Aussie e-reader advice... - Page 3

Chris Crouch · 11-15-2010, 07:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alison C

I have managed to avoid the "not available to you" on every book I've tried, so either I've just been lucky, or Amazon definitely thinks I'm still in the UK - good news either way!

If you're logged in on Amazon, it'll only show you books that are available to your region when you search.

To see books that aren't available to Australia, either:

* Search "All Departments" for "<bookname> Kindle" (eg "gunshot road kindle"). If a Kindle version exists this will show it to you irrespective of whether it's available to Australia.

* or log out, then go to "Shop All Departments", "Kindle", "Ebooks". It'll still know that you're in Australia by default, but you can change your region in the upper left-hand corner and browse the US (or UK) store.

Quote:

Finally, could I ask whether your Kindle is your preferred mode of reading, or would you rather read a physical book, all other things being equal? If I thought I'd use the Kindle a lot at home as well as on holiday, I'd be just about ready to take the leap!

I find reading the Kindle is much better than reading a physical book. I read a lot more since I got it.

Alison C · 11-17-2010, 03:04 AM

Thanks for this reply, Chris.

Alison

Alison C · 12-11-2010, 02:14 AM

Just reporting in to say that my Kindle arrived yesterday. I was lucky that I ordered when I did - for the last week or so it's not been possible to order the Kindle at all. Interestingly, the parcel with the cover and charge lead was delivered by courier to my door, whereas the Kindle itself was left at the post office for collection.

Even though it's a Christmas present, Santa generously allowed me to take it out of the box and play with it for a short while. It was stonkingly easy to connect to our home wireless network, and I bought my first e-book immediately. I've also downloaded some of the books from this site, which was also very easy. I like what I've seen of the Kindle very much indeed - now I just have to wait for Christmas to start reading!

Thanks again to all the kind people here who answered my endless questions - and also to the uploaders of e-books to this site.

Happy Christmas to one and all.

Alison x

Jcas · 12-11-2010, 03:07 AM

Glad you have it and that Santa let you have a little peek, only two weeks to wait ..

ProfCrash · 12-11-2010, 09:37 AM

Enjoy your Christmas present!

Kimble · 12-17-2010, 03:14 AM

A few points about Kindle battery life.

The only thing that uses power under normal use is a page turn. The half second or so that it takes to flash the e-ink is the drain time. Then it is effectively dormant. The reason it goes to sleep is to prevent accidental button-pushes.

If you want to make a note or do a search, it will use battery power.

If you have wireless on, either wifi or 3G, it will take power from the battery. Most of the power drain is minimal as it is only stand-by. Purchasing and downloading a book takes more power.

When you load a new book it will take power as it indexes the book. For a large book this can take many minutes. It only needs to do the indexing once.

If you have several books to download and index it can take a significant proportion of the battery charge. If you download a dozen longish books then go fishing for two weeks you might wish you'd had it on the charger as it was indexing.

A Li-Ion battery typically lasts three to five years. You can burn one out sooner on heavy use, such as playing lots of movies on your laptop, but heavy use on the Kindle is not an issue unless you download like crazy for the next two years. They tend to decay on the number of charge cycles, as well as the depth of charge needed each time. Even left out of the device they run down at a few percent of charge per week. In five years when it is charging to 50% or so you will notice it and want to change.

The battery is already changeable for somebody who knows how to split the cases. Already there are websites showing how to dismantle the K3. By the time you have to change your battery you will be out of warranty and probably be in the market for a newer model anyway. A battery replacement won't mean sending it back to Amazon in the US by that time, unless that is what you choose to do.

I can understand that people might be a bit nervous about battery life, replacement etc, when Amazon has no real present in Australia. However, the battery is not an issue unless you get a faulty unit - very unlikely. And in that case, it's a simple warranty return with a bit of Kindle withdrawal to cope with.

Comparing battery life between Sony, Kobo, Kindle etc, is really not an issue when buying a reader. They will all be good quality batteries suitable for their respective machines. Charging a reader is not like filling your car with petrol and watching your money drain away at the pump.

12-11-2010, 02:14 AM	#33
Alison C Enthusiast Posts: 46 Karma: 5714 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Somerset, UK Device: Kindle Paperwhite wifi	All a-Kindle! Just reporting in to say that my Kindle arrived yesterday. I was lucky that I ordered when I did - for the last week or so it's not been possible to order the Kindle at all. Interestingly, the parcel with the cover and charge lead was delivered by courier to my door, whereas the Kindle itself was left at the post office for collection. Even though it's a Christmas present, Santa generously allowed me to take it out of the box and play with it for a short while. It was stonkingly easy to connect to our home wireless network, and I bought my first e-book immediately. I've also downloaded some of the books from this site, which was also very easy. I like what I've seen of the Kindle very much indeed - now I just have to wait for Christmas to start reading! Thanks again to all the kind people here who answered my endless questions - and also to the uploaders of e-books to this site. Happy Christmas to one and all. Alison x

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Advice on a reader sought....Please	Tblossom	Which one should I buy?	6	07-28-2010 07:11 AM
Advice for a new aussie kobo reader owner	digital_steve	Kobo Reader	6	07-06-2010 11:59 PM
Advice on reader purchase	JoshLessard	Which one should I buy?	9	06-26-2010 02:41 AM
howdy from an Aussie reader!	grabit	Introduce Yourself	13	03-14-2010 10:38 PM
Just got my Astak EZ Reader..Advice?	Xiaopanda	Astak EZReader	19	08-20-2009 03:40 PM

11-17-2010, 03:04 AM	#32
Alison C Enthusiast Posts: 46 Karma: 5714 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Somerset, UK Device: Kindle Paperwhite wifi	Thanks for this reply, Chris. Alison

12-11-2010, 03:07 AM	#34
Jcas Zealot Posts: 143 Karma: 9668 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Kellevie, Tas. Device: Kindle PW2,Kindle DXG,iPhone 4	Glad you have it and that Santa let you have a little peek, only two weeks to wait ..

12-11-2010, 09:37 AM	#35
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	Enjoy your Christmas present!

12-17-2010, 03:14 AM	#36
Kimble Member Posts: 16 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2010 Device: Kindle. Boox Leaf2	A few points about Kindle battery life. The only thing that uses power under normal use is a page turn. The half second or so that it takes to flash the e-ink is the drain time. Then it is effectively dormant. The reason it goes to sleep is to prevent accidental button-pushes. If you want to make a note or do a search, it will use battery power. If you have wireless on, either wifi or 3G, it will take power from the battery. Most of the power drain is minimal as it is only stand-by. Purchasing and downloading a book takes more power. When you load a new book it will take power as it indexes the book. For a large book this can take many minutes. It only needs to do the indexing once. If you have several books to download and index it can take a significant proportion of the battery charge. If you download a dozen longish books then go fishing for two weeks you might wish you'd had it on the charger as it was indexing. A Li-Ion battery typically lasts three to five years. You can burn one out sooner on heavy use, such as playing lots of movies on your laptop, but heavy use on the Kindle is not an issue unless you download like crazy for the next two years. They tend to decay on the number of charge cycles, as well as the depth of charge needed each time. Even left out of the device they run down at a few percent of charge per week. In five years when it is charging to 50% or so you will notice it and want to change. The battery is already changeable for somebody who knows how to split the cases. Already there are websites showing how to dismantle the K3. By the time you have to change your battery you will be out of warranty and probably be in the market for a newer model anyway. A battery replacement won't mean sending it back to Amazon in the US by that time, unless that is what you choose to do. I can understand that people might be a bit nervous about battery life, replacement etc, when Amazon has no real present in Australia. However, the battery is not an issue unless you get a faulty unit - very unlikely. And in that case, it's a simple warranty return with a bit of Kindle withdrawal to cope with. Comparing battery life between Sony, Kobo, Kindle etc, is really not an issue when buying a reader. They will all be good quality batteries suitable for their respective machines. Charging a reader is not like filling your car with petrol and watching your money drain away at the pump.

Advert

Advert