Use of Kindle in the Motorhome

[Basil]

I would like to find out from anyone who uses Kindle in the motorhome. I am thinking about getting my superior half *-) one partly to reduce the book content within the motorhome.

I have read all the blurb but still wonder whether to go for the 3G one or save some money and go for the WiFi only version.

Has anyone any thoughts on these please?

 

Bas

[Guest JudgeMental]

whats the difference in price?

 

I read a lot so will get something like this eventually. not sure if 3 G necessary as you can have lots of books stored on Kindle until you get your next Internet connection.......... the 3 G is surely only if you want to read newspapers/magazines?

 

 

[peterandlinda]

Hi

 

We think the latest versions of these ebooks will use 3G or WiFi to connect to the web in order to download books or news and do it very quickly.

 

We haven't yet bought one of these but we do currently carry two large boxes of paper books with us for our six month trips to fellow european lands, so the idea of 1000 plus books on a Kindle is certainly attractive, but who will the Oxfam shop sell second hand books to, and you can hardly swap Kindle books when you meet another Brit, or can you?

 

We watch this space closely.

 

P&L

[Basil]

Hi Judge, the price difference appears to be £40. It seems it is not only for newspapers but also to download books from Amazon anywhere in the world. The download service part being free, you just pay the price of the book.

Like you I wondered if there was any need for it with the amount of available space for book storage plus they both have WiFi download capability so surely that can be used wherever you get a connection or am I missing something? Hence my question hoping for an answer from anyone that has one.

 

Bas

 

PS some good points PeterandLinda

[Tony Jones]

Basil - 2010-11-21 7:38 PM

 

I would like to find out from anyone who uses Kindle in the motorhome. I am thinking about getting my superior half *-) one partly to reduce the book content within the motorhome.Bas

 

Can someone please explain what this thread is all about? I don't use Liz's books as kindling to light the gas on the hob - we have an electric spark thingy for that! :D :-( :-(

[RogerGW]

Basil - 2010-11-21 7:38 PM

I have read all the blurb but still wonder whether to go for the 3G one or save some money and go for the WiFi only version.

 

The wifi version is fine if you have a home network or a wifi network elsewhere you can get on to easily and for nothing. Otherwise, the 3G would be better for you, IMHO.

 

The advantage of it is you can download books from Amazon at no charge wherever you are, at least in this country*, without needing access to another network. 'Whispernet', as Amazon calls it. uses one of the established networks to send stuff. I think it's Vodafone.

 

*It's supposed to work in other countries, too, but I've not tried it outside the UK yet.

 

If you get one -- and I recommend it -- you should also get the (free) Calibre software. It lets you download and convert masses of other material, including most newspapers. I'm saving so much by not buying the weekend papers that it's paying for the Kindle. See http://calibre-ebook.com/ .

 

If you have any more questions, just fire away. I'm really enjoying mine.

 

Roger

 

PS For those who don't know what a Kindle is, here's Amazon's description -- http://tinyurl.com/37bzzlw .

 

[Guest JudgeMental]

Roger can you download books from "other" sources, like torrents where they are presumably free? :-D

 

saw it on the telly last night for £104...anyone know for which model?

[Solwaybuggier]

£109 for WiFi version, £149 for 3G + WiFi.

[Don Madge]

Have a look at this thread on Motorhome Facts http://www.motorhomefacts.com/ftopict-96608-kindle.html it is very enlightening.

 

We plan to order two Kindles later today when I pluck up courage to venture on to the Amazon website.

 

The last time I looked at the Amazon site I "accidentally" reordered another Garmin 1490T. Don't ask me how but it was not until I got an e mail confirming the order that I realised what I'd done. It cost me to return the Garmin via DHL

 

Happy Kindling.

 

Don

[Brambles]

Don, you may have one click ordering turned on. best to turn it off in your amazon profile/settings.

[rapidoman]

good morning all i bought my better half a wi fi kindle a while back saves a lot of space on motorhome. you can download enough books to keep you happy for months. i think its a brilliant piece of kit we download guide books on it for reference. only had to recharge once in 2 months and wife is always using it. but the best advantage is no risk of headache when you open cupboard on site B-)

[RogerGW]

rapidoman - 2010-11-22 10:33 AM

the best advantage is no risk of headache when you open cupboard on site B-)

 

Know wotcha mean! 8-)

 

OTOH, if you're reading in bed and nod off, there's a risk of a chipped tooth if you let go of the Kindle.

 

Roger

[RogerGW]

JudgeMental - 2010-11-22 9:45 AM

 

Roger can you download books from "other" sources, like torrents where they are presumably free? :-D

 

There are several sources. The excellent posting that Don mentioned covers some of the ground. Another good source is Mobipocket (http://www.mobipocket.com ), which Amazon owns.

 

It's not clear from the posting but downloads from Project Gutenberg are free, and these days are available in Kindle format. See http://www.gutenberg.org .

 

You'll probably need the Calibre converter for some other sources.

 

I've not used torrents myself but if you want one as a source, a quick way to find it would be to put the book's title + "ebook" into Google and some will appear on the results list.

 

Many of the publications you get from Amazon have digital rights management (DRM) built in, so you can't swap them with other people. Downloads from elsewhere are not usually restricted that way.

 

Roger

[RogerGW]

Don Madge - 2010-11-22 10:15 AM

 

The last time I looked at the Amazon site I "accidentally" reordered another Garmin 1490T.

 

If you go to the "My Account" page, then click on the yellow bar labelled "My orders", you can see what's in the pipeline. You can then cancel, change or reroute an order.

 

You need to be signed in first, of course.

 

Roger

 

 

[peejay]

RogerGW - 2010-11-22 4:44 AM

 

 

If you get one -- and I recommend it -- you should also get the (free) Calibre software. It lets you download and convert masses of other material, including most newspapers. I'm saving so much by not buying the weekend papers that it's paying for the Kindle. See http://calibre-ebook.com/ .

 

If you have any more questions, just fire away. I'm really enjoying mine.

 

Roger

 

 

Hi Roger;

 

I have a Kindle, I downloaded the Daily Mail via the Amazon site which costs 75p for a single issue or you can subsribe for £9 a month.

 

Are you saying you can get the papers free? If so, how is it done please?

 

I would only want one, say once a week on Sunday.

 

Pete

[Basil]

Thanks to everyone for the replies, keep them coming as I am still pondering on whether to go WiFi or 3G.

 

Don have you decided which version to go for and if so what is your choice and why?

 

RogerGW - 2010-11-22 4:44 AM

 

The wifi version is fine if you have a home network or a wifi network elsewhere you can get on to easily and for nothing. Otherwise, the 3G would be better for you, IMHO.

 

The advantage of it is you can download books from Amazon at no charge wherever you are, at least in this country*, without needing access to another network. 'Whispernet', as Amazon calls it. uses one of the established networks to send stuff. I think it's Vodafone.

 

*It's supposed to work in other countries, too, but I've not tried it outside the UK yet.

 

If you get one -- and I recommend it -- you should also get the (free) Calibre software. It lets you download and convert masses of other material, including most newspapers. I'm saving so much by not buying the weekend papers that it's paying for the Kindle. See http://calibre-ebook.com/ .

 

If you have any more questions, just fire away. I'm really enjoying mine.

 

Roger

 

PS For those who don't know what a Kindle is, here's Amazon's description -- http://tinyurl.com/37bzzlw .

 

Roger, sorry to appear stupid but why the need to be able to download books anywhere, I thought there was an amount of space for downloaded books so you wouldn't need to download constantly, or is there insufficient space to hold the books 'on board' so to speak?

 

Looking at some other comments re downloading from 'other places' such as the Gua... Project (sorry couldn't remember the spelling) would you download them to your computer then load them onto the Kindle?

How about Newspapers do you download to your computer then transfer them to the Kindle?

 

Still trying to understand the benefit or not of having the 3G option!

 

Bas

[RogerGW]

peejay - 2010-11-22 1:50 PM

 

Are you saying you can get the papers free? If so, how is it done please?

1. Download and install Calibre.

 

2. Go Fetch news/Schedule news download

 

3. Scroll down to English (UK) and click on the expander triangle

 

4. Click on "The Daily Mail" and, on the right, Download now

 

5. Close the download window. Calibre should show one job in progress at bottom right.

 

6. Once that's done, plug in your Kindle, enter the password (if you use one) and Calibre will ask you if you want to convert and transfer the latest download. You do.

 

7. Unplug the Kindle and start reading!

 

It's the same for any publication (and there are 280 available in English alone). For those accessible only by subscribers, you have to tell Calibre your log-in details.

 

Roger

[Don Madge]

Basil - 2010-11-22 4:29 PM

 

Don have you decided which version to go for and if so what is your choice and why?

 

Bas

 

Roger, thanks for the info very useful indeed. I've got five e books a friend sent me but I'm struggling with Calibre, the terminology is defeating me.

 

I have read the help page but just don't understand a lot of it.

 

Bas, I ordered our two kindles this afternoon and went for the wifi/3G version.

 

We have got to the stage in life where we are planning one winter in the van and a winter else somewhere warm.

 

This coming winter we are having three months in OZ (Perth) so we know 3G is available but not sure about wifi so we opted for both.

 

With my computing skills what they are I have to make life as easy as possible.

 

Regards

 

Don

[hymer634]

Just got mine - very pleased with it.

 

It also has a built in web browser ( down load the user guide from Amazon and read all about it) .

 

User guide at bottom of this page : http://tinyurl.com/3y386nh

 

The web browser works via both wifi and the 3G service and I think it has no charges when on 3G.

 

It's a bit awkward to use with the small keyboard and navigation pad but will be useful for such things as weather forecasts and webmail checking both home and abroad.

 

 

 

 

[Basil]

hymer634 - 2010-11-22 4:58 PM

 

...........................................3G service and I think it has no charges when on 3G.

 

 

 

Are you sure about that? According to the Terms and Conditions it is only free to download E-Books from Amazon and states that although you are allowed to use it for 'some other purposes' a charge will be made.

 

Bas

[hymer634]

Hi,

 

various other forums suggest that it's free at the moment but of course they may decide to charge in the future.

[Mel B]

Tony Jones - 2010-11-21 10:59 PM

 

Basil - 2010-11-21 7:38 PM

 

I would like to find out from anyone who uses Kindle in the motorhome. I am thinking about getting my superior half *-) one partly to reduce the book content within the motorhome.Bas

 

Can someone please explain what this thread is all about? I don't use Liz's books as kindling to light the gas on the hob - we have an electric spark thingy for that! :D :-( :-(

 

In case you haven't yet sussed it out Tony, it's a 'computer tablet' book reader - it replaces normal books. You load it up with books which you download from various sources and then read them on the tablet.

 

Advantage is that you can store loads of books on it, hence you don't have to take loads away with you, disadvantage is that the number of books available can be limited, depending on your interests/reading matter preferences.

[peejay]

RogerGW - 2010-11-22 4:32 PM

 

1. Download and install Calibre.

 

2. Go Fetch news/Schedule news download

 

3. Scroll down to English (UK) and click on the expander triangle

 

4. Click on "The Daily Mail" and, on the right, Download now

 

5. Close the download window. Calibre should show one job in progress at bottom right.

 

6. Once that's done, plug in your Kindle, enter the password (if you use one) and Calibre will ask you if you want to convert and transfer the latest download. You do.

 

7. Unplug the Kindle and start reading!

 

It's the same for any publication (and there are 280 available in English alone). For those accessible only by subscribers, you have to tell Calibre your log-in details.

 

Roger

 

Thanks for that Roger, I'll give it a try.

 

Pete

[RogerGW]

Don Madge - 2010-11-22 4:47 PM

 

Roger, thanks for the info very useful indeed. I've got five e books a friend sent me but I'm struggling with Calibre, the terminology is defeating me.

 

I have read the help page but just don't understand a lot of it.

 

Have you watched the demo? See http://calibre-ebook.com/demo .

 

Roger

[Madmaggott]

I took delivery of mine today (3G) and have spent the afternoon 'buying' books.   There are a lot of classics on that I have always intended to read, FOC.

Also bought a couple of novels on my reading list but also found that many (about 6 so far) that I want to read are not in kindle editions yet, hopefully they will be at some point.

My thinking in buying the 3G was to access weather forecasts, site details etc without needing to troll around to find wifi.  However, so far I have found it exceedingly slow (think dial-up) so if they were to impose a charge in future I'm not sure if it would be worthwhile.

Also, although I will have a stockpile of 'freebies' I intend to download chargable books as and when I want them so 3G is best for this, I think.

It will be interesting to hear how everyone rates their kindle experience after an extended period of use.