My new Kindle DX
I received my Kindle DX (available here at Amazon for $480-eek!) about three weeks ago. In a short amount of time, my interaction with books and the written word has radically changed. And for the better.
I read more. Have you seen anyone on the subway staring at their kindle totally oblivious to their surroundings? That’s me. I find that I am reading more often for a few reasons: 1. its easier to carry my kindle with me than a book... so I have good material always hand; 2. I can carry dozens of great books with me all the time and therefore always have access to something I'd like to read; 3. it’s easier to hold than a real book; 4. I can read on the treadmill or elliptical (you can increase the font size so it’s no problem to read while jogging); and 5. I read faster on my Kindle; by altering the spacing and font size, you can optimize your reading speed. And, not turning pages is also a big help.
I read better books. I pickup book suggestions all the time; sometimes from book reviews, from friends, or via Amazon’s suggestion engine. I used to search for the book on Amazon and add it to my “wish list” or, even worse, my shopping cart. Then I “splurge” and purchase a few books per month. However, since I rarely do the due diligence on the book, I often find myself frustrated after the first chapter or two of reading it. Then I place it on my shelf, only to be packed up by movers every 12 months or so. The Kindle has totally changed this experience. The Kindle lets you download (for free and in 10 seconds) the first chapter of any book. Often these serve as a wonderful essay overview of the topic at hand and are worth reading in their own right; moreover, they always help me determine if I want to read the rest of the book. So now, I get a book recommendation, immediately go to Amazon, search for it, and click "send a preview to my Kindle." Then I read the first chapter of that book on my commute home. Brilliant.
I get more out of my books and share them more easily. I love finding great content and sharing it with other people. Previously, I used to physically highlight passages in books and then type them out and save them as a word file. My kindle allows “clipping” passages to a virtual clipboard, which syncs with your computer. So, when I read a great passage, I tag it and then can easily email the entire passage to a friend or incorporate into a blog post. (However, it would be great if you could email/share directly from the Kindle instead of going through your PC.)
I read more non-book content. I love the long-form essay. However, I often grow too impatient to read the entire 3,000-4,000 words on a bright computer screen. Previously, I used to print them out and staple them, which was wasteful, annoying, and time consuming. Now, I email the articles or word files to my evan@kindle.com account, and the docs are delivered wirelessly. Instead of bookmarking or printing that long article on the future of the internet and never actually reading it, I simply send it to my kindle and store of real gems for my next subway ride or flight.
Complaints:
- My Kindle screen broke in week 2. However, they overnighted me a new one. Not bad.
- The keyboard isn’t great. They recommend laying it flat and using your two index fingers.
- The Wikipedia and Internet browsing features don’t work.
- It’s slow. When you can buy a 2Ghz computer for the same price, seems silly that there is a 1.5-second delay when you click “next page.”
- Price. Given that there are some great netbooks around $600, and even this cool prototype the CrunchPad, it makes $480 seem like a lot for an ebook. To be fair, one doesn't read books on a Netbook; and you certainly can't hold it up on the subway.
All in all, I think the Kindle is a great device. It has certainly resulted in my reading more content, finding higher quality content, and sharing that content with others.