Contents
1. What is the Kindle?
2. Design
3. Features
4. Cost
5. The Good
6. The Bad
1. What is the Kindle?
The Kindle is an electronic reader (e-reader) from Amazon. With the Kindle you are able to download electronic versions of published books (e-books). The 2nd generation Kindles have the ability to hold up to 1,500 books. It gives you the availability of your entire library with the convenience of just one electronic device.
2. Design
With a thickness smaller than your average pen and weighing in at only 10.2 ounces, the Kindle boasts a sleek and light design.&nb; It hap a 6 inch display and is about the size of a regular paperback. The page controls are conveniently located on the sides of the Kindle with a 3.5mm headphone jack located at the top. It uses a "5 way precision controller" to navigate through options and settings.
3. Features
E-Ink - One of the greatest features about the Kindle is something called e-ink. The display doesn't look like a computer screen, it looks like a book! The font is crisp and clear making it easy on the eyes. There is no backlighting and thus no glare. It truly is like reading from a book. However, it is only black and white.
Long Lasting Battery - On a single charge the Kindle can last up to a week with wireless on and two weeks with wireless off. Great for when you're on the road or at the park.
Free Wireless - There is no monthly service charge for the wireless provided by Sprint. As long as there is Sprint coverage you have access to the internet.
Font Enhancement - You have the ability to choose from various font sizes, whatever you prefer. There is even a zoom feature to blow up a section of the book. Not really good for reading, but good from diagrams and such.
Web Browser - Though still experimental and very basic, you still have access to the internet. Great for looking up wikipedia (which you have free access to....well....who doesn't?) or looking up the news.
Search - You can easily search a book, the Kindle Store, or your library with the keyboard. Nice if you wanted to refer back to a passage.
Text to Speech - Want to just relax and have the book read to you? Then turn on text-to-speech.
Social Networking - Yes the influence of Facebook and Twitter have even touched the Kindle as well. Post your thoughts or favorite passages anytime, anywhere.
PDF Reader - Send PDF files directly to the Kindle through Amazon's Whispernet Service. Some features will not work, but it's still nice to have that business report on hand.
Newspaper and Magazines - Yep, read newspapers like The New York Times or magazines like Time
right on your Kindle. There are extra monthly fees though.
4. Cost
Right now the Kindle retails for $189 at Amazon.com with free two-day shipping. Click here to learn more!
5. The Good
There are a lot of great features on the Kindle that make it an awesome e-reader. In fact, I think that most of it's features can be labeled as "The Good." However, I want to highlight a few here.
I cannot express just how great e-ink really is. Some people have said "I can't stare at computer screens too long." Well don't worry because it's not a computer screen. Really, it looks like a book. You have to see it to believe it.
Have an I-Phone or I-Pod Touch? Great. There's a Kindle app on it too!
If you're not electronics-savvy, don't worry. The Kindle is very easy to navigate and very easy to use. There is no setup involved and it's ready to go right out of the box. Just follow some simple instructions and you'll be reading in no time.
The wireless is great in that it's free (who doesn't love free). Sprint has a pretty good 3G network also. Downloading books you've purchased takes less than a minute. If you like to travel, the coverage is global.
If you like to listen to music while you read (I don't), you can upload music to the Kindle and listen to it while reading. A plus for people like my sister :)
6. The Bad
With any product there is always a bad, dark, "company doesn't want you to know about" side.
First and foremost, there is a limit to how many times you can download an e-book. Yep, there is a limit. Sounds crazy since you "bought" the book right? Wrong. Essentially you are "renting" the book. Publishers place a limit on how many times you can download their publication and here's the kicker: they don't tell you what it is! Word of advice #1: try not to delete an e-book if you don't have to. Also, the download limit applies if you download it onto an I-Phone or I-Pod.
You will lose access to your e-book library if your account is suspended or banned. Again, you're "renting" the book. Losing an account usually happens to people who return too many items (regardless of whose fault it is). Word of advice #2: Try not to buy/return too many things from Amazon.com. Not worth losing all those e-books in my opinion.
The text-to-speech is a cool feature but it sounds like a foreign mono-tone robot on crack. I'm sorry but it's hard for me to listen to a book and really get into it when I'm thinking about how much my Kindle had to smoke that morning. If you don't mind being read to by your GPS, then this won't bother you at all.
The ability to search the web is great but it's such a limited browser. By basic I mean it's "free cell-phone from three years ago basic." (Well, maybe not that bad) Again, useful for simple information but don't expect to be surfing yahoo anytime soon.
Don't be fooled by the social networking feature. Yes it's awesome that you can post about how much "sisterhood of the traveling pants" made you cry, but that's about all you can do. The Kindle cannot read comments to your posts or respond to them. You can only post.
If even after reading this section you still can't wait to get your hands on a Kindle, click here to order one for yourself today!
