Kindle

Ever since I heard rumors that Amazon was coming out with an eBook reader, I’ve been waiting for it.

It’s here.

It’s expensive, at $400. It’s wireless, which is awesome. You do your shopping and downloading right from the device, which apparently works on a cell phone (or cell phone-like) network, so you’re not limited to hotspots.

And a download is quick. With the Sony Reader (which I own), I’ve got to use my computer, navigate their HORRIBLE, amazingly slow, Windows-only app, and then wait forever to download stuff.

It uses the same “ink” as the Sony model.

I haven’t read the details yet, but it looks pretty good so far. It has a keyboard, which means that you can do stuff you can’t do with the Sony Reader, like search, take notes, and have an easy-to-use built-in dictionary.

You can also subscribe to blogs and newspapers. With Sony, you SORT OF can, but it’s extremely limited.

On the other hand, the keyboard takes up space (too bad they didn’t do an iPhone-like touch screen). So, although I haven’t checked the specs, it must either be bigger than the Sony, or have a smaller screen.

I think I’d rather have a bigger screen that a keyboard, but then, I’m not reading blogs and newspaper articles (which I might want to use Search for), because it’s so inconvenient to do so.

I’m not ready to spend 400 bucks on this (I only spent $50 on my Sony, which retails for $300), but I really like where it’s going. And I assume that Amazon has a larger collection of books than the (as I may have mentioned) really crappy, terrible, Sony implementation.

3 Responses to Kindle

  1. BruceS November 24, 2007 at 8:17 pm #

    My memory is a bit faulty (went for that cheap non-parity stuff), but I thought the Sony was a short-term test sort of thing, that you returned. I’m too lazy to look it up, so I display my misunderstanding instead.
    My wife just showed me an article about the Kindle today. It does sound good, but not ideal. One thing I’d really like is if they would take paper books, and give in return the download of the same book. That way, we could transform much of our eight or so bookshelves worth of paper into a few cards. I like the idea of this tech, but would be wary of spending so much money (half a days worth!) without being able to test drive it for a while.

  2. weeklyrob November 25, 2007 at 5:19 pm #

    Your memory is correct, but incomplete. Kevin (who comments here sometimes) told me that if I signed up for a free Sony credit card, then I could get a Reader for $50.

    That was certainly within my range.

    Does Amazon not have a return policy? I bet you could buy it, and if you don’t like it, send it back.

  3. BruceS November 28, 2007 at 9:55 am #

    Thanks for the clarification.
    For me, it would be sufficient to use one for an hour or two, to see how I liked it. I wonder if there are any outlets that offer that option. In any case, being a cheap B, I’ll probably wait until the tech gets much cheaper. I still have a 20″ CRT TV, a push lawn mower I bought ca ’90, etc.

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