The long wait is over...January 23, 2008 37 out of 39 found this review helpful
I've been waiting for this product for over 3 decades, since I first read a Wall Street Journal article about an engineer at Xerox (I think) who was trying to get a handheld reader on the market. The reader, as I recall, would use microfiche (!) and display the page on a screen.
Kindle arrived this morning. (Well, to be precise, I dashed to the UPS center right after they opened to pick it up myself; couldn't wait the additional 6 hours or so...)
It is jaw-droppingly wonderful. The letters on the screen are clear and crisp. Navigation through a book is as simple as can be, with large, well-placed NEXT and PREVIOUS buttons. Holding the Kindle when it is in its cover feels as natural as any book.
The scroll-wheel, with context-sensitive menus, is straightforward and clever. The internal dictionary seems pretty complete. (I was reading a sample of a book, and stumbled on the word "palingenetic". No challenge for the Kindle!)
In anticipation of the Kindle's arrival, I had downloaded several public-domain books from manybooks.net. Kindle comes with a USB cable to connect to the PC; at which point, moving the books onto the Kindle was a drag-and-drop operation. (Be sure to put them in Kindle's "Documents" folder!)
I subscribe to a magazine which makes its issues available in PDF. Using the Mobipocket Creator (free download), I was able to convert the PDF file to PRC, and drag/drop it on the Kindle. The result was not perfect (the images got a bit jumbled in some cases), but it sure was good for reading the content of the magazine.
I've opened several books, then closed them. Each time I go back to each book, Kindle remembers where I left off.
The keyboard is large enough to be useful, small enough not to take up too much real estate on the face of the Kindle. There are a few "special" keys, such as the one to take the reader straight to the Home page; or to pop up the font-size menu.
I put some MP3 files on an SD card, popped the SD card into Kindle, and Kindle recognized that music files were available for playing. (Note; when I put Kindle into sleep mode, the music continued playing; press ALT-P to stop the playback before going into sleep mode.)
There are many places on the Internet to get more information on using the Kindle, and getting content for the Kindle. I recommend, for starters:
http://www.manybooks.net Free, and available in Kindle format
http://interface.puhala.com/2007/12/28/kindle-easter-eggs-we-have-gps/ for a list of some undocumented features and how to activate them.
http://kindlehacks.blogspot.com/ a blog devoted to Kindle and how to maximize use.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kindlekorner/ to join a discussion group on the Kindle.
And, of course, the Amazon discussion groups for the Kindle. A good starting point: http://www.amazon.com/Million-Kindle-books-available-now/forum/FxBVKST06PWP9B/Tx15UAKRX5252A/1/ref=cm_cd_ef_tft_tp?%5Fencoding=UTF8&cdItems=25&cdAnchor=B000FI73MA&asin=B000FI73MA&store=fiona-hardware
I don't understand what people are complaining about- LOVE IT!January 23, 2008 36 out of 38 found this review helpful
I received this for a Christmas present. Albeit a month after Christmas due to backorder... Totally worth the wait. People who do not own one should not be able to review. I have found it easy on the eyes, easy to hold, easy to navigate. The cover works perfectly- just bend the cover back and secure with the elastic, and read away! Using the cover keeps you from accidentally pushing buttons that you do not want to. Waking up to the new daily paper, reading a book one handed, checking the weather, news, latest gossip, etc: Just a pleasure. The now , now feature is great. We asked where the closet Mexican restaurant was to our area, and got 3 replys in under 5 minutes- maps and all! I really had no idea it had all the options it does. I am not a techie, just a mom who loves everything about it. Now when I am waiting for an appointment etc: I can catch up on the news, or a great new book. It will be with me all the time...
Good attempt for a first generation deviceJanuary 23, 2008 9 out of 38 found this review helpful
The biggest issue I have with the Kindle is the side buttons and the white/black contrast. The buttons on the side are difficult not to press. They take up the entire side of the device. So I frequently find myself hitting them when I try to pick it up. If you set it down, you really have to pick it up careful so that you do not page by mistake.
Secondly, its hard to read! I've seen read-lights suggested with the Kindle, and I can see why. Unless there is a light source near by, it can be tiring to try and read its dim screen. I always read books in bed, with just the room light on. The kindle is much harder to read than a book, even when both are side by side. Next to a lamp, or other light source, the Kindle is very readable. Otherwise it reminds me of some of the early monocrome laptop displays from the early 90's.
Also this thing is expensive!! It costs the same as my iPhone. And the iPhone is color, uses touch and easier to read wikipedia on. Of course no books. But my point is, if Apple can build an iPhone for the same price, surely Amazon can add a few more features to make this device a bit more modern.
I think ebooks are great, and can't wait to see what future generations of this device will hold. For me, I think the price is the biggest issue. At $400, I am expecting an iPhone like ebook reader. Not a dimly lit monocrome tablet.
Kindle: Simply TremendousJanuary 23, 2008 30 out of 32 found this review helpful
I rarely write reviews but have been drawn into doing so by Amazon's eBook reader and the spectacle of so much negative opinion by people who don't own one. I have owned a Kindle since just a few days after their initial unveiling and decided to give the unit a good workout before commenting.
As far as any relevant demographic, I will admit to being middle aged; an I.T. professional and company director of some years; a bit of a gadget head and throughout my life, a bookworm with an emphasis on "BOOK", a place where I have rejected all gadgetry.
So, to cut to the chase: Amazon have pulled off something with their Kindle. It does achieve the design team's stated aim of having the technology disappear and allow the reader to enter the world of the author. Just like a book has always done. In fact, my experience of it has been that it achieves this marginally better than a book, being, in my opinion, a little more comfortable to hold.
I tend to travel a bit and have more than one book on the go and often wish/need to refer back to passages. The Kindle certainly makes all of this a joy.
The ePaper screen is fabulous. Very good resolution with a choice of font sizes and not backlit. From years and years of experience at reading off every type of monitor from green screens and colour crt's to hd lcd's, the Kindle's ePaper screen has been by far the most comfortable. I personally find that with a high resolution LCD computer monitor, even the Apple HD variety (which are great), an hour is as much as I can take for pure reading and none of it can be termed as an 'enjoyable' experience. I have read the Kindle for two and three hour stretches without any strain. There are no other distractions or wasted space because of the orientation (increasingly 'widescreen' for movie watching etc.) and backlighting to tire your eyes. Just book-like ease.
This brings me to another point. I have read a number of non-owner reviews that state that the unit should have a touch screen, like the iPhone (my other favourite toy). Maybe these people don't own such devices but the idea that you would want greasy finger marks all over a screen that you are trying to read from is missing the point by light years - believe me, you don't want this - please take note Mr. Robert "jump on the bandwagon" Scoble.
By the same token, the design of the unit is beautifully ergonomic. Admittedly, it is function over form (hence the perceived lack of Apple-like beauty) but I have found when sitting and reading, one doesn't have to think about turning pages. Your fingers never get in the way of the material that you are reading and after a few short minutes, you are hardly aware of the page turning buttons. This does lead to the potential for some accidental page turning but with a few moments practice, this is also consigned to the past - certainly no worse than when you lose your page in an analogue book. Once it has been in your hands for a while, it all makes sense.
The keyboard is easy to use when searching or using the Kindle store and the menu wheel is fine and works as expected. Again, the design imperative seems to be: Create a selector system that does not distract from primary function of reading, and in this, the system has fulfilled its purpose. There is no doubt room to improve in the presentation of the menu system but this is mostly to satisfy the ever increasing need for eye candy rather than improve the function.
For me, Amazon have scored really big in two things: The number of books that are available from the outset and the potential that their relationships with publishing houses affords (unlike Sony), and secondly, the fact that this device is almost entirely autonomous with little need for the computer.
I was really pleased with the storefront and EVDO 'Whispernet' functionality and I think for a lot of folks that read, no necessity to tether the Kindle to a computer is a great draw (this was certainly the case with the admittedly small sampling of more casual computer users to whom I have shown my Kindle.)
I don't mind the price although it could always be lower. The book prices are spot on and that is, to me, more important. With the Whispernet download included in the price, it really is a good deal. Again, those the cry for a printer company model (cheap printer - expensive ink) are not book lovers.sa
So, overall, a tremendous effort and I hope that the constantly sold state of the Kindle proves that those who get it and want the Kindle are not swayed by those that have amazingly ill informed opinions based on who knows what because they certainly have never used one.
The acid test for Jeff Bezos and Amazon now, is to see them stick with it and move the concept and the development forward and keep the content fresh and growing. 90,000 sounds a lot until you are looking for a specific title that just isn't there yet.
Developmental Suggestions: I do realize that the ePaper technology has been around for a while and is subject to slow but ongoing development by others but for this kind of price, I think the screen used should have been the eight grey level version rather than the four, providing, of course, this would not mean any degradation in the written word. I would also like to see increased background lightness perhaps towards a distinctly whiter base - this is not a complaint on the current screen but just a further push to more fully book-like appearance.
Review the page numbering scheme. Perhaps a system that recalculates pages numbers based on the font size in use and shows this against a base level of page numbering might be more helpful than the current location readout. Perhaps a choice between locations and simple traditional page numbering.
A dictionary key should be placed on the keyboard to quicken the process of finding the word being searched for and get you back to your reading and allow direct dictionary only searching whether in a book or otherwise.
Great Product!January 23, 2008 28 out of 30 found this review helpful
I was not going to write a review because I didn't have that much to add to the other five star reviews. But there are just a few things that I thought would be helpful.
First, the kindle seems smaller, lighter and, yes, more sexy then the pictures and videos.
Second, the buttons could have been better thought out. However, after about an hour, I got the hang of it.
Third, maybe the cover issue has been resolved, but I love the cover. It is easy to hold folded back while standing on the subway. Also, I can easily turn on and off the power and wireless without removing from the cover.
Fourth, the battery life seems fine, about three days with heavy use, downloading 4 books and 20+ samples. But, I do turn the unit off when not using.
And fifth, I did a calcualation, and with the 70+ books on my wish list(about 90% available for the kindle) and my purchasing pattern of 3 to 5 books a month, I will have saved the cost of the unit in one year.
All in all, I am very happy with the purchase. I wanted a e-book reader for a long time but was always concerned about the availability of content. I figure if Amazon can't make a go of this, it will be a VERY long time before anyone does. But, I think the kindle is here to stay
Added 1/26: Reviews are for owners or users. Discussions are for venting.
Reviews by non-owners or non-users are dishonest.
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