Which e-reader To Buy - Help Please

[5iron2]

I have an elderly friend who thinks she would like an e-reader and has asked me which one to buy.

 

She does not have internet at home so would need to rely on somebody else to put the e-books onto the e-reader.

 

Can anybody offer any advice on which one she should buy and what features to look for.

 

How would we get the e-books onto the unit?

 

How does she see what e-books are available?

 

Where is the best place to buy?

 

Any help/advice will be appreciated.

[mort]

First thing is colour or just black and white? Black and white are usually e-ink and have a longer battery life per charge.

All e-books have scaling text size so you can make the print larger or smaller as needed.

I use the kobo reader which is WH Smith's brand but there are others available the main difference being the file type that they use. This need not be a problem as you can get a free program called Calibre that allows you to convert file types . you do this on a computer.

Most e books will connect to the internet but i find it much better to download books to my computer then install them on the reader. If she doesn't have a computer then somebody with a computer could do this for her. The storage capacity on these is huge so you can quite easily have some hundreds or more books on one unit. Some have expansion slots for a micro sd card making it possible to put more books than a dedicated reader could manage to read in a lifetime on the device.

 

There is a library function which allows you to list by author name and by title .

 

Maybe you could find a couple of people with different devices to show her or go to somewhere like pc world and look at what they have there.

 

There are sites like guttenberg project which has hundreds of copyright expired books dowloadable for free, things like shakespeare, dickens etc.

[fox20thc]

I have an elderly friend who thinks she would like an e-reader and has asked me which one to buy.

 

She does not have internet at home so would need to rely on somebody else to put the e-books onto the e-reader.

 

Can anybody offer any advice on which one she should buy and what features to look for.

 

How would we get the e-books onto the unit?

 

How does she see what e-books are available?

 

Where is the best place to buy?

 

Any help/advice will be appreciated.

 

as Mort said e ink is the best bet if your friends just wants to read books.I have been using a first generation Kindle which is just that and similar to the Kobo. my OH got me the new kindle fire HD for Xmas which is great but more a tablet than an e reader.

 

whichever you choose the books would need to be uploaded via a computer or Wi-Fi connection, so in order to add books it would be best done side by side where your friends could choose a load of titles and have a good library stock loaded up.

 

my mum is 69 and loves her kindle and find it really easy to use (she even got Wi-Fi installed so she can buy online

[Whoosh77]

I have a Kindle touch and love it and have been doing more reading that I have done for years. I also enjoy using the Kindle app on my Nexus 7 but tend to use the Kindle as battery life is better.

 

Amazon have now brought out the Kindle Paperwhite which allows you to read in the dark. There is a 3G version of the Paperwhite which is more expensive but does away with the need to use a computer to download books. According to the blurb on Amazon you can connect for free from anywhere in the world. You can connect direct to the Kindle store from the Kindle and search and purchase books without the need for a computer. Maybe this would be suitable for your friend, especially as she would not need to trouble anyone to download books for her.

 

I assume other e-readers will do 3G versions too.

[JFKvsNixon]

As Whoosh77 said, a 3G Kindle would omit the need for a computer, but they'd have to set up an Amazon account with a payment method somehow. It's also worth knowing that some of the older Kindles are 3G, so it'll be possible to pick up a cheaper second hand one.

[Phanerothyme]

I have a kobo touch ereader, and I'm very pleased with it. Calibre is an excellent piece of software too.

 

The new kobo glo has a very nice illumination method that doesn't dazzle like a rear illuminated lcd does. Might grab one soon, but I'm hoping for colour ereaders (not tablets) in the near future and maybe a 9" screen.

[JFKvsNixon]

I have a kobo touch ereader, and I'm very pleased with it. Calibre is an excellent piece of software too.

 

The new kobo glo has a very nice illumination method that doesn't dazzle like a rear illuminated lcd does. Might grab one soon, but I'm hoping for colour ereaders (not tablets) in the near future and maybe a 9" screen.

 

Calibre is a life saver for the Kindle as well, especially so when you can find the PDF version of a book that you want that isn't available on the Amazon website.

[Bludragonfly]

I've been thinking of getting one and found useful info at http://www.gizmag.com/ereader-comparison-2012/25124/

 

There is also a good review on the Which? website but you have to pay £1 to join (don't forget to cancel within 30 days though)

[5iron2]

Many thanks for all the help - looks like she is going for the KOBO Glo

[Harder Mints]

Hi can anyone help i bought a kobo glo for my elderly mother with intention of her downloading titles from the county council library however I'm having real trouble downloading. Anyone know how to do this please ?