On Christmas Day I was surprised with a present wrapped in gold paper which contained a Kindle 2 ereader. This thin device, once charged and tied into the Pod’s wifi, soon provided me with regular issues of USA Today along with a number of other bits and pieces of reading pleasure. My use of the device has been a bit sporadic though, namely due to the fact that I do not always have the money to purchase ebooks for consumption.
Still, I’ve warmed up to the device. I read World War Z by Max Brooks on the device and enjoyed the experience. With the cover, the device almost fit my hand, something I can not say for most books, which are a notch too big and awkward. I wish the page turning buttons were a bit bigger but aside from that, I have no real complaints about the actual reading experience on the device.
The problem?
Well, my Kindle isn’t always available for duty. Sometimes it freezes up. Sometimes it seems like the battery, which is supposed to last for a month even in sleep mode, dies on me. I suffered through a week of frustration as I tried to resurrect the device in order to continue reading Paul McAuley’s The Quiet War.
Never fear, I have a third gen iPod iTouch with a kindle app onboard. I had recently hooked the device into my account, downloaded the info I needed and moved forward from there. When my Kindle pulled a Rip Van Winkle on me, I drew out my Touch and brought up The Quiet War.
Reading on a small screen? How did that work out, you ask? Better than you’d think, believe it or not. The device syncs up with your last read page if it has access to wifi, which the Touch did during lunch. Tapping one side of the screen or the other advanced the text effortlessly.
Which do I enjoy reading off of more?
Well, I gotta say that I think I like reading on the smaller Touch more than I like reading on the Kindle 2. The Touch has farted out on me one time and that was months back. If only you could combine the touch screen ease of the Touch with the read it in the daylight screen of the Kindle 2, I’d be a happy man.
My general thoughts?
First, I wouldn’t have a Kindle app if I hadn’t received a Kindle 2 in the first place. Without the Kindle 2, I wouldn’t have an Amazon account.
Second, I suspect that if I could afford one, I’d purchase an iPad 2 and phase out the Kindle, or perhaps use it as a reserve device. It might be handy to have it open to a page in one book while I’m working on something on another device. Or if I wanted to show someone something, I could sync two devices up and show them the page I was referring to.
Third, I find I do more and more reading off of a screen and less off of an actual printed piece of material.
Finally, I think things are going to change big time. Perhaps not an original assessment of the situation. The key is trying to figure out how to make money out of this change. Those that do so will hold the keys to the printing universe for the next generation.
Respects,
Steven Francis Murphy
Author of The Limb Knitter and Tearing Down Tuesday
North Kansas City, Missouri
7 comments
April 10, 2011 at 6:09 pm
filbert
RE: purchasing books . . .
Surely you’ve discovered the Baen Free Library?
http://www.baen.com/library/
Also, Baen includes a CD in some of their books (David Weber’s and Lois McMaster Bujold’s, to name two) which contain most of those authors’ works with that publisher. I’ve bought more Baen books in the past year or two–because of the Free Library–than every other publisher combined. This includes Eric Flint’s 1632/Ring of Fire series, most of which I’ve purchased the e-book format of from Baen and have on my Kindle.
I’ve also found that I’ve been assembling a fairly sizable collection of classics and out-of-copyright works, as well as stuff from places like the Ludwig von Mises Institute and other deep-thought type stuff.
Also, depending on the layout, a lot of PDF’s are eminently readable on the Kindle–I usually rotate mine 90 degrees to read them, though.
I like the Kindle over the iPad mainly just because it’s so much darn lighter–I do a lot of reading in bed before going to sleep, and holding the iPad up vs. the Kindle would be a bit more annoying, at least.
April 10, 2011 at 10:54 pm
Mark Hubbard/Tribeless
Murph, you should take your Kindle back under the warranty: it’s not right at all. My does last a month even in sleep mode, and even using the light on the cover which I bought with mine. And mine has never crashed once.
April 10, 2011 at 10:55 pm
Mark Hubbard/Tribeless
Forgive the dreadful grammar and typos in that.
April 10, 2011 at 11:07 pm
sfmurphy1971
I’ve not made use of Baen’s Free Library but I suspect I probably should.
The Kindle actually feels a notch light in my hands and it is a bit loose. I’ve got odd shaped hands though. I think the iPad might work better on a number of levels. We’ll have to see as I’m not in a position to purchase one right now.
Mark, it seems to be working fine now. I’ll keep an eye on it over the next few days and see what happens.
Respects,
Murph
On the Outer Marches
April 11, 2011 at 5:37 am
Therbs
I don’t have a Kindle, i-Pod touch or iPad. I think I’ll probably go the iPad. Can’t see it worth my while having both.
April 11, 2011 at 9:46 am
Bangar
I’ve been reading off the screen for years, even put the iPaq in a sandwich bag so I could use it in the bath
So I don’t object to that, I just like the physicality of books. That and nothing yet measures up the Kindle is nearly worth it, but will I need a good eBook reader with a good Pad?
And it won’t be an iPad until I’m free to use how I want to, and I have to have the next version because they’ve held back on what they can provide me.
I have picked up a dirt cheap one, I’ll see how it goes.
April 12, 2011 at 2:41 am
sfmurphy1971
Therbs, I have most of the gear by default of gifts given to me by people who are my friends. The iTouch has proven to be incredibly useful and adaptable. Each time I think I’ve maxed out the capabilities of that little device, I push it a quantum leap further.
The Kindle has similar potential and I am pretty sure that my problems of the last few days are due to my failure to sufficiently charge the battery. I used it over the last two days without further incident.
Bangar, I think the iPad 2 would be the best way to go. I’m seriously considering getting one once the budgetary troubles abate.
That ought to be as soon as I get a summer job or in five months, which ever comes first.
Respects,
Murph
On the Outer Marches