Reader for 96yo technophobe? (that I can load books on remotely from our library)

[meeera]

Originally Posted by Quoth

It's not impossible to do it with a Kobo, but much more costly as you'd want real broadband, a PC as a "server" and WiFi. Simpler and cheaper for you to use the Amazon Website, Send to Kindle and a Kindle with 3g/4G Cell/Mobile built in.

One thing that could be done with a Kobo is to borrow public library books with her account on your computer, and use the Overdrive feature directly on the device. Only if wifi is connected, of course (I don't know if she lives alone/independently or in a village with wifi available). But a cellular Kindle is likely the better option.

[Aleron Ives]

Yes, if she doesn't have Internet access for you to perform library maintenance over Wi-Fi, then you're forced to get a Kindle with 3G/4G, since Kobo models only have Wi-Fi.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by varaonaid

Unfortunately she doesn’t. She just made a conscious decision about 10 years ago that she didn’t need to do all that. Her sisters use computers and email and I even setup a gmail account for her but I think she figured that the technology was just beyond her.

This is why, if I’m going to be able to make this work, I have to have a stupid simple plan so she doesn’t have to do much. I’m hoping that she could just choose from a handful of books, then click and read.

I don’t honestly think that she needs a huge screen. She’d quickly get used to the digital action of “turning the page” and I think not having something that cumbersome and heavy would be more appealing. Sounds like the Kindle might be a reasonable option, then. If we do go that route, I’m thinking of springing for the “no ads” version. That would just be extra confusion.

Thanks so much for sharing. What a cool setup you created for getting books to your mom. Amazing! I wish I had a way to emulate that for my MIL.

I even taught my mother to use a computer. The first computer she had was one I made mostly from spare parts I had. That was to see if she took to it. Eventually from there she got a laptop and then a much better laptop. When she got the second laptop, she also got a Sony Reader. She had Internet and I installed Teamviewer and Skype. That way we could keep in touch when we were not together and I could help her with the computer. I was able to show her what to do when she needed help unless it was something that needed setting up and then I just did it. Also, when it came to writing down directions on how to do something, I had her write it down so she would understand the directions. That worked well. My mother's last Reader was a Sony Reader PRS-T1.

Does your Mother have WiFi or access to WiFi? If not, then your helping her with a Kindle or Kobo won't work.

[JSWolf]

I did forget about Kindle's having cell service. That is a good idea if your Mother doesn't have WiFi or access to it.

[Parsley]

It's definitely worth a shot, although ereader UIs can be really difficult for the struggling-with-tech group to navigate.

My nonagenarian grandfather has an ancient kindle that he's been using for a decade or so. We tried to upgrade him to a larger modern kobo with a frontlight for better visibility. Unfortunately, the touchscreen proved to be a sticking point—he didn't really understand it, and kept accidentally jumping around in the book because he was holding it wrong. The kobo is now my father's (happily, he loves it).

If you go for it, I'd recommend (1) page turn buttons and (2) finding a device where you can lock down the number of features to really the bare minimum so that she doesn't get overwhelmed when she accidentally does something she doesn't understand. She might also need specific written instructions on how to turn pages and switch between books.

[Aleron Ives]

Another factor to consider is the readability of the UI. Kobo has a feature that lets you enlarge the UI, which would be very important for somebody with poor vision. I would think that Kindle can do the same thing, but you would want to check how easy the UI is to navigate when everything is enlarged, because a super high magnification might start to break things, but the default size might be too small for her to read the book titles when picking a book.

[haertig]

If your mother-in-law has deteriorating eyesight that is making it difficult to read, that's going to be the same for a user interface. I don't think she will be able to operate a Kindle, or any other eReader, if diminishing eyesight is the problem you are trying to solve.

I would consider audiobooks. Those come with their own problems, but eyesight isn't one of them. I do not know how Alexa devices interface with Audible. I would hope that you can verbally choose a book to have read to you, and that it would remember what page you are on and start up from your last position. Also it would be nice if they supported voice commands to "rewind 10 seconds" or something like that. I would investigate if this is possible with Alexa/Audible and if so, try it out. Even if you have to buy her an inexpensive router and subscribe to a basic internet service to make Alexa work.

I have tried eReaders with two elderly - one late 80's, one early 90's. Both were mentally sharp at the time I tried. One had good eyesight, the others eyes were starting to deteriorate. The experiment was a complete failure for both. You have the added issue of your person being a technophobe, who doesn't even have or know how to use a computer. Both of the ones I tried had, and were able to use, computers. If you do decide to buy an eReader, don't buy an expensive one. Or if you spend the money, buy one that you want for yourself, because I have a feeling that's where it will end up very shortly.

Just my opinion, based on my experiences trying to do exactly what you are considering now...

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by haertig

Just my opinion, based on my experiences trying to do exactly what you are considering now...

I'm curious, why was your experiment a failure? They just didn't like ereaders? Couldn't get used to them? Or something else?

[Quoth]

Alexa needs broadband, it invades privacy. Also a hugely environmentally wasting idea for audiobooks. It may even be turned off. It needs a lot of humans to curate additions to the speech recognition and database and search.

My friend with macular degeneration replaced his phone with an under €350 unlocked new 10" Lenovo Yoga Tablet with SIM slot. He couldn't use eink or his phone. The Pocketbook ereader TTS works well. The Kindle App and others though only does one page at a time TTS.
There is a large font option and screen reading. 2G/3G/4G data and phone calls.

There are different kinds of deteriorating eyesight such as focus, wet or dry macular degeneration, cataracts and other conditions.

Buttons are good. Hence the Oasis 3G/4G may be better than the Paperwhite 3G/4G.

[haertig]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

I'm curious, why was your experiment a failure? They just didn't like ereaders? Couldn't get used to them? Or something else?

Couldn't use them. Would try something like searching books installed on the Kindle, but were befuddled by the user interface, or the ability to see the user interface in the first place. Sometimes, when attempting to tap on the right or left side of screen to turn the page, they'd go too high or too low and get into some menu that they weren't expecting, and get confused.

[haertig]

Originally Posted by Quoth

Alexa needs broadband

So? Lots of other things do as well. Netflix has more stringent requirements for broadband than Alexa does.

it invades privacy

Potentially. Having a home health care nurse come into your place invades privacy too, and many elderly people allow this. Each person has to balance how much something may help them against any potential downsides. We do this every day, for just about everything we do. Each of us are freely choosing to post on this forum, despite the potential for someone to glean information about us.

Also a hugely environmentally wasting idea for audiobooks

I would be interested to hear why you think an Echo Dot (or other Alexa device) is any more environmentally wasting than the Lenova tablet you mentioned as an alternative in your post.

It may even be turned off

You could drop and break a Lenova tablet and not be able to afford a replacement too. "It may not work in the future" is a scare tactic that would preclude you from buying pretty much anything, no matter what it is. Echo Dots are routinely on sale for less than $20. Compare that to the cost of a Lenova tablet.

It needs a lot of humans to curate additions to the speech recognition and database and search.

How many humans do you think it took to design, develop, test, manufacture and ship that Lenova tablet? How many humans it took to design something is not a criteria I typically use to decide whether buy it or not.

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by haertig

Couldn't use them. Would try something like searching books installed on the Kindle, but were befuddled by the user interface, or the ability to see the user interface in the first place. Sometimes, when attempting to tap on the right or left side of screen to turn the page, they'd go too high or too low and get into some menu that they weren't expecting, and get confused.

Too bad K3 or K4 like devices are no longer made.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by haertig

How many humans do you think it took to design, develop, test, manufacture and ship that Lenova tablet? How many humans it took to design something is not a criteria I typically use to decide whether buy it or not.

You are missing the point. Alexa needs 1000s of people to keep it working. The actual electronics and SW is simple compared to an eInk reader or Android Tablet.

No idea, but it could have been done with a small team once. I developed a 4G type phone sized tablet proof of concept demo with one helper in 2007. I did an industrial controller board with one helper in 1980. A more serious industrial controller in a case with custome LCD panel used a team of four and two years.
The original ARM CPU and then Archimedes PC plus Risc OS was a small team. Lenovo didn't have to write an OS (which originally was written by a small team and bought in).
The Listening Companions are a fraud. They need 1000s of humans listing to conversations all the time. That's why Amazon is looking at making 10,000 people redundant.

[haertig]

Originally Posted by Quoth

You are missing the point. Alexa needs 1000s of people to keep it working.

Isn't that just like many other companies out there? Twitter, Hilton Hotels, Netflix, CNN, United Airlines...
...

The Listening Companions are a fraud. They need 1000s of humans listing to conversations all the time. That's why Amazon is looking at making 10,000 people redundant.[/QUOTE]
Those listeners must be really fast. I can tell Alexa to "turn on the lights" and the people listening behind the scenes have that all completed in a maybe 500 milliseconds or so. Is Amazon looking at making 10,000 people redundant (do you mean lay them off?) in an attempt to kill Alexa? That would be a really interesting corporate move, given they just advertised and sold a ton more of these devices over Black Friday. And all the third party devices that are designed to work with Alexa, are their manufacturers going to be happy with Amazon if Alexa just goes away? Amazon would be slitting their own throat.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by haertig

Isn't that just like many other companies out there? Twitter, Hilton Hotels, Netflix, CNN, United Airlines...

No, those are completely different. Also different from each other. You can't seriously believe that.
Twitter: Human generated content and inept adverts and other posts in your timeline.
CNN: Simply a web site.
Netflix: Simple database front end to video streaming.
I don't even know what you mean by "Hilton Hotels". Their booking system? Or have they got an in house ordering app simulating a concierge? That's far simpler than Alexa, Cortana, Siri or Google Go, but could use one of them as a backend.

Originally Posted by haertig

Those listeners must be really fast. I can tell Alexa to "turn on the lights" and the people listening behind the scenes have that all completed in a maybe 500 milliseconds or so.

Obviously common commands are curated ages ago and in the pattern matching database (a process dishonestly called "Machine Learning").
That kind of thing was available 25 years ago and doesn't need the Internet, but Alexa needs the internet because the database is on a remote Amazon server, though you can test if it caches by disconnecting internet and seeing do any commands work.