About 3 weeks ago, and after weeks of giving it a thought, I bought meself an Amazon Kindle and I am loving it!
It just fits under my reading habits
I think of meself as someone with a concentration disorder. I can't be more than 10min into something without getting easily distracted by anything that goes along me surroundings or the web - got to confess I'm subscribed to over 600 blogs and counting, and just as it is the source to my knowledge it also is the source of most of my distractions.
It's always been like that and I've learned to take advantage of it.
Same happens while reading, I get bored really easy - I just need to have me head thinking in more than one thing to keep it amused.
I can read easily over 50 pages at a time on any giving book - well not any, but those I like - but then I need to switch and read something different, while me brain processes what it just got. If I don't do it I just won't concentrate on the what ever is going on and will go as such until I restart the engine into something different.
So, where have I gone thru the years? I always carry over more than 2 or 3 books with me, a magazine and my laptop. 1 or 2 novels, a work-related book, GQ or anything light. Now depending on the books, the carry-on gets heavy and not fun; which gets translated into no books for you!
I bought the Kindle and suddenly things changed
I bought the Kindle because I wanted a place where I could fit several of my books, have them handy and accessible at all times, everywhere I could be.
I wanted something that could replace my 3 or 4 books I always carried, yet delivering the same experience I got while going thru paper pages. I wanted a multi theme/history book that would fit my current reading habits and would maintained me entertained.
Since I've been quite busy lately I'd stopped reading cause I forget my books at home or at the office and that is not good for imagination.
I wanted to get back to me mind and dream!
The experience
The device is not perfect. That is a fact. Form factor could be improved and make it less prompt to mistakes - the location of the Next and Back button are usually mistakenly pressed 'cause of where they exist. Give it a couple of days and you'll get used to them and keep on with your reading.
The turn off/on switch for both the device and the wireless are in the back which if you use the leather case it comes with is kind of now where, but again the case makes its work and protects the device, the switches though could be relocated.
The screen, ah that is just awesome! No mater where you are as far as there is light you can read, it's just as simple as printed paper - hoped though that some images, in some books, had a better Kindle treatment, but depending on the book it just works.
Content and the way to you is everything
I could have bought a different device and save some money, I could even use my current devices, like the Nokia n800; but the main reason I went with the Kindle was because of content. They just have it and they make it easy to get your hands to it... with out it it wouldn't be the success it is. I guess it is just like the iPod+iTunes experience. They just work.
Buying books or just sampling thru them from within the device and getting them wirelessly transferred to my hands within minutes is just great - ok, this only works in the states, but I happen to be here half on my time, which is more often than the factor when I finish a book. The rest of the times I just download them to me computer and transfer them thru USB.
Me 2 cents
Since I bought the Kindle, I have read about 4 books and sampled over 6 other. The experience is good enough for it to blend in my hands and forget that it is a device and not a book. In that, I guess, the UX team had it right.
There are some extras that provide greater value yet they are in experimental mode: I use the build-in browser for twitter and really simple searches. It just extends the experience of a book on steroids.
If you live outside the states, keep in mind you need an US issued Credit or Debit Card to associate to your device in order to buy books. After you have passed this little thing over, you can just use your other credit cards and buy Gift Certificates and buy books out from them.
A quick tip for getting the card: get a pre-paid Visa card at CVS or Walgreens and use that as the card associated to your device as it checks this every time you buy something. After that it is done, all will be happiness and imagination!
K, so this is it for my review of the Kindle. I typically don't do this but it truly has been an enabler of happiness and imagination, and thought was something worthwhile to share.
Or is it just that Google is really making me stupid?!
