Kindle 2 Rocks, Part 1

 

Deciding to Buy the Kindle 2. After much hemming and hawing about buying a Kindle (see below), I took the plunge Saturday Feb 28 and received my Kindle the following Monday afternoon. After all the months of waiting many Kindle buyers have experienced, I was thrilled with how quickly I could take delivery.

The kindle is a small tablet computer dedicated to a single task - long-form reading. It's primary focus is to make it possible for you to read ebooks with as much pleasure as you do reading conventional books. It seems clear that most people who buy Kindles are very satisfied. Even true geeks, if they are heavy book readers, love Kindle.

Argument to Wait for Apple. Why I think Apple may do a better Kindle:

Amazon is a beginner when it comes to creating hardware/software devices. Apple is the proven expert at this.

The Kindle 1 was clunky. I love good design and wouldn't bite on the design of K1.

Rumors about an Apple mini-tablet persist and I'm sure I'll want one when and if one is released.

The price, at $359, is kind of high. A bit much to spend in this economy for what could be a short-lived transitional device.

When Kindle 2 came out on Feb 24, I watched responses and reviews carefully. I created a saved search on my Twitter clients (Tweetdeck on Mac and Tweetie on my iPhone) so I could see the full spectrum of response. I was seeing a large proportion of positive response and few who didn't like the new Kindle 2.

The avalanche of positive Kindle buzz pushed me over into the buy Kindle now camp. I was convinced not to wait longer by five thoughts:

Apple is very unlikely to use the e-ink screen technology that is so much easier on the eye. As a heavy computer user, e-ink is a welcome relief and similar to reading ink on paper.

Amazon is where I buy the vast majority of my books. I like their prices on Kindle.

Amazon is more motivated regarding ebooks than Apple is - I don't think Apple will do a dedicated device. Apple will do a general-purpose mini-tablet when it does one. It will either be a tablet Mac or a tablet iPhone.

Amazon has an in with book publishers that Apple can't match.

I want to experiment with this new mini-tablet form factor. Amazon offers it and Apple doesn't. I'm an early adopter and I am very attracted to this small Kindle 2 tablet.

It's now March 30, a month later. I'm totally pleased with the purchase. I've learned all sorts of things and have read some good books. Kindle 2 has changed my relationship with reading for the better. I am now searching down the good authors and learning a lot more about books than ever before.

Buying a Kindle is making a commitment to book reading. I didn't think of it at the time, but I was saying to myself that I wanted to make reading books easier. I realize now that transporting books was a major hassle previously. I could only take one to be practical. Now I don't have that problem.

A Few Favorite Resources:

Favorite Kindle Podcast. My favorite resource is: Kindle Chronicles podcast. Comes out every Friday. It was started in August 08 so there are lots of back podcasts for you to catch up on and enjoy. Start with the current one and go backwards perhaps.

Highly Recommended Kindle Guides. You don't need to even read the manual to get a lot out of your Kindle. But if you want to get a ton out of it, try reading these two ebooks: The Complete Guide to the Amazing Amazon Kindle 2 ($2.39) by Stephen Windwalker and The Kindle 2 Cookbook by David Emberson ($3.99). If you've got an iPhone or iPod touch and the Amazon Kindle App, you can download them or the free samples and check them out there if you don't have a Kindle already. I can't emphasize enough how much time you'll save and how much cool stuff you'll learn from either or both of these two guides.