Kindle - Appalachian Trail

imported
#1

Hey All,
Anybody take a Kindle, or other e-reader device, on trail with them? Any problems with getting a signal for downloads?
And please don’t ask me why I want to bring a kindle on a hike. HYOH
Thanks,
Steve

Steve

#2

I’m curious too. Seems like if it could handle the humidity, cold and occasional bump, it would be kind of cool. you could get the data book and put some maps on there and a couple of books to read as well.

If you end up bringing one, I’d be interested in hearing your report.

jalan

#3

It’s not a Verizon-grade 3G network, so coverage will be spotty and connectivity may be problematic even when it shows bars. At least that was the case with Kindle v1.0’s 3G (which sometimes didn’t work in the middle of town).

But there’s no reason you couldn’t be a little prescient and download most of what you’ll read before the hike, and then add more as needed whenever you hit it lucky along the way.

Son of Sam

#4

There are kindle apps for iphone and android phones. Before my android, I did carry a kindle on section hikes and used it some. I used a hard shell case and baggy to protect it.

RonG2011

#5

I’m also interested in bringing a kindle on my thru-hike next year. Maybe these are dumb questions, but in addition to being able to download and read books with it, can you also type in and save text files and then update Trail Journals with it? If I could type in my journal entries on it, I’m thinking maybe when I get to a town library I could do a cut and paste of my text file into my Trail Journal. Does it have a USB connection port to connect to another computer? Is the kindle capable of transmitting a text file directly into Trail Journals?

Bob

#6

Last I checked (Kindle v1.0) could read text files but didn’t offer any way to create or edit them. There is also no direct access to the Kindle’s hard drive or its directories, other than via the reading library and its limited, download-read-sort-remove options that pair with the Kindle store. Kindle 1 offered an SD card port and USB for file transfer between a PC, while subsequent versions have eliminated at least the SD port. Kindle does offer something called Basic Web, which is a built-in web browser that you use to shop the Kindle online store and can also view undemanding, preferably text-oriented, websites (in grayscale). But again there is no way to interface the Kindle’s contents with the WWW other than through the Kindle store. The bottom line is that the Kindle is far too specific in its purpose and capabilities to be used as a replacement for a smart phone or netbook, and I suspect that is entirely Amazon’s intent. The don’t want to endure a heavy bandwidth on the free 3G network that isn’t driving their revenue in any way.

quetzl