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Back in February, I wrote a quick review of my then brand-new amazon Kindle, the e-book reader from, yes, amazon.com. It's been a few months now and I have been using it for awhile, so I thought I would revisit my review.
The Kindle is a device, about the height and width of a paperback, but much thinner and less-weighty, which uses e-ink for its text. It can hold around 200 books at any one time, with the ability to delete books you have finished from the device's memory, but have them held in your amazon account in case you should want to re-read them or look something up. E-books, from say, guggenheim.org can also be uploaded to the Kindle after saving them on your computer in a Word document.
The Good
My favorite thing about my Kindle is the ability to have several books at my fingertips. I usually have several books going at any given moment, and Kindle allows me to carry all of them with me with virtually no weight. I'm presently reading a history of the CIA which is 800 pages long, if not for the Kindle, this would be a book I would only read at home. I like having choice during my lunchhour to read what sounds interesting, rather than just having the book I chose to carry with me.
The size is perfect. It slips into my purses, and as I said above, adds little weight, approximately the same as my iPhone. It is easy to hold, and is even comfortable when reading in bed. Eyestrain isn't an issue, the e-ink is easier on the eyes than a computer screen and there is little glare on the screen, meaning it is readable even in strong sunlight. And if you turn it off, or go to another book, it will remember the place you are in the book.
Being able to think of a book and have it delivered to the Kindle in less than a minute is wonderful, if dangerous for my bank balance! Every book is delivered wirelessly, no need to hook up the Kindle to a computer. The selection for Kindle books is vast, though I do run into the occasional book I really want to read, but isn't available. It is also able to send samples of books (the first chapter) to the device, to try before buying. Most books are relatively inexpensive--$9.99 for hot off the presses books, rather than $25 or so for a brand new hardcover. Though there are lots of even cheaper books.
Battery life is fantastic, I have gone a week between charges, using it 2 hours a day or so with some wireless use. The Kindle has a basic internet connection which is great for less text-heavy sites.
The Bad
My first and biggest gripe is with the placement of the "page turning" buttons, on the front sides of the device. Many times I have flipped several pages ahead of myself as I try to hold onto the device as I am say, boarding the bus, or even just holding it. I'd gladly trade a smaller set of buttons for a better grip.
The interface takes some learning, unlike other electronics that are intuitive, I find myself looking in the user's manual (loaded onto each Kindle) regularly. I haven't really used the features such as bookmarking or highlighting text because I haven't had use for them and haven't had a desire to figure them out--same for using my Kindle for music or audiobooks. Even deleting items from the memory takes a bit of learning and several steps.
And though $9.99 is cheap to read something straight off the presses, it still adds up, especially for someone who can read as fast as I can.
The device is white, which with use, even if wiped down regularly, becomes dingy looking--perhaps the next generation will come in colors to hide this.
The Suggestions
I would love to see Kindle become a device that is used in conjunction with libraries. Instead of paying $9.99 to own a book forever, charge a monthly fee to download X number of books to the device, with a due date on them, when they will be deleted. It would be a money maker for libraries, and would fill the perfect niche for Kindles, in my opinion. As much as I love the device, I also love having books around and have been using my Kindle as a library surrogate--if it's a book I really want to read but don't care if I don't have it on the shelf later, I buy it on the Kindle. Or if it's a book I don't want to pay $25 for new, but don't want to wait for my turn in the 200+ requests at the library to receive, I will buy it on the Kindle.
A color screen could be nice, but isn't something I crave, the e-ink is perfect and I don't read many image-heavy books. The audio abilities of Kindle are wasted on me as I am visual and can't concentrate on an audiobook, and use my ipod or iPhone for mobile music.
All told, I would give the Kindle a 9 out of 10. It is wonderful for a heavy reader, wonderful for allowing books to be portable and easy to read. Titles are cheap and plentiful and obtaining a book couldn't be easier, even if the other features are a bit trickier. This is a device I will be using for a long time to come.
