Why a Kindle or Kindle Fire and Apps are Helpful for Students in College or High School

Kindles essentially come in two flavors. The standard Kindle, which has just been upgraded to the Kindle Paperwhite, and the Kindle Fire, which has just been upgraded to the Kindle Fire HD. These kindles work a little differently. They are both sold by Amazon and are superb quality. The Kindles are extremely popular. Both of them come with a choice of connection. You can either have wifi or wifi + 3g (for standard Kindle) or 4g (Kindle Fire).

Standard Kindle

The standard kindle works like this. It is essentially a piece of paper. The old models had no backlight so you had to have some sort of light source to read it (there were many accessories to do this, it wasn't a huge issue). Now they have the new Kindle Paperwhite which has a built in backlight which makes for extremely easy reading anywhere, similar to a tablet. However, it is still just like reading a page from a book, because it uses electronic ink, which means less eye strain while reading for hours at a time. Anyone who has read for hours from a computer can relate to this problem. The Kindle is one of the best e-readers out there.

Kindle Fire

The Kindle Fire is a slightly different product. While it has every capability that the standard kindle has, and more, it lacks the electronic ink background. If all you are planning on doing is reading books with your new device, I would recommend the standard Kindle. However, the Kindle Fire is a full fledged tablet. With it you can download any apps from the amazon app store, play music, watch videos, write papers, nearly anything you can do with any other tablet computer, you can do with the Kindle Fire. It is one of the best priced tablet computers on the market right now!

There are a ton of reasons you should get a Kindle. But most importantly those reasons have to come from you! If you get a gadget that you really don't think you need, you probably will not end up using it. However, there are a million reasons you should get each of them:

Why You Should Get a Standard Kindle

1. You like to read.

2. You will be or are a student who is required to buy their own textbooks.

3. You already have a tablet computer (iPad, Android Tablet, etc.) but want to read without the glare.

4. You can't quite afford the Kindle Fire (I can totally relate to this being a college student myself).

Reasons to Get the Kindle Fire

1. You want an affordable tablet computer.

2. You like to read.

3. You like to play games on the go.

4. You like to be productive on the go.

5. You want a portable device to take notes in class.

If you think some, or all, of these reasons apply to you, it is probably a good idea to invest in a Kindle. Kindle's are not only a good value compared to many other e-readers and tablet computers, but they far exceed expectations when it comes to actually using the devices.

Saving money, as a student, can be extremely difficult. However, with Kindles it can be much easier. You can now rent textbooks and other books on the Kindle for a certain amount of time. And any books you rent are not only available on your Kindle, but any device that can use the Kindle apps (Any computers, Android Phones, iPods, iPhones). So you can take your Kindle anywhere you go and want to use it and if you happen to lose it or misplace it, you can always pick up reading on something else.

Amazon also offers Amazon Prime at half price to college students. Amazon prime allows Kindle users to have the benefit of it's "Lending Library". They allow you to read many books for free, and for the Kindle Fire users you can also stream many movies and videos for free. Amazon Prime is a wonderful service for Kindle owners and non-Kindle owners alike.

If you think the prices of the Paperwhite and Fire HD are a little out of your range. The older models are still available and very affordable. If you are worried about them being "outdated" I wouldn't worry. They are still very new technology and will be usable for a very long time. They will be usable likely just as long as their newer counterparts.

The Kindles are extremely useful for students. They can simply throw it in their backpack, bag, or even pocket and head to class, or the library, or out on the lawn to study without needing tons of heavy books or the distraction of pages flying around when outside. They are also great for students because of the money they can save on books. The Kindle library has thousands of free books along with many discounted books. Many books that are in print and in Kindle format are typically cheaper in Kindle format. With classrooms moving faster than ever these days, laptops are almost too slow and clunky to keep up with what is going on. With a Kindle Fire students can take notes, watch videos, or pack up and go on a moments notice.

If you are still undecided about which Kindle is right for you, or are just curious about more technical specifications take a look at the Amazon page for the Kindle Paperwhite and the Amazon page for the Kindle Fire HD. They have tons of details and many specifics about their products. I would highly recommend researching the different sizes of Kindle before deciding which is right for your needs.

I hope this guide was useful to you and I hope if you purchase a new Kindle, whatever style, that you enjoy it as much as I enjoy them. They are not only extremely useful, but extremely practical in our new technology central world.

Please take a look at my other technology based hub:

Is Amazon Wireless any Good for Buying New Phones

Also check out my other college lifestyle Hubs:

How and Where to Buy and Sell Books for College Classes

How to Study a Lot in a Short Amount of Time

How to Make it Through your First Year of College