The New Kindles -- Like'em or Hate'em?

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I have a 1GB/month data allowance on my iPhone, and use it throughout the day for e-mail, web browsing, plus lots of use of apps that use the internet (eg Google Maps). I have never, in the two years that I've had it, used as much as 250MB in a month; my typical monthly usage is 100-150MB. A 250MB/month allowance is entirely adequate for many people.

That is good to hear.
I'm tempted by the LTE offer myself because I'm within WiFi range 90% of the time. 3g/4g devices don't make sense that way. Especially since I do m media streaming in the living room not on the road.
But US$4 a month to cover that last 10% is mighty tempting.
(The $135 premium to get the LTE modem? A bit less.)

Oh, well; I'm not pre-ordering so I'll have until November to decide which FireHD to get if I do ask go for that as my Xmas toy.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

That is good to hear.
I'm tempted by the LTE offer myself because I'm within WiFi range 90% of the time. 3g/4g devices don't make sense that way. Especially since I do m media streaming in the living room not on the road.
But US$4 a month to cover that last 10% is mighty tempting.

And that is, I think, what it's intended for: using on the odd occasion that you don't have WiFi available, rather than as the primary method of internet access.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I have a 1GB/month data allowance on my iPhone, and use it throughout the day for e-mail, web browsing, plus lots of use of apps that use the internet (eg Google Maps). I have never, in the two years that I've had it, used as much as 250MB in a month; my typical monthly usage is 100-150MB. A 250MB/month allowance is entirely adequate for many people.

I agree, with one exception. When we have a power outage here (and it's almost that season), I lose my internet connection. To be able to keep working, I tether the iPhone and use it as my internet connection. That's fine for a little bit, but will quickly go over my 1GB limit if I don't watch it very carefully. And, obviously, I avoid any file downloads and no Lync video calls until the Cable comes back up,

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by Daithi

...I would have to compare the 8.9" Kindle Fire to the Apple iPad. The new Fire is just too small. If I wanted a portable I'd go with the 7" model. If I want a good sized screen then 8.9" is just not cutting it. This is a huge fail in my opinion....

For some time I've been thinking that something in-between the 10" iPad and the 7" Kindle would be ideal, so this is a plus for me. Only three things hold me back at this point from buying one: (1) my first generation iPad is still going strong, (2) the new Fire (like all iPads after the 1st generation) has a camera, which means I couldn't bring it to work, and (3) I'm in the process of saving every penny I can so I can retire. But it looks fantastic. I'd love to have one. I can't wait until they hit the stores so I can get some hands-on time with one.

Originally Posted by jtdolphins

There have times were I wish the kindle handled epub. I know its probably never going to happen....

Not an issue for me. I've yet to encounter a situation where a book I wanted to read was available only in ePub, and if I did, I'd convert it to mobi.

Originally Posted by jtdolphins

...I have been thinking about and looking at the Nook lately, so I am interested in Paperwhite. I'll be waiting for reviews and some hands on time before I buy.

That's the smart thing to do. I went ahead and pre-ordered the Paperwhite because I have faith in Amazon, but I've had faith in companies in the past and been burnt because of being an early adopter. I had sworn to never again buy a product before the customer reviews were in, but what can I say? I'm an idiot. Ask my wife; she'll tell you.

Originally Posted by jtdolphins

...I don't like the "reading time" either. I could do without social media tracking....

I was initially skeptical of the social media thing, but it's sometimes useful when you want to share a particularly compelling passage with your relatives and friends on Facebook and Twitter. The "reading time" may prove to be a useful feature. A lot of folks, myself included, sometimes like to have a more accurate estimate on how long it will take to finish reading something. I didn't see much point to the X-Ray feature when it first came out, but now I find myself using it extensively when reading those books that employ that feature.

Originally Posted by mgmueller

I think, Bezos' wife is fine with 8.9 inch

I don't even know what that means.

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

The only new Kindle I'm interested in is the Kobo Mini

Originally Posted by ucfgrad93

Thanks, Jon.

Not going to comment; not going to comment. I'm just going to go to a quiet corner and

Originally Posted by Piper_

JFTR, Amazon is not pro-DRM. Jeff Bezos is on record as saying he doesn't think it's useful, and while it is an option for authors, it is off by default.

I didn't know that was his position, nor that DRM is off by default. Cool.

[jocampo]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

I went ahead and pre-ordered the Paperwhite because I have faith in Amazon, but I've had faith in companies in the past and been burnt because of being an early adopter. I had sworn to never again buy a product before the customer reviews were in, but what can I say? I'm an idiot. Ask my wife; she'll tell you.

Well, I'm another idiot then ...

I pulled the trigger the same date, and pre-ordered my Paperwhite Kindle too. Like you, I'm also trusting Amazon on this one.

The only drawback I see of being an early adopter is resale value, assuming we sell after a year or so. It happened to me with my Galaxy Tab 7 inches and with my Kindle DXG.

And let's not talk about wives ... mine is not so happy with my paperwhite purchase, especially after my recently Nexus 7 purchase few weeks ago.

[Isles8008]

Originally Posted by Lemurion

I'm cautiously optimistic about the Fire HD. I want a new tablet this fall and the Fire HD looks like it's got a good fit on hardware. Screen's a bit smaller than I would like but at least it's bigger than 7" which is just too small for comics.

When my wife and I bought the first iPad, she always hated how big and clunky it felt. She didn't want to carry it in her purse, and although the screen was great for videos and web surfing, she never really enjoyed the 9.7" display size. I didn't mind it so much, but I did think it was a little big (and heavy with the iPad 1).

I think the Kindle HD 8.9" might be just the right size for comfortable web browsing and PDF viewing, without making it huge like the 10.1" Android tablets out today. 10.1" is great for movies and games, but eReading can easily be more natural on an 8.9" display.

[Harmon]

Originally Posted by Lemurion

Compare the base model 8.9HD to an iPad 2. The screen's only a little smaller, but the resolution is much higher. RAM and storage is the same and the Fire costs $100 less than the iPad despite a much more expensive panel.

Which is to say that the new Kindle Fire is better than the old iPad...

Actually, that's not too shabby. When I upgraded my original iPad to the new iPad, I paused and considered getting an iPad 2. But the retina screen was too good to pass up. My only mistake was getting the 16 gig rather than the 32. Not huge, but I did not anticipate the accumulation of files in apps that I did not have at the time - things like Instacast, which can get fat faster than I can eat them.

I'll bet the iPad 2 is discontinued when the iPad mini comes out, and that's the real competitor that both size KFs are up against. Bigger than the small one, smaller than the big one.

It's almost like Apple knew what Amazon was up to and squeezed into the sweet spot between them...

[Lemurion]

I think that's what Apple is aiming for with the purported iPad mini, but for me it's a definite no-go. I already have a 7" tablet and the one thing I require with any replacement is a larger screen. That's non-negotiable. High resolution is the next most important thing to me. The 16 GB KFHD 8.9" beats any comparably priced unit in resolution, and makes a good go at size.

[kevinp]

So, where's the "Mini"? No announcement today...

[spindlegirl]

Originally Posted by kevinp

So, where's the "Mini"? No announcement today...

Those were for Kobo weren't they?

[Harmon]

Originally Posted by jocampo

Well, I'm another idiot then ...

I pulled the trigger the same date, and pre-ordered my Paperwhite Kindle too. Like you, I'm also trusting Amazon on this one.

The only drawback I see of being an early adopter is resale value, assuming we sell after a year or so. It happened to me with my Galaxy Tab 7 inches and with my Kindle DXG.

And let's not talk about wives ... mine is not so happy with my paperwhite purchase, especially after my recently Nexus 7 purchase few weeks ago.

Well, what's her resale value?

[Harmon]

I'm still waffling on the KPW. Mainly, it's a buttons issue. I like a touch screen for everything but page turns. But I won't really know until I hold one, and consider the screen in real time.

OTOH, I did a side by side with the old Fire and the new small Fire. The screens are the same size, & the new screen looks better, but the form factor has changed for the worse. The NF bezel is wider than the OF bezel, so that the NF seems more squat than the OF. The OF has the dimensions of a paper book, while the NF simply doesn't.

It's a minor thing, but to me, it's the difference between a tablet and an EBR. I never quite liked the K Touch, nor the eInk Nook, because they seemed to me to be more tablet like in their form factors. I expect the iPad mini to have tablet dimensions, so I don't expect to get one since I already have an iPad and don't need two tablets. But were the mini to have bookish dimensions, I might rethink that.

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by Harmon

I'm still waffling on the KPW. Mainly, it's a buttons issue. I like a touch screen for everything but page turns....

I think there are many of us who echo those sentiments. Amazon, are you listening?

That being said, I like touch screens so much more for everything else that I can live with not having buttons for page turns.