looks hugeNovember 22, 2007 3 out of 92 found this review helpful
this looks so big, the coolness factor is nil. Wonder who would buy this big piece ( almost looks like a brick). Good luck amazon!
Content, content, content (Bibles, etc...)November 22, 2007 23 out of 104 found this review helpful
Question: what'the #1 best-selling book year after year, since the Gutenberg Press? The Bible.
One would think this would lend this selection as an obvious publication worthy of the Kindle. However, if you search for "Bible," you'll get 96 pages of results with only about four or five "real" Bibles--most of which are pretty poor adaptations to the device and in either KJV or TNIV format, not the most scholarly selections. Of course, any notes found in a study Bible are missing. And don't expect to look up "John 3:16"--it won't find it. Instead, go to the Table of Contents, select John, then page through about 60 pages to find your selection. Of course, the chapter number isn't enlarged or highlighted, so there's a good chance you'll miss it the first time through.
Also worth noting: "My Utmost..." is only available in the "classic" format. Of course, one could assume that someone using a high-tech device might want modern English, but that escapes whomever is coming up with these book selections...
P.S. If you look under "Bibles and other Sacred texts", you'll find eight Qurans/Korans and one lame Bible rendition. The Bible comes last, so be sure to scroll to the second page, where it's lonesome by itself.
Returned it!November 22, 2007 584 out of 619 found this review helpful
I am anxiously awaiting Kindle 2.0 and I'll tell you why - ergonomics. I really, really wanted to like the Kindle. The concept of having your entire library in a small, searchable electronics device that didn't melt your eyes like staring at a computer screen does really appealed to me. I'm an avid reader of novels, computer books, and lots of other things. An electronic reader with an E-Ink screen made sense. The Sony E-Reader looked good, but lacks the content that Amazon's Kindle offers. I think that almost everything about the Kindle is great, but - the ergonomics are terrible!
How are you supposed to HOLD this thing in your hands? I spent the last 24 hours reading books, newspaper, and magazines on it. The keyboard surprisingly stays out of the way; I never accidentally hit a key when I was using it. BUT - those large Previous/Next keys on the side make it impossible to hold easily. You basically have two choices - hold it by the bottom/middle or hold it very gently by the sides, so as not to activate the buttons. I hold my books by the sides when I read them because it's very comfortable and natural to do so. You can't do this on a Kindle because you'll accidentally switch pages if you do. The design is terrible! It was very frustrating to use because I had to pick it up a special way so as not to activate the page turning buttons - I couldn't just pick it up like a book because I might lose my page by hitting the Previous or Next button.
I can't emphasize this enough...those large side buttons are the reason I'm returning my Kindle. It's very frustrating to use because you press the keys on accident all the time and it makes it not very comfortable to hold. Amazon, if you're reading this, please take some of the following ideas to your drawing board for version 2.0:
1. Put comfortable hand grips on the sides - I want to be able to hold my book easily! I'm not exactly sure why there's a rubber grip on the back of the book but not the sides - my fingers aren't designed to hold a flat surface like the back of the book! 2. Move the Previous/Next buttons somewhere else that is still easily accessible. It's not easy to operate a Kindle with one hand and it definitely should be. Also, my fingers want to grip the sides of the screen but since the buttons are there, I can't. This was annoying to the point that I returned mine. 3. Why isn't there a backlight or built-in light? Books have been around for hundreds of years and Amazon's goal is to replace them with the presumably better Kindle E-Reader...so why doesn't it have a light so I can read it in the dark? 4. Why is there a physical Wireless On/Off switch? I forgot to turn it off and it drained my battery. It should be a software switch that activates when it needs to access the Internet, unless you're on an airplane or something in which case you can put it into Airplane Mode. 5. Why is it white? Mine was dirty less than an hour after I got it. A darker color would be appreciated! 6. Why is the Kindle oriented vertically? When I read, I read in widescreen, i.e. two pages open in my novel. When I tilted the Kindle and held it horizontally, it was MUCH more comfortable to hold. The Sony E-Reader has this feature and I think it's great. 7. I want good document conversion software for PDF, DOC, TXT, etc. I have a ton of material on my computer that I'd highly prefer reading on an E-reader, but it gets kind of mangled when I import it. If I could read my own content with good formatting as well as books, that'd be awesome. 8. Why do I have to pay nearly full price for an electronic book when I'm not paying for ink, paper, or distribution costs? I know the free EVDO wireless is costing Amazon money, but if you sold your books at 50% off people would be all over this thing, despite it's high price tag. 9. Please offer a service to trade in paper books for their electronic versions. I have bookshelves upon bookshelves of books I've purchased, but I don't want to buy them again just so that I can have a digital copy of them - I've already paid for them! 10. PLEASE put a store button on the Kindle! I don't want to have to go into a sub-menu just to access the Kindle store - I want to hit a button and be taken directly in!
Other than those gripes, the Kindle is a fantastic piece of gadgetry. I hope that Amazon gets their entire library converted soon because it would be great to have access to any content I want, whenever I want it. Amazon, please listen to your users because you have the potential to make the Kindle great with just a few hardware modifications.
ExcellentNovember 22, 2007 2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I've had my Kindle for a week and a half now. I love it because it allows me to have a comfortable reading experience and at the same time allows me to have all the advantages of digital media.
I find the screen quite readable. I love the changeable font size. I love the dictionary lookup feature. I don't use the annotation or bookmark features, or at least I haven't yet. I love the $9.99 for new books and hardcovers, and I'm having a great time downloading and reading free classic books from various websites. I look forward to content availability from Amazon improving as publishers hopefully make more of their back inventory available for Kindle.
I live in an area without coverage, so I can't use those features that depend on the wireless connection (Wikipedia and web access.) Fortunately the nearest town to me is in the coverage area, so I can take my Kindle with me when I go grocery shopping, turn on the Whispernet switch, and let it download whatever free sample chapters I've ordered (as of this time, sample chapters can only be downloaded wirelessly). Other than that, I download book purchases to my PC and use the USB cable to transfer them to my Kindle.
I give Amazon 5 stars, in other words an "A", for effort. There are a few things I'd like to see them improve:
a) make free sample chapters and Kindle software updates available for download via PC, rather than only via Whispernet.
b) the elastic band which holds the cover closed presses down on the cover so tightly that it engages the scroll wheel, in fact the inside front cover is even developing a depression where it presses down on the scroll wheel when closed. The cover holds the Kindle securely, but it does take a little maneuvering to get it seated properly. I'd like to see a better-designed cover. If aftermarket vendors start making their own Kindle covers, I'll certainly investigate them.
I couldn't care less about color screens (the books I read are black and white) or backlighting (the books I read don't have backlit pages). I suspect that many of the people giving the Kindle one-star reviews are people who don't do much reading for pleasure and therefore don't understand how a device like this is appreciated by those of us who do read.
completely wrongheaded conceptNovember 22, 2007 10 out of 57 found this review helpful
Ebooks are the wave of the future. I'm glad to see Amazon's reader if only because it will get people used to ebooks. But this product has a few wrong-headed concepts. First, the price is ridiculous. For $399 you can get a Treo 680, load hundreds of ebooks onto a SDHC card, and also use it as a computer, email client, game player, PDA, and MP3 player. PLUS, and this is critical--the 680 is small enough to hold in one hand comfortably, and to have on you all the time. Portability is a key to an ebook reader IMHO. A 680 is just big enough--and not too small. You can read it easily, but you can always have it with you. You're sitting someplace and bored--pull it out and read a chapter. The last thing you need is another device to pack or carry, however. If you want an ebook reader--get a multi-purpose device that can you put in your pocket.
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