Help me pick out a Kindle :)

catsareniice1 · January 2016

I'm looking to buy a Kindle. I have a couple of questions....

If you have one, do you like it?

Which kind would you recommend? I looked online but feel extremely overwhelmed!

Do any Kindles include a feature where words you're not sure of are pronounced for you?

JoanE2012 · January 2016

I have a Kindle Fire. Maybe it's 2nd generation? (I've had it probably 3 years). I love it, but primarily only use it when traveling. Not sure if it has pronunciation or not though, never checked!

Prior to the Kindle, I had 2 nooks. The first died pretty quickly. The second one I loaded up with books before our TWO WEEK honeymoon in the middle of nowhere and when I turned it on at our layover, it was dead! I was beyond pissed. I'll never buy another nook again.

hoffse · January 2016

My H has a kindle fire that's a couple years old. He uses it every night to practice his French (flashcard app) and then watch an episode of family guy or something to help him fall asleep. He absolutely loves that thing, and we have definitely gotten our $150 out of it. When it dies, I will probably have a new one overnighted, because he literally uses it every single day.

I have a super old kindle that's reading only, and I mostly like it. I've never really gotten used to the fact that it doesn't have pages, but it's 5 or 6 years old and still works! Mine definitely doesn't have pronunciation, but it's also crazy old.

EDIT: Do you want want primarily for reading, or do you want to be able to stream netflix, etc. with it?

dragonstarjk · January 2016

I have a Kindle Touch and I love it. It's an older model but still going strong. It's only for reading books though, so depends on what you want to be able to use it for.

One MM tip I have--buy the cheaper one w/ advertisements when its an option. The ads only show up when you are not using it (like as a screensaver) or on the bottom of the screen when you are shopping the store. They do NOT show up when you are reading. I don't care if my Kindle has an ad on it when I first pick it up, and it saved me money by buying that version.

CuriousKiddosMama · January 2016

Are you looking for reading or for everything?
If you are looking for reading get one of the ones with the paper white screen. It makes a difference if you read a ton.
I/ds have now had 3 kindle fires. The newest one that I just got was $50 and is just as awesome as all the others. The newer ones like this one even has a memory card slot so it is expandable. We mainly play games, check internet and stream videos on it and all three have performed very well for those tasks.
I agree with pp who said don't pay extra for no ads- they are basically your screen saver when it goes to sleep, so not anything with paying for it to not be there. You can always change this later too if it really bothers you- just log into your Amazon account and click manage my devices.

catsareniice1 · January 2016

I didn't even know you can get the internet though a Kindle. lol Not sure what route I want to go.

I appreciate the info!!!

cupcait927 · January 2016

I have a Kindle Fire HDX (7") that my H bought me last year for Christmas. I love that thing. It's perfect for reading, streaming movies and surfing the internet. H also loved it so much that I bought him the Kindle Fire for Christmas this year when it was only $35 on Thanksgiving day. He's already used it every single day since he got it. Totally worth the $50 it normally costs - does all the same things that mine does, it just doesn't have the HD screen.

brij2006 · January 2016

I have the original Kindle. I love reading books on it. However, I wish I had the paperwhite so that I could read it in bed and not have H bothering me about turning out my lamp so he can sleep, and so I could read it in a dark car on longer roadtrips or on an airplane without turning on the overhead light.

julieanne912 · January 2016

I too have the original kindle, I bought it in I think 2009. I'm not a huge reader but I've taken to reading on my lunch breaks at work, and I read a lot when on vacation. It works just fine for that. But I agree with brij2006, I wish it had a backlit screen or something to make it easier to read in the dark (like while camping).

Also, we just got the Kindle Fire HD8. H got it to replace his ipad, which he uses for work. The ipad was acting up and the contract expires next month. But, he decided the other day to just go through the hassle and time of having the ipad fixed through the warranty as he didn't like the Kindle, because his work books are in PDF form and he couldn't figure out how to read them easily on it.

So now, I am also the owner of a Kindle Fire HD8 LOL. I just synced up my account on it 2 nights ago so I haven't used it for much yet. So far, I like that I can have my books on both my devices, but now that both our accounts are on the HD8, I can take advantage of our Prime membership (it's tied to his Amazon account, not mine, so it doesn't work on my old Kindle). I think things like cookbooks will be easier to read on this new one vs my old one, so I can take advantage of the free/cheap cookbooks they have available.

So I agree, depends what you want to do with it. If all you want to do is read, then you could get by totally fine with the cheapest model they offer (which I think is around $40 or 50?). But if you're wanting to stream movies, play games, etc., then you'll need to upgrade.

Side note: some of you may know about this, but I recently ran across bookbub.com. You sign up, and fill out your preferences, and then it sends you a daily email with Kindle book deals... some are free, some are a dollar or two.

Isabellas+mom · January 2016

I love my Kindle Fire 7" 4th generation. I got it for Christmas last year. I read a lot on it. Especially at night. I did find I had to install a blue light filter on it for night because even on the lowest brightness it was still too bright. I play lots of games on it but mine doesn't hold much. I surf the net a lot on it and it is much faster than my PC even though they run on the same network! My daughter has a 2nd generation and I find mine runs eminently better than hers.

kmurphy2131 · January 2016

I got a kindle fire about 3-4 years ago for my birthday. I actually wanted a regular kindle but my parents wanted to "upgrade it". It is nice having the backlit screen for the reasons brij2006 mentioned. But this past spring I got the regular kindle to take on a beach vacation. The kindle fire is heavier which is kind of annoying for reading, it's also hard to read in the sun. I would have got a kindle paperwhite, but it was more expensive and I was looking for the cheapest that I could get.

abrewer5 · January 2016

julieanne912 said:

I too have the original kindle, I bought it in I think 2009. I'm not a huge reader but I've taken to reading on my lunch breaks at work, and I read a lot when on vacation. It works just fine for that. But I agree with brij2006, I wish it had a backlit screen or something to make it easier to read in the dark (like while camping).

Also, we just got the Kindle Fire HD8. H got it to replace his ipad, which he uses for work. The ipad was acting up and the contract expires next month. But, he decided the other day to just go through the hassle and time of having the ipad fixed through the warranty as he didn't like the Kindle, because his work books are in PDF form and he couldn't figure out how to read them easily on it.

So now, I am also the owner of a Kindle Fire HD8 LOL. I just synced up my account on it 2 nights ago so I haven't used it for much yet. So far, I like that I can have my books on both my devices, but now that both our accounts are on the HD8, I can take advantage of our Prime membership (it's tied to his Amazon account, not mine, so it doesn't work on my old Kindle). I think things like cookbooks will be easier to read on this new one vs my old one, so I can take advantage of the free/cheap cookbooks they have available.

So I agree, depends what you want to do with it. If all you want to do is read, then you could get by totally fine with the cheapest model they offer (which I think is around $40 or 50?). But if you're wanting to stream movies, play games, etc., then you'll need to upgrade.

Side note: some of you may know about this, but I recently ran across bookbub.com. You sign up, and fill out your preferences, and then it sends you a daily email with Kindle book deals... some are free, some are a dollar or two.

Just a tip I found out the other day... You can connect up to 1 additional Amazon account to your prime membership so you may be able to link up with his and get the prime benefits. If you go into amazon > your prime > manage your prime membership > share your prime benefits

You would just need you log in/password to it.

julieanne912 · January 2016

abrewer5 said:

julieanne912 said:

I too have the original kindle, I bought it in I think 2009. I'm not a huge reader but I've taken to reading on my lunch breaks at work, and I read a lot when on vacation. It works just fine for that. But I agree with brij2006, I wish it had a backlit screen or something to make it easier to read in the dark (like while camping).

Also, we just got the Kindle Fire HD8. H got it to replace his ipad, which he uses for work. The ipad was acting up and the contract expires next month. But, he decided the other day to just go through the hassle and time of having the ipad fixed through the warranty as he didn't like the Kindle, because his work books are in PDF form and he couldn't figure out how to read them easily on it.

So now, I am also the owner of a Kindle Fire HD8 LOL. I just synced up my account on it 2 nights ago so I haven't used it for much yet. So far, I like that I can have my books on both my devices, but now that both our accounts are on the HD8, I can take advantage of our Prime membership (it's tied to his Amazon account, not mine, so it doesn't work on my old Kindle). I think things like cookbooks will be easier to read on this new one vs my old one, so I can take advantage of the free/cheap cookbooks they have available.

So I agree, depends what you want to do with it. If all you want to do is read, then you could get by totally fine with the cheapest model they offer (which I think is around $40 or 50?). But if you're wanting to stream movies, play games, etc., then you'll need to upgrade.

Side note: some of you may know about this, but I recently ran across bookbub.com. You sign up, and fill out your preferences, and then it sends you a daily email with Kindle book deals... some are free, some are a dollar or two.

Just a tip I found out the other day... You can connect up to 1 additional Amazon account to your prime membership so you may be able to link up with his and get the prime benefits. If you go into amazon > your prime > manage your prime membership > share your prime benefits
You would just need you log in/password to it.

Yes I think now that's what this did on the new Kindle... I just didn't know that could be done before it did it for me!

AprilZ81 · January 2016

I bought an ad supported Kindle about 4ish years ago and while I don't use it much anymore it does still work.

Pro: Lightweight, easy to read in the sun (no glare).

Con: No backlight so you can't read in the dark without a light source.

I was thinking of upgrading mine a few years ago but DH decided to get me an iPad mini for Christmas that year so the decision was out of my hands.

I love my Mini and I use the Kindle app on it all the time.

I keep my Kindle and take it with me to read at the beach or by the pool. It is easier to read in the sun and if it gets ruined I won't be heartbroken.

Help me pick out a Kindle :)

Re: Help me pick out a Kindle :)

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