Anyone have an Amazon Kindle?

[skydiver30960 0]

I saw this on amazon.com and thought it'd be great for my wife, who is quite possibly single-handedly deforesting our earth with her constant purchases of cheap romance and vampire novels.

For the most part, reviews seem to be good. Definitely not without a few shortcomings, and the price is a tad high, but overall I was going to buy one...

...until I noticed the 13 week delay due to them being out of stock. So now I have to decide if I like it enough to shell out the big bucks as well as have her wait until March (or so) to get it.

Anyone have one? If so, what are your impressions? Still using it? Or has it found it's way to the bookcase just like the rest of your reading material?

Elvisio "damn yule-tide decisions to be made" Rodriguez

[quade 3]

I don't have one and didn't get one based on reviews. not so much that the device isn't nice, supposedly it is, but rather the way the service works, which may be better now.

One of the major complaints I read was that you don't really "buy" the titles, but it's more like you're renting them since they can ONLY be read on the Kindle. If anything ever happens to the service, then you really no longer have anything.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[DSE 3]

I have one. It's on the bookshelf gathering dust. I bought it for an overseas trip and a very long flight.
I also have a Sony, which is pretty much the same thing. Don't use it, either.
There is something to be said for turning the pages of those dead trees vs flipping a cursor or pressing a button.

[Jewels 0]

I do not have one, but the subject came up at lunch. One of our partners has one that he and his wife have both used, and they love it. They don't find it difficult to read at all and give it great reviews for ease of use.

TPM Sister #102

[billvon 2,396]

I have one and use it a lot. Probably read 20 books on it so far. One of the nice things about it is that you can throw it in your bag, get it out before takeoff, download a few books, put it away, and then read them later. It also has some useful other stuff, like a web browser, a music player and a picture viewer (black and white only of course.) I often use it to get weather and traffic when I don't want to be bothered booting up a laptop or something.

[PLFXpert 0]

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There is something to be said for turning the pages of those dead trees vs flipping a cursor or pressing a button.

Amen! And I love trees.

I don't know why, but it almost has to be that way for me. Also, I love how people used to hand you a book they just read and loved and thought you might enjoy it as much. I still do that--most recently in an airplane. I had (chose) a window seat on a cross-country flight--that's at least two times for the isle-seater to let me out. We both read a book the entire flight. She had a sandwich in her bag that smelled awful. I finished my book on landing. We hadn't talked too much, but I asked her if she liked the author to which she most definitely did. So, I gave it to her.

I miss when people would give me a book they'd just finished. It used to be the only way I'd read a book. If someone I liked handed me a book, I'd read it. Left to my own devices, I never was much good to myself.

BTW, I don't save books. I don't read them twice. I can remember entire paragraphs from a book I read once in 5th grade. I'm just not the type to hold onto such things.

Paint me in a corner, but my color comes back.

[DSE 3]

Interesting...
Bill-engineer, super math/tech-head
Me-creative, right brainer, can't add 2+2

I've never used the webbrowser except to buy books with, and hate the music player (besides, I *always* have an iPod in my pocket).

The device is very cool, it was a nice gift. But I just like that analog feel of paper. The Kindle, I felt like I needed to be "nice" to it, because it's equipment. A book...I can curl up with. And books don't need batteries like almost everything else in my world.

But...if you're gonna go digital, the Kindle is better than the Sony, IMO. MUCH sharper display, easier to hold, and I like the page flip options.

[edit] failed to mention...when the cost of most Kindle-delivered books is less than the paperback version of most books...I'll likely use it more. Prices for most books on Amazon are for hardback, discounted to around 10.00. Paperbacks are still cheaper.

[PLFXpert 0]

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Interesting...
Bill-engineer, super math/tech-head
Me-creative, right brainer, can't add 2+2

That IS weird.

Me--creative, math-head. I'm the anomaly English/Math person. Not-so-much science-whiz, though I work hard to understand it.

I SO agree about having the quintessential novel to "curl up with".

Paint me in a corner, but my color comes back.

[monkycndo 0]

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Quote

Interesting...
Bill-engineer, super math/tech-head
Me-creative, right brainer, can't add 2+2

That IS weird.

Me--creative, math-head. I'm the anomaly English/Math person. Not-so-much science-whiz, though I work hard to understand it.

I SO agree about having the quintessential novel to "curl up with".

Me- the analytic, right & left brain problem solver type.

Prefer the girlfriend to curl up with.

You folks are weird.

50 donations so far. Give it a try.

You know you want to spank it
Jump an Infinity

[Amazon 7]

hey.. watch it bud....

[Nightingale 0]

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I miss when people would give me a book they'd just finished. It used to be the only way I'd read a book. If someone I liked handed me a book, I'd read it. Left to my own devices, I never was much good to myself.

BTW, I don't save books. I don't read them twice. I can remember entire paragraphs from a book I read once in 5th grade. I'm just not the type to hold onto such things.

Ten years ago, at the Renaissance faire out in San Bernardino, I'd finished reading Interview with the Vampire, decided it probably wasn't something I would re-read, signed my name in it and wrote in the cover "read it, sign it, and pass it on" and gave it to someone I met there who wanted to read it.

This year, at the San Luis Obispo Ren Faire, someone at the campfire closed their book and turned to me and said "have you read this yet?" and handed the book to me. I opened the cover, thinking that it couldn't be, but on the inside was ten years of names and history, my own signature, and "read it, sign it, and pass it on."

There's just something special about a real book.

[PLFXpert 0]

How cool!

Paint me in a corner, but my color comes back.

[shropshire 0]

Wow

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[NWFlyer 2]

I was a pre-launch tester for the Kindle, so I got to play with one for a couple of weeks for free (I did have to send it back, though). Quite honestly, it was all I could do to complete the assigned testing tasks - I had no interest in using it to actually read books.

I also didn't like the fact that your only option was to buy books through Amazon. Though some libraries (including Seattle's, where I was living a the time) allow you to check out ebooks, that didn't seem to be an option. I'm a big proponent of using libraries - I don't re-read the majority of books that I read, so I have no need to own most of them... save a few trees and put my tax dollars to work.

And like everyone else, I'm a sucker for the printed page. If I were still doing a lot of cross-country traveling I might find it a bit more appealing just to save the weight of dragging a book or books along, but as it is now, I can bring one book to get me through a trip.

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

[LouDiamond 1]

I must say, I am really digging my Kindle 2 and the ability to download a free sample of a book before buying it. The fact that I can read the same book on my kindle and iphone and have the two synched to the last page I was on is really handy.

I was quite skeptical of the Kindle at first so I downloaded the free Iphone kindle app and gave it a try. I figured if I could read a book on the iphone, the larger Kindle would be no worries. I like the feel of paperbacks and having a book in hand but the kindle and iphone takes reading books to a more enjoyable level IMO. As much as I like paperbacks, once I've read them it becomes a storage issue. I literally used to have several thousand pounds of books that I had read and didn't want to toss out. With the Kindle, I don't have to toss books out once I am done with them and I don't have a physical storage issue.

Now, when ever I have some spare time while waiting in line or standing around I can spend it reading on my iphone and not have to lug an actual book around with me everywhere.I also like that I can read several books concurrently and not have to carry a small library around with me. The other benefit I've found is that books that you can only get in hardback and usually cost around $20-$30 can be found in kindle edition for about the same price as a paperback. I've even found a good deal of free books that can be downloaded. Overall, I am really happy with my Kindle 2.

"It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required"
Some people dream about flying, I live my dream
SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING

[mnealtx 0]

I recently got a Sony reader (the 505). Doesn't have the online feature of the Kindle (not that it would do me any good over here), but I like the ergonomics.

I've got about 140 books in the onboard memory (gotta love the Baen CD's) and can expand with an SD card or Memory stick.

Gotta love having a whole library in something the size of a DVD movie case!

Mike
I love you, Shannon and Jim.
POPS 9708 , SCR 14706

[bbarnhouse 0]

I have a Kindle2 and absolutley love it.As an avid book reader I can download on the go which fits my life style.

B2

[Mazz 0]

Read this review on Amazon. Its one of the best 1 star reviews Ive read. It made rethink purchasing a Kindle.

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I was DELIGHTED to upgrade my Kindle 1 to K2...until I got down to using it every day.

Having invested HEAVILY in Amazon Kindle content, I looked forward to the new and improved version! I really wanted to love this device just as much, if not more, than my original purchase! It was to be my "backup insurance" and "protect my investment" in Amazon content for the device. I expected and looked forward to everything Amazon said this device would be.

Out of the box, and on the surface, big cosmetic changes for the better. Once I began using it, however, my experience became more and more frustrating.

1. I have a tremendous volume of Kindle content (public domain and Amazon). I discovered that I could not directly transfer from my computer backup for Kindle 1 to the new K2 (why my backup is on the computer is addressed later in this review). All my content had to be reformatted by Amazon and re-downloaded from their site specifically for and to the Kindle 2 (I am NOT in a Whispernet area). Major pain. Major time-investment. Major inconvenience. Major turn-off. Have you guys ever heard of "bulk-download" capability, or choose many files at once for copy to a new device??? Guess not.

2. All of my previous issues of magazines and newspapers were lost (ie, I could not re-download them specifically for the K2) because Amazon does not back up subscriptions on their server for more than 6 days. SINCE I PAID FOR THE CONTENT, I SHOULD BE ABLE TO HAVE THAT CONTENT ALWAYS AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD. Sorry, but I won't consider buying any more newspapaers or magazine subscriptions to the Kindle 1 or 2. Several (Wall Street Journal, Reader's Digest) are less expensive online (with print edition also included) and have ALL content (not MIA content pictures, charts, quotes, etc).

3. Several books I purchased read "Kindle 2" in the title, but were Kindle 1 books with a new title page. OOPS!

4. Although Amazon says it keeps you content on their server, I found many instances where I could not download my books to my computer because the item THAT I PAID FOR was not available for download to my new Kindle2. Amazon said the book had been "pulled." Excuse me, but I paid for it, pulled or not, it should always be avaiable to me since I paid for it. When I asked for a refund for the pulled item now unavailable to me, SINCE I COULD NOT GET THE ITEM REDOWNLOADED, I was told that a refund was not possible. LESSON LEARNED: I now back up ALL my Kindle content on my computer. Since Amazon says "Don't worry, your content is safe with us." I respectfully disagree. Also, some authors issued new versions of their books for K2. However, then the original version for K1 "disappeared" from the server so I could not even download it to K2, nor K1. Same filename, so if I had been in a Whispernet area, the original would have been completely overwritten without my realizing it! Imagine, I bought a K2 Users Guide in May 2008, before it come off the engineers drafting table, instead of in February 2009!

5. The "Jump-ahead" and "Jump-back" feature (so convenient in Kindle 1, expecially in those instances where a Table of Contents does not exist and/or does not work--too often, I am afraid, in Kindle content) is not a feature in the K2 due to publisher formatting issues for the Kindle 2. Except for the User Guide that comes pre-installed on the device, it works fine in that document! After you have paged tru a 500-page book one-page-at-a-time to get from Chapter 2 to Chapter 15, see how excited you are about a low battery and all the time it took to get there!

6. The "Table of Contents" in many books is non-functional, frustrating in a 500 page book that you cannot "jump ahead" to Chapter 15 from Chapter 2. I reapeat this because of the level of angst it created in me for a device that was supposed to be "new and improved." See the above issue as well!!

7. The Text-to-Speech feature just got put in limbo by the Authors Guild, so Amazon had to agree to let the publishers decide if this feature would be "enabled," or not, for a particular book. Leads me to think they may be forced to forgo this "experimental" feature in the future...hmmm!!!

8. No way to choose left or right justification in the print of a book (like in K1). You get what you get. I, for one, find fully-justified text distracting. I prefer left-justified text. Publishers control this with their formatting. Please take note that it is not a negotiable issue in the K2.

9. Content storage: NO SD CARD, NO SD CARD, NO SD CARD!!! With all my content (re-downloaded) on the Kindle 2, I had used 3/4 of the "expansive," yet limited (in my case) storage available on K2. Couple that with the trouble I had downloading my content from Amazon.com (again, no Whispernet available), and I was more than a little angry.

10. NO USER REPLACEABLE BATTERY--Unless you buy the extended warranty for $65. After 1 year you pay $80 plus shipping to send the device to Amazon and have the Kindle REPLACED, not the battery changed out (per Amazon Kindle Customer Service). I guess you then get the added "priviledge" of re-downloading all your amazon Kindle content manually!!

11. The 2-year extended warranty really isn't for 2 years after the original 1 year warranty ends (like most places offering extended warranties in addition to the factory warranty). This one REPLACES the Amazon 1 year warranty, so you get 2 years, period.

12. NO FOLDERS OR OTHER WAY TO SORT CONTENT ACCORDING TO GENRE. I use SD cards for this on Kindle 1. No way on Kindle 2. So, if you have a large volume of content, too bad, so sad, you have to wade thru it all (if you, like me, have learned not to trust Amazon with your purchased content).

13. Display screen: the white is really GREY, and to avoid considerable eye-strain I had to refresh pages (using ALT-G) every other page. Also, in the sunlight (outside), the screen washes out, making it impossible to read. If you are over 40, have cataracts, or otherwise don't have the vision of a 20-year old, have fun squinting (even with large fonts)!

14. Home Screen: For whatever reason, Amazon decided to make the Font on the Home Screen (much) harder to read (much less bold) than on the K1. Also, if you select a book, the full title does not appear (as it does with K1). On Kindle 2, if the book has a long title, you must push the 5-way selector to the right to get the rest of the title.

15. PRICE! NO INCLUDED COVER! NO DISCOUNT FOR EARLY ADOPTERS. See SonyStyle.com for details. They allow a trade-in and $100 discount to buy their newest reader if you have the previous version. Too bad they don't have Amazon's content!

LASTLY--Amazon--I SENT MY KINDLE 2 BACK AND WILL WAIT FOR KINDLE 3. Meanwhile, I am buying a used Kindle 1 to protect my content investment with your company. Sorry, I think you laid an expensive egg that couldn't hatch and refuses to fly. My ugly duckling (K1) will wait for K3 (what I hope will be a swann).

In the Navy, you can't put your hands in your pockets but I was always told not to put my hands in my pockets by people with their hands in their pockets. Kinda funny huh?

[doug925 0]

Completely off topic, but I have kindle for my Iphone and love it!

I have never developed indigestion from eating my words.
Winston Churchill

[katecooper 0]

I have a Kindle I and I love it. I have a ton of books--both paid for and free that I've downloaded from Amazon and other sites. I'm not in a hurry to get the Kindle2 after reading about it.

I do not live in a Whispernet area so I do a lot of downloading when I can (airport terminals) and the rest by computer. It's not that bad.

I ready quickly and the Kindle is a godsend (and weight saver) on long international flights where I might go through 2-3 books.

[LouDiamond 1]

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Read this review on Amazon. Its one of the best 1 star reviews Ive read. It made rethink purchasing a Kindle.

That person obviously has some issues with the upgrade to the Kindle 2. However, if you're not a kindle 1 owner everything that person was complaining about is a moot point.

The other issues that person had with the Kindle 2 are not really issues as I can skip anywhere in the book by using the drop down in the menu or by location. It's not like flipping through a real paperback book but you can find what your looking for, plus all of the Table of Content pages in the books I've downloaded work. What is weird is that sometimes the TOC is in the back of the book and not the front.

Text to speech has also worked on all the books I've downloaded so far. Besides, if you want to listen to your books, buy audio books as the text to speech is not quite robotic sounding but definitely typical computer speech.

I have downloaded books from my kindle account to both my iphone and my kindle after the fact without problem. Apparently if you're a newspaper/magazine hoarder, it's an issue but personally, I think that complaint is trivial at best.

Honestly, that persons issues are no different than the early iphone adopters or any other bleeding edge/1st run, gotta have it crowd. While the issues are valid if you're a Kindle1 owner, it shouldn't be a reason to avoid picking up a kindle 2 IMO. The only legitimate gripe I can see is #12( no folders) and the few remaining gripes about justification and color/fonts is personal preference driven as I have no issues with either of those things.

Honestly, I would take that review with a grain of salt and not use it as a determining factor in your decision making process to buy one or not. It has an overall rating of 4 stars out of 5 which is really good. If you add up all the 3,2,1 star ratings together, it is still less than the number of people who gave the Kindle2 a 4 or 5 star rating. It just goes to show, not everyone is going to be happy with an item/movie/book/song and YMMV. However, a significant amount of people are happy with it and that says a lot.

"It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required"
Some people dream about flying, I live my dream
SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING