Diane and I bought a Kindle today and I love it already. What a wonderful device!
From my blog:
I learned today the features and benefits of the Kindle, Nook and Sony e-readers. Learned by comparing them. I also learned much about the Kindle. Learned by exploring it after buying one...
...It hit me last night (as I drove) that it is time to buy an e-reader. I had all kinds of reasons before for not buying one but something clicked last night. Diane did some product research as I drove this morning. We stopped at a Best Buy store where all three devices are on display and decided on a Kindle.
We changed drivers at that stop. Diane was behind the wheel and as far as she was concerned, I might as well have been on the moon. I was lost to her and quickly immersed in my (oops, make that our) new Kindle.
What a delightful device! I declared my love for it just minutes after turning it on. Items:
- The screen is wonderful. It is easier to view than a printed page. The adjustable fonts are an added bonus.
- With the leather cover (additional purchase), it feels great in the hands. It is about the size of a paperback book but thinner and lighter. That's a nice change from some of the 500 page books I sometimes read. It does not matter how many pages your e-book is, it is always the same size and weight on the Kindle.
- Page turning is a breeze. Just click a button. You can lay the Kindle flat on your thigh, keep both hands free while reading a page and then simply push a button to move to the next.
- The Kindle stows easily in the truck. It takes up about the same space as an 8"x5" spiral notebook.
- The price is now reasonable. We held off on an e-reader purchase partly because of the price. The model we bought was bottom of the line and cost about $140 without the leather cover.
- e-readers have come into their own and most of the early criticisms of the Kindle have been addressed. The other reason we held off on an e-reader purchase was to give this new product category time to evolve. Kindle was the first. Sony soon followed. Then came the Nook and others before and after. The iPad also hit the market. Market forces motivated the manufacturers to create better and less expensive products. Those changes lured us in.
- I have read nothing on the device except the user's guide but can already see it will help me better use my time. The internet, with all its links and easy clicking, is a fun, interesting but distracting place. I can put stuff on a Kindle, turn my computer off, and settle in for several hours of focused reading on pre-planned topics.
- The Kindle makes new content available to us that is not normally available on the road. We are unable to subscribe to a local newspaper as we drive around the country. How would you get the printed versions to us? So too with magazines. With Kindle subscriptions, I can view my favorite magazines as soon as they come out, without paying high prices per issue at a news stand. It keeps the truck uncluttered too. When we are done with a periodical, we don't have to look for a dumpster.
- The books I have on my Florida reading list are all recently published and cost a pretty penny in a bookstore. I can buy them at substantial discounts as Kindle books.
I have only begun to appreciate all that a Kindle can do for Diane and me as we live, work and read on the road. I've owned it less than a day and love the little thing.
