With all the hype that the iPhone and the new Google G1 phone are getting, I’d like to talk about a device that I think is probably the most underrated electronic gadget that is available today. This device is the Amazon Kindle
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I’ve had my Kindle for about 2 months now, and I have to say I absolutely love it. Like most people, I am someone who always preferred reading actual books and hardcopy over computer screens. However, reading on the Kindle is a completely different experience than reading a computer screen. What you see on a Kindle screen looks more like words on paper than words on a computer screen. There is no backlighting on the screen. The technology used is something called E-Ink. If you are someone who reads a lot of books, articles, papers, etc. you will love the Amazon Kindle.
The selection of books available through Amazon on the Kindle is at over 190,000 and growing weekly. You’ll save money on the books you read also. Most Kindle books are priced at $9.99. This includes new releases and best sellers. Compare that with the $25-$30 that you would typically spend for a new physical book. Unfortunately, most computer and technical books even in Kindle form do tend to cost more than the standard $9.99, but they are still discounted from the physical book price. However, the books available for the Kindle are only a small segment of what you can read on your Kindle. Other content that you can subscribe to through Amazon includes popular magazines, newspapers, and blogs.
I actually have more free content on my Kindle than content that I’ve paid for. You can find free books compatible with the Kindle at sites such as manybooks.net and feedbooks.com. It is also very easy to transfer your own documents to the Kindle. Kindle accepts most common document type formats. The Kindle support for PDF is officially considered to be experimental; however, I’ve transferred many PDF documents to my Kindle and have never had any issues with their display. Documents can be transferred to the Kindle through a USB connection, or by emailing documents to an email address that every Kindle owner is given. Documents sent to that email address are sent to your Kindle.
So far I’ve talked about the e-reader features of the Kindle only. However, the Kindle has much more capability than only as an e-reader. What I think is a hugely overlooked feature of the Kindle and under-marketed by Amazon is the fact that with the Kindle you are given absolutely FREE high-speed wireless Internet access. Every Kindle has access to the WhisperNet network which is an EVDO cellular network that Amazon provides through the Sprint cellular network at no charge to Kindle owners. Compare this to the $50.00 monthly fee you normally pay for a wireless data plan on your cell phone. The Kindle has a browser built-in that allows you to read GMail, access Google, Wikipedia, and other websites. You also have access to the Kindle Store which allows you to search for, read reviews, and purchase Kindle books and have them sent to your Kindle in a few seconds. Here’s another great feature; You can get a free chapter sent to your Kindle of any Kindle book that is available. I find myself taking advantage of this feature quite often to sample books before I purchase them.
I’ve always been an avid reader, but since getting my Kindle I have probably doubled the amount of content that I read. If you’re an avid reader, I highly recommend that you check out the Amazon Kindle.
A good blog to check out that is dedicated to the Kindle is The Book of Kindle.
