Okay, I’ll admit it. I’m a late adopter when it comes to e-books. And I’ll admit to being prejudiced against them… or, maybe I should say in favor of traditional dead-tree technology. Yes, I’ve read a few books on my Palm cellphone, but it wasn’t a particularly rewarding experience. So, laying my cards on the table, I’ll say I’m coming into this predisposed to dislike the whole idea.
Having said that, I’ll have to admit that I’ve become rather enamored with the Kindle 3 after just a few short weeks of ownership. Sure, it has some shortcomings, but for the most part they’re shortcomings of e-books in general, not the Kindle in particular. But even after accounting for them, what’s left over is enough to make the thing a keeper.
First impressions:
The unit is small, light, and simple. It’s got a minimalist feel to it that’s uber-unintimidating. The e-paper screen is really quite impressive for anyone (eg. me) who hasn’t seen one before; it’s got a contrast ratio similar to paper, and a viewing angle pretty much equal to paper. And because it draws no power when not changing images, it’s never really ‘off’, in the sense that a CRT or LCD goes dark when there’s no image to display. When the Kindle is off, a decorative page appears. The display is so good that when I unpacked the unit for the first time, I mistook the image on the screen for a protective paper cover.
Packed with the unit is a USB charger and cable, and a very minimalist ‘Getting Started’ guide. I turned the unit on, and without reading any manuals was able to associate it with my Amazon account and configure it for my home wifi network. This is the fancier of the two units, which includes a 3G WAN modem (which Amazon calls Whispernet). So even without wifi, this unit can download anywhere Sprint service is available, without any additional charges. (I could have gone wifi only and saved about $50). And of course, you can read content you’ve already downloaded anywhere, without a wireless connection. The unit can hold about 3500 typical books, according to Amazon.
Basic navigation is pretty straightforward, though a few minutes spent reading the instructions (in the form of an e-book on the unit itself) certainly helped. Books can be purchased directly from the Kindle store, an option in the main menu. Once purchased, they appear on your list in a minute or so. And there is plenty of free content available from Amazon as well, mostly older copyright-expired works. Tarzan, anyone?
Content:
In addition to Amazon-provided content (books, magazine subscriptions, and so forth), content can be added via USB. Plug in the cable and the unit appears as a drive letter on your PC; no special software is needed. The Kindle can deal directly with a .PDF file, but depending upon the content it may or may not be that readable. I had much better luck using Mobipocket Creator (tinyurl.com/3tjex7), a free translation program. The files create were indistinguishable from those downloaded from Amazon.
There’s also a ton of free content available from Project Guttenberg. If you aren’t already familiar with this, go immediately to www.gutenberg.com. It’s an incredible resource, and you could probably do a lot worse than to donate a few bucks while you’re there.
Surfing:
In addition to being a reader, the Kindle 3 also offers a rudimentary web browser in the ‘experimental’ menu. I say rudimentary because it’s somewhat limited in what it can view, you’re viewing through a 600x800 monochrome display, and the keyboard is pretty primitive. So apart from reading your email or checking the weather, you won’t be doing much with it. As of now, there’s no recurring charge for using it, but that certainly won’t last forever.
Reading Books:
But what about the unit’s raison d’etre, reading books. Well, I’ll say that the experience was better than I’d hoped or expected. First of all, the unit is lighter than most books, so it’s easier to hold. The page forward/back buttons are conveniently located, and the unit generates no more noise or heat than a conventional book. Readability is equal to paper. (That’s also true in the dark; there’s no screen illumination.) All in all, it’s a very positive experience.
The biggest negative for reading is that it’s tougher to navigate than a conventional book. Now perhaps once I’m more familiar with it, I’ll be jumping around between chapters and footnotes like a pro. But my impression is that what I’ll be using it for mostly is fiction and narrative non-fiction; for textbooks and how-too books, I’ll probably want to do it the old-fashioned way.
Shortcomings:
Unfortunately, the two biggest problems with e-books haven’t been addressed: lending, and volatility.
When I’m done with a paper book, I can lend it to a friend. Supposedly, Amazon will have a limited lending program available at some point in the future, but that’s not here yet, and even when it is, it still won’t apply to people who don’t have a Kindle, and don’t want to read on their PC (there is a (free) Windows Kindle program available). This is a big shortcoming for me; I borrow and lend lots of books. Of course, this isn’t an issue with free content.
The other issue is volatility. If I buy a paper book, I can put it on the shelf confident that I’ll be able to read it 20 years from now. A few moments contemplating 20-year-old data formats (8-inch floppy disks?), says that this may or many not be the case with Kindle books; they pretty much exist at the whim of Amazon. So I’m, at least for now, hesitant to invest a lot of money in paid books… until its possible to back them up in a way that’s independent of Amazon.
One very nice feature is the ability to read the first chapter or two of a book for free, and then buy the book if you like it. I can see I’ll make a lot of use of this feature, even if I wind up going out and buying a paper copy instead of an electronic one.
Conclusions:
Bottom line – the device is a keeper. Its shaping up as a low-impact, low maintenance reading appliance, not a finicky high-tech gadget. And it’s small and light enough to take pretty much anywhere I’d want to read something. I know it will get a lot of use, though I suspect that only a relatively small portion will be with purchased content. I’ll report back with a retrospect a year from now, in February of 2012.
Now, here's a problem. I can't find that "notify me" box on this page. Do I have a blind spot??
Posted by: John Dunn | September 16, 2013 at 04:02 PM