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Kindle drawbacks?

(93 Posts)
Webster Wed 14-Mar-12 18:11:40

I write the Superbyw@ys column in The Oldie - and when I wrote about Kindles a short while ago, I had more responses from readers than on almost anything I've written in years. You can still read it here: www.webstersblog.co.uk/kindle-the-fire/ and I'll post some of the responses on my website soon.

Here's the point - almost every one was in favour of Kindles - but surely they must have drawbacks? Side effects? Anyone have any ideas?

Ian42 Mon 08-Oct-12 20:02:47

You will?

glassortwo Mon 08-Oct-12 21:41:18

The only drawback I can find with my Kindle is my Amazon account is costing me a fortune grin

Daman Thu 18-Oct-12 19:28:01

I asked myself "What will become of all those lovely books" But then, when Caxton came with the books all the scribes said, "What will become of the lovely illuminated parchments? Progress I spose.

Daman Thu 18-Oct-12 19:29:18

Set about the Chinese Kindle factories with large hammers?

Beej Thu 07-Mar-13 16:01:42

Call me old fashioned but I prefer books!

numberplease Thu 07-Mar-13 16:10:19

I also prefer books, but there`s still the what to do with them afterwards problem. I have about 200 sitting in the garage, every now and then I take some to the charity shop, but can`t carry many, I must get the little man with the trailer from BHF to pick a load up, when he`s available.

j08 Thu 07-Mar-13 16:28:19

Now, I think that's the draw-back with Kindle. You can't pass them on to charity shops. They will lose out if Kindle and the like really take off.

I'm struggling a bit with current paperback, trying to keep the pages turned back (quite a thick one).

whenim64 Thu 07-Mar-13 16:38:03

I have a Kindle and a Sony eReader. The Kindle is great for bargain Amazon books, and the eReader for free library books. To add to the range of what I can get, I have both Kindle and Library apps on my iPad. If I'd known in advance, I wouldn't have needed either eReader, just my iPad.

I also read hardback and paperbacks, but you can't beat a Kindle when reading in bed - lightweight, doesn't lose its page, and you can stay tucked up and comfortable whilst changing pages with one click of the thumb.

Grannylin Thu 07-Mar-13 16:42:15

Had to laugh!Had forgotten that once upon a time you were wotsamashedupjingl j08 grin

NfkDumpling Thu 07-Mar-13 17:16:05

My friend found the disadvantages of a Kindle when she brought it on holiday with us.

1. Couldn't just bung it in a side pocket when our flight was called - too nickable.

2. Nervous of using it on the sandy beach

3. Couldn't take it to the beach if we all wanted to swim together

4. Couldn't pass book on to me when she'd finished reading it

5. Screen failed half way through the holiday so I lent her one of my books.

Also with a real book you can lend, swop, give to charity or just leave in a bus shelter for a stranger to read.

Ariadne Thu 07-Mar-13 17:32:05

Well, you can share Kindle books with people who also have kindles - my daughter and I do it all the time.

Mine fits my capacious travelling handbag perfectly, and I'm sure that it could be safely tucked away on a beach (though I don't know much about beaches..)

And, as I have mentioned before, I don't have to carry my body weight in books when we are travelling!

Still have loads of books in the house, but I am much more ruthless with them now.

Deedaa Sat 09-Mar-13 21:08:09

I got a Kobo a while ago and recently replaced it with a Kobo Glo so I can read it in bed with the light off. The old one went to my son. I've downloaded a lot of books from a free site that I wouldn't have been able to afford or wouldn't have bothered to look at. The battery last for ages and I bought a very cheap cover in Sainsbury's. The worst thing is that I have had to give up my habit of reading the end before I'm halfway through the book.
When it comes to my favourite authors or illustrated books I stick to proper books on paper, but I don't have quite as many of them piled up now.

Eloethan Sun 10-Mar-13 18:17:04

Dumpling - agree with you on all points, especially Kindles being yet another thing to have to keep secure, along with mobile phones.

I love the atmosphere in bookshops and being able to potter round all the sections, looking at the displays, admiring the cover designs, flicking through a book at random, etc. Isn't going into a bookshop (maybe sitting down for a while to "dip into" a book) a shared communal experience, like going to the cinema? Many of the chain bookshops invite authors in who do story reading sessions for children at the weekend.

I would imagine the increasing popularity of Kindles will inevitably result in a drastic reduction in new and second hand bookshops. What will the future for libraries - another communal experience - be? Are we all going to end up spending most of our time at home, dependent on our access to the outside world via one screen or another?

There have also been several articles that question the durability of Kindles - people saying that they "freeze" or need to be replaced fairly regularly. And aren't we being "hooked into" yet another (relatively expensive) item that we will be encouraged to regularly "update" as more and more functions are added? What will happen to old, out-of-date or broken Kindles - can they be re-cycled?

Having said all that, I have to acknowledge that for people with poor eyesight, the facility to enlarge the font and create more contrast must be very useful.

NfkDumpling Sun 10-Mar-13 18:57:17

I love book shops too - especially second hand book shops which are fast becoming a dying breed. Love libraries too. I can loose myself for hours browsing the shelves. Nearly as bad as Gransnet.

feetlebaum Tue 18-Jun-13 17:06:03

I can report that my Kindle is still going strong, in daily use for two and a half years so far. There has been only one system update in that time, downloaded and installed like any other software update.

annieseed Mon 08-Jul-13 21:11:54

I cancelled Saga because it was samey as quoted. I ticked the box to have a monthly email and fund the content had most of the main features of the magazine.

Ian42 Tue 09-Jul-13 20:30:47

I have the new updated Kobo Mini. Brilliant.