I was an early adopter of the original Kindle and I ordered the K2 the day they made the pre-orders available. The Kindle is an amazing device that offers so much convenience that I have come to wonder how I ever lived without it. Mine arrived on February 24th and was a day earlier than expected. I was like a kid at Christmas! In the box is the Kindle, a mini manual, and a USB/Plug charger combo. Cover is not included but I bought a GORGEOUS leather cover from oberondesign.com that it a work of art itself. (I got the Red River Garden design for the curious about the cover folks)
A Kindle for those that haven’t heard yet or aren’t familiar with it, is an ebook reader from Amazon. A digital book. You can download books to Kindle from Amazon in seconds. Magazines, newspapers and blogs are also available by subscription that will download instantly when new material is available.
There’s been a lot of fuss in the media and on blogs that the Kindle can never replace the experience of reading a real book but in my experience it hasn’t only replaced it but has enhanced my reading experience.
I’m not one to really write a techy review. I like to write about the product and how I use it, what I like about it, what I don’t like about it and why. If you are looking for all the specs, you can find them easily at Amazon by looking up the Kindle 2.
To highlight some of my favorite reasons to own a Kindle:
Ease of portability. I can carry many books with me and it is still less than a pound and fits in my purse. I like to read more than one book at a time, one for pleasure and one or two for work can be going at any single time. I have them with me at all times so that no matter where I am and I have a few spare minutes to read, I can. This is especially true for traveling. It is nice to be able to tote everything that I want to read on the plane and while I am away from home without adding a lot of extra weight to my luggage or carry-on. The Kindle has 2 GB of storage space and can hold approximately 1,500 books. Books can also be stored on Amazon’s server and downloaded again at no extra cost if you ever want to reread a book that you have removed from the Kindle.
It is comfortable to hold and turning pages with a press of the button becomes second nature surprisingly fast. I can hold it with ease one handed and switch positions and angles easily. No more hand fatigue from holding a heavy hardback book for hours. This is a great feature for reading in bed at night when shifting positions to stay comfortable is critical.
I can increase the font size of the text I’m reading when the book is really good but I’m really tired and I’m just not ready to put it down yet. There are actually 6 font sizes from pretty tiny to fairly large so there is the perfect font size for every reader. I usually got with the 3rd or 4th font size for fastest reading but at night I’ve been known to bump it up to 5 so I can keep reading. I’ve noticed that on different books the font sizes are smaller/larger.
The sample feature has inspired me to “try” some books that I would not normally be drawn to read. I’m readying a wider variety of subjects and genres now. The sample feature is a free “preview” of the book and downloads the beginning of the book – sometimes the entire first chapter – so you try it before you buy it. I’ve also found the sample feature quite helpful when reading books by an author I like and I can’t remember if I’d read it or not based on the description. I can sample it and start reading to see if it is familiar or not. If it is a book I’ve read in the past, I’m not out the $ for checking and if it isn’t, I can buy the book and keep reading. Another plus on sampling is if I’m reading a book review that sounds interesting to me I can download the sample so I don’t forget later. Same for books that are recommended to me by friends.
Strangers can’t see what I’m reading if I’m sitting in a coffee shop, airport or other public place. If I’m reading frivolous fluff as a guilty pleasure, no one knows but me. If I’m reading a book on politics that someone doesn’t agree with, no one can heckle me for it. And if someone has already read the book I’m reading, no one can ruin the ending for me by telling me what happens. These situations have all happened to me with paper books and it really is wonderful to know my reading selection is truly private. On the flip side, strangers will ask “Is that a Kindle? How do you like it? How does it work? Can I see it?” and honestly that doesn’t bother me – I love my Kindle and am always glad to show it off, answer questions, demo it and basically gush my praise for it to anyone that will listen.
The 3G wireless is blazing fast and it is like carrying a virtual bookstore with you 24/7. Can’t sleep and finish your book at 2AM? No problem! Download a new one instantly.
The screen is gray with 16 shades of gray/black contrast and is easy on the eyes. In sleep mode there a numerous screen savers that pop up. I actually think I get less eye strain reading a Kindle than a regular book.
The battery life is amazing! I can read for a couple weeks for a few hours each day before having to recharge. I only have wireless on when I am downloading new items to increase battery life. If wireless were left on all the time the battery life between charges would be much less.
The cost is an investment. I can't deny that and I won’t even try. My way of justifying it though for myself was that I do read a lot and new releases in hardback are $25 each. Downloading the same book to my Kindle in e format is only $9.99 in most cases - even paperback books have gotten close to $10 new and the same titles can be $5-7 on Kindle - and over time that will offset the cost up front to buy the Kindle. Gutenberg.org has a lot of free content, mostly old classics that are out of copyright but they can be downloaded to the Kindle as well and it has inspired me to go back and read some of the books I’d read in school. Other free book sites include feedbooks.com, freekindlebooks.org, manybooks.net and literally dozens of others based on book genres.
The Kindle isn’t perfect for all types of books. Technical books with lots of diagrams are best left to paper version. Books with photographs such as travel guides are more useful in paper. The Bible is doable on Kindle but it is much easier to navigate to book/chapter/verse in the paper version.
There is something also that the Kindle can never do and that is the lazy Saturday afternoon that you wander into the bookstore to browse. I still love to explore the bookstore in search of a new book to enjoy. It is like an adventure or treasure hunt, the open question “what will I find today?” Some of the best books I’ve read have been picked on impulse from a browse through my bookstore.
I’ve found that the convenience and ease of use for the Kindle have been worth it for me and I am having a very rewarding relationship with my Kindle.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 359 Recommended for: Gadget Lovers - Trendy and Hip
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