Does Anyone Have......?

[krstlros]

.....an Amazon Kindle?

I just bought one (waiting for it to arrive at my house), and wondered what you think of it? I was looking at the books available and one can download a copy of the Douhy-Rheims (sorry for the misspell) bible, and a whole bunch of other religious books and a considerable discount.

How do you like yours?
Does it have a backlight for night reading?
Is the font adjustable to large print for those of us with bad eyesight?

Thanks.

 

[faerieevaH]

We do not have one, but BillH periodically looks into it. My main concern is the list of books that you can get. Both of us are in classic books (which should be readily available) but also some not very widely distributed books... mostly non fiction. I'm not sure how much of our titles we will find.

I hope you'll share with us how you like yours? We're currently saving up for something else, but the kindle is pretty high up on the list for other gadgets to look into, especially because of their claim that it reads like paper.

 

[Mom2Alex]

Sorry, no we do not have it. It is too costly for our budget, though with the college savings account, 401k, Roth IRA accounts' recent performance, we could have purchased 80 of them with what we lost. Anyway...

If anyone is interested, I heard that Oprah endorsed it on her show - I just looked it up and anyone who enters the code: OPRAHWINFREY at checkout on Amazon receives a $50 discount.

Do let us know how you enjoy it - I still have a great fondness for paper but the kindle certainly seems a lot more convenient! I just cannot picture myself on summer vacation in the mountains and relaxing in my chair reading from a device and not a book - of course years ago I wouldn't have thought I would have a phone in my pocket, either!

God bless you,

Kelly

 

[krstlros]

I'll let you all know how it is.

While looking up some of the titles available, and the list price per book is $9.99 unless otherwise listed, it was considerable. Being a slight techno-geek, I was suprised at the amount of audio-visual material available. These are usually 2-3 inch books. Although kind of pricy, downloading it in a handheld device is a lot better than lugging a 5 pound book around.

 

[krstlros]

Stil waiting for my Kindle to arrive.

 

[Caedmon]

I do not personally own one, but from what I have read, they have a number of design flaws that may or may not bother you. There is no backlight. The page-forward and page-backward buttons run along the edges of the device, so that it is not easy to grab without accidentally changing the pages. The page flashes black in between page turns, which, incidentally, last about two full seconds. Combine an accidental page-forward with the time to page-backward and get back to where you were, and you're looking at several seconds of down-time, as opposed to almost instantaneous page flipping with the paper version. Many times, footnotes are inaccessible, due to the simplified style in which the texts are displayed (a major downer for me).

On the upside, books and newspapers are readily accessible for purchase, even without a wifi hotspot, since it operates like a mobile phone. You can receive magazines and newspapers before they hit the newsstands. The ink-text is very easy on the eyes. The font size is adjustable. It's a relatively lightweight alternative to lugging around a bunch of books and periodicals. You can bookmark every item in your list. You can search the text for all instances of particular words and phrases. You can also search Wikipedia from the device, as well as a dictionary.

My overall impression is that its a convenient electronic device geared specifically to help you spend as much money as possible, no matter where you are, but that's me. The design flaws alone are enough to make me not want one. Others, however, may like the convenience. It's a personal preference, I suppose.

 

[Caedmon]

We do not have one, but BillH periodically looks into it. My main concern is the list of books that you can get. Both of us are in classic books (which should be readily available) but also some not very widely distributed books... mostly non fiction. I'm not sure how much of our titles we will find.

Hah. And I'm sure that they don't have any of the religious and non-English titles that I'd be looking for. That's one of the downsides to having peculiar tastes in literature, limited availability.

 

[krstlros]

Well, I got my Kindle on Monday, and I haven't put it down since.

No, Joe, it doesn't have a backlight, which I thought would be a problem for me, but isn't. I don't read in the dark in any case. And the screen resolution is such that there is no real need for adjustment. Admittedly, I haven't taken it outside as yet, but so far, in all the different indoor lighting, reading is no problem.

The font adjustment is rather interesting. The largest font available is large enough for me with my visual impairment, but I don't think would work with people with a much worse vision than 20/200.

So far, I've downloaded a whole bunch of stuff and a considerable low price. I got the entire Douhy-Rheims bible for a mere $3.95. And I mean the ENTIRE bible.

I also got some current best sellers for between $7 and $10.

If you want to check out the list of books they have, you can head on off the amazon.com, put your curser over "books", click "Kindle" then when you get to the "Kindle Store", clock on the menu bar 'Kindle Books". I've got two of my favorite Jane Austen books, "Mansfield Park" and "Persuasion" since I keep misplacing them in my house and end up buying another copy. Now to get "Pride and Prejudice".

Now that I've got the Kindle, I don't know if it is going to be a curse or a blessing with my book addiction. Then again, my Mom will be happy that I don't have books lying all around the house anymore.

 

[krstlros]

Oh, and Joe, the time between page switch is less than a second.