REVIEW: The Amazon Kindle - Turning my old books into kindling

Review: The Amazon Kindle - Version 3 (2010)

Thing loves the Kindle. Don't tell Uncle Fester

Alright folks. Time to get back into this site a bit, and I think starting with a gadget review is a good way to start. A few months back I received my Kindle from Amazon (most likely from Jeff Bezos's fun filled factory or fantastic frolicking factory fun-times ™) and so far I am very impressed. I enjoy reading, but I was on the fence about getting one of these digital book reader devices. I always subscribed to the idea that holding a physical copy of a text added value to the story being told, but this device has changed my ideas on this a bit. Don't worry... after the Jump, I'll explain everything.

Whaddayamean you don't like books?

Chapter 1: Shelf space in your pocket


Let's get the obvious out of the way. If you read a lot, you will find that owning any digital book reader will eliminate a huge hassle you experience with traditional text: Shelf space. Owning just a few books can start to take up space. You leave them on your kitchen table, or near the bathroom for some "private viewing" or even on top of other books, stacked high because you are out of shelf space. All e-readers avoid this problem with a device that can contain all of them. On average, they are less than quarter of an inch thick. This is an inherent advantage, but what sets the Kindle apart from these other e-readers?

The answer is clearly Amazon's Whispernet. Buying a Kindle requires attaching it to an Amazon account (duh) and allows for Amazon to remember your purchase history, and even number of devices. Even if you run out of space on the device itself (...an amazing feat if accomplished. Books are tiny compared to mp3s and what not, and Amazon claims the device can hold 1,500 books) you can always delete other titles to make room. Those deleted books can then be re-downloaded whenever you want (provided you once again make room on the device.) You never have to re-buy books, even if you upgrade to a newer model or begin using one of the Kindle apps for various phones and PCs. Whispernet even keeps record of where you left off, so you can jump from the Kindle to a Kindle-equipped phone and continue reading without confusion or re-orientation. Never again will you use a crappy bookmark to save your place (or as it often was in my experience, a square of two-ply).

There are a few downsides to being tied to Amazon's network (or any network, for that matter). Mostly the competitors are catching up. Barnes & Noble's device connects to their store, saves your purchase history, and can even share books with other devices. Happily, this feature will be coming to Kindle soon via a software update. Still, sharing books seems to be one of those features that should have been there from the start. If the Zune did it with music and pictures from day one, it makes sense for the Kindle to be able to do the same for books.

Chapter 2: It's really all about the selection.

I've seen conflicting numbers regarding the selection available to both the Nook and the Kindle. Amazon claims to have nearly a million books available (and growing) and Barnes&Noble claims two million (growth not mentioned). I suppose it is no surprise that a dedicated book store can manage to get more titles on its platform. That being said, after some casual searching on both marketplaces, there are glaring holes all over the place. Many titles are not supported on either platform. Also, I'm not sure if Amazon considers the plethora of free public-domain books as part of its store's book count. If it did, I suspect their count would be much higher. I a little surprised B&N hasn't been using this count to their advantage in advertising.

Either way you look at it, however, there's plenty out there to read, and most of the new releases I've been interested in are on my Kindle on release day, all at $10 or less. Anything I don't find on the Kindle marketplace is usually accompanied by a button that says "Tell the publisher you want this on Kindle!" I'm not exactly confident that this button does much aside from spamming publishers with emails, but I have noticed some titles I wanted that were not initially available showing up in the store later on. Amazon, if you are reading this, start sending me email's when these previously unavailable books are now ready to be downloaded. kthanksbye.

Chapter 3: Black and white is the way to go.

Black and white screens may seem like a step backward, but they are the "epic win" of the digital book device war, and for some reason, Amazon is the only one to figure that out.

Let's back up for a second, though.

The Kindle 1 released a few years ago all by itself (Ok... not really, but it was pretty much the only good one). It was a strange device... the design was interesting but not very beautiful, but the screen made it a winner. It utilized a developing technology called E-Ink to display on the screen, and it accomplished a number of things by doing so:

1. It made reading easier. Reading off a backlitbacklit and, because of the limits of the technology as it currently stands, it is not in color. The screen is very easy to read, however. So easy, in fact, that I found myself turning it on and off over and over just to see how crisp and clear the screen would display text and pictures. I was astounded, and was even more pleased to see that when I walked outside on a sunny display, it got EVEN EASIER to see. This has never happened with an electronic device, going back to the days of the original Gameboy I used to walk around with. The Kindle can be used anywhere, outdoors and indoors, just like a book. Just be sure you have a lamp turned on at night. 

2. Battery life is astounding. Because of the way e-ink displays (I like to relate it to the technology behind the Etch-a-Sketch) it isn't constantly being projected to the screen. Instead, it is more-or-less printed to the screen, resulting in no battery drain trying to keep the picture on the screen. The battery is on par with most cell phone batteries at 1750mAh, but holds a charge of almost a month rather than a day or so on standby. Even using it's built in wireless (Wi-fi or 3g) doesn't drain the battery as much as it would on other devices because the screen isn't sucking up all the juice. I've charged it three times since I bought it, (a few months now) and I used the 3G quite a bit as I played with my new toy.

Chapter 4: The future is the past is the future

I simply cannot fathom how Amazon will improve their device for version 4 and beyond. The device works so well and provides exactly what you think it should in terms of functionality that, short of color e-ink, I cannot think of anything they need to do. 

In terms of the competition, , Barnes&Noble just announced a color touchscreen Nook, more akin to something like the iPad.They ditched e-ink for that model (although they kept the original around as some sort of lower tiered device) and moved into the realm of tablet computers, using a heavily modified version of Android as the base operating system. I disagree with this move, considering the plethora of Android tablets coming to the market soon, and the iPad heavy foot in that arena. It has already been clear that for ebooks, people are preferring the Kindle over the iPad. With a tablet offering from B&N, the Nook already has a disadvantage being restricted to a dumbed down version of the OS, where you are isolated to apps they approve in advance. The whole idea is a bit baffling, but I suppose we need to try it first, eh?

Epilogue: Where's my Harry Potter?

To conclude: If you like reading, you will love the Kindle. If you don't like reading, the Kindle may be what gets you into a habit of enjoying it. There are some drawbacks, like the skimpy mp3 player (albeit they still call it an experimental feature) and a web browser that, because of the screen tech, just doesn't work. Still, with so many great features, it's hard to knock the device. If I were to review the Nook, I could see a post almost identical to this one. They are pretty much on the same page, but since I was previously entrenched in the Amazon ecosystem, their device seemed more appropriate. Sure, there's still something nice about having a row of books on my shelf, but when you start building a collection, the sheer size of it can be a deterrent to reading them all. On the Kindle, I'm finding myself reading more things more often. Its the accessibility, people. With more than enough books, newspaper subscriptions, blog delivery, magazine content, and a screen that can be looked at for hours without hurting your eyes, it sure seems like a winner to me. 

Stars? What are these stars you speak of?

~ Jimmy "I'm serious. Harry Potter isn't on any e-reader. What gives? I guess the British don't like money or something..." the G.

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This post has a Shenanaganary rating of:

"Nook Color + Kindle App from Android Market = A Barnes&Noble Face Palm"