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Shameless Plug - Kindle 3, Support the site


Redbaron

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For all you book lovers out there...

 

Took delivery of the Amazon Kindle 3 the other day, purchased through Amazon via the Thai 360 affiliate link on the other side of my avatar.

 

Did a few board searches and stumbled across a few reviews of the original Kindle, and the Kindle 2. They weren't very flattering. IMO the Kindle 3 is the goods. If you are after a fun, cheap and easy to use toy/ebook reader, this is one for you. Mine was bought for the Good Lady of the house, who had a crack at one of the lad's at work Kindle, and she loves it. (Lots of brownie points for me!)

 

Price: $139US plus delivery. For me (Australia) it was just under $160US. Tip: elect to pay in US dollars as opposed to your local currency. Using Amazon's conversion it was just under $158AU, paying in US$ it worked out to $150AUD. We went for the WIFI only model. There is a 3G model as well, at $189US but have read that it's only really good in the US, and figure we have wireless internet at home so can do my purchasing there and load the thing up with good books, and read them on the go. The 3G model can connect to the amazon website under its own steam, and there are no additional internet charges.

 

It's easy to use (the GL aint no KS when it comes to computers, gizmos and such but she's had no problem whatsoever and loves it), fun to use, and above all... easy to read books on it. Before I bought the Kindle, I read a lot of other reviews and the other reviewers seemed to agree. Battery life is good (allegedly a month - will let you know in 4 weeks), changing the appearance is easy (text size, how you want to view it, cataloging books/collections), as is downloading new books.

To download the new ebooks, you simply purchase them as usual through the PC (I'd recommend going through Thai360's affiliate link), and the next time WIFI is turned on on the Kindle, they automatically download to the device. Alternatively you can browse Amazon's website through the kindle so long as you're connected. Setting up for home WIFI is easy, and I imagine using a public WIFI spot would be easy as well. Eg. McDonalds/Starbucks etc.

 

Lastly, book prices are awesome. If, like me you are a Stephen Leather fan, or a fan of any LOS type books which are hard to get in your home country, they can be purchased super cheap. Some of Leather's books are a dollar or a few dollars (just downloaded 3 books and 2 short stories in one file for $4.99US), and being downloads, you aren't subject to ridiculous delivery charges. Of course, if you are technically savvy and Cheap Charlie, you can always go the pirate option. Stephen Leather book prices in Australia (if you can find them) hover around the $30 mark.

 

One of the GL's friends popped in during the day, she has always been dead against ebook readers, had a go, and went home to buy one.. Shortly I think I'll be buying one for myself as well, since the GL is bound to be sick of me using hers all the time.

 

Hope this review helps, and remember if you decide to buy one, use the Thai 360 Affiliate link (on the left) and help support the site. This doesn't affect the price you pay for anything on the website.

 

Happy Reading.

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Not sure BB, but I have seen Kindle ebooks on pirate bay, and one of the lads said it works. "Calibre" apparently is the program to convert any other types of files to kindle friendly.

For Ebooks saved to PC simply drop and drag them to the documents folder when the Kindle is plugged in. Again, assuming they are the right type of file (.MOBI from memory).

 

I'm tipping saving the Thai360 link (as I have) to favourites would work as well, as far as getting KS the commissions.

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Absolutely can download via torrents. For example, demonoid.com has more than 20,000 ".mobi" books in one of their threads--some classic books and many modern books.

 

Also, you can read ".mobi" files on windows PC using a free SW program called mobireader. Google it for a download. It does put the book in good readable form (much more convenient and readable than pdf files), you can have one or multiple pages per screen, multiple size type, bookmarks, etc.

 

I use a netbook with mobireader to read, the netbook being small enough and light enough to handle as compared to a standard laptop.

 

Just other options.

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Thanks for posting this Red,

 

I bought a Kindle 2 with 3G about a year ago and it is my favorite gadget.

 

Some comments:

"We went for the WIFI only model. There is a 3G model as well, at $189US but have read that it's only really good in the US."

I bought the WIFI+3G model about a week before the WIFI only came out. I was in the village recently, where there is little WIFI available and was able to download my subscription of The New Yorker over 3G. Glad to get it as I was about to die of boredom. If you spend time in remote places you may want to consider this but your point about doing your downloads at home is well taken.

 

People have told me that there is a charge to download if you are in a foreign (from the US)country but this is not the case. My only subscription is The New Yorker @ $2.99 per month for all issues. I was intermittantly able to find that magazine @3.74 baht per issue in Bangkok so this is a good deal and I download it to my Kindle without cost. The only downside to my subscription is that the Kindle 2 does not have graphics so no pictures but I soon adapted to that. You would not want to subscribe to National Graphic even if it were to become available.

 

 

You can also copy free Kindle books to your computer and transfer them to the Kindle.

 

There are a lot free Kindle books at different sites ( http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page for one) and Amazon.com has a lot of free books but of course you have to have an account there which means registering a credit card. A friend recently offered a 3.9GB collection that someone had given him but I have not taken advantage of the offer as of yet. It is surprising how many good books are available that the copyright has run out on. I have read things that I would not have been able to read without the Kindle.

 

I have been remiss in not going to Amazon through this site and will do better in the future.

 

zen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Regarding the 3G - yes, it is free as in there are no monthly subscription fees, and it would be very handy in your case, where there is little or no wifi.

 

According to reviews I've read the 3G coverage isn't very good in Australia (and if my 3G phone's coverage is anything to go by, I'm not surprised, at least out here in the burbs). That, and the extra $50 was the only reason we didn't go for it. If I was back in my traveling days, I'd definately look into it.

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I've had the kindle for about a year and a half now, and love it! Where I am in Malaysia it is very difficult to get books (have to drive 3 hours to KL), and I read a lot. I have the 3G model and while the coverage can be spotty, it works well. I have a couple hundred books downloaded now..but going to look at the free sites posted above!

 

The only 2 issue I have with it are the organization of the books now that I have a lot (only by order of download) and I would love to have a backlit screen so I can read in bed while by GF sleeps....

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I've had the kindle for about a year and a half now, and love it! Where I am in Malaysia it is very difficult to get books (have to drive 3 hours to KL), and I read a lot. I have the 3G model and while the coverage can be spotty, it works well. I have a couple hundred books downloaded now..but going to look at the free sites posted above!

 

The only 2 issue I have with it are the organization of the books now that I have a lot (only by order of download) and I would love to have a backlit screen so I can read in bed while by GF sleeps....

 

I organize them by author, each in their own collection. I only have about 125 books so this works OK for me so far.

 

Amazon sells covers with builtin lights for about $60 but be aware that the Kindle 3 is slightly smaller than the Kindle 2 so you must get the proper cover. I just did test this with a Kindle 3 I had brought over recently. The two covers I tried are of different manufacturers and of different quality. You may be able to find what you like in KL. I am not sure how popular these things are in Asia. I don't recall ever reading about any great Thai authors.

 

If your other is like mine, she is jealous of the time I spend on the Kindle. She sometimes tells me that she wants to throw it off of the top of the apartment building.

 

zen

 

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