Paperwhite as a gift for non-computer-literate? - Page 2

Alohamora · 12-21-2018, 09:59 PM

I think she has WiFi, but not certain. I can see that I'll need to enlist either her daughter in law or granddaughter to get this set up.

stuartjmz · 12-21-2018, 10:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alohamora

I think she has WiFi, but not certain. I can see that I'll need to enlist either her daughter in law or granddaughter to get this set up.

If she DOES have regular access to Wifi then that would be even better, imo. A one-off setup and thereafter "it just works", as far as she is concerned.

AnemicOak · 12-21-2018, 10:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barbara1955

They still need a way to Register it. That takes Wifi.

I suggest when it comes you take her to McDonalds for a meal... they have Wifi.

You're saying you can't register them over cellular anymore?

Alohamora · 12-21-2018, 10:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barbara1955

They still need a way to Register it. That takes Wifi.

I suggest when it comes you take her to McDonalds for a meal... they have Wifi.

Starbucks would be preferred. But I can always hot spot from my phone for anything needed one time.

I love technology. It's hard for me to try to see things from the perspective of someone who doesn't.

I'd love to get her an Echo Dot and have it read Audible books to her. But, at this time, that feels like a bridge way too far.

badgoodDeb · 12-22-2018, 01:52 PM

My 87 year old mother enjoys a kindle - the Voyage now, but a simple touch kindle before. However, I keep it registered to my account, and keep the airplane mode off. When I get a book she might like, I push it to her. Once or twice she has requested a book, so I look for it on a desktop and push it to her kindle.

So, she knows nothing about buying books, or about getting wifi set up (she has a wifi, managed by my brother; I put the wifi password into the kindle, plus my amazon account details).

Reading on a kindle, yes. The rest of it -- best if there is a helper to set it up, or later to push books to it.

Notjohn · 12-22-2018, 04:14 PM

I am amused by the talk of 87-year-old parents and their computer problems. I am 87, which gave me the huge advantage of being on the internet before it ever actually existed, in 1992. It was all dial-up modems and Unix operating systems then.

The PaperWhite I think is the ideal Kindle for reading. Susan got away with mine soon after I bought it, though she still lets me upload/download books and even to charge the battery, which happily doesn't happen very often. But then she is still in her 70s so may well figure it out in the next ten years.

I never buy books on my Fire tablet (which I prefer for a variety of reasons) because it is too easy. I bought a few by accident and had to go through the refund process.

Really, if you have Mom's Paperwhite on your Amazon account, the thing to do is for you to buy the books and send them to her, wi fi or 3G. I use the state e-brary for most of my e-reading. When I click on the download, I am transferred to the Amazon site to complete the borrow. To be sure, one only gets two weeks to finish, and alas there is no renewal option. For that reason I generally take the epub edition instead and hack it. But that may be beyond Mom's technical ability, never mind her morals.

badgoodDeb · 12-22-2018, 05:05 PM

Yeah, Mom had a hard time learning how to cope with a garbage disposal. She just isn't technical; it's not just her age! So yeah, I buy the books and send them to her.

HLS · 12-25-2018, 02:25 PM

you just need to show her how to open an amazon account, link a credit card, and connect to wifi and how to use the store feature. does she have access to wifi?

Almamida · 02-19-2019, 07:05 PM

Hi, I wanted to give an update about cellular Kindle. I received mine today and I can confirm they don't need to connect WiFi even for the setup.

Plumadona · 02-20-2019, 11:32 AM

You might also consider going to her local library and asking if they have staff who can help her there in a pinch. Librarians and other staff members are usually pretty well-versed in these things and often quite used to helping newbies with e-readers and other conputer access issues. Worth a try, and at least you’ll know ahead of time what help may or may not be available for times when you can’t be there.

HarryT · 02-20-2019, 11:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Plumadona

You might also consider going to her local library and asking if they have staff who can help her there in a pinch. Librarians and other staff members are usually pretty well-versed in these things and often quite used to helping newbies with e-readers and other conputer access issues. Worth a try, and at least you’ll know ahead of time what help may or may not be available for times when you can’t be there.

Kindles can only be used with library books in the US, unfortunately.

newkindlefun · 02-20-2019, 01:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Kindles can only be used with library books in the US, unfortunately.

Thankfully OP mentioned Overdrive and they're in the US, so hopefully the giftee is as well

Also, for anyone who speaks English and wants it (probably not OP), there are always workarounds to still be able to borrow books from US libraries and use Overdrive if you're not in the US.

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12-21-2018, 09:59 PM	#16
Alohamora Evangelist Posts: 446 Karma: 8897438 Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: USA Device: Android phone, Fire tablet, ios phone	I think she has WiFi, but not certain. I can see that I'll need to enlist either her daughter in law or granddaughter to get this set up.

12-22-2018, 01:52 PM	#20
badgoodDeb Grand Sorcerer Posts: 8,574 Karma: 64462893 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Harrisburg outskirts Device: Palms, K1-4s, iPads, iPhones, KV, KO1	My 87 year old mother enjoys a kindle - the Voyage now, but a simple touch kindle before. However, I keep it registered to my account, and keep the airplane mode off. When I get a book she might like, I push it to her. Once or twice she has requested a book, so I look for it on a desktop and push it to her kindle. So, she knows nothing about buying books, or about getting wifi set up (she has a wifi, managed by my brother; I put the wifi password into the kindle, plus my amazon account details). Reading on a kindle, yes. The rest of it -- best if there is a helper to set it up, or later to push books to it.

12-22-2018, 04:14 PM	#21
Notjohn mostly an observer Posts: 1,519 Karma: 996810 Join Date: Dec 2012 Device: Kindle	I am amused by the talk of 87-year-old parents and their computer problems. I am 87, which gave me the huge advantage of being on the internet before it ever actually existed, in 1992. It was all dial-up modems and Unix operating systems then. The PaperWhite I think is the ideal Kindle for reading. Susan got away with mine soon after I bought it, though she still lets me upload/download books and even to charge the battery, which happily doesn't happen very often. But then she is still in her 70s so may well figure it out in the next ten years. I never buy books on my Fire tablet (which I prefer for a variety of reasons) because it is too easy. I bought a few by accident and had to go through the refund process. Really, if you have Mom's Paperwhite on your Amazon account, the thing to do is for you to buy the books and send them to her, wi fi or 3G. I use the state e-brary for most of my e-reading. When I click on the download, I am transferred to the Amazon site to complete the borrow. To be sure, one only gets two weeks to finish, and alas there is no renewal option. For that reason I generally take the epub edition instead and hack it. But that may be beyond Mom's technical ability, never mind her morals.

12-22-2018, 05:05 PM	#22
badgoodDeb Grand Sorcerer Posts: 8,574 Karma: 64462893 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Harrisburg outskirts Device: Palms, K1-4s, iPads, iPhones, KV, KO1	Yeah, Mom had a hard time learning how to cope with a garbage disposal. She just isn't technical; it's not just her age! So yeah, I buy the books and send them to her.

12-25-2018, 02:25 PM	#23
HLS Wizard Posts: 2,134 Karma: 16342480 Join Date: May 2017 Device: Sage, Scribe, Boox Note 2 Plus, iPad Pros and Samsungs S6,S7,S8	you just need to show her how to open an amazon account, link a credit card, and connect to wifi and how to use the store feature. does she have access to wifi?

02-19-2019, 07:05 PM	#24
Almamida Guru Posts: 685 Karma: 11431990 Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Toronto, Canada Device: Kobo Sage - Kindle PW5 & Voyage - iPad Pro M1 12.9	Hi, I wanted to give an update about cellular Kindle. I received mine today and I can confirm they don't need to connect WiFi even for the setup.

02-20-2019, 11:32 AM	#25
Plumadona Groupie Posts: 188 Karma: 615554 Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: NYC Device: Kindle Oasis, Kindle HD6, Kindle PW2, Sony PRS-T1, Nook NE1	You might also consider going to her local library and asking if they have staff who can help her there in a pinch. Librarians and other staff members are usually pretty well-versed in these things and often quite used to helping newbies with e-readers and other conputer access issues. Worth a try, and at least you’ll know ahead of time what help may or may not be available for times when you can’t be there.

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