[Tom_Tit]

Hello all.

I am buying my 8 daughter a kindle for christmas and i don't have a clue about how they work.

Can somebody give me the basic advice of which one best suited as a beginner. Also how exactly i buy and read books on there. My computer connection is pretty damn slow so does this mean i can't download stuff on to it?

Thanks for any advice.

[IvanIV]

You transfer books to Kindle in 3 ways

- with USB cable connected to computer
- via wifi
- via 3G (if the device has it)

You buy books using an Amazon account. The Kindle must be registered with the same account to be able to use the books

You purchase a book

- from a PC, have it sent to the Kindle
- from a PC, download it to PC, transfer with USB (eg, when no wifi or 3G available)

- from the Kindle (over wifi or 3G)

Currently you have 3 models available:

£69.00, basic Kindle, no touch, wifi only, entry level model
£109.00, Kindle Touch, wifi only
£149.00, Kindle Keyboard, wifi and 3G

They will display the text in the same quality, there are just more bells and whistles hanging on the other two models, Keyboard is now an old model.

[Tom_Tit]

Thanks a lot for that.

I really think i'll have to pay more and go for the 3g model. Thanks again.

[Tom_Tit]

Just to add i only access 1 meg broadband and have a desktop PC on a wireless router. Could i buy the cheaper version and buy from Amazon and would they go to my Kindle?

Thanks

[Nigel Goodwin]

Originally Posted by Tom_Tit

Just to add i only access 1 meg broadband and have a desktop PC on a wireless router. Could i buy the cheaper version and buy from Amazon and would they go to my Kindle?

Thanks

The cheaper version will be fine, as long as you have WiFi there's no problem - you don't 'need' a computer at all, although it's far easier to order books on a computer and have it sent to your Kindle wirelessly.

[copthis1]

As an alternative, you could consider a Kobo Touch (WH Smith)

I swore I would never have one and am now a convert. It has a basic web browser, Soduku, sketch pad built in.

It will recognise multiple E-Book formats as well.

Just a 2nd option.

[grassmarket]

Originally Posted by Tom_Tit

Just to add i only access 1 meg broadband and have a desktop PC on a wireless router. Could i buy the cheaper version and buy from Amazon and would they go to my Kindle?

Thanks

The point about the Kindle is that it doesn't have to be connected to the LAN all the time, just when you are downloading books. In fact, it's best if you turn the wi-fi off when you don't need it to extend the battery life.

So, what I suggest you do is:

Buy your Kindle.

Before Christmas Day, create an Amazon account for your daughter at the Amazon website, buy a few books and put them into the account. Once you have bought the books, you will probably want to disable your credit card!

On Christmas morning, when the Kindle gets opened up, setup the Kindle to connect to your wireless system, and configure the Kindle to connect to your daughter's Amazon account. it will automatically download all the books you have bought.

[IvanIV]

Originally Posted by Nigel Goodwin

The cheaper version will be fine, as long as you have WiFi there's no problem - you don't 'need' a computer at all, although it's far easier to order books on a computer and have it sent to your Kindle wirelessly.

Yes, the cheapest one has only 5-way controller to type, so it's a bit annoying and it's easier to order books from a PC or something with a better keyboard. The touch model has a touch keyboard, Keyboard model a physical keyboard, obviously. But you'll get there even with the cheapo I keep wifi/3G off all the time and only turn it on when purchasing/downloading, makes battery last longer.

[Nigel Goodwin]

Originally Posted by IvanIV

Yes, the cheapest one has only 5-way controller to type, so it's a bit annoying and it's easier to order books from a PC or something with a better keyboard.

I've got the keyboard version, but the 5-way one isn't bad to use either, the keyboard is annoying because you don't have number keys.

[Sue_C]

Originally Posted by Tom_Tit

Hello all.

........... My computer connection is pretty damn slow so does this mean i can't download stuff on to it?

Thanks for any advice.

Kindle book download files are quite small so a slow internet connection should be ok.

[alternate]

usually under 1mb a book. I would not worry about your connection.

[Tom_Tit]

All replies much appreciated.

Thankyou.

[IvanIV]

Originally Posted by Nigel Goodwin

I've got the keyboard version, but the 5-way one isn't bad to use either, the keyboard is annoying because you don't have number keys.

The first row on keyboard with Alt gives you numbers. Not ideal, but better than switching to Sym mode.

[Tom_Tit]

Sorry for sounding thick but...

Here is my set up. I have a PC connected by ethernet to my router.

If i was to spend this £69 on the cheap kindle would it be able to connect to my virgin broadband through this wifi?

I seriously need to get uptodate with all this modern stuff.

[anniebrion]

Your PC has nothing to do with this.

Does your VM router have WiFi? If it does then the Kindle will connect directly to the router via WiFi.

[Sue_C]

If your router doesn't have WiFi you can download the books to your PC via your internet connection. You can then connect the Kindle to your PC with a usb cable and transfer the books across. It's very easy either way, WiFi is just the more convenient method.

[Pepperoni Man]

Sorry to slightly hijack the thread but I'm a potential kindle novice as well

Once you've down loaded the book to your kindle is there some other way of storing your books in case you lose your kindle or it breaks. Presumably if you have used your PC to down load the book you can keep it on your hard drive or an external hard drive? Do Amazon for instance allow you to store it in some sort of cloud storage ? And is this free ?

[spiney2]

yes. the kindle will behave like any flash drive memory stick when connected to a computer. transfer files to and from it.

[spiney2]

....... any books purchased via amazon are "archived". however theres's also maybe one and a half million free books at web archive texts for example ........ so yes youd store those like any other computer files ..... on pc or burn to dvd etc .....

[spiney2]

...... the wi fi can be used at hotspots. for example internet cafes etc. and 3g model will download directly. however most ebooks especially novels are usually fairly small files ......... unless with lots of illustrations .....

[sunnymeg]

Originally Posted by Pepperoni Man

Sorry to slightly hijack the thread but I'm a potential kindle novice as well

Once you've down loaded the book to your kindle is there some other way of storing your books in case you lose your kindle or it breaks. Presumably if you have used your PC to down load the book you can keep it on your hard drive or an external hard drive? Do Amazon for instance allow you to store it in some sort of cloud storage ? And is this free ?

Your Amazon Kindle account records all the books you have bought on the system. If you register a second device to your account, you then have the option to download books you have already bought as well as any new purchases to that. It doesn't matter whether it is a Kindle or a Kindle App on a tablet or a smartphone. If you use two devices and they are both connected to WiFi you can synchronize what ever you're reading, so you can catch up to where you've got in a book on another kindle device.
If you have two devices registered and you buy a new book, using one device it will appear in the archive section on the second device and you can retrieve it online. If you buy a book via the Amazon website or phone app it asks you which device you want it sent to and it is archived on the other device.

[Tom_Tit]

Originally Posted by anniebrion

Your PC has nothing to do with this.

Does your VM router have WiFi? If it does then the Kindle will connect directly to the router via WiFi.

I have no idea if it has wifi or not. How do i find out? It is one i got supplied by Virgin 6 months or so back.

The model is Netgear DGN10000.

[paulj48]

Maybe hold fire now that the Kindle Paperwhite has been announced in the UK, built in light, better battery and the new Amazon Prime library lending service makes this a good choice.

[1saintly]

Originally Posted by Tom_Tit

I have no idea if it has wifi or not. How do i find out? It is one i got supplied by Virgin 6 months or so back.

The model is Netgear DGN10000.

Yes it has wireless
http://www.netgear.co.uk/home/produc.../dgn1000.aspx#

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJuyGKokbho
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bq_25...eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZDksZ6iw3o

PS and dont worry, a 8yr old will have it all figured out before you sit down for xmas dinner, dam kids far to clever for there own good nowadays

[Tom_Tit]

Thankyou very much lol.



Do you think i should hang fire and buy a kindle fire HD which is due out on the 25th?