Kindle. Opinions?

What I like about reading the newspaper on the Kindle:

Don't get my hands dirty.
Don't have to fumble with the too-large-to-handle format.
Font size of my choosing.
No paper to have to recycle.
I'm not personally responsible for felling one old-growth tree per day for the paper.

What I don't like:

Missing the easy overview of a whole big page.
Missing the photos & (when the print version has them) graphs.

Overall, it's a big positive.

It was written by two authors in collaboration. One wrote a backstory about the guy, and narrated his latest murder. The other author did not get to see it before writing his backstory and one murder narration about the girl, which the first did not get to see. Then they took turns writing segments about the encounter of the two. So as the characters meet, neither author knows anything about his character's opponent.

But it is very graphic. If you don't like slasher movies, you won't like this short story. Unfortunately, it's only available for the Kindle. I don't know if Amazon sells Kindle books readable on a computer without the Kindle. If they do, check it out. The story is free, probably as a teaser for the authors' other books. It worked for me: I've already bought a book by one of them.

And since this is my first Kindle book, I don't know if all of them have this, but at the end of the book there are samples of two other books. Basically a chapter. All or most Kindle books offer a free sample chapter. This basically throws a sample in your face, but you can ignore it if you like.

 

I don't have a TV, so I don't watch shows made anywhere, but I think I've seen a couple of Aussie movies and enjoyed them.

As for the Kindle, Amazon will not sell them outside the US, but I am sure it's not by choice. There are probably either patent issues or trade issues. And the Kindle is basically intended as a wireless device, but the wireless service is only in the U.S. You can download content to your computer and then move it to the Kindle, but most (much? a lot? some?) of the price is for the wireless service. If they sold it outside the country, people would demand wireless service for it, and Amazon cannot provide that.

Not sure. That might be the explanation. Try sending an email to Amazon or phoning them, and asking outright: what's the reason?

 

I have a projector and watch movies at home. I much prefer that to going to a theater. I can pause and re-wind; I can shut it off and go to the bathroom. Last night I watched an hour of a movie, got tired, shut it off, read my Kindle for a while, and went to bed. This evening I'll watch the last half hour, unless I get absorbed in a book and put the movie off another day. Can't do that in a theater. The flexibility is worth the reduced video quality. And I control the volume.

It's true that a book is not a lot of data, but the Kindle also allows unlimited free web browsing, though it's not a good platform for it. And it has direct links to Google and Wikipedia. Select a word or type one in and hit the Google or Wikipedia button.

And there are free samples of all the books, and 14-day free trials of all the magazines and newspapers.

 

Two more observations about the Kindle:

Compared to reading a book, the Kindle is easier on my hands. I am starting to get arthritis. Holding a book open forces me to exert my hands in a rotational manner that becomes painful. The Kindle is a flat object which does not have to be held open, and is therefore easier on my hands.

Compared to reading on a computer screen, the Kindle allows me a more natural posture. Rather than sitting in my office chair, slumped forward to get my face closer to the screen, I can sit in a comfortable easy chair, as I would with a book, and change my position from time to time.

 

I considered getting a netbox, but I think the video quality is inferior to DVDs, so I figured I'd stick with DVDs. If I have no DVD on hand, I can rent one from the local place, or better yet, read a book (or my Kindle).

I really prefer reading a magazine on my Kindle because the glare of glossy paper is hard on my eyes. Age, I suppose.

 

Dude, you are surrounded by so much RF if you live in a city, that one more cell phone is minuscule!

I actually leave the radio on most of the time so I can quickly look up a word or place name that's not in the dictionary. Then I plug it in at night, because, yes, it does deplete the battery.

As far as being a fad, I assure you, e-book readers are here to stay. It's just too convenient: periodicals delivered wirelessly wherever you are, books delivered sixty seconds after you place the order, and it's just plain easier to hold than a book if you have arthritis, not to mention adjustable size type if you have old eyes. I really like the New Yorker, but those glossy pages are really hard for me to read now. Not with the Kindle, though: it's much easier to read.

There are still some shortcomings, such as the lack of most images in most Kindle periodicals, and the lack of a directory structure in a device that can hold 3,500 books. But those things will improve, and the price will come down if our economy does not self-destruct and send us back to the stone age.

E-book readers will not replace books, but they will be a significant and popular gadget for reading. And while a computer may have advantages for scientific papers, e-ink is MUCH easier on the eyes than a computer screen.

 

There is a surprising number of books available for free at the Kindle store. Some authors give away a book in hopes that you will like it enough to buy their other books. I have already bought two after reading the authors' free books. But there are also some classics available free. I just downloaded Uncle Tom's Cabin and also Treasure Island for free.

They also give you a free sample of any book. I have bought a couple, and rejected a couple, after reading the sample. Amazon sells most Kindle books for ten bucks, but a lot of lesser-known authors sell their books for a buck or two. If you want to read newly-published books from best-selling authors, you'll pay ten bucks a pop. But if you like to experiment, there are some really good books out there really cheap.

 

Best thing since Gutenberg!

I've had my Kindle DX for three weeks now, and I've got to say this is the best thing since Johannes Gutenberg invented movable type. With its rigid flat form (does not flop closed like a print book) and adjustable print size it is easier to read than a print book. I'll be taking another trip and I have ten books on the thing (3 or 4 of which were free, so I downloaded them without looking to see if they were any good) and free sample chapters of two others. Due to weight, I've never been able to take so many books with me on a trip. And this is not counting my New Yorker subscription.

I actually find myself reading more than I have for many years, now that the eyestrain of small type is no longer an issue. This thing was well worth the $531 (including tax).