I think I’m going to pull the trigger on the Amazon Kindle after looking at it for the past year or so…
I’ve been reading more lately and it’s not about saving money really, but actually reading more. That’s what I need to do. 🙂
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I live in Cairo, Egypt and picked up the Kindle this summer while I was back home in the US on vacation. The whispernet service worked flawlessly for me even allowing me to do last-minute splurge book shopping before the airplane door closed on my flight back out of the US. Amazon – you have revolutionized the way I meet my voracious appetite for books now. I love that I can buy any book and receive it immediately even if that book is not available on the continent where I live.
The screen is incredibly easy to read. The page turn buttons are sensitive enough to make them simple to hit but not so sensitive that I am accidentally hitting them. As someone who likes to simultaneously read multiple books, I really enjoy the string of dots under each title on the home screen showing the approximate book length and the bold dots indicating how far I am through each book. It’s easy to glance and decide which book I’m going to “pick up” and continue reading.
Unexpected bonus, I no longer have to flip my head and “book” from side to side when I read laying down. If I find a comfortable position, I can hold the Kindle with either hand and stay in that position for as long as I want.
My 9-year old daughter is enjoying the Kindle’s built-in dictionary and is looking up the meaning of more words than ever before helping improve her vocabulary much faster.
Personally, if the Kindle content continues to catch up to my desired reading list, I’ll never want to read on paper again.
What would make it even better:
1) Allow custom sorting of the order of books and/or allow filing into custom categories. I want to separately view my children’s books, my favorites and the next books I am planning to read. Allowing custom sorting would meet my need to put my e-books in virtual organized bookshelves.
2) Allow “sneak peeks” to be synchronized without whispernet. Today, I can easily purchase books and move them to my Kindle by manually connecting the device, but any free previews queue up to be wirelessly delivered only. If I want this sneak peek from outside the country, I have to sit at the PC to read it – not at all what you want to do once you’ve experienced the ease of reading the screen on your Kindle.