Kindle - worthwhile in SA?

SlinkyMike

SlinkyMike

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My eldest is a total book nerd and I'm considering a Kindle for an upcoming birthday present.

Anyone who uses a Kindle care to chime on on their experience of buying books via Amazon in this country?

I'm not too concerned about the actual device, I know people love them to bits - my concern lies with:
  • Cost (are you locked into the dollar price of a given book?)
  • Availability (is it a Netflix type scene where you get only the SA version f the store?)
  • Payment method - I'm assuming CC only but being able to 'charge' her Kindle account with x amount on an ad-hoc basis would be perfect.
 
SlinkyMike said:
My eldest is a total book nerd and I'm considering a Kindle for an upcoming birthday present.

Anyone who uses a Kindle care to chime on on their experience of buying books via Amazon in this country?

I'm not too concerned about the actual device, I know people love them to bits - my concern lies with:
  • Cost (are you locked into the dollar price of a given book?)
  • Availability (is it a Netflix type scene where you get only the SA version f the store?)
  • Payment method - I'm assuming CC only but being able to 'charge' her Kindle account with x amount on an ad-hoc basis would be perfect.
Click to expand...

I love my kindle :love:
  • Yes
  • Yes, but almost every book I've ever wanted has been available
    Edit: No seperate store but some books might say "Not available in your country". Usually there is another version of the same book (different publisher) which is available though
  • You can use your credit card to buy her Amazon vouchers which she can use to buy books
 
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SlinkyMike said:
My eldest is a total book nerd and I'm considering a Kindle for an upcoming birthday present.

Anyone who uses a Kindle care to chime on on their experience of buying books via Amazon in this country?

I'm not too concerned about the actual device, I know people love them to bits - my concern lies with:
  • Cost (are you locked into the dollar price of a given book?)
  • Availability (is it a Netflix type scene where you get only the SA version f the store?)
  • Payment method - I'm assuming CC only but being able to 'charge' her Kindle account with x amount on an ad-hoc basis would be perfect.
Click to expand...

I love my kindle paperwhite.

Price is in dollars
I've never noticed if ZA has it's own store?
Payment is by CC linked to Amazon account, but you could give your child vouchers to spend

Only annoying thing I've found is ebooks priced a dollar cheaper than the physical book. It annoys me enough to pirate in those cases.
 
Cost is about average for ebooks from legit places, some serious bargains, some free and some overpriced.
Sortof yes and no, the books you don't see likely you never have been aware of anyway.
The best way for you to find out is log into your amazon account and browse the kindle department.



cc only
 
Hell yes!!!

I love mine.

* Yes you pay in dollar. The last bunch of books I read was all under $5. Subscribe to goodreads and fussylibrarian.com.
* Not that I know of.
* As C4 said, buy vouchers. Thats what I do with my GF
 
you don;t have to use amazon only a your book provider,

I use https://www.smashwords.com/ for a lot of books , found a few nice sci-f books in there as well and a lot of free books direct from authors, i just download to my pc / have a ebook collection program and then copy to my kindle.
 
SlinkyMike said:
Thanks for the comments people, very much appreciated.

...in case you might be wondering: she's getting one. :)
Click to expand...
Cool. It really is such a nice thing to have for someone who loves reading. I've caught myself a few times reading a regular book reaching out to prod the word for the definition :).
 
I love my Kindle Keyboard 3G. About 5 years old and still going strong.

Amazon launched a new Kindle a day or so ago. Haven't looked at it yet.
 
AntennaMan said:
I love my Kindle Keyboard 3G. About 5 years old and still going strong.

Amazon launched a new Kindle a day or so ago. Haven't looked at it yet.
Click to expand...

My screen cracked :( replaced it with a paperwhite... its like getting a much younger hot blonde to replace your wife... You kinda feel bad but man its awesome to take it to bed
 
Used mine a lot in the beginning (old keyboard with 3g one). Lately just use the Kindle app on my Ipad. In my opinion, when you buy her one for reading only, go paperwhite . Must add that the Kindle hurts a lot less than the Ipad , falling over and hitting your nose whilst nodding off :)
 
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Definitely worth it.

You can look around for specials on eBooks and vouchers, free books etc.

Also, if you're inclined to wearing eye-patches and having a parrot on your shoulder there are other options, too... :p
 
mister said:
Which one?
Click to expand...

I'm undecided.

Very conscious of spoiling my kids so aiming at entry level or close to it. It's a pretty fancy present any way you cut it.

I'm quite keen that it's one of the 'reading only' versions - I don't want a web browser/video player/etc. bundled. I'm trying to get her away from the smartphone.
 
Love my Kindle but end up using the Kindle app on the tablet more frequently, TBH. Just more convenient.

Also, Kindle book prices started out much cheaper than a bookstore, but they've pushed prices a bit and with the exchange rate weakening, many titles are actually cheaper in physical format.

Interesting note (not that I condone it) - books in kindle format and other e-book formats are commonly available on Torrent sites, but that would be piracy, ahem...
 
SlinkyMike said:
I'm undecided.
Click to expand...
Get the Paperwhite :). The one that's a video player isn't a true e-book reader with an e-ink display. It's just a tablet. The Paperwhite is what you want.
 
saor said:
Get the Paperwhite :). The one that's a video player isn't a true e-book reader with an e-ink display. It's just a tablet. The Paperwhite is what you want.
Click to expand...

^ this. The reason I asked was to make sure you were getting an e-ink version. Paperwhite is what you want :)
 
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