Amazon Kindle Review

The latest in e-book technology is here! It’s name: the Amazon Kindle. This lightweight and portable device made its debut in November of 2007 and is already hard to come by. This comes as no surprise considering how popular it has become and all the perks the Kindle has to offer its owner.

Here are a few bits of colorful information as to why the Kindle has taken off. First being its PC-free usability - the Kindle can deliver all of your favorite reading materials independently, no computer or annoying cables necessary. This certainly appeals to those who prefer to travel lightly. Imagine being able to hold over 200 book titles in one portable device!

I do understand the kindred relationship some have with the tradition paperback, I can certainly relate to the appeal. It must be the smell of a new book and texture of its paper that intrigues us so. I also know where most of those books end up after being read or not even begun…on my shelf collecting dust. The Kindle not only saves paper but also space.

Its “electronic paper” display makes it very easy on the eyes. There's no backlight which makes the Kindle readable in almost every form of light. On the flipside you will need a small lamp for night reading like you would a normal paperback.

When it comes down to finding a book all of your searching can be done with your Kindle or by way of the Amazon website. With the EVDO wireless capability this can be done from anywhere. The pool of reading material includes:

• Over 90,000 books. If you decide you would like to “preview” a book before buying you may do so free of charge. Each book will run you about $10 or less.
• More than 90 of 112 New York Times Bestsellers.
• Top U.S and International News Papers including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, TIME, Le Monde, Frankfurter Allgemeine and the Irish Times.
  
• Over 250 top blogs raging from technology and business to sports and entertainment. Included are; BoingBoing, TechCrunch, The Onion, Slasdot and ESPN’s Bill Simmons. All updated throughout the day.
• When it comes to magazines the Kindle library is a bit slim. You have TIME, Forbes, Fortune and a few others. I personally don’t channel into this type of information very often.
• Resources like Wikipedia and the American Oxford Dictionary are available if you are not familiar with a word or want to look something up.
  

Now let’s cover some more basics. Without getting too technical for some of you folks, below you will see a compressed explanation of what The Kindle is all about!

Digital Text Platform

Allows anyone to upload their own document or manuscript, slap any price they wish and sell it on the Kindle store. This gives undiscovered talent an opportunity to extend their work to the masses without a big publishing company.

Kindle's Design

Some criticize its look being ancient but honestly folks we just need it for reading. I personally do not want something small as balls to read from. It weighs in at 10.3 ounces, measures 7.5 in. high by 5.3 inches wide by 0.7 in thick.

The screen is 4.9-by-3.6-inches, using a 600 by 800 pixilation. The screen also uses 4 scales of gray (translation= it looks like an electronic newspaper). A very simple design, the less frills the better I say!

Storage

The Kindle comes with 185 MB of internal memory. If you find you need more then take advantage of the SD card slot where up to 4 GB of additional memory may be added. The slot for the SD card is located on the back cover. Some find this awkward, not me.

File Conversion

You can send attachments wirelessly to the Kindles personal email address. This will run you $.10 per attachment. Or you can send the files to a “free” Kindle email address via your PC or Mac computer and then transfer the converted files to your Kindle manually through a USB, which is included.

If you want to avoid being charged left and right for file conversion Amazon suggests you compress them into a .zip file and then send them off. PDF files are a gamble because the Kindles format is very basic; it won’t display a “fancy” .pdf file.

Audio

The Kindle will play mp3s and audio books (through audible.com). Again this will have to be done through the Audible website from your computer and then transferred to your Kindle via the USB. The headphone jack will be located on the bottom.

*Keep in mind the format of the Kindle and how that affects the quality of a picture.

Updates

Firmware is upgradeable and updates will be sent wirelessly. We obviously are not getting the final product of Kindle, this is a huge beginning.

Battery

Impressive. If you leave the wireless capability on recharging is only needed every other day, if not then your reading can last up to a week (AC adapter included).

See the Kindle in Action (Video)

Specifications

• Screen:
  • 600×800 px
  • 167 ppi resolution
  • 6" diagonal size
  • 4-level grayscale
• Electronic paper LCD (black on white)
• LCD side scroller.
  
• Operating system: Linux
• Input QWERTY keyboard, select wheel,
  next/prev/back buttons.
• Memory 256 MB (180 MB available)
• SD (Secure Disk) expansion slot
• Networks: Amazon Whispernet; Connectivity EVDO/CDMA AnyDATA wireless modem
• USB 2.0 port (mini-B connector)
• 3.5 mm stereo headphone jack, built-in speaker, AC power adapter jack.
• Battery 3.7V, 1530mAh lithium polymer, BA1001 model
  

Physical size

• 7.5 × 5.3 × 0.7 in (19.1 × 13.5 × 1.8 cm)
• Weight 10.3 oz (292 g)

Media

• Kindle (.azw)
• Plain text (.txt)
• Unprotected Mobipocket (.mobi, .prc)
• MP3 (.mp3)
• Audible (.aa)

Here are a few excerpts from other reviews. These are their conclusions summarized:

Gizmodo

Having lived with the Kindle, I can say that it serves most of my immediate reading needs... The Kindle is a quality invention, and I can see why the first batch sold out so fast.

Looking at the overall reaction from people who have had the opportunity to play with the Amazon Kindle, I can say the reviews have been more positive than negative.

Learn More about the Amazon Kindle