Are Kindles a good investment?

It all depends on whether you like e-readers or not. I have a friend who loves his.

They are good but I would opt for an iPad, then it can read to you, you can read on it plus email, games, etc. etc. etc. It is like a kindle with superpowers.

I started with the original Kindle e-reader (first gen) and have consistently enjoyed owning a Kindle. My criteria – or the reason I first decided to try one is that I read a LOT and I travel a lot and I was tired of always lugging around heavy books (and my “back up” books for when I’d inevitably finish my book and need another).

In the past few years I’ve been using the Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD.
The benefit of these is that it is like an iPad – I can watch shows (Amazon Prime means free movies & tv shows) and movies, listen to music, email, Facebook, etc. It has all the capabilities an iPad has (including Skype, etc.).
So..I read for a bit, then play a game, then watch a movie, etc.

Amazon will require you to link the your Amazon account with a credit card – but you don’t have to purchase books or apps for the Kindle using your card – you can purchase w/ Amazon gift cards or stored credit.

I have an iPad and a Kindle. My main complaints with the Kindle are in relation to the sensitively of the controls. It sometimes seems like all you need for it to take you to the next chapter or back to the beginning is to breathe on it. This is annoying and it becomes a source of new and creative curse words, but not really anything to caution someone looking to invest in one. I don’t really prefer it to my iPad for ebooks, but when I don’t want to have my iPad I use it, with no other real complaints.

I LOVE my Kindle Paperwhite !!! I own several other devices that have e-reader apps on them, but the Kindle is what I do almost all my reading on. I don’t even much enjoy holding books anymore.

It took me a long time to decide to buy a Kindle. I eventually decided it was a good idea because I rarely read novels twice and needed more bookshelf space. So I buy novels to read on my Kindle. I love it. I agree with @geeky_mama it’s great if you travel. It’s light and I can have all my novels with me without having to carry lots of books. I also now occasionally use it for work books because I can obtain them quickly.

I have a cover that has a light in it so I can read without disturbing my husband.

Whether you buy a standard Kindle or a more advanced tablet depends on what you want to do with it. Think about the things you want to do with it before taking the jump. I only use mine for reading books.

We have a Kindle Fire. It’s really my wife’s, but I borrow it. It’s a great device.

I bought my aunt a Kindle (the one with the keyboard) and she likes it very much. I think it would be good to buy her a case for it, which probably would make it feel more substantial while still lightweight. I look up library boojs on my computer and send them for free to her Kindle.

Now she is looking at buying an ipad or similar. She liked a Samsung and it has a Kindle App, so that might have been a better idea to begin with so she could email and surf the web and use it as a kindle. I Guess some of the Kindles have that capability.

@rooeytoo But i’ll need to pay for those “super powers.” Kind of a waste since I already have a laptop and iphone.

When amazon requires me to link a credit card to my amazon account, would it be possible for me to link it with a purchased visa gift card to get around using my actual card?

@Wine I have a Kindle Fire and was required to link it to a credit card. I refused to do it.
Instead, I had a $50 refund card from Verizon and entered those numbers. It worked.
If you want to avoid linking I’d suggest tying it to a gift card.

@Wine – that is true, I too have an iphone and a laptop and a kindle. But I never take the kindle anymore, I use my phone to read. You can read Kindle, Kobo, ebooks, etc. on it plus there is an audible.com app. But it is small. I think the ipad falls in the middle and if you don’t have your laptop with you, the ipad is almost as useful! Actually I don’t have an ipad, but I really want one!

I have a kindle (original) and I love it. What I like about it more than an ipad or other tablet is the battery lasts much longer; I only need to charge it up once every couple of weeks.

I have a credit card linked to my amazon account but I don’t recall ever having to link one specifically through the kindle itself. What I did was open a second bank account which I use for online purchases. I transfer a small amount over to this account when needed. There is no overdraft facility on this account and any attempt to withdraw more than the balance is automatically declined.

I have the original Kindle and I like it. I can carry an entire library with me when travelling and I can download a title the moment I want it wherever I am. It is easier to hold than a paperback and lies nice and flat and steady in the hand. I occasionally use the dictionary function to find the meaning of a word. It is great for reading in bed.

Investment or purchase?

Kindles, even the Fire, are on the way to being obsolete. You can get far more capability and far more power from a regular old tablet (either Android or Apple) than you can from a Kindle. On the other hand, if you want to own something which is basically single purpose (reading books and seeing movies) and is pretty simple and unchallenging, then the Kindle is fine for you.

At $120, it’s not what I consider a major purchase, so if you use it and like it for a year or two, then you have gotten your money out of it. But Kindles are not long term durable goods, and tablets will ultimately replace them.

Yeah they’re convenient. I have a nook.