For those of you who might be on the fence about buying a Kindle, I thought I’d do a little review. I have had my wifi only 3rd generation Kindle since September and I absolutely love it. It is by far the best gift I have ever received and I use it on an almost daily basis. I find that I do read more with my kindle because I always have it with me in my purse so if I find myself unexpectedly waiting I can just pull it out and start reading. I also think I read faster on my Kindle. It’s nice that you don’t have to worry about repositioning the book when you switch to the other page (especially when reading in bed). The fact that it can hold up to 3,500 books at a time is a huge plus because you have so many options there’s always bound to be something on there you’re interested in reading. Another great feature is that there are literally hundred of free books (through Amazon), and thousands that are free through other sources (which I’ve never tried, but I’ve heard good things). Also cool is the fact that most of the “classics” are free because the copyright has expired!
I have the gray colored one. At the time it was the only option for wifi only but the while may be available now, I’m not sure.
The cover I have! Love it!
My number one favorite feature (believe it or not) is that it has a build in dictionary. So easy to use too! I’m far too lazy to pull out a dictionary for a word that I don’t know so I’ll just keep reading and get a feel for what the word means. With the Kindle you can scroll to the word and it automatically pulls up a short definition for you, and if you want a longer version it’s only one click away! I seriously find myself reading my textbooks for school, finding a word I don’t know, and looking to try to scroll to the word to find the definition. Then I realize, "Oh yeah, this is a REAL book, no such option.” I never would have thought that I would use the dictionary as much as I do. It’s just so easy and convenient, especially when you’re reading older books. They tend to use a lot of words we don’t use today, or words that had different meanings back then.
The screen is super easy to read. When I first opened my brand new Kindle I was trying to peel the protective sticker off the front of the face, then I realized that it wasn’t a sticker, it was the real screen. It really does look that much like paper. A lot of people prefer the Nook because it has color. While color could be beneficial if you’re reading a book about art, or a children’s picture book, for the most part it’s not an issue that Kindle is only grey-scale. I used to use the Kindle app on my ipod touch, which has a backlight. The Kindle does not have a backlight. That can seem like a pain if you want to read at night but I just use my bed-side lamp (like if I was reading a real book) and it’s not an issue. I do find that there is much less strain on my eyes (they never get tired reading at all) when there is no backlight on the screen. As far as the anti-glare, it’s pretty good. I’ve never tried to read outside in the sun, but under lights there is sometimes a slight reflection of the light, but not so much that you can’t read the screen.
I did have issues with the first Kindle that Amazon sent me. For some reason it kept restarting on it’s own, randomly. Amazon was great! They overnighted me a new one even before I sent the old one back so that I was never without my Kindle. I could still use the old one it was just a pain when it would restart in the middle of me reading a page. The new one has done this to me maybe twice, nothing like the old one. Another issue I’ve had, even with this new one, is that once or twice now it has lost track of the page that I was on. That can be a pain because for the most part they use a numbering system that is not page numbers (larger numbers and harder to remember). There is the percentage completed listed on the screen though and that can help you find your spot pretty easily. Also, if you hold down ALT + B, it will automatically bookmark your page. I do this when I’m ready to stop reading and so far that has always worked. There is a new update out that is slowly going to make page numbers available on all books. Right now they say there are around 1,000 with page numbers available. So far it is none of the books that I have downloaded, but it’s not a huge deal.
Overall, I think that just about anyone could benefit from owning a Kindle! I really do love mine. I also love owning real paper books (there is something super special about holding a real paper book, the look, feel, and smell) but I ran out of bookshelf space a long time ago. Plus, the only free real books out there are from the library and you don’t get to keep those. So, if you’re on the fence about trying to decide to Kindle or not to Kindle, my advice is to go for it! Especially since I’m sure Amazon would take it back (within a reasonable time frame) if you ended up hating it.
One last thing! Here’s a link to a wonderful web site for free Kindle books (only those free through Amazon)! Lots of search options if you’re looking for something specific. It’s also nice because there are pricing categories to search other than free too!
Happy reading!
shauna825 