We Didn’t Start the Fire

I recently got a Kindle,  and apparently I was lucky to do so, as Amazon is reporting that they are sold out of version 1 of the device until after Christmas. I think this speaks both to the popularity of the devices (a good thing for Amazon) as well as the failure of Amazon to get Version 2 of the device ready for the holiday season (a very bad thing)

Overall I have a very favorable impression of the device. I have subscribed to the New York Times and Atlantic Monthly on it, neither of which I read on a regular basis on paper. I have also purchased a book as well. I have read the NYT’s regularly, but have only sporadically touched on then book, more a statement on being busy at work, rather than the quality of the book or Kindle experience.

Before the kindle I was very skeptical of e-books and e-reading in general. Obviously the convenience was appealing, but the loss of the tactile and ergonomic sensations of books was to big a deal breaker for me. The Kindle has changed that for me.

One of the most appealing features, and certainly the most revolutionary feature is the use of e-Ink and e-Paper in the device. e-Ink is developed by a Boston-Based start up E Ink Inc and is intended to revolutionize the e-reading experience. Rather than displaying words on a back like screen, the eInk devices actually “prints” words on a page, using the e-Ink. While this was hard for me to internalize as a concept, the effects are amazing. It’s difficult to describe, but you really feel as if you are reading of a page of paper.

From a construction stand point, the Kindle behaves very much like a book, in that I frequently find myself holding as I would a leather and paper edition. And although V2 is supposed to be smaller, the size is very manageable. I recently read the Times on a 3 hour flight from Chicago to Boston (MUCH MUCH easier than dealing with the paper edition on a plane.), and never once felt the need to put the device down, or felt any discomfort in my hand.

The Kindle uses a wireless connection (free) called Whispernet, which functions over Sprint’s EG EVOD network. The connection has worked wonderfully for me in the areas I have tried it in (Boston, Chicago, Columbus OH). The book I purchased (roughly 300 pages) downloaded in less than a minute and the NYTs updates each morning nearly instantly.

Battery life so far has been wonderful, I charged the device once when I got it last Sunday and it is still at full strength as of Thursday, although I have kept Whispernet   off for most of that time.

As far as negatives, my biggest complaint, and one that is supposed to be addressed with V2 of the device, is placement of the page turning buttons, as it is, it is far to easy to accidentally turn pages, very frustrating, especially with the noticeable fraction of a second it take for the Kindle to “print” a page.

My only other feedback is that the Kindle doesn’t seem to use it’s wireless connectivity to it fullest extent. While the allows access to Wikipedia and an online dictionary is helpful. I would really love the ability to email articles to myself or others. Further I really wish that the blogs that it allows access too (dozens) were free. Although the $1.99 price tag on many is very reasonable, I can’t see myself paying for a media that so clearly should be free, I understand Amazon’s desire to offset the cost of utilizing the network and printing the blogs in e-Ink, but I feel slightly nickel and dimed, being asked to pay for The Huffington Post.

To be fair, I have pretty much only scratched the surface of the Kindle’s capabilities, I have not uploaded documents and have only made limited use of the annotating and bookmarking feature. There are now full length supplements that document all the off-the-book features as well. But all in all, for readers, travelers and travelers who read, I can enthusiastically state that you should all be reading on a Kindle. I am.