Category Archives: eReaders

Cyber Monday Book Deals

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cybermondayA few noteworthy Cyber Monday Deals for e-book lovers today:

Amazon has massive savings on over 800 books in what they are calling the Biggest Kindle Daily Deal of the Year. You can save up to 85% of regular prices with titles starting at $1.99. And, yes, there are still Kindles on sale today. The $50 Fire is sold out until December 24, but the Fire 6 HD is still available.

Amazon also is offering up to 40% off on its Kindle Unlimited subscription reading service. The longer you subscribe for, the more you save.

There are hundreds of Open Road Media titles for up to 80% off as part of a holiday promotion. You can find the titles at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Apple and Google Books.

Barnes and Noble is offering 500 Nook books for under $5.

At Google Play Books, you can get up to 80% off select titles in their Cyber Weekend Deals.

Kobo is also offering a long list of titles at 80% off. And, you can get the Kobo Glo HD e-reader for only $109.99 as part of their Cyber Monday Deals.

Note that iBooks also has many books on sale for Cyber Monday, but they show in the iTunes app, not via the web browser. Sorry, but I can’t link directly to them. 😦

I am seeing a lot of the same titles on the various sites. This is a great “pick the store you like to shop at” sale!

E-Ink Kindles on sale now

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paperwhite_newAs part of their Black Friday Deals week, Amazon has lowered prices on the basic Kindle, the Kindle Paperwhite and the Kindle for Kids bundle,

The basic touch Kindle,  normally $79.99, is only $49.99. This is $30 off the regular price.

The Kindle Paperwhite, normally, $119.99, is selling for $99.99. This is $20 off the regular price.

The Kindle for Kids Bundle, normally $99 is selling for $$69.99. The bundle includes the basic Kindle (without ads), a kid-friendly cover and a two year Square Trade warranty.

Special Black Friday pricing on the Kindles is good through November 30, 2015.

While not on sale, the more expensive  Voyage e-reader  is not on sale, but is available in as part of a special Kindle Voyage Essentials Bundle. That bundle includes a charger and leather cover for $249.97.

BTW, I am a huge advocate of using cases covers for Kindles to protect your investment. I have three cats and a dog. My Kindles have been dropped, knocked on the floor and pounced upon by my pets and they are all still safe and sound. You can find a cover for the basic Kindle for as little as $8.99. 🙂

 

More 2015 Fire 7 Covers and Cases

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fire_7_casesWhen the new Fire 7 came out, I did this post on the available covers. These are for the 2015, 5th generation model. There were only a few styles available when the device first came out. We are now starting to see more cases and covers on the market. Since Amazon has announced that they will be selling the $50 device for only $35 as one of its Black Friday deals, I thought I would do another round-up post on some more of the new covers.

Swees® Ultra Slim PU Leather Case Cover – Magnetic case cover, flip stand, precise cut-outs. Prices start at $4.99.

MoKo Fire 7 2015 Case –  Has built in flip stand,  magnetic closure and stylus loop and interior hand strap. Prices start at $9.99 for black; other colors and designs available at various pricing.

Fintie Fire 7 2015 Slim Shell Case  – This is a one piece clip-on case with flip capability. Prices start at $9.99 for black; other colors and designs available at various pricing.

i-UniK Fire 7″ case – Custom fit, magnetic closure, dual angles servce as kickstand, bonus stylus pen, hand strap. Multiple colors and designs. Prices start at $9.99.

ACdream (TM) Ultra Slim Premium PU Leather Cover Case – Clip on, standing case. Multiple colors and designs. Prices start at $10.99.

Fire 7 Case, SUPCASE [Heavy Duty] Case  – Snap-On design. Polycarbonate hard shell with built in screen protector. Multiple colors. Prices start at $22.99

MoKo Fire 7 2015 Case – Kids Shock Proof Convertible Handle  – Impact-resistant polycarbonate with a handle that converts to a stand. Multiple colors. Priced at $19.99.

We are also starting to see more covers on third-party sites such as eBay. I personally like 360 degree cases for tablets and there are some wild design on there! And for fellow Roocase lovers, there’s nothing directly from Amazon right now…. Stay tuned for more. 🙂

Happy 8th Birthday Kindle!

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On November 19, 2007, Amazon released the first Kindle. It came in a book like case, and included a charger and a plain black faux leather cover. It had a unusual look that reminded me of something I might have seen on a TV show like Lost in Space or Space: 1999. The first Kindle cost $400 and they sold out immediately.

While people were waiting for the Kindles to come back into stock, there were numerous threads on the Kindle forums where customers would post when their order and expected delivery dates. This thread was started in December 2007. The camaraderie among the waiting customers was amazing. It was a very different forum then….

I bought mine in the second wave in the spring of 2008. I absolutely loved it! I cannot emphasize enough what a profound impact this device had on me.

Here’s a video that looks at the very first Kindle:

 

Here’s a snapshot of the Amazon homepage on November 19, 2007 (Via Internet Archive Wayback Machine):

kindle home 2007 page

(click to enlarge)

And the Kindle product page (the ASIN was B000FI73MA)

kindle 2007 product page

(click to enlarge)

And, yes, Amazon still sells them, albeit used. And, this version had a user-replaceable battery and they still sell those, too.

So, do you have a story to share on the Kindle’s birthday? Has it touched your life in any way?

Throwback Thursday: The Kindle, Generation One

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Next week will be the 8th anniversary of the first generation Kindle. There has been a lot of discussion lately about how both the e-book market and the market for e-readers has changed. I thought it would be fun to take a quick video look back at the first Kindle. Pay special attention to that scroll wheel. It was a big deal at the time! I used to go back and forth between my Kindle 1 and my Kindle 3 (Keyboard). Going back to the scroll button tripped me up every time. 🙂

I still love the look of this device! What do you think? Kindles sure have changed….

3 day sale on select Kindle ereaders

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kindle4kidsAmazon is running a three day sale on select Kindle devices. From October 19 to October 21, Amazon is offering $20 off three of its e-ink Kindle models. The Kindle models on sale are:

Kindle, 6″ Touchscreen with Wi-Fi – Includes Special Offers – This is the basic, entry level model Kindle. The touch screen is E Ink Pearl™, 167 ppi resolution with a 16-level gray scale. Four GB onboard storage.There is no built in light. Normally $79, the device is on sale for $59.

Kindle Paperwhite, 6″ with Built-in Light, Wi-Fi and Special Offers –  The Paperwhite has a built in light, a high resolution 300 ppi display, exclusive Bookerly font and 16-level gray scale. Four GB onboard storage.Normally $119,  the ereader is on sale for $99.

Kindle for Kids Bundle with the latest Kindle, Accident Protection, and Kid-Friendly Cover – This bundle includes the latest basic Kindle , 2 year accident protection warranty and a special kid-friendly case in your choice of Black,Blue, Green, Pink or Purple. Four GB onboard storage. There are NO sponsored screensavers on this model, making it a great buy for adults as well as children. Normally $99, the bundle is on sale for $79.

This is a good time to buy for Holiday gifts.

Amazon announces new Fire tablets, TV boxes

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fire tablets newAmazon has announce their new Fire lineup. There are three new Fire tablets,  two new Fire TV devices and an upgraded Fire for kids.

For the new tablets, Amazon has / is released a new version of its Fire operating system, Fire OS 5,  “Bellini.” All of the new tablets have a slot for a micro SD card.

  • The new 7″ Fire: – Retails for $49.95, with special offers. Released on September 30, 2015. Amazon obviously intends this one for gift giving:  They are offering a special promotion to buy five tablets and get one free. (Details for the offer are here. Note that the resolution on this tablet is only 171 ppi / 1024 x 600, so it is not considered an HD tablet .
  • The new Fire HD 8: retails for $149.95 and up, with special offers. Released on September 30, 2015. Available with either 8 GB or 16 GB of internal storage.
  • The new Fire HD 10: Retails for $229.95 and up, with special offers. Released on September 30, 2015. Available with either 16 GB or 32 GB of internal storage.
  • The new Fire Kids Edition, 7,  Retails for $99.99. This replaces the prior, 6″ version and with a lower price point. Released on September 30, 2015. The SD memory card slot is going to be a very attractive draw for this tablet. There were a lot of complaints about insufficient memory during for the prior version.

In my opinion, the big news with these tablets is the pricing and the expandable memory. Note that the higher end HDX devices and are no longer showing in the Fire family ribbon. (The Kindle Fire HDX 7″ and the Fire HDX 8.9 are still for sale new on the site. The Fire HD 6 Kids Edition is still available as well.) Amazon is obviously focusing on lower pricing with the new line up. Also interesting is the fact that there were no new 4G LTE versions in the new lineup

Amaon also announce three new Fire TV series updates:

  • A new, updated Fire TV Stick with Voice Remote  featuring Alexa. Retails for $49.99. Released on October 22, 2015. Hopefully, this version corrects some of the frequent Wi-Fi connection problems I have heard about with the first version….
  • The new Amazon Fire TV box featuring Alexa and 4K Ultra HD. Retails for $99.00. Released on October 5, 2015.
  • A new Amazon Fire TV Gaming Edition that includes a gaming controller. It also features 75% more processing power than the previous generation Amazon Fire TV, better Wi-Fi support with dual-band 802.11ac, a dedicated graphics engine, 2 GB of memory and Dolby sound. Released on October 5, 2015.

So, does anything strike your fancy?

New Kindle Paperwhite Announced

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paperwhite_newToday, Amazon announced a new version of the Kindle Paperwhite. It has a 300 ppi high resolution display, equivalent to the Kindle Voyage.  (The current  model is 212 ppi.) Like the current Paperwhite, this new ereader will also soon receive the new font and feature update that includes a new more readable font and enhanced hyphenation and page layout features.  The starting price will remain the same as the current model: $119 with special offers. The device ships on June 30, 2015 and will be available worldwide. You can find out more info and order here.

Amazon is continuing to offer the current Paperwhite covers alongside the new Kindles, so presumably, there has been no change in the size of the device. That is a plus if you like to use a cover; it generally takes a while for 3rd party vendors to catch up if you are looking for a budget priced cover like the MoKo Cover Case  or MoKo clamshell.

Where I am confused is the area of naming conventions. As it usually does for the latest iteration of a device, Amazon is calling this version the “All-new” Paperwhite. If you are keeping score, this new version is actually the fourth for the Paperwhite. There was the 2012 version, the 2013 version (Paperwhite 2) which had 2GB of RAM. Then came the second iteration (2014) of the Paperwhite 2 which had 4GB of Ram. I haven’t yet heard the storage capacity of the new one yet…. It really would have helped if they had called this the Paperwhite HD  or something catchy like that. 🙂

Right now. I am going to pass on a new Paperwhite, unless one of my older Kindles bites the dust. I have two Paperwhite 2’s now, one  2GB and one 4GB. A slightly higher resolution is not enough of an upgrade to make me pull the plug.

So, what about you? Are you tempted by the new, improved Paperwhite?

 

Amazon releases a Kindle for Kids Bundle

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kindle4kidsSurprise! Today, Amazon released a new Kindle for Kids Bundle. The bundle includes a Kindle (without ads), a 2-Year Accident Protection plan , and a Kid-Friendly Cover in choice of five colors. Purchasing the bundle saves $39.98 compared to when purchasing  separately. Amazon is also promoting a special Summer Reading for children program.  It is in stock and available for purchase now.

The features of the bundle include:

  • Distraction-free reading
  • Features like Word Wise and Vocabulary Builder which support real-time vocabulary development
  • Includes Kindle FreeTime
  • Includes Parental Controls, including blocking access to browsing and purchasing in the Kindle Store, access to the Internet, access to Wikipedia, and disabling social sharing

Amazon already offers a Fire HD 6 Kids Edition tablet designed for children.

This new bundle caught me by surprise. Generally, Amazon announces products and makes them available for pre-order first.

 

 

 

Kindle Paperwhite for $99

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paperwhiteToday is the last day to get $20 off the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite. If you are looking for a front-lit, dedicated e-ink reading device, this one is a great choice. My husband and I both have Paperwhites and love them! In my husband’s case, this replaced the first Kindle Touch. He loves the front-lit screen on the Paperwhite.

Do you have one of these or replace an earlier model KIndle with one? Sound off in the comments and let me know what you think of the Paperwhite.