ILMK Buying Guide

ILMK Buying Guide

This page will build up over time. I sometimes refer to products (Kindles, accessories, e-books) in my writing, and I find that I have to go back and look them up again to answer people’s questions. I’m also a former retailer, and I think I can give you some insight that may help you out with your shopping.

If I label something with “personal experience”, that means I’ve actually used it. That’s what you’ll see mostly here…it may even be all I put, I haven’t quit decided.

I hope to build it up pretty quickly. When you click here, you’ll be taken to Amazon where you can get more information…and buy the item, should you so choose. It’s possible I’ll like to something that gets withdrawn from the store…I’d appreciate you letting me know if you encounter a broken link.

For Anybody

Amazon Gift Cards (personal experience)

Amazon lets you send gift cards in many ways…via e-mail, print at home, free one-day delivery…even to Facebook. You can buy a box of 50…great for businesses as client gifts, or for employee gifts. You can choose your own amount (as low as fifteen cents, as high as two thousand dollars). You can add a message. You can pick a Kindle specific picture, if you want. I know not everybody likes to give gift cards, but a small Amazon card can be a great stocking stuffer.

Gifts for People Who Already Have a Kindle

Coby CA-745 Wireless FM Car Transmitter (personal experience)

One of the best things for me about the Kindle (at least since the Kindle 2) has been text-to-speech (which reads books out loud to you). I use that for hours a week in the car…I like it much better than talk radio. However, the speaker on the Kindle isn’t loud enough when I’m driving, so I run the sound through my car sound system. The main car I drive doesn’t have an Aux jack, so I use this FM transmitter to play it through the car radio. This wasn’t the first FM transmitter I’ve used, but it is by far the best. It lets you scan through all of the FM band…that’s important, if you live in a place like I do with a lot stations. I also like that it allows me to plug something else into the 12v jack (what used to be called the “cigarette lighter”). That means I can listen to text-to-speech and have my GPS plugged in at the same time. I can also have a car charger for my Kindle plugged in. If your recipient has an older car without an Aux jack, this is a wonderful gift. It won’t help if the person has the small Kindle 4, because it doesn’t do text-to-speech or play music. It will work with any other Kindle, though, along with an iPod or other typical MP3 player.

Gifts for Kindle Fire owners:

BoxWave Elite Leather Amazon Kindle Fire Messenger Pouch, Faux Leather Slim Protective Sleeve (Jet Black) (personal experience)

When I got this (and when I’m writing this), it was only $8.95 (price subject to change without notice). I’ve used Boxwave before, and this was just what I wanted for my Kindle Fire. It’s very simple…it’s a faux leather padded envelope…the Fire slides right in and out. It has a magnetic closure (typical magnets are fine near the Fire). I can slide my Kindle Fire into a pocket in my photojournalist vest, and although the cover adds about three centimeters to the width (about an inch and a half), it still fits. It’s under four ounces, which is good, since the Fire feels heavy to me by itself. I’ve gotten good comments on the look of it. I might ha added a pocket for a business card, but otherwise, it’s an elegant, simple design.

Timbuk2 Kindle Fire PROFESSOR JACKET, Black: I haven’t tried this one yet myself, but I did contact the manufacturer and confirm that it is all man-made materials. It comes in several colors. It’s a padded cover, but it also folds into a stand, to hold your Kindle Fire at a good viewing angle for movies and TV.

 

Gifts for Students

Kindle Touch, Wi-Fi only
Kindle Touch 3G, Free 3G + Wi-Fi

The Kindle Touch series has a special feature called “X-Ray”, currently unique to this model. It downloads information with the book…background information about terms, character analyses, and so on. It will have the advantage of not having to connect to the internet to get that background. This may prove to be invaluable to students who have to have a deeper understanding of what they read.

Free Kindle games from Amazon

These games are published by Amazon, and are for the reflective screen Kindles (not the Kindle Fire). They are also only available in the USA at time of writing. You can’t gift them to someone not on your account (of course, they can get it themselves), but you can put them on multiple compatible devices on the same account. Amazon can change the price and remove the titles…if you run into a broken link, please let me know.

Pixel Perfect Holiday Puzzles (personal experience)
Available on Kindle (the $79/$109 one I call the Mindle), Kindle Keyboard, Wi-Fi (formerly the Kindle 3), Kindle Keyboard 3G, Free 3G + Wi-Fi (formerly the Kindle 3 3G), Kindle DX 9.7 inch, and Kindle 2s.

It’s a puzzle game, with elements of Sudoku and Minesweeper. post

This guide by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog.