Kindle: Amazon's Wireless Reading Device

This is by far the best item I have ever purchased. If you don't have one yet - you are truly missing out! I love everything about it! Shopping for a new book has never been easier and reading is so much more enjoyable. Fantastic! Thank you Amazon!

It would be wonderful to be able to use this device. Amazon was ready to charge my kindle device order with an internationally issued credit card yet they are unable to sell me content with the same credit card. Thus it is a very expensive piece of nothing! Cannot use it, no warning anywhere during the purchase process! So watch out!

I gave this to my wife as an early Christmas present just before we left for 10-days in Hawaii. It arrived the day before our departure. It is so easy to use, she never read the instruction manual and was able to download a book and read half of it on the airplane and finished it during our stay in Hawaii. She, then, downloaded another book and was reading it on the return. She loves the Kindle. It's easy to use and highly intuitive so that a lot of instruction is not required at all. She is not technically inclined and was relieved to find that the Kindle is a free-standing unit and does not require a PC to work or access the system. The first book was $9 and the second book was only $6.90 so the savings in buying hard bound books will pay for the unit in fairly short order. Best of all - no lugging of big, heavy books on trips! Imagine - buying books and downloading them at will 24 x 7, from anywhere in the world and having them in a matter of one minute or less! And one feature she just loves - it allows the reader to look up a word that is unknown simply by highlighting the word and touching a button - the definition and information is imported instantaneously!

It's expensive but if you read a lot of books, it is a super unit to have and will pay for itself over time.

Jim

I was pretty apprehensive about taking the Kindle plunge at first, but my concerns were covered once I read the positive reviews from owners and experienced it myself. I now bring it everywhere and could never go back to my pre-Kindle days. If you enjoy reading, you'll love it.


My main concerns were:
- It isn't a real book I can keep or share with my friends & family
- I could get an iPod touch or iPhone instead for comparable $$
- The 2.0 version might come out soon, and there's a lot of complaints about the next page buttons
- It's a lot of money

All of these concerns were amply answered once I got the Kindle. I don't miss real books at all. The Kindle screen is crisp and changing the text size allows me to read in new places (the gym, while brushing my teeth, etc.). And it's easier to hold than a real book, only one hand is needed to hold and turn pages. Also, it turns out I don't really miss not being able share a book - I usually lose track of them, and when there's a book I love (Three Cups of Tea), I'd rather give it as a gift and keep my own copy.

During my Kindle research, I realized it doesn't make sense to compare Kindles and iPods, and Kindle bashers are usually non-owners and non-readers. Kindle offers comfort and functionality specific to reading that is not comparable on small devices designed primarily for phone calls, graphics, and short texts and emails. Yes, you'll still need your Blackberry, iPhone, etc. for other functions. But if you're a reader and seriously considering a Kindle, you'd probably be carrying a book or newspaper anyway.

I also got over worrying that Kindle 2.0 would launch and leave me hanging with an outdated version. I'm really enjoying being the first person around with a Kindle and showing it off. It was worth it to get it sooner rather than later, especially since there's still no confirmation when 2.0 will be available. Plus, I'm happy with this version, it does what I want and more. I do sometimes inadvertently change the page. But it's really not a big deal to go back to the right page, and you can hold it in ways to prevent that from happening, just like you'd adjust holding a book so you don't drop or close it.

The price was well worth it. Not that I would complain about a lower price, but I enjoy mine so much, I definitely feel I got my money's worth. Also, no monthly charge for the wireless access and Whispernet service is excellent.

I've found many other benefits I'm excited about and that make the purchase worthwhile for me, such as the incredible convenience and benefits of carrying all types of reading material with me.

To be fair, I do have a few complaints about using my Kindle. For one, I can't read during the "turn off electronic devices" portion of flights which is a pain during runway delays (there's always SkyMall...). Typing more than a couple words is tedious, but I don't type often, except to search Wikipedia and the Kindle Store. If you're not looking at text-heavy websites, navigating web pages isn't great with the scroll bar. But I'd rather have the access with ok results than not have it at all (after all, it is "experimental"). And I'm still in search of the perfect cover / holder to personalize it and protect it from all sides. Some Kindle owners have found agenda books that work well, but I'm still working on it.


Final thought - I'm delighted with my Kindle, I'm reading more, it's a fantastic tool, and I highly recommend it.

I love my Kindle. The constant connectivity is the Kindle's main attraction over other e-book readers. It's nice to have the Kindle to be able to read the newspaper or a book as I take the bus to work.