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View Poll Results: Which one as a gift for a non-techie?
Kindle Wi-Fi 5 16.13%
Kindle 3G 13 41.94%
Nook Color 0 0%
Kobo Touch 4 12.90%
Other 9 29.03%
Voters: 31. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 06-21-2011, 05:23 PM   #1
ilovejedd
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ereader gifting - which one?

I've always found it hard to think up gifts for my aunt. Because of the How many people have you 'converted' to ebook reading? thread, I thought that an ereader might make for a nice gift given how she likes reading but isn't really the type to have a bunch of filled of bookshelves cluttering the house (most of her books are in boxes in the garage). She also has, I believe, 3 copies of Sorcerer's Stone, 2 copies of Chamber of Secrets, 2 copies of Prisoner of Azkaban, 2 copies of The Da Vinci Code, and probably duplicate copies of other books as well because she can't keep track of what books she's already bought.

Right now, though, I'm not sure which reader to give her. I personally love my PRS-350 and I considered giving her one of those but I think it might be a bit too complicated for her to use (well, to load books into).

I was thinking the Kindle WiFi or 3G might be the best option, however, how do I go about pre-loading DRM'ed books onto it? Am I going to have to link it to my account? Can I send books to the Kindle without opening the package?

Other options I'm considering are the Nook Color (might be good for nighttime reading) and Kobo Touch but I'm not sure how their libraries compare to Amazon's. For the Nook Color, she'll probably be stuck with B&N's store as she's not technical enough to know how to side-load ADEPT ePub.
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Old 06-21-2011, 05:31 PM   #2
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The idea of putting DRMed books on it is probably not all that good unless she is technologically proficient. The books would be tied to your account, and she'd have to remember that she could not re-download them from her account (as opposed to how books she purchased herself would work), and would have to back them up onto her pc instead. Maybe a gift card? Or, after she has her account set up, gift some specific books to her?

The same issues arise with any DRMed books on any ereader. You could put some public domain books on there for her, if you know her tastes.

If you are not sure she can handle the wi-fi, 3G would be better, assuming that she is within AT&T coverage.
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Old 06-21-2011, 05:57 PM   #3
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i've gifted a kindle wifi + 3g. huge hit. the learning curve is less daunting with the kindle i believe. i recommend the 3g because it's easy.
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Old 06-21-2011, 05:59 PM   #4
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how old is your Aunt, I found it interesting both my inlaws and my parents, who are in there 60's preferred reading on the nook color because of the sharpness the LCD can provide.
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Old 06-21-2011, 06:07 PM   #5
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I can't say the choices you have to choose from are ones I would choose. Yes the Kindle3 Wifi is easy to shop with & is a nice reader. BUT so would the B&N Nook Simple Touch, which isn't on there. If she just likes reading books, I can't say the Nook Color is a good choice.

Pre-loading on a Kindle would mean you would have to register it to your account (she would then have to share your account I believe...not sure) or she would have to register it & then you could load some up for her but would use her card to do it. Plus unless you strip or convert, you would have to order from Amazon. And yes I'm pretty sure you would have to open & register the Kindle, I did before I could download any books.

I don't know how old your Aunt is, but I'm in my 60s & have had no trouble figuring out how to side load on to my 350. If you show her a couple of times she would be fine.

Of all the options I would go for it would be the Nook Simple Touch. She could shop from the B&N store easily. I don't know much about Kobo but that looks good too.

If you don't plan on pre-loading then Kindle 3 is an easy reader to use & shop with and I don't think she would have much difficulty figuring it out.. I have one, but prefer the Sony 350 because I find it less awkward to read with.
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Old 06-21-2011, 06:19 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ilovejedd View Post
I was thinking the Kindle WiFi or 3G might be the best option, however, how do I go about pre-loading DRM'ed books onto it? Am I going to have to link it to my account? Can I send books to the Kindle without opening the package?
You can't set her up with Kindle DRM'd books (short of linking it to your account), but you could search out free ebooks for her--look for some of the classics here at Mobileread that fit her interests, and find some others around the web. There are enough free promo books and creative commons releases to set her up with a device with up to several dozen ebooks to start with. And you can set her up with a large collection from the Baen Free Library.

(I tend to suggest Kindle over Nook because the Kindle has a functional, if limited, web browser, and as I understand it, the Nook's web access is limited to the B&N store. I think the Sonys are better than either of those, but someone who is hooked on the idea that wifi is necessary for ebook enjoyment isn't going to be convinced of that.)
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Old 06-21-2011, 06:23 PM   #7
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I chose other because if you want a device that has wifi and access to an eBook store, get a 950.

I do not know how old your aunt is, but the Kindle for her would be a lock-in should she need something else or want a different reader that's not from Amazon.
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Old 06-21-2011, 06:50 PM   #8
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My 83 year old mother had no problems learning to use a PRS 650. When I showed her mine, she immediately dived in to a book. With a quick demo on how to change the font size and turn a page, she was set. I loaded her's with a bunch of free promotional books that I already had downloaded and some classics that I knew she would like. It took a few demonstrations on how to check out library books and she was all set. Her biggest problem so far has been remembering how to charge it.

I don't think that the technologically averse find it any harder to download on to a computer than they do to navigate to a bookstore to download books. If they mostly want library books, as my mother did, I don't see any advantage to WiFi in a reader.
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Old 06-21-2011, 06:53 PM   #9
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It totally depends on whether you have WiFi access and if you like touch screens or not.
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Old 06-21-2011, 07:20 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ilovejedd View Post
I was thinking the Kindle WiFi or 3G might be the best option, however, how do I go about pre-loading DRM'ed books onto it? Am I going to have to link it to my account? Can I send books to the Kindle without opening the package?
If you decide to go with the Kindle:

You could always set up a new Amazon account for your aunt and order a couple of ebooks for her. They'll load automatically the first time she connects to the internet. As far as I know, it isn't currently possible to gift someone with a Kindle ebook, so having access to her account would be the easiest way for you to send her something new to read from time to time. You may also want to use a Gift Card for the one-click shopping option, so your aunt doesn't accidentally max out your credit card while browsing for books!

You can also email non-DRMed ebook files to the Kindle. On Amazon's website, there's a section for managing the Kindle. You can select a personalized email address and place you own email address on the list of approved senders. I would recommend sending her a copy of the MobileRead Mobipocket Download Guide because it's easy to use (and the books are well formatted).
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Old 06-22-2011, 02:27 AM   #11
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As far as I know, it isn't currently possible to gift someone with a Kindle ebook,
Yes it is possible to give an ebook to someone. When you click on a link to an ebook, you will see the attached picture in the upper right hand corner of the screen.
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Old 06-22-2011, 02:41 AM   #12
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Never really seen her reading any classics. Mostly, I've seen her read bestsellers, inspirational and self-help books.

Having to teach her how to use software on the computer to sync the reader probably won't work and would just prevent her from using the ereader altogether. She almost never uses the PC when she's at home. That's why I wanted to preload books she's interested in into whichever ereader I eventually buy for her. Just trying to reel her in before showing her anything even remotely complex which might turn her off of the whole ebook experience. My aunt is very smart and she can probably easily learn the process if I show it to her. The problem is she likely wouldn't want to bother and would probably just resort to reading dt books instead.

She currently doesn't have an Amazon account. I was thinking of opening one for her, specifically for purchasing ebooks and just funding the account using gift cards.

I've never used a Kindle or Kobo before so I'm hesitant to buy either as I have no experience with them. The Nook STR, I'm not including until I've visited the local B&N and seen how bad the reported ghosting is. I love my PRS-350 (and from what I've seen of other Sony readers, I'd probably love them, too) but unless I handle the ebook purchasing and loading, it's a no go.

One advantage the Nook Color has going for it, though, it's probably better for magazines. She subscribes to Consumer Reports and I think it might be a nice touch to include a digital subscription if I get her the Nook Color.

By the way, it's definitely possible to gift Kindle ebooks.



The ereader is intended as a Christmas gift so I have quite some time to decide. There might be some new products released between now and November and there may even be developments both with the technology and the commercial side. However, I'm trying to gauge the feasibility of gifting an ereader to someone who's not going to want to learn all the technical stuff. Originally, I wasn't going to include the Nook Color in the line-up until it came to my mind that she's probably agnostic on the whole e-ink vs LCD thing. Indeed, it's possible she might even appreciate the color, backlit screen on the Nook Color better.
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Old 06-22-2011, 02:51 AM   #13
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Yes it is possible to give an ebook to someone. When you click on a link to an ebook, you will see the attached picture in the upper right hand corner of the screen.
Awesome! Has that always been there?

ETA: Um, so apparently I'm just blind or something... Gifting has been available since November.

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Old 06-22-2011, 11:05 AM   #14
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My recommendation is for the Kindle.
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Old 06-26-2011, 05:39 PM   #15
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I'd say Kindle 3G, especially if she already buys books from Amazon, or has ever. I think it's going to be the simplest to use, with the 3G there is no worrying about connecting to a WAP, no configuring, no connecting to a computer. Admittedly, I haven't used the nooks all that much, but my opinion is that the Kindle is easier to use in my limited experience. The color nook might be great for someone who would read magazines with lots of photography in them though. For someone who is reading books the majority of the time though, the black and white e-ink is far easier on the eyes and on the battery.

I think Kindle 3 is the way to go here.
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