# Tablet- Yes - Reader - Not so much



## BarbraAnnino (Jan 27, 2011)

So my take on the Fire is I love it as a tablet. I like that I can watch football while I surf or answer email and that I can easily cart it to the kitchen to follow a recipe as I cook. The video and sound is excellent. But for me, hands down my thin little Kindle 3 is what I like to read on. 

What say you?


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## krm0789 (Dec 21, 2010)

I agree. I adore it for watching Netflix, quick web browsing, reading the news, & I've recently been fiddling with Zinio. But it's not an e-reader for me. It's too heavy, too bright even on the dimmest setting (I will sideload one of those dimmers, one of these days...), & strains my eyes if I try to read for more than 20 minutes. But I adore it nonetheless.


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## John Forrester (Nov 20, 2011)

how is the eye fatigue of reading on the Kindle Fire compared with the classic Kindles with Digital Ink? I'm curious. I have a iPad, but I hate reading on it because of the screen glare.


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## Sandra Edwards (May 10, 2010)

I agree. The Fire is a great little tablet, but I prefer reading on my K3.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

I won't do much fiction reading on my Fire. I knew that before I bought it though. I am one of those folks that cannot a novel on a backlit screen. Now its easier on the Fire than on my hubby's Ipad, but still not pleasant like my K3 with E ink is. I did read a few pages in bed to try it out and its good enough for a few minutes for me. 

Strange enough the dim level is actually still to bright on the lowest setting in the dark. And that is on the Sephia setting. I cannot read the white on black at all, it makes the letters literally dance in my eyes, they start moving.  

It will be good enough in a pinch, but I will always use e ink or equivalent for novel reading. 

I do everything else on my Fire though. Watching streams, watching tennis, playing games, looking at cookbooks and recipes, lighter surfing and browsing the Amazon store to stop  

But for reading, I will always need a non backlit screen.


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## teri (Sep 13, 2010)

I'm not fond of reading on it either.  That extra added weight of the Fire really starts to show after only a few minutes of reading.  I prefer my K3 as I can hold it and turn a page with only one hand.  I'm a lazy reader.


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## Kathy (Nov 5, 2008)

Glad i saw this thread. I have a tendency of wanting the newest gadgets when they come out. I saw the Fire at work today and liked it but didn't love it. I have the iPad so I really don't need a tablet. I thought it was a bit heavy for reading and I have a hard time reading with the backlit devices. I also stopped at Target to see the Touch. I liked the size of it but haven't decided if I want to upgrade from my K3. I really liked the size of the touch but the text seemed lighter and the screen refresh seemed slower.  Decisions decisions


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

I got it for media consumption--video, music, games....but I expect to read on it also.  I don't have much trouble reading on backlit screens.  The weight doesn't bother me.  The battery life does, for reading.  But now that I have an iPad, a Fire, two Kindles and an i'Touch, I think I'll have enough battery life to finish any book I start.    War and Peace, anyone?

Betsy


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## copperclad (Sep 26, 2010)

Hi
I agree 100% , the Fire is a great little tablet , but i love my K3 for reading


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## Sage (Dec 29, 2010)

While I still prefer reading on an e-ink kindle when there's sufficient lighting, I'm surprised by how much I enjoy reading on my Fire.  I also have an iPad 2 but never really liked reading on it very much...the Kindle Fire's screen is superior for reading, in my opinion.  

Although I keep the brightness level dimmed on both devices, it seems like the backlighting on the Fire is more even and not as harsh as the iPad (at least to my eyes).  I've been reading on my Fire a lot, especially since I do most of my reading indoors and it's been so overcast here lately.  No worries about making sure I'm near a reading lamp, I can read wherever the mood strikes.


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## Jane917 (Dec 29, 2009)

I thought I would use my Fire for everything except reading. I love reading on my K3. However, I am surprised how much I am enjoying reading on the Fire, especially at night when DH is watching TV and the lights are dim. I have my booklight, but find reading on the Fire works quite well.


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## Kathy (Nov 5, 2008)

The battery life was an issue for me as well. I have been traveling a lot for work and I live in Florida.  I'm going to California, Utah, Colorado and Arizona which can take 8 to 10 hours. There aren't a lot of non stop flights from Fort Lauderdale and they usually cost more so I wind up having a layover which makes the day longer. I would hate it if my battery went dead.  I use the iPad for work so I always have both my Kindle and iPad with me. The screen on the Fire is to small for my work software and I need more than just WiFi which I can't get on the Fire. I think I have now talked myself out of buying it now.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

If I were going to have it with me all day with no ability to charge, I would do things like turn WiFi off except when needed.  And maybe turn it off I knew I wasn't going to be able to use it for over half an hour.  But then, I would do that with my iPad, too.  The battery life isn't really a concern for me, just that when comparing it to an eReader, which was the OP, that's the one area where it really can't compete.  But I do love it.

Betsy


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## Mark46 (Jan 2, 2011)

I think the Fire is fine for media but very lacking in internet surfing.  My screen usually takes multiple touches to do anything and it seems to be offset so too often touching one area activates an adjacent area.  Really aggravating when on the net.


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## mike1132 (Nov 25, 2011)

I am see that a lot that the touch is offset and not so accurate.  I think that when your used to a brand and product as the original Kindles, this drastic shift into tablet space is very different for the consumer.  All good products but just a big difference in them.


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## parakeetgirl (Feb 27, 2009)

Im doing more reading on it than I thought I would.


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## RobertKindle (Nov 22, 2011)

It looks to me as if the Kindle Fire is better for reading magazines, newspapers, blogs and other short articles.  However long heavy reading is not as favorable compared to the e-ink displays


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## BarbraAnnino (Jan 27, 2011)

For those who do read on both- is there a way to sync pages from one to the other?


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

BarbraAnnino said:


> For those who do read on both- is there a way to sync pages from one to the other?


Yes. As with any kindle, you have to have sync turned on. . . .it's at the bottom of the Manage Your Devices section of MYK. Then, as long as you have wireless on on both devices, it will sync to the same point.

Note that sync is either ON or OFF for the account, so if there are other people on your account who sometimes read the same book at the same time it's better to leave it off.


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## luvmy4brats (Nov 9, 2008)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> I got it for media consumption--video, music, games....but I expect to read on it also. I don't have much trouble reading on backlit screens. The weight doesn't bother me. The battery life does, for reading. But now that I have an iPad, a Fire, two Kindles and an i'Touch, I think I'll have enough battery life to finish any book I start.  War and Peace, anyone?
> 
> Betsy


With all of those devices and Whispersync, you're good to go.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Luvmy4brats said:


> With all of those devices and Whispersync, you're good to go.


Indeed.  I'm a happy girl.

Betsy


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## luvmy4brats (Nov 9, 2008)

Mine is mainly for movies, games, tv shows, audio books, and music... Not so much for reading (Kindle for that) or web browsing (iPad for that). But I like being able to watch a show on the Fire while I'm on the Internet with my iPad. It's also a nice device to hand to the BRATs when they want to <gasp> use my iPad (I don't like them THAT much)


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## Hoosiermama (Dec 28, 2009)

I don't read much on mine, either, but I didn't buy it with that intent. Like others, I got it for media and for surfing. I'm very happy with it.

Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk


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## Mollyb52 (Jan 4, 2009)

I did not think I would read on it much.  I have been happily reading on my K1 since day one.  But....I find I really like to read on it in bed at night.  I dim the brightness and use sepia.  You just never know.


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## MartyS (Feb 3, 2011)

Mollyb52 said:


> I did not think I would read on it much. I have been happily reading on my K1 since day one. But....I find I really like to read on it in bed at night. I dim the brightness and use sepia. You just never know.


I also found the best option was sepia with the brightness turned nearly all the way down, but it still starts getting uncomfortable for me after about an hour. And you need the room pretty dark with the brightness turned down that far or you start noticing reflections on the screen.

I got it mostly as a streaming video and web surfing gadget, so being able to read for an hour on it was better than I expected.


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## CrystalStarr (Jan 17, 2011)

I have found I really like my Fire over my KTouch when I'm workingout. That nice big screen is just more appealing. And of course it is great for media and web. But for long form reading... nothing beats my KTouch.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

It works quite well for the daily newspaper. . . .navigation is good.  But that's mostly browsing -- check an article, read a bit, go on to the next -- it's not the best for reading for an extended period -- that would be an eInk Kindle  -- but it is much better than I thought it would be.


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## BarbraAnnino (Jan 27, 2011)

Ann in Arlington said:


> Yes. As with any kindle, you have to have sync turned on. . . .it's at the bottom of the Manage Your Devices section of MYK. Then, as long as you have wireless on on both devices, it will sync to the same point.
> 
> Note that sync is either ON or OFF for the account, so if there are other people on your account who sometimes read the same book at the same time it's better to leave it off.


Thanks!


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## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

I love my K3, but I find that I read on my Fire almost as much.  Love reading on it in bed at night (in night mode) or in other low-light situations.  I also love the slightly bigger screen size, with a bit more text on each page - I've always wished that Amazon would adopt the 7" screen size for eInk that Sony used last year when they came out with the Touch.  

So I'm using it for both, and enjoying it for both.  But I'm not giving up my K3.


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## Bob327 (Nov 17, 2011)

I read on my old reliable 3g keyboard Kindle...As others have said th back lite Fire is just too uncomfortable for me to use...

I have no games on my kindle..and do not anticipate ever getting one..I purchased one magazine (National Geographic)..and discovered reading a book ..at least this one) was a royal PIA.. pictures however were very good...

The main use That I have gotten out if it is to read the news, sports, politico, USA today etc .. But last night since there was NOTHING on TV and I was tired I watched a 1 1/2 hour episode of Kens Burns Documentary on baseball... and I really enjoyed the Fire for that purpose...

I too turn the WiFi OFF when I am not using it...just no reason to leave it on... and BTW my three computers and my original computer Plus my smart phone all opened up to  the last page of the book that I last read on  the Fire...did have to turn the 3 G connection on the kindle and sync it however..I did nothing on the fire except to put it to sleep...

I did a Very little bit of web surfing and it was "ok" BUT I did not install my e-mail on the fire nor do I have it installed on my smart phone...

Bottom line it works for me BUT I still have not figured out why anyone would really NEED any Tablet...

Bob G


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## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

teri said:


> I'm not fond of reading on it either. That extra added weight of the Fire really starts to show after only a few minutes of reading. I prefer my K3 as I can hold it and turn a page with only one hand. I'm a lazy reader.


Nah, you just think you're a lazy reader. You hold it with one hand. I usually don't even hold it - I put it on a squishy pillow on my lap so I can adjust it to just the right angle for whatever position I'm in. 

One thing I've found that's a little odd - sometimes night mode bothers my eyes a little. I have prescription no-line bifocals. When I'm reading in night mode, though, I've found that the cheapo drugstore reading glasses actually work better for me than my good glasses. Not sure what's up with that, but it definitely makes a difference. So now I automatically put on the cheap glasses when I go to bed to read.


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## sherrymyra (Nov 24, 2011)

I have been reading on my using sepia and dimming the screen.  Not bad.


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## Xopher (May 14, 2009)

One thing I have really enjoyed more since getting a tablet is magazines. With the Zinio app, I renewed my subscription to Men's Journal. I enjoyed reading the magazine when it came in the mail, but it didn't always get read, and the stack of magazines siting around just bothered me. Now that I have them on my tablet, they go pretty much everywhere I go, making it much easier to keep up with them. 

I do read ebooks on it as well, but usually just a chapter at a time. When I really want to spend time reading, I still prefer my K3. 

Sent from my gTablet using Tapatalk.


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## CrystalStarr (Jan 17, 2011)

I have to agree!  I am really enjoying magazines again!


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## ellesu (Feb 19, 2009)

CrystalStarr said:


> I have to agree! I am really enjoying magazines again!


Me, too. And....they don't accumulate in those big ol piles like they used to. I hated that! Made me feel guilty when I passed by.


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## Hoosiermama (Dec 28, 2009)

After reading in this thread, I decided to really test if I liked the Fire for reading. So the other night, DH was watching college basketball, and the Fire and Touch were both in the same room. I was sitting in my recliner, enjoying my glass of wine, and...well, I would have had to get UP to get the Touch, and turn on a light, and that was just waaaaay too much effort  , so I started reading on the Fire. Have to admit I liked it, after tweaking the brightness and changing the background to Sepia.

I don't think I could read for several hours on it, but I do find it enjoyable for reading. I was pleasantly surprised!

And I agree with others as far as the magazines. I've renewed some magazines that I had long ago cancelled. I may not keep one of 'em--it's more ads than content these days.


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## Andra (Nov 19, 2008)

I set my Fire to the sepia tones and then turn the brightness all the way down and it's acceptable for about an hour or so of reading.
However, last night I discovered that it's really great for browsing the Kindle store.  It's easy to navigate and if you want more information on a book it just pops up and then you can close the window and go back to the list you were browsing through.

For long periods of reading I will still use one of my e-ink Kindles because the screen is easier on my eyes and I don't get distracted as easily...


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