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June 26, 2009
Zisse Kindle
Dear Larry,
Do you have any experience with the Kindle 2? What are your
thoughts?
J. S.
Dear J. S.,
Well, when all is said and done, I can’t help but think it’s
an extremely overpriced gadget ($400 with a protective cover) that will be
rendered obsolete in no time at all. That said, I dropped it on my wife’s desk
with nothing but a Getting Started guide and asked her for an objective,
layman’s take on the electronic reader. Here is a summary of her reactions:
- At first, I felt totally overwhelmed by the amount of
reading in the user’s manual.
- Reading in bed with my night table lamp caused some reflection which forced me
to constantly adjust the angle of the page. If the Kindle were backlit, I think
I might have liked it better though I could see how it might drain the battery
or bother my eyes after a while.
- I would have liked a bigger screen, something closer to the size of a standard
paperback book. As it is, I didn’t like the small area of text that I could see
at one time, especially when I made the font size something I could easily read.
- It would have been much easier to use if the Kindle had a touch screen.
- I thought the page turning felt choppy.
- Portability and weight is great for reading away from home, but I wouldn’t
take it to a beach or anywhere the elements could damage it. For me, that means
not taking it on a cruise!
- The Kindle requires a good cellular signal, which in our house is an oxymoron.
- I’d be frustrated on an airplane if I was told I couldn’t read during take-off
or landing even if I disabled the cellular signal.
- Sometimes having buttons conveniently on the sides of the Kindle made it too
easy to accidentally press a button I didn’t mean to.
- Turning it off took a good count of 5 or 6, not the 4 they say; that was a
little annoying.
- Really expensive!
After reading her comments, I couldn’t help but ask, “What did
you like about it?”
- Light weight!
- I loved the idea of downloading a sizable sample from a book before making a
purchase.
- Its potential capacity for books is terrific.
- Cost of an electronic book is less than the corresponding hardcover even at a
bargain price.
- The little built-in realisms were nice—like dog-earing a page. And you can’t
beat searching for a word or phrase.
- Turning pages with either hand was a breeze…not that turning real pages in a
book is so hard!
- Being able to quickly look up the meaning of a word was a real convenience and
a huge timesaver.
This is Larry Schneider, logging off.
