Kindle - worthwhile in SA?

OrbitalDawn said:
Still very good. I constantly leave it at about the halfway mark in terms of brightness, which is perfect, without sacrificing too much battery life. Difficult to say as I haven't let it run down from full charge yet, but it still lasts weeks basically.

I'd say the upgrade to the Paperwhite is worth it, for the backlight and increased PPI, but not the premium they ask for the Voyage or Oasis.
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Cool, did you order your direct from Amazon or got through a local retailer? My first one was direct but it might be easier to get local...
 
Cray said:
Cool, did you order your direct from Amazon or got through a local retailer? My first one was direct but it might be easier to get local...
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You go local you have to deal with local support if something goes wrong...
 
Cray said:
Cool, did you order your direct from Amazon or got through a local retailer? My first one was direct but it might be easier to get local...
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Got mine at Incredible Connection, they had a special for R2999, normal price is R3299. The shipping is just ridiculous from the US now, even if the device is cheaper.

Frightening to think I got my original Kindle + official cover for under R1k (friend brought from the US)... :sick:
 
Cray said:
Fair enough.
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Yea look, it's convenient to walk into a shop and buy but my experiences both with buying and after sales when it comes to Amazon have always been stellar.

Really worth the 2 to 4 day wait for delivery :)

I bought a kindle in 2008
I am on my 4th kindle from that 1 purchase.
 
AstroTurf said:
Yea look, it's convenient to walk into a shop and buy but my experiences both with buying and after sales when it comes to Amazon have always been stellar.

Really worth the 2 to 4 day wait for delivery :)

I bought a kindle in 2008
I am in my 4th kindle from that 1 purchase.
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Must admit, didn't even think about support, my Kindle has never given me any trouble at all in the 4 years i've had it.
 
AstroTurf said:
Yea look, it's convenient to walk into a shop and buy but my experiences both with buying and after sales when it comes to Amazon have always been stellar.

Really worth the 2 to 4 day wait for delivery :)

I bought a kindle in 2008
I am on my 4th kindle from that 1 purchase.
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Thats one every 2 yrs.. I thought the lifespan of a kindle is 5yrs?
 
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.
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Bought my wife one and she was crazy about books,now she loves her Kindle.
I download her books from torrent sites:whistle:
 
AstroTurf said:
My bad...
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My first kindle lasted 1 year, almost exactly. Entry level model, and was fairly abused by me during my travels. Second one is still in operation 3 years later with my wife. My current one is 2 years in now with no issue. Take care of them, and there should be no problems. My wife made me a hardcover for it, with a flip lip for protection.
 
Surv0 said:
I cannot read hardcopy books anymore. Kindle is the way.
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Only quibble with kindle is non-fiction books: Quite often I just want to pick up a book on my shelf and check a specific topic or marked page or reference something. With kindle the bookmarks and notes just aren't as easy to navigate.
 
krycor said:
Thats one every 2 yrs.. I thought the lifespan of a kindle is 5yrs?
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My first kindle lasted just over 3 years before developing a screen fault. Amazon did offer me a big discount on a replacement, even though it was out of warranty but I decided to upgrade to the paperwhite instead. Have had the paperwhite for about 2 years now
 
saor said:
Only quibble with kindle is non-fiction books: Quite often I just want to pick up a book on my shelf and check a specific topic or marked page or reference something. With kindle the bookmarks and notes just aren't as easy to navigate.
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Fair enough, I havent actually tried to do this as I pretty much just read fiction but know it allows for it.
 
So far it sounds like the main reason people need updates is physical damage. The ppi + backlight + processor improvement was awesome as gf says her old one she had years ago doesn't compare to the paperwhite one i got her. I use iPad and my books are like epubs + pdf and with color so not entirely convinced i need a kndle but they do have their use cases. I'm thinking sticking to big tablets and get the kindle for small form factor
 
C4Cat said:
My first kindle lasted just over 3 years before developing a screen fault. Amazon did offer me a big discount on a replacement, even though it was out of warranty but I decided to upgrade to the paperwhite instead. Have had the paperwhite for about 2 years now
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Also 2 years in with my paperwhite... great little device. Battery lasts ages
 
krycor said:
So far it sounds like the main reason people need updates is physical damage. The ppi + backlight + processor improvement was awesome as gf says her old one she had years ago doesn't compare to the paperwhite one i got her. I use iPad and my books are like epubs + pdf and with color so not entirely convinced i need a kndle but they do have their use cases. I'm thinking sticking to big tablets and get the kindle for small form factor
Click to expand...

The backlight from the kindle is adjustable, that said, the light it emits doesnt have anything nasty to bugger your eyes before sleep.

Paperwhite is the best bang for buck.
 
Regarding service, Amazon are miles ahead of anything in SA. My first Kindle arrived and it didn't want to switch on. I contacted Amazon support and they sent a replacement and paid for the broken one to be sent back.

A year or so after getting it, my dad was using it, fell asleep and promptly rolled over it, destroying the screen. Amazon replaced the complete unit for me, no charge.

I have only had good experiences with Amazon, so I would recommend buying from them.
 
Surv0 said:
The backlight from the kindle is adjustable, that said, the light it emits doesnt have anything nasty to bugger your eyes before sleep.

Paperwhite is the best bang for buck.
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Interesting thing with the backlight, which I didn't realise initially is that you dim the light in low light situations and brighten it in bright light! Seems counter intuitive but it actually works. You don't need it to be very bright to read in the dark or in low light and it's easier on the eyes if it's dim. In a room with bright lights you put the light in the kindle up, make it brighter because that offsets the reflective glare from the rooms light. In sunlight you don't need the light at all.
 
Does it have to be a kindle? I use the kindle app on my tablet and I am very happy with it. You can get a decent tablet for about a grand and then have more money to spend on books. It used to be very easy to "borrow" books but it looks like those sites are no more. Someone also mentioned Calibre in a precious post, it is a must have.
 
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