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Author Topic: OKAY.... WHO's GOT A KINDLE 3 (newest grey small one) ?  (Read 6016 times)

Offline beemaster

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OKAY.... WHO's GOT A KINDLE 3 (newest grey small one) ?
« on: December 22, 2010, 03:19:40 am »
Hi Everyone:

I bought for my wife the Kindle 3 - the $139 Wifi version, we have no need to spend $50 more for the 3G version since I never plan on buying books from Amazon or elsewhere when the Internet has them all for free.

I got this amazing machine today and have been loading books - over 100 so far that I know are right up her alley. We both do Audio-books and get them from the library or online, so I know what she has read and who she likes :)

For starters, WOW is this freakin' thing amazing. It is about 7X5X1/3rd in size and weighs 8 ounces. It uses this electronic ink that magically make photos and text appear before your eyes on a 6 in diagonal screen where you adjust the font size, style and orientation of the screen.

I found a wicked program (free) called CALIBRE (pronounced like a 44 caliber gun) and it takes ANY format of ebook and converts it to any other format of ebook. The Kindle primarily recognizes MOBI and PDF files, so Calibre takes any book in any other format, converts it in single or batches to Kindle friendly format - giving you PERFECT pages every time. a 800 book takes about 30 seconds to convert and upload via usb to the Kindle and is ready to read.

There are too many features that rock to mention, but I really like the male Text to Speech Voice that reads for you as you either look or just listen to the book. I like to read and hear the voice at the same time, for me it locks the facts of the story better in my head. This voice is extremely natural and you would be surprised to know it wasn't a real person if you didn't know different.

The Kindle can last a full month on a single battery charge thru the USB or plug-in adapter - I'm sure using the voice kills the charge a lot faster. But speaking of the voice, after adding the books, I took it to work tonight and gave it a test run. I read over 80 pages (mostly with the male reader going) and then realized that since it plugs into my headphones, it also plugs into my AUX. JACK in the car, so I listened to the book on the drive home tonight!!!! Double bonus feature that kicked me into the 5 star rating review.

The fall back (I think) is since it is a Wifi machine and it did hook up to my secure router first try, it does WEB BROWSING. Now, doing it and doing it well are two different things. If you are searching the dozen or more sites preset into the Kindle, they look really great and goggling info and basic searching is fine, but it is NOT a PC and will not replace a computer for surfing. But it is a nice bonus - Kindle of course has it because they have their ebook online store with 600K books from $5 to $20 each which all take less than 60 seconds to download and a file is kept with every title you buy, so that if you upgrade or change machines, you can re-download them again at no additional cost.

The best feature surely is the magic screen, it makes you want to read and trust me, a decade of audiobooks has crippled my incentive to actually read books, but tonight I read 80 pages as the magic of the white screen and jet black fonts changed before my eyes in a blink of a second. Honestly, as I read the last word and clicked the next page button, the next page and next sentence was there as quickly as I was.

I know Tracey will love this, she won't see this post, so I wanted to share this. I even got the leather cover with led night light that runs off the Kindles power. It is a classy cover making the Kindle look like a book and protects it for scratches and falls nicely. The light pulls out and illuminates the screen so that reading in total darkness is a breeze.

I just hope that SCHOOLS ADOPT using this or similar readers and doing away with outdated and costly books. The licensing of ebooks surely must pay in the long run, and having your kids carry a single 1/2 electronic gadget around sure beats them dragging 60 pounds of books home every day.

This is a winner, the sheer fact that free ebooks exist all over the net means this can likely be a one time investment. Mainly because software like Calibre also RSS feeds hundreds of periodical magazines, daily newspapers from around the world and I promise it is IMPOSSIBLE to NOT find enough stuff that you find interesting for a dozen life times.

Amazon Kindle 3: Unboxing and Demo  - this is a pretty cool walk through

Kindle 3 Review Narrated by Text to Speech - the guy who recorded the audio should have faced the speakers toward the mic, it isn't very good quality and does not do justice to the Kindles TTS.
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Offline Kathyp

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Re: OKAY.... WHO's GOT a KINDLE 3 (newest grey small one) ?
« Reply #1 on: December 22, 2010, 11:03:49 am »
i think she'll love it.  have considered one for travel, but have drawn a mental line at electronic reading.  i just love the feel of real books and it's always been a "thing" to slip that book into the suitcase right before leaving.

that said, i think they are a good invention and anything that keeps people reading is a good thing.

good choice!  every once in a while you guys get it right   :evil:
Someone really ought to tell them that the world of Ayn Rand?s novel was not meant to be aspirational.

Offline beemaster

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Re: OKAY.... WHO's GOT a KINDLE 3 (newest grey small one) ?
« Reply #2 on: December 22, 2010, 06:30:59 pm »
I totally understand the satisfaction of making your way from the front of a book to the last page, it's very thickness has a sense of accomplishment and adventure about it.

Alas, the Kindle has a progress bar at the bottom of the screen, it does not have a conventional page numbering due to your being in control of the font size. I had today off from work, so I got to finish the story I started last night. It was a novelette about a princes who willingly chose to be among dragons rather than her own family who wanted to marry her off prearranged to a prince from another family. Most princesses are stolen by dragons, sort of the golden rings dragon thievery. Good story.

Thanks Kathy, the Kindle beats the Shop-Vac I bought her one year, she still refers to that as the "Gift that keeps sucking!"

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Offline Kathyp

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Re: OKAY.... WHO's GOT a KINDLE 3 (newest grey small one) ?
« Reply #3 on: December 22, 2010, 06:44:16 pm »
that's ok.  i got a new stove for Christmas.  it's what i wanted, and more important, what i/we needed!  we have never gotten gifts for each other, but we usually get something for the house, or some toy that we both want.  often, Christmas and my blowing something up, seem to come at the same time.  :evil:
not sure how that happens.......

let us know how she likes it.  at some point, with the restrictions on luggage, i may end up breaking down and getting one.  for now, the recorded books on mp3 work for the tight fits.
Someone really ought to tell them that the world of Ayn Rand?s novel was not meant to be aspirational.

Offline beemaster

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Re: OKAY.... WHO's GOT a KINDLE 3 (newest grey small one) ?
« Reply #4 on: December 22, 2010, 07:04:14 pm »
I don't know if I mentioned the Kindle playd MP3s - as in all the audiobooks I download. I haven't played with that part yet, but again, Tracey listens to then to/from work everyday and with the aux. out to stereo she can play audio-books from her Kindle through the car stereo - so it is kind of the Swiss Army Knives of books :)

I'll keep you updated :)

Dog Gone-it (wth? does that mean anyway) I forgot this link, thought everyone would get a kick out of it!

The Kindle 3



« Last Edit: December 22, 2010, 07:17:03 pm by beemaster »
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Offline AllenF

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Re: OKAY.... WHO's GOT a KINDLE 3 (newest grey small one) ?
« Reply #5 on: December 23, 2010, 09:52:32 am »
"Gift that keeps sucking!"   Priceless.  :-D


That is one cool device.   My wife wanted to get one for my mother who reads all the time and I talked her out of it.   I think I made a mistake on that one now.


Offline KD4MOJ

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Re: OKAY.... WHO's GOT a KINDLE 3 (newest grey small one) ?
« Reply #6 on: December 23, 2010, 10:17:02 am »
John I bought the Kindle2 which is about the same size/function as the $139 kindle3. Couldn't live without it. Even though I paid $269 (before the Ipad caused the price drop), it was worth every penny. They have battery management as a science, since I get about 3 weeks without a charge using it on a daily basis.

 One of the few things i've purchased that I I can say I got my money's worth!
...DOUG
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Offline thebalvenie

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Re: OKAY.... WHO's GOT A KINDLE 3 (newest grey small one) ?
« Reply #7 on: February 22, 2011, 05:58:19 pm »
my wife bought me an ipad for my birthday and i love it. very useful

i bought her the kindle because she didn't like the ipad for reading or having to fight over it ;) 

that said, i much prefer reading off of the ipad and she hte kindle.  if you get your wife a kindle get her the additional case that comes with the pop out light.

;)  i'm currently reading "matterhorn" on my ipad and love it
"Tu ne cede malis sed contra audentior ito"

Offline bud1

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Re: OKAY.... WHO's GOT A KINDLE 3 (newest grey small one) ?
« Reply #8 on: February 22, 2011, 08:55:46 pm »
Mine is not a 3, but shure love it; especially as it came as a gift from a great friend   thanks again Mr John and Miss Tracy, i use it every day
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Offline beemaster

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Re: OKAY.... WHO's GOT A KINDLE 3 (newest grey small one) ?
« Reply #9 on: February 25, 2011, 09:39:42 am »
Thanks for breathing life into this older post.

Bud, your is a Kindle 3 - there are 2 types both Kindle 3s
 
Kindle 3 WiFi is what you have - most people call yours the Kindle WiFi
Kindle Wifi & 3G is what I have - most people call this the "Kindle 3G"
but Both are Kindle 3 :)

I do use the 3G a lot, it is simple, Amazon has a plan with all main carriers to allow there content on any server for free. In simple words, we can surf any 3G telephone cell system and connect to that. I use it to sit at work, with a great 4 out of 5 bar signal on the Kindle, I download several newspapers and yes I do surf the net for free as a kindle 3G costumer. The BROWSER is poorly constructed and still under Experimental mode, along with their MP3 player has no control panel on it - that was shocking.

You can load up a lot of songs in you kindle which I like some jazz, new age music, even nature sounds while I read. But you ALWAYS start at the beginning of your play list every time you launch it, and the only controls are a NEXT key combo and pause/stop.

Their Audiobooks have a nice interface on the Kindle, but not the mp3 player.

Any way, I like mine a lot and get an hour use a day sometimes. I enjoy all the great free books from artist you have never heard of. And all the classics and contemporary stuff - it is all there.



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Offline deknow

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Re: OKAY.... WHO's GOT A KINDLE 3 (newest grey small one) ?
« Reply #10 on: March 03, 2011, 02:39:18 am »
...I'm considering a Kindle, mostly for reading PDF files.  My question is how does the Kindle handle these?  Much of what I want to have on the Kindle is PDF files that I have scanned myself, so I'm interested in any experience with this.
Also, curious of what is up with the google books and Kindle...I recall that they hadn't made a deal, and PDF's from google books won't work.  Has this been solved?  Is there an easy workaround?  Thanks in advance.

deknow

Offline beemaster

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Re: OKAY.... WHO's GOT A KINDLE 3 (newest grey small one) ?
« Reply #11 on: March 04, 2011, 04:54:08 pm »
I really don't recommend the Kindle for PDF files, the way it handles them are quirky - they appear too small and even with the zoom feature, they aren't very large and moving about left/right and up/down is not user friendly.

The format Kindle uses is MOBI which transfers from other e-book formats well, but PDF is not a strong point.

I have heard good things about the Kindle XL for PDF but no first hand info.

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Please enjoy the forum, and if it has helped you in any way, we hope that a small donation can be made to support our FULLY member supported forum. You will never see advertisements here, and that is because of the generous members who have made our forum possible. We are in our second decade as a beekeeping forum and all thanks to member support. At the top right of every page is a donations link. Please help if you can.