I’m going to open this with a disclaimer: I have never owned a Kindle . With my iPad and iPhone I felt my ereading needs were met with the iOS Kindle app. The recent power outage made me reconsider this. The iPad’s battery life is fantastic, but when it lasts 10 hours as opposed to the month-plus of a Kindle, I started thinking of a Kindle a little more seriously. As an added bonus, I can read outside with the Kindle. At $130 plus in this economy a Kindle was a tough sell. I had told myself if a Kindle was under a hundred bucks, I’d buy it. Once it hit $80, it was an instant sell.
The version I got has the d-pad and no 3g. The lack of a keyboard doesn’t bother me. The only time I’ve used it is to set up a few collections and add it to a couple of WiFi networks. The 3g I might miss more. It would be nice to be able to buy a book and download it whenever I want. However, if I’m that hard-pressed for something to read, I can use my iPhone to purchase and read the book.
Having never used an e-ink device I’m very happy with the screen. Reading on this device is very easy on the eyes. For most of my daily reading, I expect the Kindle to be my preferred reading device. I’d rather save my iPad’s battery for reading Twitter, Instapaper, playing games and writing.
One of biggest adjustments was getting used to the non-touch interface, especially the buttons. I still think the right button brings me to the next page and the left is for the previous. Instead the large button on the each side is for the next page, and the smaller button above it for the previous. After a few days of using the Kindle, I still haven’t fully trained my fingers. Entering text with the d-pad is a pain in the ass, but most of my Kindle purchases have been made via the web; not via the apps.
What I love about the device is the small size and low cost. I can throw it in a jacket pocket or in my iPad case, and it’s cheap enough that if something happens to it I’m not out the $800 it would cost me to replace my iPad. It’s close to a disposable reading device.
