For a mere $360 you could own Amazon's new wireless reading device, the Kindle. Since I am not a rich woman, I did not buy the Kindle to review it. If you want to read owner reviews, there are loads on Amazon. It currently has 4/5 stars and around 4,000 reviews. Although considering the banter that occurs in the review area on Amazon, you could likely cut that number in half.
The reason I bring up the Kindle at all is almost entirely related to Amazon's marketing of it. I visit Amazon often. I love the site. I even love "window shopping" (can I coin the term Monitor Shopping?) on Amazon. However, for what seems like the last 3 years the Kindle has been forced in my face every time I look Amazon.
With its newness the Kindle has some limits to its functionality. While it can email documents, its "PDF conversion is experimental. The experimental category represents the features we are working on to enhance the Kindle experience even further," Amazon explains. If you're looking for a list of functions or user reviews, check out the Kindle on Amazon.
I'm interested in how using the Kindle feels compared to reading a book. When I sit down to read, I enjoy the feeling of turning the pages. I like the smell of books (new smell and old smell). I love bookmarks (more than I love refrigerator magnets, but that's a different post entirely). So what would it be like to sit down with this hunk of plastic and wirelessly download a novel in a few second? How would I feel pushing a button instead of turning a page?
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Comments: 6
I'm also confronted by Kindle ads every time I go to Amazon, which is a lot. I was curious at first, wanted to know if I could handle if physically (with hands that tremble, if it would be too lightweight), and emotionally -- like you I love handling books, cradling, stacking, shelving them, rifling through them, smelling them.
So I really never seriously considered buying one either. A few weeks ago a story in the Times Literacy Debate -- OnLine, RU Really Reading pretty much convinced me to stick with books. I know I skim PDF files, don't 'concentrate' or 'contemplate' as well as I'd like to on line.