I love reading; always have. I remember the joy of checking out books from the library when I was a child: the thrill of finding a book that could transport me to other worlds and situations…and the sorrow when the time eventually came to return “my” book. It was as if I had separation anxiety when it was time to return a title I had really enjoyed. What if I wanted to read it again later? What if I couldn’t remember the title or author? I decided early on that book ownership was key.
With that goal in mind, I would use money given to me on birthdays and Christmas to purchase my own books. Once I had a regular job, I also became a regular book purchaser. Even with periodic culling and gifting of the books I chose not to keep, I still managed to amass quite a personal library over the years. Because of the space required by my books, the advent of eBooks was very attractive to me. Early on I committed to the Peanut Press/eReader platform, and over the years I have managed to purchase 503(!!) of them. I particularly like the idea of a virtual library - no trees cut down to support my voracious habit, and no need for additional shelf space. Like many, I wondered why the savings from dead tree books to eBooks were not steeper, but for the most part I kept my grumbling to myself.
When dedicated eBook readers such as the Sony Reader began to appear, I looked at them with much interest, but I never bit. Part of the reason was that I didn’t want to carry yet another device, but the other reason - in all honesty - was because none of them were compatible with eReader and the library I had already amassed; I simply did not relish the idea of moving to another platform.
It wasn’t until Wayne basically said that he was sending his Amazon Kindle to me, and I was expected to try it and give my impressions, that I ever thought I might bail out of the eReader club. Is the Kindle perfect? Heck no. But I found it to be surprisingly compelling.
This review will include not only my experience with the reader, but also Wayne and Ellen’s. After I cover the hardware, we’ll each take turns discussing this wireless reading device…
The selling points listed on the Amazon site contain plenty of marketing hyperbole, including the following:
* Revolutionary electronic-paper display provides a sharp, high-resolution screen that looks and reads like real paper.
* Simple to use: no computer, no cables, no syncing.
* Wireless connectivity enables you to shop the Kindle Store directly from your Kindle—whether you’re in the back of a taxi, at the airport, or in bed.
* Buy a book and it is auto-delivered wirelessly in less than one minute.* More than 120,000 books available, including more than 98 of 112 current New York Times® Best Sellers.
* New York Times® Best Sellers and New Releases $9.99, unless marked otherwise.
* Free book samples. Download and read first chapters for free before you decide to buy.
* Top U.S. newspapers including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post; top magazines including TIME, Atlantic Monthly, and Forbes—all auto-delivered wirelessly.
* Top international newspapers from France, Germany, and Ireland; Le Monde, Frankfurter Allgemeine, and The Irish Times—all auto-delivered wirelessly.
* More than 300 top blogs from the worlds of business, technology, sports, entertainment, and politics, including BoingBoing, Slashdot, TechCrunch, ESPN’s Bill Simmons, The Onion, Michelle Malkin, and The Huffington Post—all updated wirelessly throughout the day. (Yes, I have applied to get Gear Diary added… ;-) )
* Lighter and thinner than a typical paperback; weighs only 10.3 ounces.
* Holds over 200 titles.
* Long battery life. Leave wireless on and recharge approximately every other day. Turn wireless off and read for a week or more before recharging. Fully recharges in 2 hours.
* Unlike WiFi, Kindle utilizes the same high-speed data network (EVDO) as advanced cell phones—so you never have to locate a hotspot.
* No monthly wireless bills, service plans, or commitments—we take care of the wireless delivery so you can simply click, buy, and read.
* Includes free wireless access to the planet’s most exhaustive and up-to-date encyclopedia—Wikipedia.org.
* Email your Word documents and pictures (.JPG, .GIF, .BMP, .PNG) to Kindle for easy on-the-go viewing.
If what you just read sounds good, but you live outside of the US, then you might want to slow down for a minute and read the following:
At this time, we are unable to offer the Amazon Kindle and associated digital content from the Kindle Store to our international customers due to import/export laws and other restrictions. When you place your order for an Amazon Kindle, both the billing address for the payment method and the shipping address for the delivery must be recognized by our systems as valid U.S. addresses. To successfully purchase digital content from the Amazon Kindle Store, the 1-Click payment method listed on the Manage Your Kindle page must be a credit or debit card issued by a U.S. Bank with a U.S. billing address. We value our international customers and hope to make Kindle available internationally in the future.
So assuming that you live in the US and are able to access a CDMA mobile phone network (like Sprint’s or Verizon’s), we’ll continue…
The Kindle arrives in a whimsical and unique gift box; it is fashioned to look like a book, and it is held shut by an elastic loop wound around a peg.
When the box is opened, the Kindle appears on the right, and the left contains the accessories.
Included in the box are the Kindle wireless reader, a black leather book cover, a power adapter, an instruction manual, and a USB 2.0 cable.
Hardware Specifications:
Display: 6″ diagonal E-Ink® electronic paper display, 600 x 800 pixel resolution at 167 ppi, 4-level gray scale
Size (in inches): 7.5″ x 5.3″ x 0.7″
Weight: 10.3 ounces
System requirements: Access to a CDMA Wireless network
Battery: 1530mAh Lithium Polymer
Leave wireless on and recharge approximately every other day. Turn wireless off and read for a week or more before recharging. Battery life will vary based on wireless usage, such as shopping the Kindle Store and downloading content. In low coverage areas or in 1xRTT only coverage, wireless usage will consume battery power more quickly. Kindle fully recharges in two hours.
Ring Around the Device: The Kindle is composed of an off-white plastic that in all honesty looks cheap and nasty to me. Perhaps it was my revulsion to its aesthetics that made me even more hesitant to try the device, because well…I can be shallow like that. The 6″ diagonal screen (4.75″ tall x 3.5″ wide) dominates the front of the device, and on the left side are (almost too-easily pressable) buttons for Previous Page and Next Page. On the right is an overly long button for Next Page and a small Back Button. I dislike the placement of the Back button, because more often than I care to admit, I would accidentally press it. Pressing the Back button takes you to the previously viewed menu screen, not the previous page of the book being currently read. A pressable scroll wheel next to the Back button allows you to select between menu options, and a full QWERTY and numeric keyboard allows you to enter information when it is needed. I would have much preferred an on-screen navigational keyboard instead, with the extra real estate being taken by an even larger screen, but that’s just me.
The device has a wedge shape to it: it’s angled to be wider on the left and thinner on the right.
The beveled and wedged design allows the Kindle to fit nicely into its leather cover, as you’ll soon see.
From left to right, on the bottom of the device are: a headphone jack, a mini USB port, a charging indicator LED, and the power port. There are also separate Volume + and - buttons.
Here’s a closeup of the QWERTY keyboard and its angled buttons. Pressing them produces a satisfying click, so the tactile feedback on this keyboard is at least very good. I still wish it wasn’t there, though.
If you are right handed, the placement of the long Next Page button is perfect for easy tapping while reading.
The back of the Kindle has two sliding switches: the first is the On / Off switch, and the second is the Wireless switch. It would have been too cool if wireless in this instance meant WiFi, but as previously mentioned - it’s CDMA. A small speaker sits to the right, mainly for notifications, and there is a large gray rubbery battery cover with a groove to catch on the black leather cover.
Removing the battery cover reveals the SD memory card slot (Wayne included a 4GB card) and the 1530mAh Lithium Polymer battery.
The included black leather cover almost makes up for the cheesy plastic of the device…but not quite. Similarly to a Moleskin notebook, the Kindle’s cover is held shut with a black elastic band.
The cover’s interior is lined in a gray suede-like fabric; an extra bit of protective padding is over the area which covers the screen.
Two of the Kindle’s ends are cradled by the holster built into the cover, and a tab in the cover’s holster also fits into the notch in the battery cover to help keep the Kindle in place.
