E Reader (Kindle, Barne's/Noble, ect)

I trust your fine advice and knowledge on everything Tacoma, so thought I would try my question about e-readers here. Could not find all the infor. I needed by using this site's search feature.

Books, magazines, newspapers going the way of dinosaurs. Like Newsweek magazine which is soon going online only. My wife & I need to keep up. Couple of questions: What's a good starter ereader? I understand from my research many people get a basic and then upgrade as they learn more what they need.

Connecting to the internet to download: Some of these things seem to be Wi-Fi equipped, or ready. Can I just stop by my local Wi-Fi coffee shop and download to the reader whatever I wanna read, books, newspapers, magazines, ect? Is this secure? How about accessing internet other places, like at home, where I do not have wireless? Special widget I need to do so?

I do have cellphone, of course, service from Verizon if this matters. Is not a newer Iphone type, just a simple 'grandpa' phone. I have Comcast for my PC connection to the internet.

I appreciate any help. If there is an existing thread to give me this information, just link me to it.

 

get an ipad and download the kindle app for free. Works great for me.

 

You could go with a basic Kindle reader for about $69. They are wifi-only so anywhere you have wifi access you can use it (primarily for downloading books, magazines, etc). For web browsing, it's not that great of an option. The way you navigate is with 4 little arrow buttons (no touch screen on the basic) or the built in keypad. For reading books/magazines, it's great if the material you want to read is available for Kindle. The advantage of the kindle over just using a kindle app on a tablet is it lasts a long time on the battery without recharging (about 2 months) and the screen has much less glare.

They also have a 3g Kindle that will download from anywhere for $139. There is no access charge (3g included in the price). I found it's not that big of a deal to download your books from wifi only. It has the same limitations as the basic so I probably wouldn't pay extra for the 3g option.

They also have a paper white version ($119). It's a black and white touch screen but it's even easier on the eyes (more like reading paper). Battery life is the same (2 months). Like the other two kindles above, the browser is listed as "experimental". I'm not sure how well it functions with the touch screen but it should be better than using the buttons to navigate around.

If you want something more like a table, get one of the Kindle Fire HD ($199-$299). It's an Android device with a color touch screen. You can download apps from Android market. Battery life is much lower (11 hours).


The Barnes and Noble unit is decent as well (Android device). You can also download a Kindle app for it to read Kindle books/magazines.

For accessing outside of a wifi area, you'd need something with a paid plan (e.g. LTE). If you're just going to be reading books with it, I would just download them prior to leaving.

They have a Kindle HD 8.9" screen with LTE for $499-614. You can either pay a one-time fee of $50 for 250mb/month for 12 months or sign up for a data plan. 250mb is not very much.

 

Wow, thanks evilmonkey! You gave me a real education there, enough so I can shop being a lot more aware of what I am doing. Already started, in fact. I'm leaning towards the kindle whitepaper, with WiFi only. Looks like a good unit to start with at the very least. I do appreciate the help.

This site continues to amaze me. Lots of knowledge here about things other than tacomas.

Regards,
GW

 

The barnes and noble nook is really nice. My sister has one and she can do everything you can with an ipad. They are even buying my grandma one for christmas that is their new bigger version so she can read books.

My gf wants a kindle fire or anything like it, idk what I'm gonna get her yet.

 

All suggestions appreciated. Got the Kindle Whitepaper and all is good. Thanks.