E-book question

[Hawkmoon]

For those who use an actual Kindle device (and Nook, if there are any Nook users out there):

How do e-books handle illustrations? Suppose you're reading a non-fiction book, maybe about history or maybe geography. It has illustrations -- photos, maps, etc. So the text flows and adjusts itself to the width of your screen, and you can choose what size you want the text to display at. What happens when you come to an illustration? Do you have to manually scroll and zoom to see what you need/want to see?

[Pb]

For kindle- In every e-book I have read, the picture automatically adjusts itself to fit your screen.  Usually photograph quality is poor.  Drawings show up better.  You can "select" the image to fill the entire screen if you want.  You can also zoom in on it, but it typically looks bad.  The kindle screen is small, so you are going to have quite a lot of trouble seeing much detail with any illustration.  It is not a good medium for displaying any detailed image.

[Ben]

I don't like reading any illustration-heavy books on my paperwhite. The Kindle Fire might be better, but I don't read on the Fire because it's not anywhere near as book-like as the paperwhite.

In one Kindle book I read, the author even created links for all the images so you could go to a website to better see his maps versus trying to view the crappy images on the small screen of the Kindle.

Heavily illustrated books are one of the main reasons I will still buy something in dead tree vs electrons.

[JN01]

I have some photo heavy Kindle books.  Viewing the pics on the Kindle isn't very good, but I can use the Kindle app on my desktop to see them in larger size and full color.

[MillCreek]

My experience with the Kindle and the Fire tablet is the same as Pb.

[Hawkmoon]

What's the difference between a Kindle and a Kindle Fire? Is one a dedicated e-book reader, and the other a sort of mutant Android tablet?

Do most people these days by Kindles, or Fires?

I'm looking at Kindles on the Amazon site -- what is an "ad supported" Kindle?

[Hawkmoon]

More questions:

What's the difference between a front-lighted Kindle and a paper-White?

https://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Now-with-Built-in-Front-Light/dp/B07978J597/ref=sr_1_17?crid=1BG7K4P8ZA8SU&dchild=1&keywords=kindle+paperwhite+e-reader&qid=1622427400&refinements=p_89%3AAmazon&rnid=2528832011&s=electronics&sprefix=Kindle%2Caps%2C269&sr=1-17

https://www.amazon.com/All-new-Kindle-Paperwhite-Waterproof-Storage/dp/B077448K76/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1BG7K4P8ZA8SU&dchild=1&keywords=kindle+paperwhite+e-reader&qid=1622427225&refinements=p_89%3AAmazon&rnid=2528832011&s=electronics&sprefix=Kindle%2Caps%2C269&sr=1-3

I think I'm still stuck in the 20th century. Who makes better portable typewriters, Royal or Smith-Corona?

[Pb]

1) What's the difference between a Kindle and a Kindle Fire? Is one a dedicated e-book reader, and the other a sort of mutant Android tablet?

2) Do most people these days by Kindles, or Fires?

3) I'm looking at Kindles on the Amazon site -- what is an "ad supported" Kindle?

1) A "Kindle" is only for reading.  It has an e-ink screen, which uses magnetic particles to display the print.  It has no glare, and is very similar to reading a paper book.  It is not like a computer screen.  A "kindle fire" is just another computer tablet, like an i-pad, with a flat computer touch screen display.  You can read books with them of course (including those in kindle e-reader format), but it is harder on the eyes than the e-ink of a kindle reader.


2) I don't know.  Ebooks can be read on either though.


3) Ad supported kindles are cheaper versions of the kindle, but they display banner ads at the bottom of the menu, and they also have an ad on the "sleep" wallpaper.  So you save some money by agreeing to have these ads.  You can pay a sum to amazon after the fact to have the ads removed if you change your mind.


Kindle readers are wonderful for those who like to read a lot.  I have hundreds of books on mine, most of which are free public domain books (project gutenberg, or amazon).  My local library has an e-book loan program also.  With amazon, you can get samples of their books sent to your kindle as a preview to see if you want to buy the book.  Click a button, connect to wireless and your sample is loaded automatically.  Or if you buy a book, it arrives instantly.


Another benefit to kindles is that you can hold the book and turn pages with one hand.  This allows me easily do things like walk a track while reading, or you can eat with one hand and read using the other and so on.  Perfect for book lovers.

[Pb]

I don't know the difference between the two you mentioned.  I like the old ones with page turn buttons, I don't like touch screens.  I have bought several old ones from shopgoodwill.com for relatively low prices.

Are  you thinking about getting a kindle?

[Hawkmoon]

Are  you thinking about getting a kindle?

Yes, more or less out of self-defense. I'm trying to get into self-publishing, and I figure if I'm going to be trying to create Kindle e-books, I should probably have an actual Kindle to see what they're going to look like. I have three other e-book reader programs on my desktop computer, and for most books they all display the same book differently.

[Pb]

Inexpensive used ones show up on shopgoodwill.com

I like the simple ones with buttons instead of touch screens.

[Ben]

Inexpensive used ones show up on shopgoodwill.com

I like the simple ones with buttons instead of touch screens.

I don't believe Paperwhites come in any other version but touchscreen, and Paperwhite viewing is FAR superior to previous gen Kindles. I actually prefer the buttons as well for page flipping (I had the gen 1 Kindle years ago), but for me, the better viewscreen far outweighs the buttons.

EDIT: I see the Oasis seems to have both touchscreen and page turn buttons, but it's pretty pricey. Nice specs though.