Got My Kindle – Amazing Gadget for a Reader like Me
When I got home today my Kindle was waiting for me. I'm currently in the middle of Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin - about 120 pages in, so I didn't think I'd be using the Kindle until I finished off this 800+ page book. Amazon, and luck, proved me wrong.
What I think one of the nicest parts of the Kindle is that I can get recent releases at paperback prices. I'm not one to buy a hardback book for myself. I just don't. I wait until they come out in paperback and then get them. That means I'm about a year and a half behind 'current'. For about the price of a paperback, I can get new releases on the Kindle. That's really nice.
So I open up my Kindle and find out that it's already been set up for me. That's probably nothing for Amazon to do, but it's an amazing feeling to have it there, out of the box, and ready for me. Very cool. I read the introduction on the Kindle - on the Kindle, and then decided to check out a few books I've wanted to have 'on hand' to read. So I go to the Kindle store.
Very nice experience. Clean, decent. All I could have expected in a wireless delivery system. Very nice.
So I look up Clive Cussler and get his latest two that are out in hardback. It's next to nothing to get them, and $20 later, I have them. It's simple, fast, and enjoyable. I can see why people are saying this is the 'iPod of books'. It's not a perfect device, but it's darn close, and they have a very nice online store.
I then go to look up Goerge R. R. Martin and find out that I can get two eBooks - the one I'm reading and the next in the three-part series for the cost of the second one. I get them both. I then use the Table of Contents on the Game of Thrones to get to where I am in the 'dead tree' version. My Kindle is ready to use.
Amazing experience. Really. About the only downside I've seen is the carrying case. I'm not sure that I'm going to use it - I don't use one for my iPod Touch and just take care of it, but it would be nice to be able to 'lock' the Kindle so that accidental presses didn't mess with things. But maybe they can come out with that in a software update.
In any case, I can see that my reading will be changed forever. I'll pick up a 4GB SD card this weekend and plop it in the Kindle and be set for life. Really. I can't imagine ending up with more than 4GB of books on this thing, but that's a staggering thought. I only wish there were a way to get my physical books on the Kindle without re-buying them. That's the one beauty of the iTunes system and music. I can convert them by ripping. Can't do that easily with books. Shucks.