Ninety Days with the Kindle 2

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Back in late April I purchased the Amazon Kindle 2.  If you aren’t familiar with the Kindle you can read all the marketing fluff on Amazon’s site.  I thought I’d put out my own two cents worth regarding my thoughts on the device.

Kindle (15)

Now, this isn’t the first eReading device I’ve owned.  I have the Sony PRS 500 (which is the first generation Sony device).  It’s not really a fair comparison between the two given that this is Amazon’s second generation device and Sony has already released two more versions passed the one I own, but it’s the only comparison I can make.  The first picture shows you the devices in their covers side by side (the Kindle is the larger one).

First off, unlike most other online purchases the Kindle experience started the day after I purchased it, well before I received it.  I received a confirmation email of my purchase within seconds of purchase, as usual, but the following day I received two more emails.  The first one informed my Kindle had shipped (I had shipped via their free shipping so wasn’t going to see the device for several days), and the second one had the following interesting bits of information:

“Your Kindle is automatically registered to the same Amazon.com account you used to make your purchase. This enables you to shop, purchase, and download books, newspapers, magazines and blogs wirelessly from your Kindle right out of the box.”

And

“You can start building your library before your Kindle even arrives by shopping for books, newspapers, magazines and more at the Kindle Store on Amazon.com. Amazon’s unique wireless delivery system, Amazon Whispernet, will auto-deliver your purchases directly to your Kindle. Once you receive your Kindle, you can also shop the same great selection directly from your device.”

Okay, this told me that I wouldn’t need to do much set up of the device once it arrived (and I didn’t) and it also told me I could go ahead and start purchasing titles.  I went online and purchased one book and picked out a few of the free titles.  When you buy something from Amazon it simply gets sent to the device.

When the device arrived a few days later and I pulled it from the box, plugged it into the wall and turned Kindle (14)it on.  Sure enough, all the titles I had picked out had already been delivered the device.  There was also a semi-personalized “Welcome” note. This was an awesome purchase experience.  Imagine if you could order your next laptop and make some selections  and once it arrives it had exactly what you wanted loaded on it, nothing more and nothing less, as well as being configured exactly the way you like it.  There wasn’t any software I had to install or any barrier to use.  The battery life is so good when it’s in standby that they can ship it on, including wireless, and it still has a good charge when it arrives (though I went ahead and charged if full before really using it anyway).

So here are the things I like:

  • It’s a good size, though I do like the size of the Sony a little better (which is slightly smaller).
  • I don’t have to load ANY software for the device.  I can hook it to the computer where it just looks like another hard drive.  This is by far one of the greatest advantages to the device.  The Sony Connect software was very lame and I actually disliked using it.  I only have to hook the Kindle to the computer if I want to get my annotations or notes off the device, or if I want to backup my books manually.  I don’t have to hook up the Kindle just to get books…those are delivered wirelessly.
  • Screen changes are much faster than the Sony (though, again, the Sony I have is first generation).
  • The book purchase experience is awesome.  You can buy online, or directly from the device.  With the Sony I had to purchase from the computer and then connect the reader to get the book to the device.  This was annoying and a barrier to using the device.
  • The hooked latch system to keep the cover (purchased separately from Amazon) on the device is much nicer than the snap in mechanism on the Sony.  You don’t feel like you are going to break the device by taking it out of the cover.
  • The kindle has “Sleep mode” images which let you know the device is off (meaning it doesn’t take any button input) and are a nice touch.
  • For the books I read Amazon had a much better selection than Sony did.  Sony has more books available, but they just were what I was interested in.
  • The ability to annotate books is very nice.
  • The dictionary look up for words is nice.  If I don’t recognize a word I simply move a cursor in front of it and it gives me a definition.
  • The battery life is unbelievable.  I keep the wireless off since I haven’t purchased any wireless subscriptions, but I literally read through 6-8 books and charged the device maybe twice in the ninety days I’ve had it.
  • The screen is very easy to read and the e-ink technology is easy on the eyes.  It is light-years beyond trying to read long documents or books on your laptop, computer or phone’s screen.

Some things that I wish were different:

  • The price tag.  They’ve lowered the price recently, but when I got it the cost was close to $350.  I buy technical books which range from $40-$80 in print, but I can get some of them at closer to $15-$30 on the Kindle.  So it won’t take long for me to recoup the cost.
  • I wish the power button wasn’t on the top.  The Sony had the power button on the left hand side of the device, which meant it was guarded by the cover when closed.  I’ve not accidentally turned it on or anything, but also the placement on the left side was perfect for turning it on and off easily after opening the up the cover.
  • The Sony device feels more “solid”.  I don’t feel like I’m going to break the Kindle, but it is much less substantial in your hands.
  • I like the Sony size a little more, but you have to put the keyboard on the Kindle somewhere.
  • The USB adapter for the Kindle is the “micro” USB, which means I have to carry yet another cable with me, or one with a USB adapter to mini (which I just haven’t gotten around to purchasing).  This is a bit annoying.  Form factor wise it appears like they could have used the mini USB, which a lot of people carry because of their phones.
  • The Sony had an expandability option with an SD card.  Not really necessary since I’m sure I’ll not run out of space.  I tend to not leave books I’ve already read on the device since I can pull them down again if I want to.
  • I wish there was an easy way to “gift” someone a Kindle book.  It would be nice if I could have my book wish list exposed and when say, my wife, wanted to get me something she could just order the book.  If the book came in Kindle form it could just be sent to me wirelessly.  It could even tell me who sent the book when it arrived on the device.
  • It would be nice if you could pay just a set amount for RSS subscriptions and then could enter any URL feed to get the content on your device.  Currently the publisher of the feed has to offer their feed via Amazon.

So far I’ve read about six books or so on the Kindle and I really like it.  It was a bit pricey, but given the fact that I can recoup the cost of the books over time, and I get access to books on the go without stopping at a store or messing with syncing software, I think it is worth it.