thehumanmacbook Posted April 3, 2011 Report Share Posted April 3, 2011 I would like to get my mom and dad a birthday gift to share, and I was wondering on getting them an ebook reader since my dad takes the subway to work everyday and my mom would like to read more. Does anyone have any recommendations? I don't have enough money for an ipad but I do have about $400. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarathonRunner Posted April 3, 2011 Report Share Posted April 3, 2011 I have an iPad, so don't have any experience with a pure "e-reader" but I do like the Kobo software (Chapter's e-reader) better than the Kindle software from Amazon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thatonekid Posted April 3, 2011 Report Share Posted April 3, 2011 I got my mom a Kobo ebook reader for her birthday. It wasn't expensive at all (about $150 from Best Buy I think) and she thinks it's great since she's not really a tech person and she wanted something super basic. The nice thing about it is that it has wi-fi so you can get books from the store/public library/where ever without plugging it in. The only downside is that it doesn't have a touchscreen (like Sony) or a keyboard thing so it you want to type something it takes a bit of time since you have to use the button and scroll through the letters that way. But she hardly uses the typing function, so it's fine. I'm not sure I would say it's the best, but it's great if you want something basic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mavrik13 Posted April 3, 2011 Report Share Posted April 3, 2011 How tech-savvy are they? The Kindle is fantastic if you are a little bit of a dork (like me). There is a program called Calibre, which can take websites and turn them into eBooks. This is fantastic for things like newspapers, magazines, etc, which often post their content online for free. You can setup the program to automatically 'download' the newspaper every morning, or every Friday for Magazines. You can use this program for any eBook reader, but what makes the Kindle attractive is that you can e-mail the book to your Kindle for free (you get a @free.kindle.com e-mail address), and the Kindle knows to automatically download the eBook whenever it is connected to Wifi (you just have to wake up the Kindle before you head out the door, and it automatically downloads from the e-mail address). Really cool. If they might be interested in this, I'd recommend a Kindle - the screen is fantastic, and I found it to be better to the touch screen readers, where there is an extra layer to the screen for the touch component. I didn't like the Kobo. I wouldn't like to read on the iPad for a long period of time, as the LCD screen will hurt your eyes. For shorter periods of time, I think you would be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thehumanmacbook Posted April 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2011 Thanks everyone I got them a kobo because I don't think my mom is tech savvy enough to download books, and she really just wants it for reading. My dad I think I may need to save up for a blackberry playbook... Thanks again for all the helpful recommendations! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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