Kindle or other

[julie22]

I recently posted on here and obtained excellent advice regarding a tablet, and everything now sorted, thank you to those that responded. Hopefully someone can help me with my current dilemma.

My 20 year old niece is coming to visit from the UK in the next few weeks and I need to buy her something for her birthday. She is an avid reader and I know she would love a Kindle Fire. My questions are:

If I buy her a Kindle fire whilst she is here in Spain, would she be able to download books when she is back in the UK, using a UK bank account. Please do not advise Amazon UK, it is likely that we go shopping and I buy one from a store as a surprise.

Is there a suitable tablet I could purchase for her, ideally I would like to spend less than 100 euros (I know the Kindle Fire is more expensive, hence my question). She is likely to use it as an E Reader, and I need to know whether these are able to access a wide selection of books, like the Kindle.

Thank you in advance

[chrissiehope]

Don't know about the Spain/UK bit, but if she doesn't need all the singing & dancing of Kindle Fire, why not go for a bog-standard Kindle, which should be well under €100 ?

[El Cid]

The Kindle Fire is more akin to a tablet than an e-reader and its not a particularly good one at that but its cheap. It is designed more for downloading videos from Amazon than for downloading books.

The new(ish) Kindle Paperwhite is very much better to use than the standard Kindle and really is the one to buy but it's over your budget at €129. The basic Kindle is €79.

You will have to order it from Amazon.es if you are in Spain and this will lock you into the Spanish site to buy books, however that is easy to change back to the UK site and her own Amazon account.

Sid

[pete_l]

The other point that bears consideration is warranty. If the Kindle needs to go back, your niece would have to send it to you, then back to the shop, then you'd have to send the replacement back to England.

Would it be possible for her parents to buy whichever device you decide on, in England (e.g. John Lewis - great warranty / return & good price, too) and either have it couriered to you in Spain to present when she arrives, or possibly give to her (preloaded with a few books to read on the plane) just before she leaves for the visit?

I realise that a lot of the joy of giving is to see the gratitude of the recipient, but from your niece's point of view, having it for the journey (provided she doesn't lose it) would be nice, too. Oh, and that way you get a device that (a) has an english plug on it and (b) comes set up, out of the box with the correct language and settings.

[costakid]

The kindle fire is useless for reading in bright sunlight. Get the paperwhite with a matt finish on the screen.

[El Cid]

The other point that bears consideration is warranty. If the Kindle needs to go back, your niece would have to send it to you, then back to the shop, then you'd have to send the replacement back to England.

You don't normally buy it from a shop - you buy it online from Amazon. Their warranty and returns service is superb. In many cases they just send out a new one.

Sid

[frank]

[quote="pete_l"], or possibly give to her (preloaded with a few books to read on the plane) just before she leaves for the visit?

I realise that a lot of the joy of giving is to see the gratitude of the recipient, but from your niece's point of view, having it for the journey (provided she doesn't lose it) would be nice, too. Oh, and that way you get a device that [b](a) [/b]has an english plug on it and [b](b)[/b] comes set up, out of the box with the correct language and settings.[/quote]

Makes perfect sense to me!

[El Cid]

, or possibly give to her (preloaded with a few books to read on the plane) just before she leaves for the visit?

I realise that a lot of the joy of giving is to see the gratitude of the recipient, but from your niece's point of view, having it for the journey (provided she doesn't lose it) would be nice, too. Oh, and that way you get a device that (a) has an english plug on it and (b) comes set up, out of the box with the correct language and settings.

Makes perfect sense to me!

Not that simple as she would have to have a Kindle account and register the Kindle to that before she could download any books. If you download the books on your Amazon account they cannot be transferred to hers when she sets up her own account.

Kindles don't have plugs on them - they use a normal standard USB cable for charging from a PC or phone charger. If you want a mains charger you can buy one in a Chinese shop (or UK equivalent) for a very small sum.

You choose the language during setup and I am pretty sure the default is English.

Sid

[ashfieb]

The Kindle paperwhite is definitely the best option for reading bright sunlight, if you buy from Amazon direct just use the gift option and the Kindle will arrive unregistered and your niece will be able to register it to her Kindle account

[frank]

[quote="ashfieb"]The Kindle paperwhite is definitely the best option for reading bright sunlight, if you buy from Amazon direct just use the gift option and the Kindle will arrive unregistered and your niece will be able to register it to her Kindle account[/quote]
I don't know about the registration malarkey tbh, but my wife has one and I can't see how it can't be set up as you say. She downloads loads of free books from Amazon.

[julie22]

Thank you all so much for your comprehensive replies. I will now dismiss the Kindle Fire, I did find it a tad expensive to buy for her anyway. I will consider the Kindle Paperwhite, but would rather buy whilst she is here, selfish I know, but I want to spoil her whilst we are out shopping!!

Excuse my ignorance, but does the Kindle Paperwhite also have access to the internet, or would I be better buying her a tablet.

If I go down the tablet route, are there a wide variety of books available to purchase. I know she reads books, but I also know she would want to access facebook etc, and it would avoid her nicking my laptop whilst she is here. I know I cannot expect 3G, but the availability to use in the home would be an advantage.

Could somebody please explain the pros and cons between the Kindle Paperwhite and a tablet (probably sounds obvious) but I really dont know

[IreneD]

I have a tablet, a Blackberry Playbook and my son-in-law put the Kindle app on it. I get my books from Amazon and the only slightly annoying thing is that they go into 'archive' rather than 'on device' so I have to transfer them. Not a big deal, just something I do straight away before I forget what I've bought. The big advantage for me is the easy access to my forums, facebook, e-mails, Google etc. Of course, the battery doesn't last nearly as long as a Kindle, I have to charge it every couple of days. Hope that helps.........ideally, I'd like both - a Kindle and a tablet but that would be too extravagant given the state of our finances Oh, the tablet cost 120 pounds on Amazon - I don't know what they cost at the moment. I used to have a bog standard Kindle and it was fine but I broke it when it was just out of guarantee and my SIL persuaded me to get the Blackberry, which I don't regret.

[janda_grant2]

I have an e-reader, (not kindle) and get books from amazon via a kindle reader on my PC. (I didn't realise you could do that.) I then transfer the books to the reader. If they need a format change I recommend Calibre.

[El Cid]

Could somebody please explain the pros and cons between the Kindle Paperwhite and a tablet (probably sounds obvious) but I really dont know

Big difference. A Kindle makes a good book reader but that's about it. It does have access to the Internet and email but it's very basic and not really intended for proper use.

A tablet is a small PC without a proper keyboard (although you can buy external ones). That said the onscreen keyboard works really well. She will be able to access Facebook and Twitter and all that stuff with no problem at all which is what the average 20yr old really wants to do rather than read books!


There are loads of "apps" available for tablets including a Kindle app - free - which turns your tablet into a Kindle. As has been said before, bright sunlight is a problem compared to an e-reader but I am pretty sure she would prefer a tablet for all the other things it will do. There is a risk that if you buy her a Kindle it will eventually get junked when she buys a tablet.

So, what to buy. There are loads of tablets on the market varying in price enormously. If you want a decent tablet without spending a fortune and to be able to buy it from a reputable source then in my opinion the Google Nexus 7 at €199 is the best bet. You can buy it online from

http://www.google.es/nexus/7/

There are cheaper tablets from various sources but if you want the simple ordering option and a good worldwide warranty then the Nexus is a good deal.

Sid

[Enrique]

Hi julie22,
Another one to maybe look at is the Sony prs-t2....... daughter has a prs-t1 and gives very favourable reports...she reads a lot both inside and out in the Spanish sun as she is currently working in Madrid.
As a guide price.......

http://www.sony.co.uk/product/rd-reader ... d=14003817


Me, I like a good book to have and to hold..........

[frank]

Knowing kids today, they always seem to be on the internet, unlike us old 'uns! So my advice would be a tablet every time, which as has been said, easily uses a Kindle app anyway. We have both, and I'm sure had we bought the tablet before the Kindle, we wouldn't have bothered with the Kindle, no need to. If the Kindle Fire was more than you wanted to spend, then the the Nexus will be as well, but loads of cheaper tablets about, buy her one, she'll thank you for it!

[julie22]

Excellent replies, and I am now far clearer what to buy . The Nexus looks brilliant, and I am sure my niece would thank El Cid personally if she ended up with something double the price I intend to spend!!!

I am so looking forward to her coming now, I can start to look online and take her shopping when she arrives. I just need to bypass the Apple store!!

[El Cid]

. I just need to bypass the Apple store!!

Yes, lovely products but a definite recipe for a wealth deficit!

Sid

[Chunky Monky]

She'd probably appreciate a ten incher.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-Galaxy- ... B0080OYLM6

[Mowser]

My cheapo tablet came with Kindle installed. I downloaded a few books to try it out. It's more than acceptable. There are loads of computer shops in Spain so picking up a cheap but half-decent tablet shouldn't be a problem. Take a trip to Media Markt and browse.
http://tinyurl.com/cb8p24h