Entered CNET Catalog: 11/20/2007
SKU: 892685001065
Manufacturer: Amazon.com
Manufacturer description
Amazon designed Kindle to provide an exceptional reading experience. Thanks to electronic paper, a revolutionary new display technology, reading Kindle's screen is as sharp and natural as reading ink on paper - and nothing like the strain and glare of a computer screen. Kindle is also easy on the fingertips. It never becomes hot and is designed for ambidextrous use so both "lefties" and "righties" can read comfortably at any angle for long periods of time. Kindle was wanted to be completely mobile and simple to use for everyone, so it has been made wireless. No PC and no syncing needed. Using the same 3G network as advanced cellphones, Amazon delivers your content using its own wireless delivery system, Amazon Whispernet. Unlike WiFi, you'll never need to locate a hotspot. There are no confusing service plans, yearly contracts, or monthly wireless bills - Amazon takes care of the hassles so you can just read. With Whispernet, you can be anywhere, think of a book, and get it in one minute. Similarly, your content automatically comes to you, wherever you are. Newspaper subscriptions are delivered wirelessly each morning. Most magazines arrive before they hit newsstands. Haven't read the book for tomorrow night's book club? Get it in a minute. Finished your book in the airport? Download the sequel while you board the plane. Whether you're in the mood for something serious or hilarious, lighthearted or studious, Kindle delivers your spontaneous reading choices on demand. And because Amazon knows you can't judge a book by its cover, Kindle lets you download and read the beginning of books for free. This way, you can try it out - if you like it, simply buy and download with 1-Click, right from your Kindle, and continue reading. Want to try a newspaper as well? All newspaper subscriptions start with a risk-free two-week trial. Kindle's paperback size and expandable memory let you travel light with your library. With the freedom to download what you want, when you want, Amazon hopes you'll never again find yourself stuck without a great read.Product summary
The good: Excellent high-contrast screen does a great job of simulating a printed page; large library of tens of thousands of e-books, newspapers, magazines, and blogs via Amazon's familiar online store; built-in free wireless "Whispernet" data network--no PC needed; built-in keyboard for notes; SD card expansion slot; compatible with Windows and Mac machines.
The bad: Design is ergonomic, but not very elegant; pricing for nearly all the content seems too high, especially considering the periodicals and blogs are available for free online; black-and-white screen is fine for books, but less impressive for periodicals and Web content; lacks a true Web browser; included cover is clumsy and poorly designed; additional file formats need to be e-mailed to Amazon for conversion; yet another dedicated device you'll need to lug around with you.
The bottom line: With its free built-in wireless capabilities and PC-free operation, Amazon's Kindle holds a distinct advantage over Sony's Reader and is a promising evolution of the electronic book--but Amazon needs to bring down the pricing for both the device and the content to attract a wider audience.
Editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 11/20/2007
Editor's note: As of February 2009, this product has been replaced by the Kindle 2.
One of the screensavers for Amazon's $400 Kindle electronic book reader has a picture of an old printing machine and above it a message that reads: "Kindle is a whole new class of device. Thank you for being an early adopter. We'd love to get your input at: kindle-feedback [at] amazon.com."
Well, here goes.
First off, while the Kindle may not be a whole new class of device (electronic-book readers have been around for a number of years), it joins the Sony Reader in making the e-book reader category a whole lot sexier and buzzworthy. While the Sony PRS-505 ($300) is the sleeker of the two devices, the Kindle is the more revolutionary in that it has a free built-in wireless connection that allows you to tap into Amazon's vast online bookstore from just about anywhere you can access Sprint's EVDO cellular data network.
In many ways, the Kindle is similar to the Sony Reader. At 10.3 ounces, the Kindle weighs about an ounce more and is slightly bigger, measuring 7.5 inches high by 5.3 inches wide by 0.7 inch deep. But both devices have 4.9-by-3.6-inch (6-inch diagonal), 600 x 800-pixel screens that use E Ink technology, which serves to make the letters and words on the screen look more printlike in their appearance--it's quite impressive if you haven't seen the technology in action before. Technically, it's an electrophoretic display, which Wikipedia describes as "an information display that forms visible images by rearranging charged pigment particles using an applied electric field." The Kindle's screen has 4 scales of gray and 167 pixels per inch, while the Sony's has 8 scales of gray and 170 pixels per inch, which means the Sony offers a little more in the way of contrast and is slightly easier to read.
One of the inherent downsides to E Ink technology is that the screen takes a second to refresh (it goes to black and essentially blinks) when you turn a page. Some may find this "ghosting" effect bothersome, but the Kindle's designers have done a good job limiting the delay so it isn't completely irritating and jarring. Also, considering you can read the screen in direct sunlight (think: beach chair), the trade-off seems worth it.
To be clear, Amazon (like Sony) opted against using a backlight, since it strains the eye. That means you'll need to use the Kindle in the same sort of well-lit environment that you'd read a normal book or magazine. The Kindle holds around 200 books in its 185 MB of user-accessible internal memory, and you can store hundreds or even thousands more books, MP3s, Audible audio books, and other files on the device if you purchase an optional SD memory card (only capacities up to 4GB are supported, as it doesn't accept SDHC cards). We would have preferred if the SD-card slot wasn't hidden behind the Kindle's back cover, but there are worse sins. On the other hand, the battery is user-replaceable--one user-friendly feature that the vaunted iPod hasn't yet seemed to master.
As we said, side by side, the Sony Reader comes out the clear winner in the looks department and Sony's done a much better job with its protective leather cover (the Kindle's cover seems a bit bulky, and the device just didn't sit inside it that well). Partially due to the clunky cover, the Kindle isn't as comfortable to hold in your hand as the Sony and some folks may prefer removing the Kindle from its cover while using it, though making sure your $400 investment is properly protected is a concern. Naked may not be the way to go.
Because of the Kindle's distinct design, people's first reaction to the device tends to be, "Wow, that's cool--what is it?" However, some of that initial cool factor wears off after about a day or two. The Kindle's far from ugly, but it does have an ungainly side to its design. With its built-in keyboard under the screen, the device is most often compared to an oversized Blackberry--and a white one at that. It should also be noted that the Kindle feels a little cheaper in-hand than the Sony, partially because the Kindle's shell/casing is made of plastic while the Sony's is made of metal.
We liked the Kindle's button layout, particularly the inclusion of a rubberized scroll wheel and the placement of the large buttons on both sides of the screen for paging forward and back between screens or pages (you can use either hand to page forward or back). However, it is worth mentioning that the next/prev buttons are right at the edge of the device and are almost too sensitive--on several occasions we found ourselves accidentally hitting a button and ending up on another page. Also, the little scroll wheel seems prone to picking up lint, fibers, and other particles. How this will affect operation over time is hard to say, but it would probably help to try to keep it clean.
We applaud Amazon for including a home button. Click it and you'll be taken to the main list page of all your content. With a click of the scroll wheel, you can then choose to sort by author, date, or title and to show just books or periodicals (you can download newspapers, magazines, and blogs). You can bookmark key passages of what you're reading, and (using the keyboard), make, edit, and export notes. The Kindle also saves your place when reading anything, so you can always pick up where you left off. We also liked how when you're in a document, you can look up a word in the dictionary by selecting the line from the text using the scroll wheel (the dictionary looks up all the words in the line, so you don't have to go to the trouble of selecting the exact word). On a more critical note, we had some trouble using the "location" jumping feature, mostly because we couldn't figure out what the location description numbers on the screen actually referred to.
Much of the aforementioned functionality is similar to what the Sony Reader offers. But the two devices start to diverge once you start talking about the Kindle's wireless capabilities. As noted, there's a built-in EVDO radio that connects to a data service (Whispernet) that Amazon's apparently built on top of the Sprint data network. That limits the device's wireless roaming capabilities to CDMA territories, so don't expect your Kindle to have online access on your next trip to Europe (and most other countries outside the U.S.). That said, you can "manually" transfer content to the Kindle when you're abroad by downloading content from the Web to your PC, and then transferring it to the Kindle via USB. (If everything goes well for the Kindle here in the U.S., perhaps we'll see a GSM version for European customers).
Downloading books wirelessly to the Kindle is generally a very pleasant experience. You can search for titles or authors in the Kindle Store or scroll through the national and Kindle bestsellers lists (Amazon is currently offering more than 90,000 titles, including 90 percent of the current New York Times bestsellers). Hardcover bestsellers and newly released titles are currently priced at $10, and you'll see some better deals on paperbacks and other older books.
You can download a free excerpt from the book (the first chapter) or simply click on the buy button to purchase the book. In fact, the process is so simple, the first time we hit "buy" we expected some sort of secondary step (such as, "Are you sure you want to buy this book?"). But with one click the book was bought and being readied for delivery (it takes about a minute to download a standard length book). The good news is if you make a mistake, Amazon makes it very easy to cancel your order--and you'll get a message to your Amazon account's e-mail address letting you know your order was canceled. Also, Amazon keeps track of your purchases, so you can delete the file on the Kindle (to make space for more content) and then download it again later for no additional charge.
Amazon has made a big deal about being able to subscribe to The New York Times, Washington Post, and several other newspapers and magazines (dailies are automatically delivered overnight, ready for reading on the morning commute). But the subscription to the Times, for example, costs $13.99 a month or $.75 an issue, which may seem pricey to those who are used to viewing the same content on the paper's Web site for free. The same goes for subscriptions to "free" blogs, which run you a buck or two a month. Yes, you can access those blogs from the Kindle's limited Web browser, but it offers no color, Flash support, or even proper formatting--the CNET home page, for instance, was rendered as 18 separate pages. What you're paying for is the automatic delivery and a format that fits the screen properly. But what you're losing, in addition to the subscription fees, is timeliness: with only a single "delivery" per day (for the dailies), you're locked into one version of the day's news--basically, the morning paper. And in today's on-demand world, being stuck with what's effectively yesterday's news is a real throwback--don't expect the latest sports scores, stock quotes, and breaking news.
We're not going to knock Amazon too hard for its pricing on books at this point, but it's clear that $10 is still too much to pay for an electronic book, and ideally Amazon would move toward some sort of subscription rental service a la Netflix. Unfortunately, Amazon is handcuffed by publishers who charge upward of $10 for electronic versions of their books, but we expect--or at least hope--to see that pricing evolve with time. We also hope that Amazon will do more to promote cheap content, such as offering Ebook Classics with the purchase of the device as Sony does, or serve up some free content, like Apple does with its free downloads of the day in its iTunes Store.
In that vein, Amazon has launched something called the Digital Text Platform, which makes it very easy to upload your own manuscript or document to the Kindle Store and have it converted into a Kindle book. You can then put whatever price tag you want on the book and sell it on the store. Obviously, such a platform should appeal to fledgling authors and has the potential to revolutionize the self-publishing industry, which has seen a rapid expansion in recent years.
What else? Well, we should probably mention that the Kindle can access Wikipedia, which technically makes the device a hand-held encyclopedia. Like the Sony Reader, the Kindle is compatible with a number of file types, but most files have to undergo a conversion in order for the device to recognize the files. You can convert files in one of two ways: you can either send attachments wirelessly to the device's personal e-mail address, which will cost you $.10 per attachment. (You create a whitelist for acceptable addresses, so you can't have your bill run up by spammers.) Or you can send them to a "free" Kindle e-mail address that you access via your Windows or Mac OS computer and then transfer the converted files to your Kindle manually via USB (it appears as a drive). According to Amazon, to reduce wireless charges, your best bet is to zip up a bunch of files in an attachment, then send the ZIP file wirelessly to the Kindle's personal e-mail address, where the ZIP file will automatically be unzipped and the files converted.
PDF files can also be converted and viewed, but like with Sony's Reader, they won't necessarily display properly because the PDF is scaled to fit the screen. You can increase the font size of Word documents but you can't zoom in on PDF files, which can makes them hard to read because they're being reduced to fit on the screen. PDF's take several seconds to load (as they often do on a computer). Also, one image-based PDF we tried (an architectural floor plan) wasn't viewable at all.
In terms of audio, the Kindle plays back MP3 files, so you can listen to music while you read (there's a headphone jack on the bottom of the device along with a tiny speaker on back of the device), as well as Audible books. The device is capable of viewing image files (JPEG, GIF, BMP, PNG) but they, too must be sent through the e-mail conversion process. The pictures are monochromatic--and they look like some really detailed Etch-a-Sketch work--but the effect is kind of cool, and you can use the reader to show off your family album if you're so inclined.
As for battery life, you can obviously do better by turning off the wireless connection. Amazon says that if you leave the wireless on you'll have recharge approximately every other day--and our tests confirmed that. Turn the wireless off and Amazon says you can read for a week or more before recharging. The device fully recharges in 2 hours, and unlike the Sony, the device ships with an AC adapter.
The Kindle's firmware is upgradeable and updates will be delivered wirelessly. Clearly, Amazon intends to add additional features and you can already get a little taste of that if you click on the "Experimental" tab on the options menu on the Kindle's home page. A note at the top of the page says, "We are working on these experimental prototypes" and asks for feedback. One of the prototypes is Ask Kindle NowNow, which, much like Yahoo Answers, allows you to ask questions and have "real people" research the question and send you up to three answers usually within ten minutes (there's no charge). We asked, "Who is David Carnoy?" Reply: "Some jerky CNET reviewer who grades really hard and never rates products above an 8.3." (We're kidding, but we did get a response within about 3 minutes that offered Carnoy's CNET.com user bio.)
If all this sounds like a lot of features to pack into a device, it is, and the Kindle is certainly ambitious. The product is three years in the making and to a large degree it shows. At the same time, like we said when Sony put out its first-generation Reader, there's plenty of room for improvement. While Sony may have a leg up in design, Amazon has the critical advantage of having a decent content delivery service integrated right into the device. When all is said and done, that additional functionality makes the Kindle the more compelling device and probably worth spending the extra $100 on. Still, there are plenty of areas that could be improved. Native file support--so you could dump all your Word docs, PDFs, and image files on an SD card without dealing with Amazon's e-mail conversion process--would go a long way towards realizing the promise of a true "electronic book" and not a proprietary "Amazon reader." Likewise, adding a convenient RSS reader so you could pick and choose your own free Web content--not Amazon's list of pre-approved pay-per-view sites--would be a worthwhile addition as well.
While we're outlining improvements, of course, we'd like to see the Kindle (and Sony) cost closer to $200. Of course, early adopters are used to paying a couple of hundred bucks extra to be on the cutting edge. And if that's where you want to be, the Kindle's where it's at, impressive and imperfect as it is.
Editors' Note: This review is based on less than 48 hours of Kindle usage, and is likely to be updated in the coming days and weeks as we get more hands-on experience with the device.
User opinions
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I love it see here http://agneskaminski.blogspot.com
Pros: You can get online anywhere, see books unlimited just about whatever you want. it has spoiled me. I also like the screen, you can see it outside with no problem in the sunlight. You can see what I bought on agneskaminski.blogspot
Cons: I really have none
out of 72 user reviews
some goods and bads of Kindle i found
Pros: find out in the bellow URL
Cons: find out in the bellow URL
out of 72 user reviews
Kindle is not rated for Children
Pros: This is a great concept and would work great for kids if it had some form of Parental Control
Cons: For my son's 12th birthday I purchased him a Kindle. The thought was to purchase something that would compete with his hand held gaming devices for his time.
To my surprise after setting up my son's account that I was able to make a book purchase withou
out of 72 user reviews
Got it. Love it! Use it all he time.
Pros: I'm on the go alot and with Kindle I can download from anywhere. The thing I like the most is customer reviews.
I've found this very useful for making a decision on a new book.
Cons: Web browser is a pain to use but thats not what I bought this ebook for.
I usually read more then 1 book or news paper at a time and its nice to be able to just open the book or paper right where I left it. I have the 3g version and love it I can download from anywhere. Very fast!
out of 72 user reviews
It's alright, but not as good as Kindle 2.
Pros: It gets the job done.
Cons: It's kind of heavy and bulky
out of 72 user reviews
Limited lifespan
Pros: I absolutely loved the Kindle while it worked. I purchased thousands of dollars worth of books on it and used it frequently.
Cons: It apparently has a limited lifespan, and as you can only access the books on your Kindle you are then out of luck.
out of 72 user reviews
Amazon keeps control over your own bookshelf!
Pros: I was an early adopted and am onto my second kindle, and like the convenience
Cons: But I'm tired of AMAZON's attitude about MY books, PURCHASED with MY money, that they refuse to allow me to have control over.
I have spoken now to 3 different customer service reps, and not one of them can give me a good reason why this is not possible. Yes they agree they can do it when I ask to get a refund for a book. But they don't have any explanation for why I shouldn't have control over my own online bookcase. You'd think removing the books is brain surgery. So far all three have earnestly explained that they can't delete the books because I WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO DOWNLOAD them again. THAT IS THE POINT! I don't want to download them again. I want them removed from MY ACCOUNT.
I'm annoyed enough that I am considering getting rid of my kindles. Its very BIG BROTHER to have no control over your own bookcase.
out of 72 user reviews
Just as good as Kindle 1
Pros: Easy read; user friendly; portable.
Cons: Broken in 3 weeks; wonderful support.
out of 72 user reviews
it's a start - work needed in optimizing the product -
Pros: Mine is the Kindle I - it's a nice size and I found it easy to get used to the paging conventions - very nice to have online connect for d/l new titles that are available
Cons: I found the relatively low contrast annoying - maybe a more contrasty display would make my eyes tired: it should be a personal choice, like drinking, smoking, or voting republican - I found title selection limited: more work needed there
out of 72 user reviews
Product is good but Amazon policy stinks!
Pros: Using the Kindle is easy and fun.
Cons: Amazon's return policy is ridiculous.
out of 72 user reviews
Amazon Steals!! Don't buy a Kindle!!!
Pros: None anymore
Cons: Amazon is not dealing with the fact that it was simple theft for them to remove already purchased content from customer's Kindles. DON'T BUY FROM AMAZON unltil they buy the Orwell content and restore a copy to every customer they STOLE from.
out of 72 user reviews
Buyer Beware the Drop Test!
Pros: Convenient, handy, portable. Highly recommend it for people who read and travel a lot. Once you get the hang of it, it "disappears" into your hands like a book or newspaper. It also saves paper and is cost efficient in the long run.
Cons: Big issue with Amazon's claims to its sturdiness (see bottom-line summary). Minor complaints: harder to read than paper in low-light conditions, and the screen is a little reflective under fluorescent lighting.
out of 72 user reviews
Great Concept, But Not Great in The End
Pros: You can download books wirelessly from anywhere you can get a cell phone signal.
Cons: It breaks easily: (search on Kindle Destoryed in YouTube). Amazon will not replace if it breaks, and you lose your entire library. So if you buy the kindle and you do not like it, you lose all your books! Contrast is poor.
out of 72 user reviews
Good device, neat features, needs color for pix
Pros: Wireless access, stores many books and magazines as well as Mp3s and pictures. Easy to use, dictionary, search, and highliting as well as wikipedia access make it a good tool.
Cons: I worry I'll break it. I have to be extra careful I don't sit on it, put something on top of it, or that my laptop doesn't hit it in my carrying bag. The review I read at http://review-kindle.blogspot.com/ warned me of this, but I didn't believe it!
out of 72 user reviews
Unaffordable options for repair with warranty...
Pros: 1. Mac compatible
2. affordable downloads
3. beautiful screen-savers
Cons: Expensive and a luxury even with Oprah's discount. Comes with a year "limited" warranty. No affordable option to repair when broken accidentally ($180 re-furbished). Reason: No repair centers...I was told by support.
1. It falls out of the cover it comes with...is only held in place by a plastic "lip"
2. Elastic band that closes cover stretches out and is ineffective and unattractive
3. On/Off switch is on the back of device
4. Difficult to hold without turning pages
5. 2 step process to bookmark a page....only 1 step on eReader
BUT......I am MOST DISAPPOINTED BY:
No affordable option for repair when broken accidentally. We bought it as a luxury for Christmas trusting in Oprah's endorsement of it's "wonderful-ness." We are a regular hard-working American family living in today's economic crisis. We broke it...my husband accidentally stepped on the device causing damage to the pixels under the screen. NO outside damage.
We thought...OK. It happened. No problem! It comes with a year warranty and after all...this is an Amazon/Oprah product and all the rage right now. We'll send it in right away and get it fixed! Not the case. The customer service people are VERY friendly and helpful but unfortunately, the year "limited" warranty does not cover "accidents." OK...so we'll pay for the fix....NOT POSSIBLE. There are NO PLACES to fix it. OUR ONLY OPTION....Pay $180 for a re-furbished Kindle 1....or apply that $180 to a new Kindle 2.
This is NOT an affordable option to anyone in this situation at any economic level in today's financial crisis. After all, for us having the Kindle is a luxury and frankly..."fixing" it at that price is too.
I feel cheated and ripped off. I'll tell you why. I am an intelligent person and try to be fully informed before making big decisions...which includes how we spend our money. My husband and I are surviving this economic crisis by making smart choices and not living on credit....we have 3 children and one coming at any moment. We have never lived beyond our means and value the blessings we have.....religion, parenthood, and luckily...employment.
Right now, choosing to purchase a Kindle was a foolish, frivolous decision. I've done the research. The Sony eReader once purchased comes with a year's warranty which covers "accidents" and you have an option to extend that warranty for an additional 2 more years under the same conditions. You break it...they will fix it and send it back to you...all you have to do is send it to them. SO....for us with an eReader under the same conditions would have been around $30 for the shipping and that is a VERY generous shipping amount. THAT is AFFORDABLE!!! Not to mention, Sony HAS repair centers which are ready and able to do the job. AND their customer service people were just as friendly and just as helpful with my questions.
I feel like I've been cheated and made fool of. Yes...we broke it. It was an accident. BUT...when you are dealing with a device that is intended to be carried, put in bags, briefcases and purses, sat on counters and bedside tables, read in bed, in cars, on vacations, at the pool, by American families who have children and pets.......common sense would say that even with the best intentions...accidents happen. Sony realizes this. Amazon's Kindle does not....or cares not to.
I am disappointed in my purchase, I am disappointed in Amazon and the Kindle, I am disappointed in Oprah for endorsing a product so unaffordable to repair, and I am undecided as to how I am going to fix this pickle we are in right now.
Unfortunately, common sense is telling my husband and I to cut our losses and chalk this up to a lesson learned. Our reality is, we are a family with small children and activities going on at all times and the chances of us having another "accident" are very real and almost inevitable so......we need to have a product that protects us as consumers. To take the chance of this happening again...would be foolish.
I am sad. I really LOVED the Kindle. I loved what the device offered, how environmentally friendly it was, how portable and user-friendly....the savings on the purchase of books.....sigh. For a book worm like me.....this has been an emotional disappointing experience.
I hope this might change some of your thinking about how the American public lives and that we deserve an affordable solution when things like this happen. After all.....if Sony can offer it....why can't you???
Sincerely,
Pam Venturi
out of 72 user reviews
Very Fragile. Don't buy!
Pros: -easy to read books.
Cons: - Amazon is showing the drop test and falsely claiming that this is sturdy. But it's not. I dropped it from only 10 inches high and now it's damaged. Amazon wants $200 to fix it.
out of 72 user reviews
Great reading experience with only a few drawbacks
Pros: -- Loads of Amazon content
-- Compatibliity with Palm eReader books (with third-party software)
-- Carry dozens of books with you at once,even without an SD card
-- Basic Web access
-- Ebooks cheaper than their paper counterparts
Cons: -- Some extra work involved in converting from other formats (e.g., PDF, protected MobiPocket, eReader
-- Subscriptions to newspapers, magazines -- and especially blogs -- isre too expensive
On the downside, you give up some portability for the better reading experience. The Kindle is a lot bigger than any Palm device, so it's a little more limited in where you can take it. It's obviously not something you can just slip into your shirt pocket or purse. Of course, the Kindle savesyou from having to transport an even bigger book, so maybe that's a good trade-off.
The only real disappointment is the cost of non-book reading material Trying to charge $14.99 a month for the NY Times may seem reasonable, compared to subscribing to the print edition,but it's $14.99 more expensive than accessing the NY Times online for free. And charging <i>any</> money for blogs seems wrong-headed to me.
I can honestly say I would have no reservations recommending a Kindle to a friend, as long as he or she didn't want to read a lot of newspapers or blogs. The Kindle is still primarily a <i>book</i> device, and anyone considering a purchase should keep that in mind.
out of 72 user reviews
I love it --- better than my EBook Reader!
Pros: easy to use, very legible, huge capacity, downloads fast. NO MORE book clutter, less waste - no paper. LIGHT weight, thin, fits in my purse, I used to carry 5,6 or 7 books on vacation and leave them along my way when I finished them - no more.
Cons: really only the initial cost. I know a lot of people criticize the fact that you have to buy the books, but you do for the EBook Reader and others as well. It is easier to search for the books you want on the Amazon website over the Kindle itself.
out of 72 user reviews
Kindle 2 - Unsuccessful
Pros: I liked the thought of reading withtout my reader glasses as well as not having the books leftover after I finished them. However that never came to pass....see below.
Cons: Didn't get far enough along to add pros at this time. I've been unsuccessful at getting 2 of these to operate. After speaking with customer service it appears they too are still troubleshooting these devices.
out of 72 user reviews
A beautiful thing, that just works.
Pros: Built-in dictionary, search for words across all your books, long battery life. Plus, it's lighter than the books I usually read! Seamless software updates are also delivered over the WhisperNet connection.
Cons: Slow page flips, unsatisfactory image rendering (e.g., book covers), getting used to "locations" instead of pages. Lack of O'Reilly Media computer books. Can't gift ebooks or put them on a wishlist on Amazon.
Overall I find the reading experience very enjoyable. The font is crisp and legible. The button configuration takes a little getting used to, but no more so thant trying to hold open a mass market with one hand when reading "in bed". The battery life is quite respectable. I usually leave the wireless switch off, and can go for about a 2 weeks before I get a warning that I should recharge. I can even use the USB connection (much smaller and more portable cable) at work to charge it if needed. I sometimes use the Kindle just for storage, to move files between home and work, since it just looks like a storage device to most computers.
The indexed search across all the books in your library is a wonderful time saver when you are looking for a specific reference chapter.
Finding an purchasing ebooks through other sites like, Fictionwise has been fairly easy (unfortunately MobiPocket - Amazon owned - is not so easy). Fictionwise even has a FAQ that tells you which formats are best for your Kindle. Of course it is a no-brainer to buy books straight from Amazon, either on your computer or directly through your Kindle. In general, if Amazon carries the same ebook, it WILL be a little cheaper there.
Amazon does provide an email address that you can send many file formats to, for a small fee, to have them translated and downloaded to your device. But, you can convert pdf's and many other file formats for FREE, if you just run them through the FREE MobiPocket reader software and transfer them with the USB connection.
With a minor bit of searching you can find utilities to generate the PID for your Kindle, and most sites with DRM, will let you redownload previously PURCHASED ebooks for your new device (once you have registered it with them). Although, as mentioned above, this doesn't work for MobiPocket due to the strange PID generated.
I DO have some wishes for the future of the Kindle platform and store:
I wish they would allow you to buy ebooks for others, and have them delivered at a specific time (e.g., Christmas gifts) without registering the device with your account. Amazon says the work around is to buy a gift certificate for someone, sned it to them, and tell them what book you wanted them to buy. Not very much fun.
On Amazon you can add regular books to a wishlist and come back to buy them later. But, the Kindle Store only has the Buy It Now, or Send a Sample options.
I would love to be able to buy Kindle books for my friends and family from their wishlist. We have used this Amazon feature in many of their other departments over previous holidays to make sure we are getting each other what we really want.
O'Reilly Media, and a few other key technical book publishers have yet to release their books in Kindle format. I understand they claim it is because the format doesn't have sufficient support for tables, monospaced fonts, bold, alternate character sets and other typographical considerations common in technical manuals.
But, considering I have had several software updates downloaded to my device since I purchased it. With several features being added on each update.
out of 72 user reviews
At $355 I rather get the Acer Aspire One AOD150 laptop
Pros: Small and light
Cons: Colorless, overpriced media for reading digital books at min $10 a download . Computer can do the same and more versatile eg Acer Aspire One AOD150 with 160gb and 1 GB ram weights 2.9Lbs and just as portable.
out of 72 user reviews
Kindling Lust in Bibliophiles.
Pros: Ability to carry 1,300 books in my pocket. Tons of free books to download to it. The morning papers without going out in the snow. Not being crushed in the collapse of piles of dead-tree books. Not slipping on slick paper.
Cons: Yeah, it's $359; so's the Kindle 2. As a web browser, it makes one heck of a ereader.
Naturally, my Kindle 1 arrived a month before Kindle 2 was annouced. On the other hand, I'm pretty happy with it. I have 47 pages (12 entries per page) of books and samples of books on the Kindle. I filled up the 200 Kindle slots pretty quickly and put in a SD card (a tech friend says he figures this opens space for a total 1,300+ books). Two-thirds of the books were downloaded from free ebook sites. These titles consist of works having no copyright. Most were published before 1920 (there is a large selection of science fiction from the 40s, 50s and early 60s).
The selection from Amazon.com is good and getting better. These run in price from $0.99 for individual classics, $5 for collected works (every publication of Arthur Conan Doyle, Kipling, H.P. lovecraft, Shakespeare, etc.) and religious works (various Bibles, the Qur'an, Hindu literature, works of Judaism, etc.), and $10 for best sellers. besides Amazon.com, there are a bunch of online ebook dealers that also sell ebooks compatible with Kindle.
The selection of newspapers is fair. I'm able to subscribe to a couple of papers I can't get in my area: the International Herald Tribune and a midwestern local. While I might be able to read some of the articles online, being naturally lazy, I find reading the Kindle while in bed more comfortable than trying to do it with the laptop.
The magazines and blog selection is small and mostly aimed at the Left
Will I get the new Kindle 2? Probably not for myself; I'm happy with my Kindle 1 and Amazon.com told me they would continue to carry the battery for it. I do plan to buy a Kindle 2 for my wife. I'll post a review of it when it shows up.
out of 72 user reviews
Great but luxar item
Pros: Super convienent, and easy to use
Cons: Price, it is way to espensive
out of 72 user reviews
under appreciated features, outstanding device
Pros: cheap books, newspapers, blogs and magazines using EVDO { no charge } downloaded wirelessly to kindle
Cons: nothing significant
out of 72 user reviews
I LOVE MY KINDLE!
Pros: Easy to read; adjustable font; fantastic wireless book delivery; small size; word lookup capability
Cons: Hate the cover ... it is sloppy and doesn't stay on when trying to read but fine for traveling. Can't stand not knowing what page I am on (or even how many pages there are in the book) ... tried to use their location lookup and it was useless.
I disagree that it is more expensive than the Sony since it comes with the a/c adapter included. I bought my Kindle for $300 because I saw it on Oprah and got a $50 discount (always a nice thing).
I was showing a neighbor how the Kindle works and was able to stand in my driveway and search for, buy and download a book in about 2 -3 minutes ... that's amazing! I don't find the $9.99 price for a book exhorbitant (The Twilight Series is only $6.04 each) and I'm really only interested in downloading books -- not newspapers or magazines, etc. It sure will cut down on the weight of my luggage when traveling and that is a savings in itself with the airlines charging for everything these days!
I've tried to discern whether the Sony cover would fit the Kindle but haven't been able to ascertain that. I wrote to Amazon inquiring if a new cover was in the development stage and perhaps might be free to those of us who bought early on but did not get a satisfactory response from them.
You must be very careful to not touch the buttons on the sides by mistake (especially the BACK button) since all of a sudden, you have no idea where you are! I'm getting a little more savvy and noting the CHAPTER I am on as it starts since I can then easily go to the Table of Contents and get right to that chapter with no delay ... then just page forward to my place.
"Parking" your book when you want to take a break from reading is very easy ... just hit ALT + A and it goes to sleep ... do the same thing in reverse to wake it up and you are in the exact spot you left off reading.
I leave the wireless off until I want to order a book so battery power is not a problem at this time.
This was an early Christmas present to me and I am so thankful to have received it.
Ann
out of 72 user reviews
An excellent device. All my favorite books at hand
Pros: I like not having backlighting, the different fonts, ordering from the kindle, keeping track of my order at amazon, not having to have magazines in my home, access to the web, wikip, always having a dictionary, and much more!!
Cons: I want to catagorize my books, I want "To Kill A Mocking bird" offered, more magazines offered, but otherwise it is great.
out of 72 user reviews
Extremely easy to use
Pros: Love that I can buy a book & have it downloaded in aprx 1 minute for $10 or way less. Also like that I can load my own documents, files, manuals, etc so I don't have to carry around my volumnious binders of training materials. Love the Home feature.
Cons: Next Page and Prev Page buttons could be smaller and not quite as sensitive. I too have inadvertantly turned the page without meaning to.
out of 72 user reviews
I've owned one for about 8 months having read 15-20 bks
Pros: See bottom section.
Cons: Easy to bump the next page bar and "turn the page" accidentally - easy to go back
Does come loose from cover easily - not a big deal
Music player/web browser etc could all be better but not why I bought it.
In dimmer light, being able to enlarge the text is great.
Price of e-books in a lot cheaper the just released hard backs ($9.99 vs $18-25)
No longer have to worry what to do with the books once I've read them.
Downloading without needing a computer is great.
Never loosing my spot due to a bookmark falling out.
Great sound with ear plugs
Most of the problem with functionality of "add on" functions could easily be fixed with a firmware update.
Overall, I really like it and would by one again in a heart beat. I've demo'd it to many friends and they universally have wanted one
out of 72 user reviews
A library that fits in my purse...What could be better?
Pros: The interface is intuitive once you realize it has a scroll wheel and indicator bar. The screen is very easy to read. Changing text size is a breeze. Books download quickly. A virtual library is included. Suggestion are made based on your purchases.
Cons: The cover is made of nice material, but is akward and does not fit securly . It's very easy to accidentally flip pages when inserting and removing from the cover, and it must be removed from the cover to access the power and wireless switches.
out of 72 user reviews
Great old features, boring new ones
Pros: Whispernet and E-Ink rule.
Cons: Needs better ergonomics and interface.
http://www.atelier-us.com/consumers-and-ecommerce/article/will-new-amazon-kindle-features-enhance-its-appeal
out of 72 user reviews
cost of downloaded books
Pros: Lower price for downloaded books
Cons: Kindle raising costs of downloaded books
out of 72 user reviews
Missing all the great authors!
Pros: Can adjust print size, great paper manual, easy to hold and click on choices.
Cons: Great books not included! Can't use other e-books. Screen is too dim.
out of 72 user reviews
too much money for too little book choice
Pros: machine works well, read well in the sun.
Cons: limited book choice, not well priced, no author search
out of 72 user reviews
Fool me twice, shame on me
Pros: Don't have to carry a book
Cons: DRM, DRM, DRM
Don't buy anything DRM!
out of 72 user reviews
A lovely product for readers and students
Pros: ease to use
Cons: little expensive
http://pctechedu.blogspot.com, my blog that I used to share my idea about technology education with others.
out of 72 user reviews
Wonderful device with easy readability
Pros: Easy to read, hold, navigate and purchase materials
Cons: Only through Amazon, price,lack of color in periodicals
Purchasing is fast and a snap and my "library" is growing. Although there is nothing like holding a hard cover book and thumbing through the pages, this device makes it easier to transition over to a different medium. Reading outside in the bright sunlight is a non issue, no glare or fading.
A previous reviewer had spoken about just bending the plastic tab in the cover and the Kindle would snap into place and no slippage. They were right on.
So far, with the exception of sticker shock, I am extremely happy with my purchase.
out of 72 user reviews
Outstanding as a reader for all text-based media
Pros: Instant access to all forms of tex-based media
Cons: Need more periodicals and magazines to be available
Sure, the battery life might be longer, but realistically speaking, I'm not away from an electrical outlet for more than 24 hours.
Sure, the lack of any real audio/music library functionality is not there. But adding all of this just increases the complexity of the device; and I am already well integrated in this area with my computer and player.
Sure, the price could be lower either for the device itself or the content... but that would only provide less incentive for content providers to offer content via Kindle. And Amazon itself needs to be properly compensated in this truly ground-breaking enedeavor.
The Amazon technical support is truly amazing. Responsive, enthusiastic and knowledble. In this day and age, this kind of tech support is simply not available anywhere else.
out of 72 user reviews
I totally love the Kindle
Pros: No having to wait for my books
Cons: Don't go to the bookstore as often; cover is iffy
I agree with the person about textbooks - but I would start at an earlier age - Elementary School. Really should investigate getting into this because it would save so many people so much space, weight, etc.
Keep improving Kindle.
out of 72 user reviews
There's a reason why there's a long waiting line
Pros: Format makes reading easy
Cons: Early adopters must bear with a few rough edges
out of 72 user reviews
Great device - does exactly what Amazon says it would!
Pros: Easy to read/Portable way to carry all your books/plenty of free online content/over 110,000 titles on Amazon and increasing daily
Cons: design leaves something to be desired. Included cover needs improvement
Sure, the design is not the greatest. But for my money, it's far superior to anything else out there at the moment.
For those who bash it because it isn't a mini-computer, well, don't buy it if you want that sort of device.
What this device is advertised to be is a replacement for a book - actually for a whole library of books. It works EXACTLY as advertised and it works very well. For those who got it and were disappointed, well, that's too bad. For those who bash it without ever even seeing or using one, whatever.......
out of 72 user reviews
Irritating to use
Pros: handheld convenience is OK
Cons: inconvenient, too sensitive to touch, no back light, no color
Except for one hand held fits all books convenience, no good. I returned it--- after spending $40. for 4 books.
out of 72 user reviews
Just The Facts
Pros: Good Screen, Card Reader, Multi Support, Battery
Cons: Gray Scale Only, Flimsy Cover, Ergo So So
Amazon Kindle is an electronic book (e-book) device launched in the United States by Amazon.com in November 2007. It uses an electronic paper display, reads the proprietary Kindle (AZW) format, and downloads content over Amazon Whispernet, which uses the Sprint EVDO network. This means that the Kindle can be used without the need for a computer. Whispernet is accessible through Kindle without any fee. On the release day, the Kindle Store had more than 88,000 digital titles available for download. Amazon's first offering of the Kindle sold out in five and a half hours. It retails for $399 from Amazon.com.
Contents
1 Technical specifications
2 Content
3 Notes
4 Digital Text Platform
Technical specifications
The Kindle features a 6" diagonal, 4-level grayscale electrophoretic display (E Ink material) with a resolution of 600×800 pixels (167 ppi), although the largest graphic image that can be displayed without being resized is 450x550 pixels. It measures 5.3 inches × 7.5 inches × 0.7 inches (134.5 mm × 190 mm × 19 mm) and weighs 10.3 oz (295 g). The Kindle's internal storage capacity is 256 MB, shipping with 180 MB free. A SD memory card expansion slot is present, officially supporting up to 4GB which implies support for SDHC. It has 64 MB of RAM. The battery lasts roughly two days with wireless on, and one week with wireless off. The battery charges in about two hours. A USB 2.0 port (mini-B connector) is available for connecting to a computer (where it acts as a USB flash drive). The Kindle features a headphone jack and one-year warranty. The device runs on a modified version of Linux based on the 2.6.10 kernel.
Content
The internal memory of the Amazon Kindle can hold approximately 200 non-illustrated titles. Users can download content from Amazon in the proprietary Kindle format (AZW), or load unprotected Mobipocket (PRC, MOBI) or plain text content. Amazon offers an email-based service that will convert HTML, DOC (Microsoft Word), JPEG, GIF, PNG, and BMP documents to AZW. It also supports audio in the form of MP3s and Audible 2, 3, and 4 audiobooks, which must be transferred to the Kindle over USB or on an SD card.
Users can download content through the Kindle Store. The Kindle Store is accessed through Whispernet, over Sprint's EVDO network, which Amazon provides free of charge. New releases and New York Times bestsellers are offered for approximately $10. Classics like Bleak House sell for around $1.99, with free samples available of the first chapter of each book. Subscriptions to newspapers cost between $5.99 and $14.99 per month, magazines between $1.25 and $3.49 per month, and blogs for $0.99-$1.99 per month. Users can send documents to a conversion service which will send a Kindle-formatted file to the device directly for $0.10 or to a personal e-mail account for free. Users can transfer converted documents from a computer to the Kindle via a USB cable or an SD card for free. Access to Wikipedia is offered at no additional charge.
The device comes with electronic editions of its owner's manual and the New Oxford American Dictionary.
The Kindle also contains several free experimental features. These include a basic Web browser and NowNow, an online research service which can produce answers to simple research questions (customer support questions are not answered).
Notes
Although it supports unprotected Mobipocket books (.MOBI, .PRC), plain text files, and HTML and Word documents, Kindle also uses its own proprietary, DRM-restricted format (AZW). It does not fully support the widely accepted PDF format, but Amazon provides "experimental" conversion to the native AZW format. A user may also convert PDF files to supported formats using third-party software.
The Kindle Terms of Use forbid transferring eBooks to someone else or using them on a different device. This has been criticized by the Free Software Foundation[14] and free software advocates including Mark Pilgrim.
The Kindle allows RSS subscription to select blogs for $0.99 or more monthly, even though one may use the experimental web browser to navigate to and read blogs without cost.
Text is fully justified but without hyphenation. Text can, however, be displayed left-justified via an undocumented feature.
Amazon does not sell the Kindle outside the United States, and Whispernet only works in the U.S. However, U.S. owners traveling abroad have the option of managing their Kindle purchases via PC and can then in turn download items from the PC to their Kindle.
Using the experimental web browser, it is possible to download books directly on the Kindle (.mobi, .prc and .txt). Hyperlinks in a Mobipocket file can be used to download e-books[19] but cannot be used to reference books stored in the Kindle's memory.
Digital Text Platform
Amazon launched the Digital Text Platform in open beta concurrently with the Kindle device, and promoted the platform to established authors by e-mail. Authors can upload documents in several formats for delivery via Whispernet and charge between US$0.99 and $200 per download. The authors receive 35% of revenues based on their list price, regardless of discounts by Amazon.
out of 72 user reviews
Got mine yesterday-- fantastic electronic paper/electronic ink device!
Pros: Great screen looks remarkably like paper-- easy to read from for hours-- also battery life is outstandingly longlasting; a true e-book reader
Cons: periodicals ought to be free instead of $15/month; device itself is very pricy as well, but the technology that goes into may ustify this; more content should make this device more worthwhile
out of 72 user reviews
Just too many negatives and not Enough Positives.
Pros: Free wireless internet so you can buy books w/o a computer
Cons: You can ONLY buy books from THEM!
I was considering this as Present to myself this Christmas, but I am a serious researcher/try it before you buy it type of gal and I just could not justify buying this device.
It costs way too much - but I can live with that. If I like it, I will gladly PAY for it.
The Kindle store has very limited selections. And the books they DO have are 30% more expensive that Sony Connect, Ebookwise, or Fictionwise.
I like to have the CHOICE of buying from the Kindle store or Fictionwise, or Books on board, or ANYPLACE where they sell books. I'm a bargain hunter, and the convenience of having the book right there is outwieighed by the fact that I could get the paper copy CHEAPER or - God forbid! - the exact same price - at Borders!
Serious Turn-off for this lady.
If I'm to pay that much money for an ebook reader, I want to be able to get books from anywhere at any time and not be limited to just one site.
Ebookwise books are anywhere from 20-50% CHEAPER than the stores! It makes no sense to buy the paper copy when you can get it cheaper online.
Can't say that with the Kindle.
So all the wonderfulness of the Amazon Kindle - and believe me, it is WONDERFUL - I think the word "Sexy" came to mind when I was holding it - is all overshadowed by it's limiting me to just one source for buying books, and THAT source being wicked expensive.
out of 72 user reviews
takes getting used to
Pros: new books always available
Cons: side page buttons too sensitive,clumsy to hold
out of 72 user reviews
i like it better than my old e-book.
Pros: it's easy to use , i just love it.
Cons: needs a back light.
out of 72 user reviews
If you are a "READER" buy it!
Pros: All you need to read the rest of your life.
Cons: Ergonomics not great (for me), B&W, some books too expensive.
So, enter the Kindle: small, space efficient, of trivial mass and letting me buy books at "half price" (as I rationalize with the wife). I am generally an early adopter so I'm used to clunky tech things that will be replaced in 6 months with something twice as cool at half the price. The Kindle has too many buttons! I can hardly pick it up without hitting the "next" "prev" or "back" buttons which occupy the large chunks of space along the left and right borders of the device. Hey Amazon, I don't need a four inch long "button". Remember, we all use cell phones with microscopic keypads and have 21st century manual dexterity. Whether it's a Kindle or a digital camera, we need some unoccupied areas on the surface to grip and hold the device! Also "back" and "previous" seem like the same thing to many folks (like me) but they take you to far different places on the Kindle!
If you are a fast reader, you will wish a few milliseconds could be shaved off the electronic page "turning". The screen should be a little bigger (take space away from the buttons and keyboard) and get color please. The B&W text is very easy to read in sunlight or in a relatively bright interior setting. It is useless in dim light--but a backlight or frontlight function would allow reading in a car or in bed. I don't care if this shortens battery reading time; after all, I can plug the Kindle in every day to recharge if I necessary, and my wife hates those little reading lights you clip onto a book (they don't fit very well on your Kindle anyway).
The Kindle sucks for newspapers, but I might use it once or twice if I'm someplace with cell coverage, but no computer. Come on Amazon, I pay to subscribe to the online WSJ already--I don't want to pay again to read it on your tiny screen. And, no blog is worth paying to subscribe to! Now, I know you want me to buy and read books, so you don't care that I can't surf the 'net very well with your device--I'm supposed to be reading your books and not wasting Kindle time on the stuff you can't sell to me. Don't worry, in a matter of months there will be some tech workaround or new product that will get around this. Hey, it's got a phone in it--how about letting me making some phone calls. And, mp3s? Wow, very neat to play mp3 background music; it would really be nice if it wasn't hidden in some kind of Nanolike blind shuffle! And, the free Wikipedia is a nice touch, but your free dictionary isn't going to help anyone who managed to squeak past the 8th grade. I haven't found a word yet that I don't know that your pissant dictionary can define-and I'm no Mensa member! I pay to subscribe to the MW unabriged online dictionary; how about letting me use it? When I give your dictionary a line that has a troublesome word, "she took the gun and blew out his cingulate gyrus...", it returns the definitions of "took", "gun" and "blew". Please, I know it's not AI, but the Kindle doesn't have to be flat out stupid! Also, lower the prices (please) on the old mass market "paperbacks"! Who is going to pay you $7.99 for a 9 year old beach book that you can buy for 99 cents at a used book store? Besides if I get sand all over the paper product or drop it in the toilet, I just wipe it off and keep reading--try that with the Kindle!
In summary, even though I'm complaining a lot, the Kindle is a great first effort. It is perfect for the voracious junk reader, not so good for a true student and no substitute for a first edition "Leaves of Grass" on your coffee table. I would give it a "10" except it isn't perfect, although if I'll bet Jeff Bezos et al will keep making it better. The Kindle is in the top 3 of my all time best tech purchases (the other two were an Apple II computer and a 628 Kilopixel digital camera bought in the last century.)
--fg4
out of 72 user reviews
Great Product
Pros: Wirless download, Clarity, Feel like a Book
Cons: B &W, You can not place your own content,
Overall great product to start with.
Zakir H.Syeed
out of 72 user reviews
Finally the future of books is here!
Pros: Great screen, huge library, "free" wireless broadband
Cons: Case needs redesign - some buttons moved
This is an Ipod for books. Plain and simple. Amazon is looking to put EVERY BOOK EVER WRITTEN on this! It is Jeff Bezos' baby and his legacy.
THe web browser and the cover need some work but I'm guessing this thing is the gonna take off, lots of sites will optimized for it and I will have bought years of wireless broadband for $399. I'm already using my Gmail on it.
out of 72 user reviews
Good screen, great content, awful user interface
Pros: Content and content delivery
Cons: user interface, too easy to inadvertently press page buttons.
out of 72 user reviews
I've used it and it's outstanding
Pros: New tech screen, wireless buying, easy to use
Cons: First generation, so price is high
The screen is much better than you might gather from photos. It’s radically different than laptop and cell phone screens and is much easier on the eyes for extended reading. Do not judge it before you try it.
Then there are many features that make it even preferable to books. I was surprised to find that I soon wanted to read most books on it. Changing the font size is quite useful. Carrying a practically unlimited supply of books and periodicals in one package is almost liberating. I really loved the Lookup feature that lets you access the built in dictionary to define words in your book. (A delight in the middle of a Neal Stephenson novel!) The user interface is nice once you learn to use the simple scroll bar along the side. Searching words had some unexpected uses for me, like answering “who was that guy?” in a book I “put down” for a while.
Buying over the air is more convenient than I would have guessed — docking feels like an old-fashioned hassle after you get used to Kindle. You don’t have to worry about the application on your PC or Mac — there isn’t one. No updating or re-installing or losing disks or authorizing your PC or whatever. And it’s really great to find a book right when you are thinking about it. Talk about instant gratification. Text files are comparatively tiny so the delivery time is fast. And the service is so widespread that it works for me in places where cell phones don’t.
Of course the full Amazon website is still available for exploring titles and sending them to your reader. Sometimes that is better. But you will get hooked on the wireless ability. And don’t overlook that the wireless service is free. You buy a Kindle and then you buy the books you want to read. Simple.
Clearly I like the reader and many of these nicely done attributes are covered extensively in other reviews. But these aren’t the reasons why this is a breakthrough product that will reset expectations. Amazon standing behind the product makes it into a potential world changer. Amazon knows more about organizing, sorting, finding and selling books than anyone. So the number and variety of titles on Amazon will exceed anyone. Who else can justify the huge investment in people, time and technology to convert so many books? Who else can bring along the publishing world including late adopters? Who else do millions of people turn to for books? And who else has all these attributes in one place?
Some of the advantages are obvious and some are more subtle. Buying your first couple of books is new and fun. But it won’t be long before you recognize that you’re starting to invest in digital books. With Amazon’s media library, your books are always there. You are not in charge of keeping your files backed up, transferring them to a new PC or whatever. If you upgrade, lose or break your reader you don’t risk your library in any way. And being Amazon, I’m highly confident that the titles I buy now will be ready for me many years from now. And I’m highly confident Amazon will still be around and still be in the book business. That’s hard for anyone else to match. It’s a level of service, even insurance, that makes it feel right.
This won’t be the device for everyone. Some people won’t go for the hardware or the price or the interface or something. But it’s the first generation of a new technology and in a few years we will forget the details of this model. And after a short time of use, it becomes obvious that in the years to come most reading people will own electronic readers and most of them will likely be Kindle descendants.
out of 72 user reviews
The best eBook reader yet
Pros: Built-in EVDO, large content selection, Amazon-backed, no PC required
Cons: Not cheap, first-generation warts, buttons on right side too big
Kindle is better than any of these devices at replicating the experience of reading a conventional book while offering the capabilities only an eBook reader can provide. I like this device more than the Sony Reader for three reasons - always-on EVDO connection for buying content and connecting to the net for reference and research, replaceable battery and included AC adapter, no PC required (and Mac compatible which the Sony is not).
Amazon is off to a great start. I fully expect future Kindle devices will smooth out the rough edges but I'm looking forward to using this first generation device, warts and all, for many many hours of reading.
out of 72 user reviews
Ugly Black & White screen for 399$ ! Ouch !
Pros: eBook is the future...
Cons: ...but not the Kindle
Furthermore, the kindle is very slow, the screen is in fact dark gray & light gray and not really black and white, has no Wifi connection, can’t read Mobipocket’s purchased eBooks and it's corners hurts the hand after few hours of usage.
out of 72 user reviews
I actually have it!
Pros: wireless anywhere books and email
Cons: big buttons
out of 72 user reviews
Kindle is the best ebook product out to date
Pros: wireless, long batery life, keyboard, internet access, ease of use
Cons: form factor, battery life with wireless, screen size
out of 72 user reviews
Good, but needs improvements.
Pros: Excellent reader, especially when you increase text size from default. Weell designed body - fits nicely in 2 hands. Easy to scroll pagesQuick downloads when network available.
Cons: Needs a color screen. Needs a user-controllable backlight for dark environments. Needs a full-fleged web-browser. Needs a real mouse/scroll device like modern smartphones to pick/insert text
If it had a backlight color screen, integrated mouse, ability to use that screen vertically and horizontally, plus a real browser, it could eat the lunch of iPods, smartphones, and other small WiFi limited Internet browsers. Reading books, doing Internet research, and enjoying videos and music on a 10oz high-tech package would be excellent!
out of 72 user reviews
It will do what it's made for..to read
Pros: looks like paper, comfortable
Cons: price, no bundles
They don't get it. This device was made for reading for hours.
Mine should arrive in a week or two..i'll update then. Looks to be a winner.
out of 72 user reviews
Very Disturbed by Amazon Choice ot Exclude 60% of the United States from Using This
Pros: Ok basic design when compared to our Sony Reader
Cons: Total Exclusivity by Location ("Free" Sprint Internet), No Other Connection Option-Downright Undemocratic
As Sony Reader users and long-time heavy Amazon users, we were stunned to be excluded from use of this device by Amazon.
out of 72 user reviews
Expensive Alternative to FREE Online Content
Pros: You Can Still Buy Paperbacks from Amazon
Cons: Expensive, Monochrome, DRM Restrictions
out of 72 user reviews
Great idea - much better than the Sony reader. Poor looks
Pros: The wireless is amazing and being able to add notes is amazing too.
Cons: They should have had Apple design it for them. Does not look that hot. Unable to touch a feel it before buying
out of 72 user reviews
Overpriced flop...
Pros: free connection
Cons: everything else
MSFT ClearType technology works wonders for downloaded books !
out of 72 user reviews
Bzzzzt! Will fail like the rest
Pros: e.ink, handy, portable, newspaper and blog subscriptions
Cons: No dropin PDF support, No dropin PDF support, No dropin PDF support
out of 72 user reviews
Great idea not a great follow throught EReader is the champ!!
Pros: Acess to newspapaer and audio books.
Cons: Service sucks, buttons are not very functional. They layout and design is ugly. If you go look at SONY's EReader the print is much better compared to this.
out of 72 user reviews
If I don't get it for Xmas, I'll buy it myself
Pros: Small size for big books - no eye strain
Cons: Pricey, must store ebooks with Amazon, limited book selection
out of 72 user reviews
More locked down than an iPod
Pros: A good start, but...
Cons: ...a risky purchase
out of 72 user reviews
Excellent Device that Just Works
Pros: Free Wireless, Good Form Factor, Good Battery Life, Wide Selection, Cheap Media
Cons: Upfront Cost of Unit. No PDF support.
What I like about the Kindle (I bought two of them, one for my wife) is:
(1) It has a good size, about a paperback novel.
(2) It will take a hit and keep on ticking.
(3) Has built-in wireless support that I don't need to pay for on a continuous basis.
(4) I can make purchases from the device itself. I can make purchases online and they will be downloaded automatically.
(5) Has free wikipedia access.
(6) Has automatic delivery of content. No syncing--no headaches.
(7) Supports SD Card for 4GB (virtually unlimited) additional storage.
(8) Has a tremendous selection of available content.
(9) Has a great battery life.
(10) Has a very readable screen, like a paperback novel.
This is the business model I've been waiting for. For future versions, I'm sure it will be a little more sleeker, but I am not making a selection purely on the basis of cosmetics. The key is--what will this thing do for me on my daily commute and while I've got downtime during the day. The answer is plenty.
out of 72 user reviews
Good idea, but what about textbooks?
Pros: Holds books so you don't have to
Cons: B&W screen, no wi-fi, limited book availability
out of 72 user reviews
Wireless, but can it print?
Pros: Digital, wireless, immersive
Cons: pricing, style, and support
Even passing over notations, the private email account and word document handling would seem crippled if you couldn't print the files once received.
Perhaps you can answer my question?
out of 72 user reviews
amazon credibility is marred
Pros: They promise to store your purchases
Cons: Previous Amazon e-readers lost everything
out of 72 user reviews
A Flop to Be
Pros: Pushing eBook Revolution (just a bit)
Cons: Expensive, Poor Look, Black & White--Boring!!
Personally, iPhone carries Internet Functions, Telephone Functions, as well as Music and Video Functions–all in one for only $399. Great design and user-friendly. COOL STUFF. What will you choose? An iPhone that can read eBooks, or a Kindle that reads eBooks and
out of 72 user reviews
I will wait for ITunes
Pros: Nice to be able to have 200 books in one place. However it would be a nice addition if I was still in college just think downloading all your books.
Cons: I agree the cost just does not work for me.
out of 72 user reviews
Great idea excellent execution
Pros: wireless, adjustable font size
Cons: pricey initial investment but it will amortize quickly
The lack of a back light is not an issue. The sony reader doesn't have one either. I'm not sure the electornic paper would even support one. Battery life would be impacted with a backlight.
Great device well worth the wait. Being able to buy books when and where ever is a definate plus. It even keeps track of where you left off.
Love it.
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