jfdltton wrote:OK. Ya talked me intuit! Gotta have it. Can't live without it NO MORE!

Yup, they got me too!

lmowens wrote:I've had mine since Dec 2009 and no such 'wearing off of letters' has occurred. Also--love the ease of carrying multiple eBooks on my Kindle while on trips (as opposed to multiple heavy regular books).

Second this. I've had 2nd Gen Kindle since Feb '09, use it extensively every day and there is no wearing of letters at all.

brendaa wrote:Does anyone who has this Kindle use the speak out loud function to read? I'd like to know if it reads a page and then seamlessly moves on to the next page or do you have to push a button to get to the next page. And if you have to push a button, do you then have to push another button to make it continue reading? I'm considering this for my blind daughter who will be doing all her reading with the speach function. Thanks.

It automatically keeps advancing from page to page until you stop it. You can choose between a male or female voice. The voice is mechanical. You can find several demos of the text to speech feature on youtube. Some authors are opting out of allowing their books to be enabled for text to speech to protect their audiobook sales. I haven't found this to be the case with many books. Text to speech works with free books that are available from many sources even if they have to be converted to a kindle supported format. I haven't tried it with pdf, but doubt it will work with that file type.

The kindle will also play audiobooks and it is supported by Audible.com. They're more pleasant to listen to than text to speech.

adamwss wrote:google: "are cyrillic fonts available on kindle"

Answer from askville: No

If you can use the controls in English, the Kindle can display cyrillic font documents.

see Cyrillic Document on a Kindle 2
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bi_WrpcoBos&NR=1)

So now....wait for the B/N announcement and hope for something with at least wifi, go with this, or grab the Nook on Daily Steals.

This is unbearable.

brendaa wrote:Does anyone who has this Kindle use the speak out loud function to read? I'd like to know if it reads a page and then seamlessly moves on to the next page or do you have to push a button to get to the next page. And if you have to push a button, do you then have to push another button to make it continue reading? I'm considering this for my blind daughter who will be doing all her reading with the speach function. Thanks.

I continues reading and automatically turns the viewing page. You can slow or speed up the reading, pause it, and even change the gender of the readers voice. It sounds very robotic and some of the pronunciations can be rather funny.

Beware though, some backward thinking publishers forbid this option and have forced Amazon to remove it from their books. Amazon does let you know if voice reading has been disabled for a particular book you are looking at.

You can also transfer audio books to the Kindle and listen to an actual human reading the books.

buffaloed wrote:

The kindle will also play audiobooks and it is supported by Audible.com. They're more pleasant to listen to than text to speech.

I appear to be channeling "buffaloed" today.

sdc100 wrote:You can't integrate an eInk screen with resistive or capacitive sensors so a touch screen is not possible (yet?).

Not a true statement. The Sony 650 has very sensitive touch screen to turn pages and it is an awesome e-reader.

bobothebear wrote:Love, love, love my Kindle. It weighs next to nothing, so I take it everywhere with me. You never know when you're going to be waiting and need something to do. On a personal note, condolences to everyone affected by the tornado in Joplin, Missouri. I live about 10 miles from there and my daughter lost one of her friends.

I LOVE my kindle too...I have the 3rd gen wi-fi only version. I miss having 3g, but just ordered one of these for my bookworm daughter for her birthday.

I'm particularly interested in a 2nd Gen Kindle for Tethering Applications. I've seen a few sites discussing methods, but there's ongoing concern about firmware updates. Anyone with a 2nd Gen Kindle using it in this way (preferably recently) and can comment on viability of this application? Please state whether you're using it for such a feat on a mac or PC (I'm interested in Mac tethering, but if it can work on a PC it should be possible to do the same on a Mac). Thanks guys.

jamieb wrote:Is this version upgadeable? Specifically: When they add support to the OS for the eBook format libraries use, will I be able to upgrade the 2nd gen to read those? My wife reads a lot, but it's all books from the library

Amazon sends out updates via the 3G network. They have done this quite a few times in the past 2 years.

TehCaspia wrote:Thank you for saying this. I'm sick of all the "It has 3G for free what an amazing deal" posts when in reality the only benefit it has is purchasing books without a wifi nearby...a nice feature, but not a life changing feature.

You can surf the web on it too. It sucks for interactive sites, but the browser is passable for reading news and things like that.

I'd rather surf on my phone, but in most of the world my phone data plan costs me $15/mb, but the kindle costs $0. Of course my phone worked just fine in africa, and the kindle coverage was minimal.

I have this Kindle (Well, The US only version) as does my wife. We travel a fair amount, and it much much nicer to carry one lightweight device, than to haul around several books for ones reading.

For those that say that they are limited to Amazon's site for books, this is not true.

Library lending is coming (Not an issue for me, I love to won books), and there are a variety of sites that have books for the kindle.

I am a big Sci-Fi and Fantasy fan, so most of my book reading comes from BAEN.COM. They have an impressive array of books, and a great deal of free ones as well. Well worth it if you like Sci-Fi and Fantasy.

Ummm - every time I try to share this deal on Facebook by using the FB link, an IPhone pops up as the Woot deal of the day. Can somebody fix this?

TehCaspia wrote:Thank you for saying this. I'm sick of all the "It has 3G for free what an amazing deal" posts when in reality the only benefit it has is purchasing books without a wifi nearby...a nice feature, but not a life changing feature.

The free 3G very useful for people who don't want to be tied into a data plan. It works well with mobile optimized sites. Google has many mobile services available including email. I've taken my kindle on camping trips so I can check my email.

Bought one last year- absolutely the best money ever spent. And when my first one went wonky (still under warranty) Amazon sent a new one OVERNIGHT.

Lahomalou wrote:Ummm - every time I try to share this deal on Facebook by using the FB link, an IPhone pops up as the Woot deal of the day. Can somebody fix this?

Hey there!

What browser (and version) are you using? That will help us pinpoint the issue faster for you.

Thanks!

So, $90 for a second-gen perfectly usable 3g, vs $120 for a third-gen wifi only.

Honestly, for me, that's a pretty simple decision. I took the woot. The second was plenty good enough for READING, no e-ink device will ever be a great TABLET and the lighter, smaller, better browser just isn't worth the $30 or way more bux extra.

Deal!!!

Note on the global 3G:

Unfortunately, it's not available in Tahiti.

Just thought I'd share.


(When we (my husband and I) went there last year, we downloaded whatever books we wanted in L.A. before we left the country - which works out pretty well - very glad we had it for those two 8 hour flights!)

musikmom wrote:The description says..."Charge Time: Fully charges in approximately 4 hours via the included U.S. power adapter. Also supports charging from your computer via the included USB 2.0 cable"...but then where it says what is included, it only mentions the usb cable. So which is it?

I'd be surprised if it didn't come with the power adapter because the Kindle 2 shipped with one when it was introduced.

You can always pick one up along with a car charger for $5 on Amazon.
Amazon Kindle 2 (2nd Generation) USB Car Charger, USB Wall / Travel Charger

rothmaniac wrote:So,
I have always thought that you couldn't get non amazon books onto the kindle. Reading through the comments, I see that I was wrong. If I use a program like Calibre, how do I actually get the books onto the kindle? Is it over USB? Does that mean I don't care about 3G?

You get books into the Kindle by one of two ways - USB cable OR through the 3G (service fee may or may not apply depending on source). When you connect the Kindle to your computer with the USB cable, the Kindle shows up as a USB drive with folders and sub-folders. You copy the ebook file into the device. I don’t think it matters if you stick the ebook into a folder or not. Also, I’m not sure if there’s a limit on the number of books in each folder or not.

3G is primarily used to surf the internet on the “experimental” browser and to download purchased ebooks from Amazon. You can also email your Kindle to send files as well but this incurs a service fee. This fee use to be $0.10 per document (back in the days of first gen) but the fee went to $.15 per megabyte.

Calibre is a program that resides on your computer. It is NOT necessary to have it running when you connect your Kindle (or any other device). However, it you do have the Kindle connected to the computer with Calibre running, Calibre will show whether you have a particular ebook on that Kindle or not. Calibre can also send an ebook to your Kindle (or to a SD card if your device has one) and automatically convert the ebook into mobi (or another format as necessary). Calibre can also strip DRM using plugins available from the internet.

I've been eyeing Kindles for awhile now for my husband's birthday present, so I absolutely snapped this one up (neither of us could care less about it being refurb'ed and have only had good experience with refurb'ed items in the past).

Best part? His birthday isn't until December, which means I can spend the next six months loading it up with stuff with the money I saved on this purchase! I am sold and excited!

raelalt wrote:I appear to be channeling "buffaloed" today.

I bet you were thinking about posting these links for free public domain audiobooks. lol

Librivox

Books Should Be Free

billhill wrote:For those that keep saying this is an older model. this is the latest version of the Kindle. There are only 2 generations and this is the second gen, the latest. When you see "3G" on the amazon site it means 3G wireless service not 3rd GEN.

No and yes. In reverse order: 3G does refer to the wireless service. But there is also a 3rd generation of Kindles that came after this model. They are the ones with a gray plastic case and have wireless capability, as well as one of the two also still having 3G.

buffaloed wrote:I bet you were thinking about posting these links for free public domain audiobooks. lol

Librivox

Books Should Be Free

Ahhhhhhh! Get out of my head!!!!

buffaloed wrote:I'd be surprised if it didn't come with the power adapter because the Kindle 2 shipped with one when it was introduced.

The refurbs do not come with the charger.

gwenllyan wrote:Bought one last year- absolutely the best money ever spent. And when my first one went wonky (still under warranty) Amazon sent a new one OVERNIGHT.

What is really great is that you do not have to send your old one back until you get the new one and they still give you 30 days to do that. Plus they pay for the postage both ways.

kwl718 wrote:Second this. I've had 2nd Gen Kindle since Feb '09, use it extensively every day and there is no wearing of letters at all.

I believe the problem with the letters wearing off is limited to the third gen. gray unit.

DocMphd wrote:I am pretty sure that ads DO NOT pop up while you are reading.

Not yet...


Personally, I really like the look, feel, and readability of a Kindle, but after the incident where they DELETED copies of a book from user's Kindles, a book that users had PURCHASED (1984, I think?)... I frankly don't trust Amazon.

this was definitely one of the best technological investments I've ever made.

I would still be lost in Europe if it wasn't for this device, google maps, and the free 3g.

I bought myself a Kindle and loved it, so I bought my husband a Kindle and Luddite that he is, he was amazed to find he loved his, too. Today at this price, I'm buying one as a gift for another family member.

raelalt wrote:
Beware though, some backward thinking publishers forbid this option [text-to-speech] and have forced Amazon to remove it from their books. Amazon does let you know if voice reading has been disabled for a particular book you are looking at.

I wonder if those publishers are ones who are in the process (or already have) created audiobooks for the book already.

rothmaniac wrote:So,
I have always thought that you couldn't get non amazon books onto the kindle. Reading through the comments, I see that I was wrong. If I use a program like Calibre, how do I actually get the books onto the kindle? Is it over USB? Does that mean I don't care about 3G?

Yes, I use Calibre to move books to and from my Kindle all the time - as well as newspapers, blogs, and other content...

nbs2 wrote:Sadly enough, if Amazon offers a Special Offers version of the 3G, I'd pick it up in a heartbeat. While I'm not away from WiFi all the time, I am away on occasion. Frankly, I think xkcd summed it up much better than I can:

https://www.xkcd.com/548/

I followed xkcd's advice, spent two weeks broke and drunk but still had internet access no matter where I was :D

HERE'S THE PROBLEM:

Kindles are notoriously easy to break. That's why there are so many refurbs on the market.

Know what this DOES NOT come with????!

A warranty!

So if you barely drop it, apply too much pressure, sit on it, spill something on it, buy a cover that does not fit it snugly or anything else . . . IT WILL BREAK.

And when it does, there's NO TURNING BACK. Because you bought one without a warranty!

(compare this to buying one from Amazon where you report it broken anytime in the first year and they immediately ship you a new one)

Just saying . . .

runnerfrog13 wrote:Not yet...


Personally, I really like the look, feel, and readability of a Kindle, but after the incident where they DELETED copies of a book from user's Kindles, a book that users had PURCHASED (1984, I think?)... I frankly don't trust Amazon.

That caused quite a stir as well as a PR nightmare for Amazon. They have not done anything like that since but still...

Though would you rather trust Sony? They who have deliberately installed rootkits on users PCs? And apparently have no use for securing their users data, as in the latest PSN scandal?

runnerfrog13 wrote:I wonder if those publishers are ones who are in the process (or already have) created audiobooks for the book already.

That's basically it, though I don't really see it as competitive. The text to speech really isn't all that pleasant to listen to, and hardly compares to a human actor reading.

It took me 5 minutes to decide I wanted a Kindle (vs. the other not-so-awesome eReaders), 55 seconds to decide I wouldn't mind a 2G version with free 3G, especially for the price and 5 seconds to order.

w00t!

sdc100 wrote:They have a 14 day lending feature but my friends often take more than 14 days to finish a book.

[snark]Sounds like you just need to get friends who read faster.[/snark]

Anyone know if the Nook has font you can change or a dictionary on board?