My Kindle experience

Well, it’s been 3 months I have it and keep trying to use it more, but I just happen to have a pile of previously acquired physical books that I want to read too, so I keep switching from them to Kindle.

But my thoughts on Kindle 3 are not going to change so now I can write down what I love about it:

– it is so light (much lighter than I originally thought), you only need one hand to hold it, and if you like reading curled up on a couch, you don’t even need hands, you can just leave it on your legs (I usually need both hands for reading books, as paperbacks can’t be widened enough, if you’re holding them one-handedly, and  hardcovers are just not meant to be held in one hand)

– it comes equipped with a user-guide (of course) but also British and American dictionaries – that made me very happy, especially when I realized you don’t have to leave the book you’re reading in order to look for a word, but you only need to position the cursor at it and the meaning is displayed either on top of the page or down

– if you never before saw how electronic ink looks like, you’ll be surprised how different it is from our usual screen experience

– I find that Kindle’s features are very user-friendly and user guide will not be a frequently read item

– whispernet works perfect and even now, I’ve bought books from Amazon and they were downloaded to my Kindle for free, I still come across people who are trying to convince me you pay for the download – no, you don’t, if you ordered the Kindle with free 3G network (and it does enable surfing the net but the whole experience is not very good-looking as e-ink is not really appropriate for sites)

– the battery lasts the month they promised it would, only if you’re wireless it turned off, otherwise, I’d say around a week or 10 days

– as international customers only get Kindles with USB cable, and not a charger you can plug into a socket, my Sony Xperia charger is what I use, so any charger with a USB port will work (no need to buy additional one)

– I haven’t yet tried the text-to-speech feature because I read much faster than what it would take for someone else to pronounce the words, but I’ve heard it’s good and you get to choose a male or female voice

– the device functions fast and I really have no objections whatsoever regarding that (consider the fact I test my company’s software)

– I should probably arrange my books better, as at the moment they are listed haphazardly (I’m guessing as you can connect it to a computer and just copy onto it any PDF or other format that is supported, there is a way to sort them in folders as well, which is what I should do)

– I don’t know how many people know this, but everything published before 1920 has no copyright, so all those books can be downloaded for free from various sites

– consider the fact that it imitates real paper, so you cannot read this in the dark (you need to have a light on)

– the only thing that seriously irks me, is that only UK residents and US residents can download some titles for free (from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com respectively), the rest of the world has to pay 2$ for those same titles they are getting for free (ok, so 2$ isn’t a lot but I still don’t think it’s fair, I won’t say what my thoughts are on that because they aren’t really nice)

– the same goes for the publishers who don’t allow for some books to be available world-wide but have a limited availability, so I still need to order them in physical format (and wait for them)

The last two points are not really relevant to what I think of my Kindle but they frustrate me a lot.
Basically, I love my Kindle and I’m wondering if I’ll ever be able to fill it with books (Amazon boasts 3500 books can be put on it) or will I eventually buy an improved version, long before I reach the limit of this one.

If I missed something you want to know, I’d be happy to answer any questions. 🙂

Pic by: http://www.amazon.com/

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14 thoughts on “My Kindle experience

  1. Bloody Frida May 19, 2011 at 21:58 Reply

    Great review – I'm sooo afraid though to get one as I LOVE the look and feel of actual books and would hate to see them all go the way of the dinosaur. I'm so conflicted!!!!!

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  2. Suzanne May 20, 2011 at 04:34 Reply

    Thanks, Ines – I've been waiting for your review of the Kindle and you did a great job with it. My only question was about the battery, but I quickly jumped on the Amazon site and saw that a single charge is supposed to last up to a month with the wireless off. That seems pretty darn good. How often would you say you charge yours?I love the physical feel of books too, but you make this sound very tempting. Like you, I love to read curled up on the couch, and it would be nice just to let it rest against your legs rather than trying to keep the pages of a paperback open.

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  3. Ines May 20, 2011 at 09:36 Reply

    Thank you Bloody Frida. :)I was afraid of the same thing as I love actual books too, but the fact that my living space is limited and the number of books I want isn't, this comes very handy in saving some space (well, a lot actually). 🙂 I know there are some books I will want to own in their proper form, but there are many that I'd like to read and don't really worry about if they are electronic or not as long as I can read them.

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  4. Ines May 20, 2011 at 09:41 Reply

    Suzanne, thank you for the kind words. I wanted to explain my experience, there are many reviews out there talking about the technical aspect.I'm not sure how often do I charge mine, not too often, as I forget when was the last time I charged it, each time I have to do it again. But I keep the wireless on, so I guess 10 days, 2 weeks possibly. I forgot to say this in response to BF, but book lovers shouldn't worry about letting go of their love of real books as this cannot replace them, but can certainly make our lives a bit easier.

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  5. Bloody Frida May 20, 2011 at 22:15 Reply

    Thanks Ines – I may just have to save up my pennies for one. Btw, did you get a Kindle cover too – and if so, which one?

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  6. Ines May 21, 2011 at 12:01 Reply

    BF, actually, no. :)At the moment we ordered it, I just didn't think it was necessary (have no idea why I thought that). But once, it arrived, it became apparent a cover is needed, so I'm still waiting for the right moment as shipping charges from Amazon aren't low for my part of the world, but I'll definitely do it before my summer vacation.

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  7. Joan May 23, 2011 at 05:01 Reply

    I want to try Kindle, I really do. But despite all the time I spend online, it just feels like cheating.

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  8. Ines May 23, 2011 at 14:35 Reply

    Joan, well, there is no hurry. I don't think it's going away. 🙂 But if you get a chance to test it, please do and see how you feel then.

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  9. Bloody Frida May 23, 2011 at 16:22 Reply

    Hey Ines – I found out that there is an app for Blackberry for Kindle!! So I downloaded it and now I have Kindle on my phone!!! Huzzah!

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  10. Ines May 24, 2011 at 12:59 Reply

    Hey BF, well, should I say then that that is how I started – with the Kindle app on my Xperia… 😉

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  11. Alice May 30, 2011 at 04:13 Reply

    I was also conflicted about getting a Kindle. My husband gave me one for Christmas and I really love it! I had been buying paperbacks or checking books out of the library instead of hardbacks, so I'm not really missing the feel of the actual book. The screen looks so much like paper and ink- it is surprising. I am getting much more than two weeks between charges, and often forget to turn off the wifi. I bought a cover at Target rather than the more expensive ones at Amazon. I use a clip-on light if I'm reading after my hubby goes to sleep. Our daughter also has a Kindle. Hers started acting up and froze up on her. She did all the troubleshooting Amazon suggested. When that didn't work, they replaced hers right away. It turns out that they had some problems with the cover without the built-in light (which she was using at the time her Kindle froze).

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  12. Ines May 30, 2011 at 10:22 Reply

    Alice, I'm glad to see you're enjoying yours too! :)I just checked the date when I wrote this post and charged my Kindle, and now I'll have to charge it in a day or two but I had wifi on. I still find that great.I think I'll get a clip-on light as well, and I definitely will get a cover for it. Unfortunately for me, the only place I can get a cover for Kindle is Amazon. I tried finding it here but everyone only has those for every possible Apple product. 🙂

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  13. Pandora`s Box August 29, 2011 at 11:17 Reply

    I'm so in love with my kindle. It's so easy on the eyes.It's hard to believe youre reading an electronic book. Do try covers from oberondesign.com. They are enchanting.

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  14. Ines August 29, 2011 at 11:42 Reply

    Pandora's Box, I was surprised too by the reading experience. It's just so very different from what I'm used to in computers.I'll check the covers you recommended, thanks.

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