Thursday, January 13, 2011

A Skeptic's Review of The Amazon Kindle

Let's be honest here. We're not the most tech-savvy family on the block.

Or, continent.

I'm pretty darn proud of my Blackberry, so yall can just save the "I Phone" sales pressure. Not interested!

With that being said, I was skeptical of the Kindle. I love books. I love the feel of books.....the smell of books......the sight of books stacked on the floor in my bedroom, on my dresser, on my nightstand, on just about any flat surface in this house.

Pa brought his fancy Kindle in town recently and asked me what I thought of it and I told him I was on the fence. Yall know I bargain shop and rarely spend over a few dollars for a book. And, when you read as much as I do, paying basic retail prices adds up too quickly for our budget. I enjoyed the tour and wondered to myself if I'd ever own one.

Then, Pa bought us one for Christmas. Obviously, we need some gentle pushes into the world of technology and Pa is usually the one to do it. (Flat screen TV, Keurig, Ipods, Kindle, etc)




So, I just finished my first Kindle book. Some immediate reactions:

pros:

*Light weight and easy to carry.
*Moron proof - I'm your best test dumby in this department.
*Holds a charge forever. I turned off my 3G hook up after downloading the book and then barely made a dent in the battery life.
*Books are less expensive than I anticipated.
*Many classics are free, like Treasure Island I downloaded for Carter. Huck Finn was $.85.

cons:

*Rather than knowing what page you're on, you know what % of the book you've read; this will take some getting used to for me.
*Can't hand Carter the book I just read (Hungers Games) and go on to the next in the series.
*My usual anxiety regarding one of the punks dropping it in the toilet.



Overall, I love it. And, I feel super cool carrying it around. Giving people the impression that I'm smarter than I am is one of my favorite accomplishments.

How about you?

Do you have one?

Will you buy one?

22 comments:

Shannon said...

Don't have one but think they're super cool looking. They just look so....interesting. Not gadgety at all. I think e-readers will be the future of text books. After paying for 6 months of physical therapy for my high schooler's back issues, I only wish we were there already.

Lindsay @ whimsy.girl said...

We do not own one, but my daughter downloads books to her iPad. She has mixed feelings about it because she likes to have the actual book-in-hand, too. Since she reads about 3-4 books a week, downloading a new book right then and there comes in handy!

I love going into bookstores to browse though, but I am sure that will be a thing of the past pretty soon!

Unknown said...

I'm still on the fence too.... great, honest review though.

Keep us up on how you like it over time---maybe i'll be convinced!

donatelli98 said...

I am interested in getting one. I have heard lots of good things about them.

The Soladay Family said...

I don't have one. Have been on the fence about letting go of holding a book. I'm sentimental about them as you are. Carol and I had this same discussion while we were in NY because Ed had recently bought one. it's great for him bc he travels so much. Now, if someone gave one to me, I would absolutely usae it!

Pam Bowers said...

I was against them until I found out that the app for my eye phone was free. Now I'm hooked. It is surprising how easy it is to read from such a small screen. I don't like browsing Amazon from my phone though. I use my computer to browse then add books to my wish list then when I need a new book I already have a list picked out.

Momma to the A's said...

We have one and both Brian and I love it. Brian does more reading from his phone these days though. I wish I was able to read more than I get around to these days. I was afraid to lose the book in the hand feel too, but I truly love the Kindle! Glad you finally got one ... I think you will love it more and more!!

Sara said...

I don't have a Kindle, but I did get an iPad for Christmas and I LOVE IT!! Like I told you on the phone yesterday, you can actually turn the pages on an iPad so it feels more like you're reading a book. However - like you - I don't like the fact that you can't see how much you've read or how much you have to go - just the percentage. That's taken a lot of getting used to.

And it sucks that you can't hand off the book to someone else to read. But, most of the books I've bought so far have only been $5.00 each - pretty good!

Now if I could just get Hudson to become less interested in my iPad. Every time I pull it out to read, he wants to play his matching game or cars or something. Geeze!

lauren said...

I have no opinion. I think they're odd. But here's my husbands review- http://robwebster.net/2010/12/18/a-non-reader-reviews-the-amazon-kindle-3

Coco said...

0 interest in the Kindle. As you know, I download books on my ipod for my running/walking. But I just love having a book. Preferably a hardback that I bought for 7 bucks on Amazon.

Impulsive Addict said...

Well, I know we've had this convo. The Best Buy salesman talked me out of it but I think a friend (JennyKate) talked me back into getting one. She loves hers too. Now after reading your pros and cons (again) I think it wouldn't be a bad investment.

Shannon said...

Don't plan to get one. Not a fan. I like books and I get all mine free from the library. I rarely ever buy them...just borrow from my mom who buys them!

SASS said...

Meh. My momma got my dad one for Christmas. It's cheap, cool for every once and while, but I started hating them when that commercial came on....you know...the one on the beach where the kindle girl is sitting next to the ipad guy...google it or something. Pissed me off. But I'm drunk so I might change my mind in the morning. I have issues.
Glad you're using it- I love the feel, smell, and look of books, too. Especially when they're used. I feel like I'm embarking on a 2nd, 3rd, 4th, or more adventure someone else has been on. Exciting! Now that I have more time to read, I'll consider it. But all my other apple products might get pissed. I have so many. Kindle might interrupt my little gang.
I'm rambling.
BYE LOVE YOU.

Clare said...

Glad you like it! I remember talking about this with you on a previous blog (I like to hold books, etc). I thought about asking for one for Christmas but got all worried that my kids wouldn't recognize it as a book-you know they are more likely to love books if you do. Obviously in a few years, they will be using a kindle or something way cooler-but I couldn't get past that. Weirdo, huh?
I did download the Kindle for PC last fall and REALLY hated the %age thing, I never realized how much I liked to know what page I'm on!!

Mama Deb said...

Keep buying 'em! You're keeping my children fed :)

The other half's semiconductor chip is in the kindle and he had a fair hand in helping the company that created those for Amazon come up with the design. I admittedly don't use one, but he does and won't go back to old school books. I still really like cds, too, and am ashamed to admit that it has only been in the past two months that I realized how geeky that is!

The Lenzers said...

Being the big reader that I am, I have been torn about it as well. I love the turning of a page. And don't usually spend that kind of money on myself. I would like one, but then would have the expense of purchasing books. I do read alot of newer books, and have become very into the library lately in an effort to save money. So the answer is I probably won't buy one for myself. If someone gave me one, I would not turn it away!

Unknown said...

Well...I think they do make people look smarter than they really are, so that's good. But I dunno ya know...

I like books. Someday I hope to have built-in book shelves in every room of my home.

Or perhaps I just want to look smarter than I really am? hmmm....

:)

FireMom said...

The whole dropping it in the toilet is one of my huge issues, too! I think I'll get one this year, but I'm not certain!

Heather said...

Don't have a kindle... but I was just feeling like I needed to join in on the convo.... and with our whole wonderful NOOK experience, I feel obligated to advertise.

With the Nook, you can "lend" a book... which is a great feature. Brooks is actually sharing books with his friends on their Nooks. Also, I have the "Nook" app on my ipad, and I can share books with Brooks as well through this. It's pretty cool.

Just fyi... for future use.

Cam said...

guess what? the nook can tell you the page number. And I can go on the internet and read books with pictures if I wanted to. Oh, but the kindle's cool, too. :P

Jen_from_NJ said...

My husband has a Kindle and loves it. It is great for reading at the beach - no glare! I might take the plunge next!

Mrs. ABC said...

I adore Suzanne Collins' Hunger Game Series. The ENTIRE trilogy is phenomenal. I could not put the first two down, and I had to wait in agonizing pain for over a year for the third one to be released. LOVE THEM.

They are the reason my seventh graders are interested to read at all. She is a fabulous author!