Amazon - Kindle Review

Perhaps it's almost a cliche to say this now, but ever since I started using computers in the late 1980s, I've known that all the sci-fi stuff about books, magazines and newspapers going from paper to electronic form  seen in Star Trek and 2001: A Space Odyssey would eventually come to pass.

As the Analog Age of electronics has given way to the Digital Age and more people of all ages become more comfortable with such devices as Apple iPods, desktop and laptop computers and hand-held personal digital assistants, such once far-out concepts as those electronic clipboards and NewsPads seen in the aforementioned 1960s TV and film science fiction classics are now 21st Century realities.

Indeed, in some cases, some of those devices have become more than just electronic conveniences or luxuries - they are, to many people, becoming necessities.

The Amazon Kindle 6" Wireless Reading Device (Latest Generation)

When I first saw the original Kindle wireless reading device being advertised for sale some time last year, I thought to myself, This would be really nice to have if I had the extra money, but I don't really need a new tech-toy right now.  I had, after all, just purchased a Samsung Blu-ray Player and a Kodak digital camera (the latter, ostensibly, for a trip that I ended up scrapping), and I just didn't think it was wise to get more deeply mired in credit card debt.

Besides, I had never really been too comfortable with the notion of becoming so dependent on technology for all my entertainment needs.  It's bad enough that I need a computer to eke out - barely - a modicum of self-employment as a freelance writer and that all of my gaming and most of my movie-watching depend now on that computer and a trio of DVD/Blu-ray Disc players; why then become more tech-dependent by getting a Kindle instead of old-fashioned books and other print materials?

What I wasn't counting on, though, was that my mom, who's now in her early 80s and not exactly in the best of health, was slowly but surely losing her ability to read regular paperback editions of novels and other books for pleasure. 

My mom and I come from a family where, at least as far as I know, reading has long been almost as instinctive and natural as breathing.  My maternal grandfather could read in three languages (English, French and Spanish) and had a huge library in his home.  When we lived in Colombia in the late 1960s and early 1970s, one of the houses Mom rented had a library room which was about as big as the first floor of our present home in Miami.  And, as I say in my profile here, family legend has it that I learned to read before I learned to walk.

Thus it was really painful for me to see my mom having to give up reading almost everything except the Miami Herald and my weekly copy of Time magazine.  So much so, in fact, that my mind began to look for ways to try and help.

At first, I thought about audiobooks, but Mom really doesn't like being read to.  She obviously speaks and understands English and Spanish, and she reads in both languages, but she needs to see the words herself in case she misses something the readers say or if, God forbid, she gets distracted and has to skip back to the point in time at which the phone rang or someone - me - walked in to her room to see how she was doing.

Another option I considered was large-print books, but not every publisher has large-print editions of their newest best-sellers, and we don't have the room to store a whole new library's worth of books.  We also now no longer have a car, so checking them out from the library is not possible.

Indeed, the more I thought about it, the better the Amazon Kindle began to look, even though Mom has never even used any of my various computers and is no tech fanatic.

So, after floating a trial balloon to Mom in which I told her what a Kindle could do to alleviate her problems with reading, I decided to buy her one of those wireless reading gadgets.

Although I really wanted to get her the larger Kindle DX version, I couldn't afford the nearly $500 Amazon is asking for it.  I am in the process of buying a laptop computer and still hoping to go on a trip later this year, and though I work hard every day as an online writer, I still have to watch my expenses.  Thus I ended up buying her the 6-inch Kindle (actually, the Kindle 2 model, if you want me to be specific), which sells for $299.99 (and qualifies for free shipping since it costs over $25.00).

Technical Details (From the Amazon Website)

Display: 6" diagonal E Ink® electronic paper display, 600 x 800 pixel resolution at 167 ppi, 16-level gray scale.

Size (in inches): 8" x 5.3" x 0.36".

Weight: 10.2 ounces.

System requirements: None, because it doesn't require a computer.

Storage: 2GB internal (approximately 1.4GB available for user content).

Battery Life: Read on a single charge for up to 4 days with wireless on. Turn wireless off and read for up to two weeks. Battery life will vary based on wireless usage, such as shopping the Kindle Store and downloading content. In low coverage areas or in 1xRTT only coverage, wireless usage will consume battery power more quickly.

Charge Time: Fully charges in approximately 4 hours and supports charging from your computer via the included USB 2.0 cable.

Connectivity: EVDO modem with fallback to 1xRTT; utilizes Amazon Whispernet to provide U.S wireless coverage via Sprint's 3G high-speed data network. Check our wireless coverage map for availability. This expanded coverage is only available for Kindle. See Wireless Terms and Conditions.

USB Port: USB 2.0 (micro-B connector) for connection to the Kindle power adapter or optionally to connect to a PC or Macintosh computer.

Audio: 3.5mm stereo audio jack, rear-mounted stereo speakers.

Content Formats Supported: Kindle (AZW), TXT, Audible (formats 4, Audible Enhanced (AAX)), MP3, unprotected MOBI, PRC natively; PDF, HTML, DOC, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP through conversion.

Included Accessories: Power adapter, USB 2.0 cable, rechargeable battery. Book cover sold separately.

Documentation: Quick Start Guide (included in box) [PDF]; Kindle User's Guide (pre-installed on device) [PDF].

My Viewpoint:  Although I've become accustomed to the introduction of new electronic devices and I try to be an early adopter, I am still amazed that such a small gizmo can store way more digital data than my first home computers.  I mean, a handheld pad that weighs less than a typical paperback and is as thin as a newsmagazine along the lines of Time and yet holds 1500 complete books is a truly wonderful thing.

What is more wonderful is that Mom learned to use it fairly quickly.  Yes, I had to turn it on for her and use the small 5-direction control button to move the cursor on the screen and read some of the Getting Started stuff and order her first book (Carrie, by Stephen King) by using the small QWERTY keyboard below the screen.  (It was not terribly difficult and the book downloaded in less than a minute.) But she can turn pages easily (there are buttons marked PREV PAGE and NEXT PAGE on the sides) and she can now turn it on and off without asking for assistance.

She also has had - so far - no eye fatigue issues. I adjusted the text size with a couple of keystrokes (there's a Text Adjust button) and found the right size for her vision very easily.

The only quibble I have is that for $299.99, Amazon could have included a book cover; the screen is, of course, susceptible to scratches if one is not careful, and one would not want to get dust or grime on it either.  There are book covers and cases for the Kindles, and I ordered one for Mom's ($29.99 for the basic leather cover).  Still, it would have been nice if Amazon sold the Kindles with covers rather than have customers pay more for them.