Amazon Kindle?

Has anyone bought (or tried) an Amazon Kindle yet? What do you think?

I love the idea, but it's not cheap and I wonder how real any "wait for v2" (or v3) concerns might be.

Apparently it's picking up some steam though: http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1821451,00.html

And I thought this was pretty wild -- Amazon helping people meet up with Kindle owners for a demo:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=amb_link_5915932_1?ie=UTF8&docId=1000230941

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asked on Jul 27, 2008

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comments and reviews

Haven't bought one personally, but a friend of mine got one from her husband and she LOVES it. Raves on and on about it. Gave me the demo. Pretty cool. Her favorite feature is the built in link to the internet such that you can log into the Amazon site from anywhere, anytime and download new material. Easy to use, etc. You can even get magazines if you want. They have the trashy stuff you usually get before a biz trip, like People magazine, but half the fun is to see the wacky pictures of "A Rod" and Madonna up to no good, so downloading the magazines isn't as appealing.

Anyway, she is still raving about it and says it is totally worth it. No more driving to the book store. Browse, buy, download, and read, on the comfort of your couch. Coupled with pizza delivery on the net, you'll almost never have to leave your home again.....

#1 - posted on Jul 29, 2008 (7:21 pm)

I had a Franklin eBookman back in law school (about ten years ago), and I've had a Kindle for about the past six months. Reading on the Kindle is easy on the eyes, and in comparison, reading on my old eBookman would be (if I could find it) like reading on the tiny, travel version of an Etch-A-Sketch!!

I love the Kindle, and I use it nearly every day. I've ordered a number of books on it, but as odd as it might sound, I use it most often to read my own documents. (Unfortunately, docs need to be converted to a Kindle-compatible format, but the process is relatively painless and takes only a minute or so. Furthermore, once converted, I am able to review extremely voluminous documents while on the go without needing to print them out or trying to read them on a laptop.)

Regarding v2, rumors abound as to when it might be released. (I've heard it is already in production for an October release, and I've heard a new version could not be released until well into 2009.) Whenever released, surely v2 will improve on at least a few of Kindle's minor annoyances (e.g., the unnecessarily large "Next Page" button, which you will tap, unintentionally, on a regular basis for the first month or so!). Nevertheless, today's Kindle is a great piece of technology that I recommend without hesitation. If you want to take mine for spin, let me know, and we'll make it happen!!

#2 - posted on Jul 30, 2008 (7:09 pm)

Hey Andrew thanks! I'd love to check it out.. I'll send you an email to coordinate.

#3 (reply to #2) - posted on Jul 31, 2008 (11:02 am)

Thanks Chris -- some hardcore fans out there!

#4 (reply to #1) - posted on Jul 31, 2008 (11:04 am)

I am borrowing one and love it. Its a pleasant reading experience. I'll add a review.

#5 - posted on Oct 9, 2008 (3:34 pm)

The Amazon Kindle FAQ
by Bristlecone Pine Press

See it at

I have a Kindle in my possession right now, though it is borrowed. The text is wonderful and it feels like reading from a book. One incorrect expectation on my part was eye-strain, for two reasons. First, you can resize the text to your comfort level. Second, the display is not backlight, just like a real page. It requires reflected light to see the words, so you never have an intense light shining into your eyes, like reading on an iPhone.

The wireless radio (on the Sprint Network) is very fast since its data is mainly just text. I purchased two books from my computer, and the Kindle had them in a minute or two. It was very fast.

Getting around the interface is easy. The scroll/push wheel plus a full keyboard make it simple to search for and scroll through selections.

The battery life is around 6 days for me. Charging is fast. Battery life goes up if you leave the radio off and turn the Kindle off when you are done. I left this one running for the first three days.

As far as the experience goes, it is cool. It is also convenient to have so many books on-hand. But the opportunity cost here is visiting the book store. I love to browse around, looking for those gems that are lost in banner ads or sheer volume on websites.

reviewed by: the poster above

I've had one for almost year. I still use it and like it.

It was a little cooler before Oprah recommended it though :-)

Works fine, getting the books wireless over the cell network is key (and fast) ... but if you want to wait for V2 rumor is Jan or Feb.

#6 - posted on Dec 3, 2008 (10:47 pm)

Reporting back on the Kindle 2. Again I have one to "review." Been on it for about a week now. The presentation is the same as Kindle 1, but the case design is more refined, and round. It still feels bulky, but I still see myself getting one eventually. Its just so convenient.

The Kindle vs Kindle for iPhone: well if you don't want the reader, at least you can get the books. The downfall here is screen size and the fact that iPhone has a backlit display: it's not very paper-like, unlike the Kindle itself.

... and there is a catch
Amazon does not cop to the fact that publishers can limit the number of devices a book can be installed on. Similar to iTunes limiting purchased content to 5 computers, book publishers can limit the number of devices you can read an Amazon book purchase on. I've heard that some might limit to as few as 1 device.

Currently there is no way to tell this information. If you get locked out, you might be able to contact Amazon support to get the book moved to another device. I suppose this prevents multiple users from freely using the same Amazon account to read books. After all, what's to stop me from signing in to my buddy's account if he told me the username and password. There would be all his books for my reading, and his magazine subscriptions.

#7 - posted on Mar 15, 2009 (10:34 pm)

Thanks Damian, I got one of the Kindle 2's and pretty underwhelmed.. see below.

#8 (reply to #7) - posted on Mar 27, 2009 (1:01 pm)

Kindle Wireless Reading Device (6" Display, U.S. Wireless)
by Amazon.com

See it at

OK so I'm not sure I've heard anyone very critical of the Kindle, but I got the Kindle 2 a few weeks ago and I think in many ways it's overrated.

First, the screen. The contrast is poor. The text is black on gray. Worse than pretty much any physical book you can find. And the bright white exterior continually reminds you about just how "not white" the screen background is. It's probably OK when there's a lot of light behind you, but reading in a somewhat dimly lit room is no fun. THe screen also "ghosts" like crazy -- leaving little trails from the previous screen.

Also, not having a touch screen is a bummer. The UI begs for to be a touch screen, with round buttons everywhere, but instead you have to move a little nub around in 4 directions until you get to the button you want. Because of this, adding notes or pretty much any other kind of navigation is really clunky. Reminds me of using Windows 3.0 before mice were readily available.

I miss page numbers. In Kindle land it's "locations" and a book will easily have thousands of them! It's pretty daunting to know I've got 12,236 locations to go!

The books aren't that much cheaper. I'm struggling to reason what makes a Kindle book much better than a physical one. Sure, you can get it immediately, and there's a dictionary built in. But I'm not sure I can't look up a word faster on my iphone...

Finally, these days I find time to read in random bursts -- e.g, take a book with me to the park while the kids are playing or at gymnastics. Not a great spot/situation for a $300+ device that's too big to fit in your pocket in case you need to get up and leave for a minute. And I'm not excited to bring a $300+ device into my "other office" either.

I know the iPhone screen is smaller, but I already take it with me everywhere and it fits neatly in my pocket. And the screen is nice, bright, and clear. Not ideal, but in most other ways better than the Kindle2. And now that there's a Kindle App for the iPhone, I see even less reason for the Kindle device... but then again, that's probably just fine with Amazon as long as I keep buying ebooks...

reviewed by: the poster above

I agree, I have tried a friends and I couldn't see myself using it. It is for early adopters and possibly travelers. If I was jet setting all over and wanted a couple of newspapers where ever I was, right when I woke up in the morning, kindle would do the job.

Now if they could get my email onto it and it could display attachments then I could see myself using it.

Till they get a touch screen and color it will probably still be paper for me.

#9 - posted on Mar 28, 2009 (3:14 pm)

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