Help a computer illiterate person !! Please !!

[mart]

OK  So hubby reads a lot and he is just one of those people that when he wants something,, he goes and buys it !! That makes him impossible to buy for at Christmas !! But I thought about one those readers, like a kindle but I have no idea how they work or even if it would work on dial up !! I know that you have to purchase something to access the books, papers ect but what ?? Membership, card, what ??  Do they download from computer or what !!  I am just dumb about these things and have no idea what Wi Fi is ??  Can someone fill me in I looked at some on ebay so I guess that fits this catagory !!

[Oceans64]

I am a Nook owner (Barnes and Nobles equivalent to the Kindle product) but I may be able to help here.  If he is a reader then I think he will LOVE this once he gets past the learning curve (couple of hours at most). First, a few questions:

Does he use the computer at all?
Does he spend time in Hotspots where he can get on the Internet for free? Like the library, Coffee Shops, Book Stores, etc?
Does he have ANY interest in the internet at all?
How does he use his cell phone? Just make calls or does he do more with it (again, looking for Internet interest here)...
How much is the budget (tho not that important...) 

That should get us started but the short answer is yes, a Kindle is great and you don't need Wifi. Dial up will work as long as you can download stuff (relatively small files). Go here to test: http://books.google.com/ebooks?uid=117522004192189783614&as_coll=1040  Download a free book. If it works, then you'll be fine  

[mart]

He has minimal computer knowledge !! And I do mean minimal !! He looks around on sites but I have to get him to it !!
No !!  Our house is everyones hotspot !! But The boy has high speed and his house is in our pasture !! And that is what I wondered if books could be downloaded from his computer !!  As far as I know there are no coffee shops like that here !!  Remember we are small town America !!
Cell phone is just an older basic one,, no internet on it !!
Budget is not really a concern,, we are comfortable !! I have seen them from $55. up !! I would not like to pay for something we are unable to use though !!  He seemed interested in daughters Ipod so I thought maybe,,,, !!  Whatever I get must be simple and dummy proof !! I still haven`t made him understand not to click on some of these things that just show up unannounced !!
He had colon cancer two years ago and his health is not the best even though all looks OK now there are still a few places that the doctors are watching !!  He is not a dumb person and I didn`t mean to sound as if he was !! He just has not been interested in computers !! I am more looking at the book aspect as he reads at least two newspapers daily and loves books !!

[Oceans64]

Just to clarify....  You can get your son's internet signal in your house? This would make life somewhat easier but not necessary...

I think the two you want to look at are:

Kindle ($79 at Amazon): Basic reader. You can buy books from Amazon or your library. In order to turn pages or navigate from book to book, you have to click a button on the bottom of the device.

Kindle Touch ($99 from Amazon): This would be my recommendation between the 2.  Navigate by touching the screen. Can play audio files (if he likes audio books) and VERY (and I mean very) limited music capabilities if he likes to listen to music and read.  Also 2GB more memory altho he probably doesn't need that much. For $20 more, the touch screen and audio book support is a nice feature

As an added bonus, on either reader, he can read PDF and Word documents if he likes.

With either device, you can get books via dial up by plugging the device into your computer via the USB cable that comes with the Reader.  You can probably DL directly to the device OR put it on your PC then drag and drop it to the Kindle.

ETA: If you can get your son's internet signal at your house (and he doesn't mind) AND don't mind a $200 price tag, then I hands down recommend the Kindle Fire!!  Why? Because YOU will not be able to put it down due to the web surfing   Actually, better budget $300 because after fighting over it, you'll still end up buying him the Kindle touch!!  hehehe

[Rauville]

My Wife bought me a Kindle Fire a couple of weeks ago...so, I'm a perfect example of how dumb one can be and still operate the device. It's more of a hands on learning experience, than needing a degree in computer science. I'm impressed with the number of no cost books that are available. I just downloaded 3 Robert Service books, for free. Your Husband will have no problem at all.

[Oceans64]

Rauville - The Fire is way cool. A friend of mine got one and it acts just like my Nook but is $50 cheaper!  You don't think you need one until you have one!!  Do you surf the web much with it? How is it for speed?

[snowflake]

I don't have an e-reader. I do know a lot of links to download free books though. If you ever want a list of links, let me know.

[mart]

No, I can not get Jims high speed here, but I can go to his house !!  It is only a football field away and I go there anyway when he works days to take care of his horses !! I was just thinking about downloading from his computer since he has HS and we do not !! Hubby speed reads so I need something that I can put a few books on !!  He can read a novel in a day if he doesn`t take a nap !!  And free is always good Snowflake !!  As fast as he reads I could go broke buying books !! LOL
I am assuming you can read newspapers with these as well ??

[Oceans64]

I did a bit more reading this AM. Here's a good review of features: http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/reviews/2011/11/ars-hands-on-the-kindle-touch.ars?comments=1#comments-bar

Since you can't get Jim's signal, I think your best options are the Kindle and the Kindle Touch.

What I took from the article is that you can read Newspapers on the Touch but it's not a great experience. Go here and scroll down half the page to see what ones are available: http://www.amazon.com/kindle-store-ebooks-newspapers-blogs/b?ie=UTF8&node=133141011

The Kindle (non-touch) holds 1,400 books so the memory is probably big enough.

From the article comments, I am gathering none of the Kindles have a drag and drop feature. In order to transfer files from your PC, you must email the file to Amazon who puts the file in your (free) Amazon account and you download from there.  That seems like a pain in the rear end for sure!!  I know my Nook supports drag and drop so I can easily transfer files directly from my PC to my Nook.

Now that I have read more reviews on the Kindle Touch....  I'm going to look at the Nook Touch and compare.  Most (unpaid) review-ers are saying skip the Touch and go with the less expensive Kindle ($79 version). 

Stay Tuned - I'll let you know what I find out!

[mart]

I am doing that Oceans !!  Need to know what I am doing when I buy one !!  I found a very simple (seems like) reader for $60. that is an off brand but does the same thing !!  I thought it might be a good trainer !!  Of course Wally World has a lot of off brands that seem OK !!  That price is not too much just to see if all worked here and downloading didn`t take all day plus having to watch and make sure computer didn`t go to sleep during download !!

[Oceans64]

Personally....  For the price difference ($20-$30), I would stick with either Amazon (Kindles) or Barnes and Noble (Nooks). Why? because they know what they are doing in the book world, the HUGE availability of titles, library use (check out up to 12 titles at once via your PC), software updates, etc...  I could go on and on actually.  Not to mention resale if you ever choose to upgrade.

These 2 have made an effort to polish rough edges which don't seem like a big deal when just picking up and playing with the device but it becomes a HUGE deal when sitting and reading a book for hours on end.  Page turning delays (among other things) of fractional seconds will get on your nerves!!  I spend at least 10 hours reading books on my Nook every week. I wouldn't use an off name - even for free....  Maybe the Sony (if I had to) but that is it! Not even sure where you buy books with those devices....

[mart]

Thats why I am asking,, I assumed that the book availability wouldn`t be an issue !!  Like an off brand computer still gets the same websites !!  Shows what I know !!

[Oceans64]

One more question....  Where does he get his books? Library, on-line? local bookstore?

[mart]

He gets a lot from his son who reads the same type books and he buys them but I do not know where !!  Daughter gave him leather bound Louis L`Amour set, some I buy at thrift stores and garage sales ect !! We have a library but its under construction currently and getting a new building !!  We have a Hastings for books and videos ect but it is on the other side of town and we are 6 miles north of town so having to go there would be the pits !!

[Oceans64]

Do you have a library card?

ETA: The reason I ask is that I think I will backtrack on my recommendations. If he doesn't get the latest books at a bookstore then he may not need the Kindle or Nook (tho I would still recommend them). This one will probably be fine: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Ematic-7-eBook-Reader-with-Video-Playback-Music-Playback-FM-Radio-Kobo-eReading-Software-EB104B/17470906 This one better: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Ematic-eGlide-Reader-2-with-Wi-Fi-7-Touchscreen-Tablet-PC-Featuring-Android-2.1-Operating-System/17470914

He could always order the occasional book  from Kobo (http://www.kobobooks.com/) if he likes.  The one above is cheap and has a ton of features (color, audio, video, expandable memory, ect) and most of all it supports the epub format which is what you find online for free and your library.

Keep in mind, you borrow from the library over the Internet - You don't have to leave the house!

My only issue would be that you have to use your fingernail to turn a page - no button or heat sensitive screen. Probably OK once he got used to it. UPDATE: It does have buttons so that's better than using your fingernail!

I can also show you how to load a movie on it if he is into watching movies.... And of course you must own the actual DVD  

Have no idea about the software or if it's simple but it cant be that bad! That will be YOUR learning curve!! hehehe

No Newspapers.

From what I have read, if I bought it, I would open it and figure it out BEFORE I gave it to him so he can enjoy on Christmas Day. Otherwise, you will be fiddling with the computer (while he waits) and not enjoying the day!