I've placed my order for a Kindle 2 a couple of days ago and although it hasn't shipped yet, I can see that they've (Amazon) already put it on as a Kindle device on my account. That's...fast. I admit I'm a little surprised at what looks like efficiency! :)
I'm trying not to jinx things (yes, even as a Handmaiden of Science (tm), I'm still subject to certain superstitions) but I'm quite excited about receiving this device. As a jaded technophile, I'm surprised at my emotional response to this. I've been excited about new tech toys before but I've never quivered with excitement over a device as I am with the Kindle. I'm not sure why that is and several rounds of introspection have yielded no definitive answers. The most plausible one goes something like this:
1. My eyesight's getting poor, poor enough that reading dead-tree books are starting to be a challenge.
2. e-books have been the solution thus far. Being able to increase the font size has made reading a joy again.
3. All the e-readers I've had that were useful were on handheld devices like PDAs or smartphones. It's handy and convenient but the screen size is simply too small. That, and having things backlit means that while I can read the enlarged text, I get tired quite easily.
4. One of the moments I think about is being in the park, by the water, sitting on a blanket with a picnic basket next to me, sipping cold mineral water and reading a book. I can't do that with either dead-tree books (printing too small) or e-books (LCD displays aren't really legible in sunlight). With the Kindle 2, I have a shot at that. Mind you, the mere incongruity of the event may cause my friends to run away screaming from me. Kate, outdoors in the sunlight? Dear friends, I have three words and a symbol for you: sunscreen + Tilley hat.
5. Yes, there's large print dead-tree books available. I think it's a sad state of affairs when the fledgling e-book industry has more titles out than there are large print books. It means that we as a society are still neglecting our disabled.
If screen size is an issue, why don't I spring for the larger Kindle DX? Simple:
1. It's almost twice the cost of a Kindle 2. Eeep. At that price point, I'd rather spring for an iPad but I've learnt never, ever to buy the first gen of any tech toy if I don't want to be a beta tester. No, that's not a shot at Apple - this holds true for any tech product out there, regardless of manufacturer.
2. It'll have to be portable. A Kindle 2 will fit in my purse. The DX will not.
3. I like handling my reading material, be it a book or e-reader with just one hand, leaving the other free to handle food or drink. Reading while eating is one of the simpler joys of life I have never outgrown. The Kindle is lightweight enough for me to do so, plus it has control to turn the page on both sides, a design that means someone's thought things through for a change!
I've also preemptively ordered a booklight and a jacket/case for it too. I'm converting all my e-books over to the .mobi format in preparation for transfer to the Kindle. As I've been a very loyal customer of Baen books almost since its inception, it's mostly a simple case of downloading my purchases again. If you love science fiction and fantasy, do give Baen books a look. I've been a customer for years now and they're probably the best publisher out there, an endorsement (FWIW) that I give happily and unreservedly. They also have an extensive range of free books for download. If you do make use of the free books, I'd respectfully suggest that you may want to consider making a purchase - good publishers that treat their customers as, well, customers instead of possible criminals are hard to find. They'll only succeed and stay in business if we support them. Yes, Baen does not DRM their books. Baen and Stardock (for games) are my two favourite merchants. While the Kindle store on Amazon is a major draw when I made my purchasing decision and while I will be buying books off them, I intend to continue buying my scifi and fantasy books off Baen's Webscription storefront even if they cost a little more. If people treat me well, I reciprocate positively too. Now, if only other merchants would grok that...
Oh, in case it's not obvious, the word of the day is squee!
Update: Not five minutes after I posted this entry, my mailbox dinged with a shipping confirmation from Amazon. It's going to be a long, long two weeks before my Kindle 2 arrives. Regardless, the word of the day is now double-squee!
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4 comments:
Kate, as the resident eReader expert, I do have one caution for you: after sitting and reading in the park, by the water, do NOT get swept away by the moment afterward and try and skip your Kindle across the pond. It really doesn't work as well as you might think :-)
P.S. Amazon ships a lot of stuff from Nevada now, and if you still lived in the bay area you'd probably have your Kindle by Tuesday. Yeah, I know, still not worth it :-)
Dear friend, were I to toss anything across the pond, it'd be an honest-to-goodness flat rock from the surrounding environs. Given that I have my HP50G+ in my purse, I might as well put those brain cells loaded from those astrodynamics courses to work, eh? After all, water is just denser atmo in the equations. Shouldn't be hard to figure out the trajectory and velocity to skip it...
Before you ask, no, I no longer use a stopwatch and clipboard in that manner anymore. You know what I mean. :)
Actually, mine's coming from a warehouse in Kentucky. BTW, I don't have a problem with the SFBA. In fact, I love it there and still dream about about the South Bay.
Kate, very glad to hear that an American pastime has been freed from your stopwatch and clipboard. Of course, I don't know if the Canadians give a hoot.
Nope, my fellow countrymen are *crazy*. Some of them engage in that pastime even during heavy snowfall. Nuts, I tell you, nuts...
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