Kindle: Amazon's New Wireless Reading Device
I know what you’re thinking, e-books are dead — I though that too.
The Kindle was released in November 2007. It has been in the hands of consumers for a few months now, and the consensus is that it rocks. In fact it rocks so much, Amazon at the time of this post, is sold out.
The Kindle is a truly innovative electronic reader. Amazon packed in many of the features that prevented the success of its predecessors. An electronic reader can’t succeed if it’s hard to read and the Kindle’s electronic paper-paper display has covered. The screen really does look and read just like a paper book. There is no backlight, but books don’t have backlights either. The kindle can be read as easily in bright sunlight as it can by your bead-side lamp.
The selection of books alone available to the Kindle is staggering. At this time there are more than 100,000 books available, including 90 of 112 current New York Times Best Sellers. Also many of the nations top newspapers and top magazines are available for download.
Also more than 250 top blogs are updated daily. It’s important to note, at this point that Amazon has, obviously in error, neglected to add Small Space Living to this list. I’m sure this situation will be remedied as soon as Amazon comes to its senses.
The Kindle can hold 200 books and with the SD card slot that number can increase to infinity.
The battery needs to be charged every other day with average use.
It was a surprise to me to learn that the Kindle does not require a computer at all. All of the downloads and blog browsing is preformed through its free wireless connection. That’s right the wireless connection is free or included in the purchase price. You can also browse the Internet with the Kindle.
The Kindle also has a search engine/service called Kindle NowNow, it is powered by real humans. They research your question and get you answers in about 5 minutes.
All in all The Kindle packs a serious punch in its 10.3 oz package. I am excited to see how it continues to develop. I am also astounded at the possibility of having an entire library in one small paperback sized device. The Kindle really is an amazing small space book lover’s companion.
