[Red Rabbit]

So my sister sent me her old Kindle. It's a Kindle 1. I've read a few books on it now and I think it's pretty nice. I often read more than one book at a time so it's pretty nice to only have to carry one item instead of many.

The thing is the battery life is not very good. In fact, it's dreadful. I go through it in two days, less if I leave it on.

Does anyone have a newer kindle? Is it worth upgrading? Do the newer ones have replaceable batteries?

 

[bean]

I've had a Kindle 2 for about a year now, and I love it. When it dies, I'll certainly be buying another one.

My battery lasts an awfully long time. I typically only have to charge about once per month, and I use it quite a bit. Are you running it with 3g turned on or off? I usually only turn it on to download new books or to sync furthest read across my laptop and iPhone.

It seems that it is possible to replace the battery. There are some tutorials out there about how to do it.

As far as upgrading, you're not going to get much in the way of new functionality. However, the newer ones are considerably better looking. If you're happy with it, I'd just spend the fifteen or twenty dollars on a new battery and use the money you would spend on upgrading to buy books.

 

[MtnBikerChk]

I borrowed my mom's nook. The thing that drives me batty is there is no backlight (same as the kindle).

If I buy one it'll be the color nook. The one thing the newer kindle has over the nook is battery life. It's something crazy like 2 weeks with wifi turned off.

or maybe I'll just buy a tablet and download both kindle and nook apps!

 

[binary visions]

Have you done prolonged reading on a backlit screen, though? It starts to hurt my eyes after a while, I think reading on the Kindle is much easier and more pleasant. Plus, of course, the battery life is an order of magnitude worse since the e-ink screens only actually use battery when they're changing.

 

[IH8Rice]

The thing is the battery life is not very good. In fact, it's dreadful. I go through it in two days, less if I leave it on.

Does anyone have a newer kindle? Is it worth upgrading? Do the newer ones have replaceable batteries?

you should check with Amazon to see if they will replace it under warranty. i bought my mom a first gen model and it had the same issue as well. the battery life was bad and when it died, you couldnt charge it anymore. they sent her a new one at no charge

 

[MtnBikerChk]

Have you done prolonged reading on a backlit screen, though? It starts to hurt my eyes after a while, I think reading on the Kindle is much easier and more pleasant. Plus, of course, the battery life is an order of magnitude worse since the e-ink screens only actually use battery when they're changing.

Yep. I've done both. I've read on my mini with the nook app and on the nook itself. I guess I can see what you're saying - but I haven't had any issues.

I dunno is it good or bad that I stare at a computer screen all day and read? You must do the same!

 

[binary visions]

I definitely stare at a screen all day, but I can look away frequently and I don't like doing that when reading books. Plus, when I have a day where I spend a lot of hours in front of my laptop without interruption, I definitely feel it - my eyes tend to hurt a bit, or I get a headache.

The Kindle is just a lot more comfortable for me to read.

 

[bean]

I used to think that I didn't mind reading on a backlit screen. Then I got the Kindle and realized how much it had been bothering me. I have virtually no interest in backlit e-readers anymore.

That said, there do seem to be some people that like them. For them, an iPad seems like a better choice than a nook.

 

[MtnBikerChk]

That said, there do seem to be some people that like them. For them, an iPad seems like a better choice than a nook.

the ipad is so much bigger than the nook.

and more expensive duh.

 

[bean]

the ipad is so much bigger than the nook.

and more expensive duh.

Oh, for some reason I thought the low end iPad was only $350. Still, I think I'd go for the iPad.

 

[Red Rabbit]

Unfortunately it’s no longer covered by warranty. I bought a battery online for 10 bucks, the charge doesn’t last any longer. (weird because it's labeled to have 300 more mAh) I think I am going to buy a new kindle. It’s pretty cheap when I think about it. $139.

I read a couple books a week during the winter at 15-20 bucks each that’s less than 20 books. (Most Ebooks are less than half the price of their printed counterparts.)

Plus I could finally use all these random amazon gift cards.