Original, Kindle 1 seems to be kicking the bucket and I need advice, please

Do I buy a new one? Which one of the most recent is best?

Do I call Amazon and have them make this little old guy work again?

If I buy a new Kindle does my library transfer?

Any advice, oh good LT friends? I trust the advice I get here more than advice from almost any other source.

Hi Maggie,

I have the K3 (Kindle keyboard), having upgraded from the version you have. If you books were purchased on Amazon, they will transfer over the web. If they were purchased or received from other sources, they must be reloaded. What I did was to transfer the entire folder that contains the books from the kindle to my laptop using the usb cord. I then added the ones from Amazon that could be loaded from the cloud. Then I scanned through the folder on my laptop to find books that were missing and slowly loaded those. All this takes a while if you have a lot of books, but it is worth it in the end. I would also suggest loading only 10-20 at a time to allow them to be indexed. This avoids crashing issues and other nonsense.

As for new kindle or not, I really enjoyed my upgrade -- better screen, ability to place books in collections (which are really tags). Kindles are much cheaper these days than they were in the old K1 days, so you might find it better to upgrade. The only issues that I have are: (1) the new kindles are all touch screen; and (2) the storage space has been reduced from 4 GB to 2 GB. I can't remember what the K1 has, but it shouldn't be an issue. However the new ones are faster, have a better screen than my K3 and many people don't mind not having real buttons to push.

For technical questions, you can consult amazon, but I would also recommend mobileread.com.

Best wishes,

k4k

Sadly, the Kindle Keyboard is a thing of the past. If you're absolutely devoted to the Keyboard, you might want a look-see at the Kindle DX, but with its 9.7" screen it's too big for comfortable portability.

My current Kindles are an older K3 and a Paperwhite 3G, but I don't recommend you pay the extra money for 3G connectivity, since (unlike K1, K2, and K3) the Paperwhite's 3G connectivity only connects you to the Kindle Store, Wikipedia, and Google's online translator service -- and maybe a couple other sites I'm unaware of, but the point is, we no longer get the 3G free bandwidth we did with the K1-through-K3 browsers. I didn't realize this when I bought my Paperwhite 3G unit, and I doubt I would have paid the extra money if I had realized since a wireless hotspot is needed anyway if you need more general internet connectivity.

Don't be put off by the on-screen ads. They never appear when you're reading and I don't think you'll find them at all distracting (and they're book-oriented anyway). Get yourself a less expensive unit with the ads, and if you find that you don't like them, you can upgrade online for just the extra $20 or whatever in price.

Stay away from Fire and all the other bells-and-whistles. If you've gotten along with a K1 all these years, you're obviously using your unit to read, not to web surf, so Fire isn't going to be worth the extra money for you as well as (probably) the reduced battery life resulting from all the bells-and-whistles.

Remember, also, that the K1 is the only unit that uses memory cards. You'll get a lot of storage on your new unit but you'll still need to store books in the Amazon Cloud, assuming you've got as many books over all these years as I do. Of course, you can download to your PC and then transfer via USB cable, but you'll find this inconvenient, so if you aren't going to have reasonably regular access to wireless then you might want to go with the Paperwhite 3G -- and that's the ONLY version of Kindle that still has 3G capability, since Amazon seems (understandably) to be trying to get out of the free-bandwidth business.

I'd say, go with an ad-supported version of the wireless-only Paperwhite and only pay the extra money for 3G if you really need to download from the Kindle Cloud or the Kindle Store on a regular basis in areas where you don't have wireless connectivity.

Incidentally, I think you'll like the new screen lighting on the Paperwhite. Even when I'm reading in a well-lit room I still find it more comfortable than using my K3 (which I still carry with me as my "pocketbook Kindle" because of its K3-browser's 3G connectivity which isn't limited to the Kindle Store, Wikipedia, and Google Translator as is the case with my 3G Paperwhite).

ETA: There's also a $69 version, but I don't know how good it is. Comments on this version, anyway?

I was looking at the $69 version, and they do charge extra for some of the needed stuff like a power cord? Any way, if someone here has had experience with the $69 please weigh in on pros and cons. Thank you so much for whatever you can add to the discussion.

k4k, thanks for your take on this. I "hear" you about the ads, but frankly I hate ads wherever and whenever!

CurrerBell, thanks, too for your comments. This information will be helpful in deciding, I am sure.

My Paperwhite 3G (I was having some temporary trouble with my K3 and wanted an emergency back-up, so I got it from BestBuy rather than Amazon direct, but it shouldn't make any difference) came with a USB cable but no outlet adapter. If you want to charge a Paperwhite from an outlet rather than a PC's USB port, you'll need to buy an adapter.

Incidentally, I wasn't thinking back to my K1 days until you mentioned the "power cord." These new Kindles don't use a power cord like K1 did. Charging is strictly through the USB mini-cable, hooked up either to a PC port or through an adapter to a wall outlet.

My recollection is that the outlet adapter will set you back about $20, but I think you're going to want to get one. I actually have three -- one for each of my two Kindles on wall outlets, and a third that I use in my car with a Belkin AC-Anywhere, which is pricey but which I also used for a cell phone and can use for other devices (a digital SLR camera battery, a netbook, or whatever).

And then, of course, you'll possibly be wanting a mEdge cover? (ETA: I don't think the K1 covers will fit other models, because the thickness of the models is different.)

I agree with CurrerBell. You will need a cord and wall adapter. The connections have changed since the K1. Also it is correct that the cover will not fit. Try the following mobileread discussion groups for comparisons of the newer kindles. http://www.mobileread.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=140
I can't compare because mine is no longer sold.

Happy reading!

Thanks you guys! I will follow the link.

I bought a Kindle 7" HD Fire

I like it but have issues. The on/off button etc. is very obscure and difficult for my 68 year old eyes and hands. Dang. I think the designers need to make objects for older people.

I also had issues getting it to connect with my Wi-Fi, in my home, and also issues with buying a book. But it is all good now and I am so glad to be able to access my Amazon library again after having not had a working Kindle for a while. I deregistered #1. Feels so 21st Century. Now what do I do with it?

8> Keep it. (In fact, I don't know why you deregistered it.) I've still got my K1 somewhere around the house and hope to find it some day. K1's a great piece of hardware even if the software system is dated. So keep your K1 for back-up.

The K1 stopped working. That is why I bought a new one. I don't know why I'd keep a nonfunctioning device. But then again, I am pretty ignorant.

10> If you are thinking about recycling, maybe call Staples? They might take something like that or know someone who would.

Great idea, we are on our way to Staples today with our 15% off coupon for school supplies! Whoo hoo. I love September buying school supplies, even though I no longer attend school, nor am I teaching school. Oh! whew! I have two great nephews and one great niece - all going to school this September. My Niece, the Mom, is so glad I picked up the 15% off coupon!

10> Oh, sorry, I hadn't remembered you're earlier post. That's really a shame. As a piece of hardware, I really love the sturdiness of the K1. At least it lasted you a long time. :->

It did and it introduced me to e-readers. With my various eye sight challenges the e-readers have been a great help; and the two Nooks have done much to entertain and educate two of the kids. All in all, good investments. And the new Kindle is a big help as my eyes recover from surgery! Whoo hoo.

Happy reading! And I hope your eyes are better soon. k4k