Monday, March 07, 2011

Amazon Kindle .

I took the plunge and invested in an Amazon Kindle. This is a wonderful device and you can read all about it on the Amazon website . That webpage tells you all you need to know about the Amazon Kindle. I will not republish the content of that webpage but write about how I enjoy using my Kindle.

The Amazon Kindle is a bridge between computers and books. Books are great because in general you start on the first page and read through until the last page. Computers are great because you can search and find through a world of data. However, computers and their software have become bloated and drifted a long way from the plain text that book readers enjoy. I do enjoy computers but feel that a lot of the technology and software is a waste. Do adults need touch screens, bright colours and icons to get the content they desire? Surely not, adults should be literate enough to be able to read a written menu and to depress physical buttons. Am I a child and need a tablet computer like an iPad? No, I just want a computer that can work with words. My other love is books.

The Amazon Kindle gives the reader the best of books, coupled directly to a powerful word processor. My Kindle can hold up to 3,500 books, which is a huge library that I can carry around in my pocket. Everything that I read on my Kindle will look the same because you choose the font, pitch, margin width and line spacing. The Kindle Store at Amazon is huge and there is a vast range of novels to buy. New authors may not be able to get their books published in paperback but they can release them as a Kindle book for less than a £1. This gives the reader a huge diversity of content that is not available in paperback at your supermarket or bookstore.

My Kindle gives me just what I would want from a netbook computer, it is cheaper, has a battery life of up to a month and a screen that you can read in bright sunshine. It has addressed all the failings of netbook computers. There is no boot up delay on a Kindle, it is instant and like an MP3 player in it's efficiency of use.

The diversity of books on offer at the Kindle Store is a joy to browse. It is good to be able to try novels not from the usual big name authors. Because the cost of publishing and distributing is vastly reduced, this should encourage new authors to publish rather than have their dreams destroyed by publishers who want to play it safe.

The Amazon Kindle is really easy to use. For the impatient the box tells you were to plug it in and turn it on. For the average user there is a printed Quick Start Guide. For people who love books there is the on screen Kindle User's Guide. I suggest that you actually read the Kindle User's Guide because it will tell you everything there is to know about the Kindle. The technical author who wrote the Kindle User's Guide deserves some praise because it is so clear and logical.

I am very pleased with my Kindle and it is as much a joy to take along with me to work, as it is to use around our home. I was reading a paperback novel yesterday and to make a few notes, I had to find a pen and some scrap paper. I wanted to quote from that novel but I will have to move the paperback in front of our desktop computer and copy type onto my blog. With my Kindle I can make notes and quote in just a couple of clicks on it's keyboard. Paperback books seem so old-school to me now!

The book I am reading at the moment on my Kindle is called Sugar & Spice by Saffina Desforges. It is not available in paperback, only in Kindle eBook format. How much have I paid for this full length crime thriller from a new author? It is an absolute bargain at £0.71 - that is not a typo - 71p for a full length novel. You may think that you will only get what you pay for. Not in this case, Sugar & Spice would be worth a regular £8.00 if published as a paperback. I will publish a review on this blog when I have finished reading it all.

I vote the Amazon Kindle a HIT. A computer that fits in your pocket, for people who like to read. An iRead for the budget minded!
Comments: Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]





<< Home

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?

Subscribe to Posts [Atom]