First Kindle review
Feb. 1st, 2008 10:58 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ntangMy first stab at a Kindle review, posted to BlackPlanet.com:
http://www.blackplanet.com/groups/forum_thread.html?group_id=40779&cmt_collection_id=561133
It's a bit simplistic and doesn't go into detail because it's not aimed at my "core" audience - you guys, nerds. There are plenty of nerds on BP, but that wasn't a targeted post just at the nerds or anything. (Don't take offense, but let's be realistic - if you're reading my LJ, you're probably a nerd. ;) )
We'll see how the discussion goes over there. And now, we'll see how it goes right here too. ;)
So - anyone have an Amazon Kindle out there? According to Steve Jobs, no one even reads any more, unless it's the track name of their favorite mp3.
Anyways, I just got mine a week ago, after being back-ordered for a month, and I have to say - as someone who loves to read, it really is a great little device. If you're not up on the latest news, the Kindle ( http://www.kindle.com/ ) is an e-book reader. It uses the new e-ink technology, which works sort of like (and looks a lot like) an Etch-a-Sketch. What it means, though, is that it's not hard on your eyes like a normal screen - it reads almost like a real printed page. (And in some ways it is - it uses magnetic ink to basically "print" on the screen.)
It also comes with free unlimited wireless service, Amazon's WhisperNet, which is basically just Sprint's EVDO service rebranded and for free. What it means, though, is that you can browse Amazon's catalog of books from anywhere, and download new books (or try a free sample of the first chapter or two) anytime. The first book I downloaded was Barack Obama's Dreams From My Father, and it literally took around 10 seconds to download it. (My next book was Neil Gaiman's Interworld, because, let's face it, I'm a nerd.)
As a book reader, it really is cool - I can carry the equivalent of 200 books in my backpack, all the time. While I haven't taken the plunge, you can subscribe to the New York Times and other newspapers and magazines and get them automatically delivered as soon as they are released. The convenience can't be beat.
The wireless features mean that if you want, you can use the web browser that's included - and it works, but it's slow, and the screen is black and white. It's not bad for looking something up quickly, but honestly is a little painful. If the browser was as fast as the internet connection, though, it'd be great.
It also has a dictionary built-in, so when you find a word you don't know, you can look it up while you're reading and then go right back to the story. It's got a few hidden features, like Minesweeper, and apparently has experimental tie-ins with Google Maps so you can see where you are on the map at any given time and look for nearby restaurants or coffee shops or whatever. But really, that's mostly fluff.
The Kindle is good at one thing - getting and reading books. If you like to read books, it's a great device. If you don't, it's pointless and all the free internet access in the world won't make it worthwhile.
http://www.blackplanet.com/groups/forum_thread.html?group_id=40779&cmt_collection_id=561133
It's a bit simplistic and doesn't go into detail because it's not aimed at my "core" audience - you guys, nerds. There are plenty of nerds on BP, but that wasn't a targeted post just at the nerds or anything. (Don't take offense, but let's be realistic - if you're reading my LJ, you're probably a nerd. ;) )
We'll see how the discussion goes over there. And now, we'll see how it goes right here too. ;)
So - anyone have an Amazon Kindle out there? According to Steve Jobs, no one even reads any more, unless it's the track name of their favorite mp3.
Anyways, I just got mine a week ago, after being back-ordered for a month, and I have to say - as someone who loves to read, it really is a great little device. If you're not up on the latest news, the Kindle ( http://www.kindle.com/ ) is an e-book reader. It uses the new e-ink technology, which works sort of like (and looks a lot like) an Etch-a-Sketch. What it means, though, is that it's not hard on your eyes like a normal screen - it reads almost like a real printed page. (And in some ways it is - it uses magnetic ink to basically "print" on the screen.)
It also comes with free unlimited wireless service, Amazon's WhisperNet, which is basically just Sprint's EVDO service rebranded and for free. What it means, though, is that you can browse Amazon's catalog of books from anywhere, and download new books (or try a free sample of the first chapter or two) anytime. The first book I downloaded was Barack Obama's Dreams From My Father, and it literally took around 10 seconds to download it. (My next book was Neil Gaiman's Interworld, because, let's face it, I'm a nerd.)
As a book reader, it really is cool - I can carry the equivalent of 200 books in my backpack, all the time. While I haven't taken the plunge, you can subscribe to the New York Times and other newspapers and magazines and get them automatically delivered as soon as they are released. The convenience can't be beat.
The wireless features mean that if you want, you can use the web browser that's included - and it works, but it's slow, and the screen is black and white. It's not bad for looking something up quickly, but honestly is a little painful. If the browser was as fast as the internet connection, though, it'd be great.
It also has a dictionary built-in, so when you find a word you don't know, you can look it up while you're reading and then go right back to the story. It's got a few hidden features, like Minesweeper, and apparently has experimental tie-ins with Google Maps so you can see where you are on the map at any given time and look for nearby restaurants or coffee shops or whatever. But really, that's mostly fluff.
The Kindle is good at one thing - getting and reading books. If you like to read books, it's a great device. If you don't, it's pointless and all the free internet access in the world won't make it worthwhile.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2008-02-01 04:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-02-01 04:27 pm (UTC)As far as home, well, it depends. In space-strapped NYC? I'm planning on getting rid of a bunch of books and for all text-only books sticking to the Kindle exclusively. Books with photos, or books that have sentimental value, or just the occasional one for something to paw through and smell and hold, can't replace.
But yeah, for normal books? Totally, I've read at home, on the subway, on the bus, it's good stuff. It's lighter and more convenient than a normal book, and I can flip from book to book to newspaper to magazines and back without getting up, which is cool. And honestly, the Kindle passes the most key test - when I get into a book on it, I lose track of time and everything around me. The interface isn't great, it's kind of slow in some ways, but once you get sucked in, it's good enough that you can get lost, and that's the important part.
no subject
Date: 2008-02-04 03:27 pm (UTC)(BTW, congrats to your boys. They'll have my undying affection for unseating the Pats)
no subject
Date: 2008-02-05 03:07 pm (UTC)By slow I mean that the screen refresh takes a while - it's not near-instantaneous, like a computer screen. Things like animations are right-out.
I also mean that the processing is a little slow - although that could just be imaginary based on the screen refresh. Actually, I suspect it is - looking up words returns the results almost instantly, pretty much as... fast as the screen can redraw.
When you're reading a book, it's plenty fast enough - you only turn a page so often, and it's not so slow as to pull you out of the reading experience. But when you're trying to surf the web or navigate through the menus, it can be a pain in the butt. If you plan on using it as an interactive device, it's a bad choice. But if you just want something that's surprisingly easy to read books on? Works great.
Also, minor gripe: whoever published Interworld and a few other books only attached a very small image of the cover. (I've seen other e-books on there with a full-screen cover image, so I know it's not the device, just the publisher at work there.) It'd be nice if the cover image filled the whole screen, but I can't honestly say it's that big a deal since you spend most of the time on the text and presumably very little looking at the cover. ;)
no subject
Date: 2008-02-05 04:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-02-05 04:40 pm (UTC)It was initially jarring, but I got used to it after a few pages, and the "entrance" time is lower each time I pick it up. But in all fairness, even a paper book has distractions around it and sometimes I can't get into it, so I don't know that it's much worse in the long run.
In the comfort of your home, with rosebud asleep and no outside distractions, yes, it'll probably take you 4 or 5 "pages" to get past the distracting pause. But you can also change the font size, I typically read on the smallest or second-smallest font size, meaning I get more text in a single page before I need to turn it, so...