device is the best thing ever. She hated having to hook the Sony up to the comptuer. Hey, I'm happy she is even using it, most of the shiny toys I get her sit in her drawer never to be seen again.
Does Walmart still have their deal going?
I hope your mom likes (and uses) what ever toy you get her!
S

[HarryT]

I'd go for the Kindle Touch. A touch screen is easier to use for someone who may have arthritis than physical buttons are.

[BeeTee-Ess]

On the assumption that you will be carrying out the library maintenance for your Mum, and bearing in mind your budgetary constraints, I'd suggest you buy her a K4NT (Kindle 4 non-touch, the basic Kindle.).

As you already know from your own experience, the buttons on a Kindle 3 are easily operated, and the same is true of the K4NT. The K4NT is lighter than the K3KB, which is now available only with the 3G function, which is an unnecessary expense for you.

[silverraven]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I'd go for the Kindle Touch. A touch screen is easier to use for someone who may have arthritis than physical buttons are.

I will have to beg to differ with you on this opinion. I don't think you could get much worse arthritis than my mom has and she much prefers the K4NT buttons to a touch screen. You can rest your finger on the button all the time, then just press down to page turn, whereas with a touch you have to move your finger back and forth from the bezel to the screen. Now, if we were talking the Nook simple touch then yeah, the touch is easier than the buttons. Those are some hard buttons to push. But the K4NT buttons are super easy to push. Plus the placement of them is just perfect.
Some people with arthritis also have a problem getting their fingers to do exactly what they want them to do. So trying to push the little tiny space on a touch screen to type is harder for them than using a physical button, as long as the physical button is easy to press. Mom hasn't had any problem pushing the little buttons at the bottom to bring up the menu to turn on wifi, or change font, or anything else.
But, everyone's arthritis is different. What works for one person may not work for another.
S

[nynaevelan]

I am not sure which is better for arthritis but also keep in mind with the k4 it has the ease of being held in either hand with the buttons on both sides. The Touch doesn't have this convenience, since you can go only go forward on the right side.

[pidgeon92]

Have a look at a good deal on a K3 refurb here (5/21 only)

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=178886

[Carmelreader]

Having just gone through trying to introduce a 70 yr old non tech person to both the kindle NT and Touch to find out which was easier for them to use, the NT won out. For some reason using the buttons and remembering which did what was easier for them and the information was retained better with the NT than with the Touch screen and its zones, drop menus here, back button here, tap to turn page here, but on this page you can scroll down. Was just too many different concepts. With the NT this button is home page (book list), this the menu, this the keyboard, this turns your page etc.

The other thing that surprised me was I swear that the NT had a marginally better screen than the Touch and very close to my wonderful K3. I think they are all great really. Each individually suited to how we hold the reader and how we like to read.