Strictly for reading text, I prefer the non-backlit Paperwhite version, and I have one of those. However, photos, diagrams and illustrations don't show up well in the Paperwhite version so, for those types of books, the backlit Kindle Fire is superior. With a backlit screen, it's a little like reading something on a computer, whereas the paperwhite technology is more like reading text on paper. Neither are particularly annoying, however. If I could have only one, I guess I'd choose the Kindle Fire.
I don't have a problem reading on a tablet, especially books with illustrations, which as you say don't really work on a Kindle at all, I use a parchment background and low brightness levels and find it little different to reading a book really.
Thanks, @Ken Anderson that helps a lot. I guess I can try reading on the tablet, and see how that works. If not, maybe at some point I'll be able to get a Paper White version. @Terry Page Is parchment a setting on your tablet? I have a Samsung Tab 4, and haven't seen that in the settings.
I started out with the little Kindle e-reader, @Diane Lane , and if you read mostly paperback novels, and similar books, the ereader will be perfect for you. It weighs less than a paperback does, fits in just about any size purse if you are carrying it somewhere, and is simple to use. It will connect to the internet with wifi, and you can download books so that once you are not at home, you can still read them. I can't remember how many books mine held, but it was at least hundreds, if not thousands, of them. I would look for the books I wanted using my iPad and then have them delivered to the Kindle to read. As Ken said, you can't see pictures of diagrams very well at all; so if you are not reading novel-type books, it is almost worthless. I ended up giving mine to @Joyce Mcgregor because she had an injured shoulder, and it is now hard for her to hold even a paperback book easily, and she loves to read novels. For her, the ereader is perfect. So then, I got a Kindle Fire, and it is only a little heavier and larger; but not enough to make a difference. I still use it for reading; but this one does more online things, so I could use it for other purposes if I want to. If you like to cook and use online recipes, the Kindle Fire would be perfect. My daughter had an iPad Mini, and she would find a recipe onlne, and clip it up on her kitchen cupboard (she put a clip up there just for the Mini), and had the recipe right in front of her to make whatever gourmet food she was making. The Kindle fire is the perfect size, and you can see the photos of the recipe in bright color. (The little ereader won't do stuff like that at all, although you can download recipe books from amazon and follow the recipes. It just would not have the pictures like the Fire does, and you can't get recipes from cooking webpages. ) It would be good for crochet patterns online as well, I think. I have used my iPad for that, and think the Kindle Fire would work just as easily. Now that Amazon has the new Kindle fires on sale for only $49, the used ones are as low as $20 on eBay (I just checked to see); so you could actually get one really cheap.
Thanks @Terry Page I'll check that out! Thanks, @Yvonne Smith I'l look into those, as well. I do have trouble sometimes holding my tablet, even though it's not very heavy, so something lighter might be better for reading. The type of reading I'd mostly be doing would be simply novels without pictures, ones I could electronically borrow from the library, most likely, or obtain for free. I do like to cook (as most of y'all know), and I do look up a lot of recipes. My handwriting is atrocious, and I've been hand writing (aka scribbling) the recipes, since I was out of ink, and almost messed up a recipe because I couldn't even read my own writing. It would be great to see the recipes in color, which I guess I could do with my tablet, although since I tend to drop things, that concerns me. Her clip sounds really interesting, what kind of clip is it, and where did she get it? I have extremely limited counter space, and it tends to get messy during cooking, which is why I try to keep the tablet out of the kitchen (unless I could rig some sort of clip like she does), due to water/drops, etc.
Yes, the difference in weight between the Kindle Fire and the Paperwhite versions can make a difference. I've dropped mine a few times because it is harder to hold.
It has been a while since she shwed it to me, @Diane Lane ; but basically she just had either a clipboard screwed up on one of the doors for her kitchen cabiniets, or she just had a clip that looks like that. I will have to ask her and ssee; but I think that she just took a clipboard (like we use for clipping papers onto) and screwed it up on the door. She has a teeny-tiny kitchen, and her countertop is right below the cabinets; so she could be mixing up the recipe on the countertop and reading the recipe from right in front of her, since the clip was at eyelevel for her. If I remember right, Staples sells Kindles, and you could look there (or in a similar store) and actually see what they are like, and feel the difference in weight. I only paind about $20 for the ereader on eBay, and now the Kindle Fire is almost that cheap; so you could probably pick up a used/refurbished one of each for around $30-40 for both of them. Then you would have the little one for reading and the larger one for recipes. Truly, if you are only going to get one, and want to do recipes or craft patterns; I would go with the Fire. They are not much difference in weight, and the Fire does SO much more.
@Ken Anderson Ken, Which is lighter, the Paperwhite version? Thanks @Yvonne Smith It truly makes a huge difference sometimes, to actually pick one up and feel the heft and size. I was ready to buy the 8" tablet online, then was at the store one day and realized that it would hurt my hand/fingers too much, so scaled back to the 7". I miss having something smaller that is more portable, like my iPod touch was, but that smaller size was difficult for things such as recipes, so there's a trade off with everything. I'll look around when I'm downstairs and try to figure out if it would be possible to somehow rig something to use for a clip, or maybe even a raised stand, so I could store things below it while I'm reading the recipes. I don't have the money right now, but am going to start looking at both on eBay and Amazon, and once I try reading on my current tablet, that will help make up my mind, as well. When you say 'ereader' you're talking about some sort of Kindle, right?
Which is lighter, Ken, is it the Paperwhite version? Thanks, Ken, do those come in various generations or releases, and if so, does the version matter much with regard to being able to download books? I'm not sure it matters much if they're dedicated readers, but I know it made a big difference with the Apple products, because the older versions became virtually unusable for certain functions, since the newer apps wouldn't work.
There are different generations, yes. Until a few months ago, when I sat on it, I had one of the first generations, which I liked because it came with its own Internet connection (good only for accessing the Amazon Kindle store for buying and downloading books) and because it had an actual plastic keyboard and real buttons to push to advance or reverse pages. Up until then, I had no problem downloading books with it.
I think especially if I cut off my television service, I'll probably be reading more, so I might end up buying a dedicated reader. I looked around on eBay at the Kindles, but since I'm not at all familiar with them, I think I'd better do some research before acting. It's too bad they didn't incorporate that dedicated connection into the newer models, because that would be a plus for me.
@Diane Lane , you really only have a few basic choices with the Kindles. The ones that are only ereaders come in a couple of versions, such as the ones with a real keyboard, and later ones had a virtual one. Of the Kindle fire, there are earlier versions, and then the newer ones, and pretty much both would work fine for what you want to do. The newer version can connect with bluetooth, and some have dolby stereo speakers; but they all have the basic functions that you would need for both reading, and going on the internet. When you look at the pictures of them on ebay, the older ones have a (yellow?) line that goes across that you slide to open the Kindle, and the newer versions will have a line with a padlock pictured on it. They usually have more storage space; but if you are not using a lot of apps and storing things on there, the older ones have plenty of room for basic use. The older ones should be pretty cheap, since even the newer ones have come down a lot in price. I really do not think that the weight will be an issue; but I still think that finding one in a store and holding it would help you make that decision. Amazon also puts an app out for free each day; so you can add new apps that you are interested in as they come out for free. I just use mine for reading; so I do not bother with check for the free apps; but they do give them away each day.
This reminds me of our trip to Hongkong a few years back. In the mall, near the entrance of a supermarket, we saw an old couple taking the bench for a rest. And as they settled on their seat, they both pulled out a tablet each and started reading. My husband whispered to me that those tablets are actually Kindle. I made my observation by coming near and indeed, those two were reading what looked like stories. This may be out of line with the topic. I just want to express my displeasure in seeing people in public doing that - reading by themselves instead of talking with one another. They definitely look like a couple, aged maybe 70. I hate to see my husband and I in that situation where we do not talk anymore.