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Third-Generation Kindle Review

19:47 Tue 11 Jan 2011
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I bought a Kindle back in November, and have now had time to evaluate it. I’m happy with it and so far have seen few downsides.

As I stated at the time, I bought it primarily due to space considerations, both in terms of storage and transport. It’s no surprise that, indeed, ebooks take up less space than their physical counterparts.

My biggest worry was that I might not like reading on it, but that hasn’t been the case. The passive display is very easy to read on, and definitely easier on the eyes than reading on the iPad.

The size and weight of the Kindle are more significant factors than I’d realized, too. It weighs less than most books and isn’t much larger than small paperbacks, and I’ve found that highly convenient.

A major advantage of the Kindle, which I hadn’t even considered when I was making the decision to get one, is that it enables instant gratification. Books you buy for it are delivered more or less instantly, which is particularly fantastic for sequels. I didn’t realize this until I had my first “I can have this book right now” moment—a happy one.

So far I’ve only found three minor disadvantages:

  • Search is easier, but I haven’t fully made the adjustment yet and still approach the ebooks as if they were real books, and my brain wants to orient itself with markers like the thickness of how many pages in a passage was, or which side of the book it was on.
  • It requires electricity to run. Yes, the battery life is great, but even so, the concept that my book might run out of power is profoundly irritating.
  • Airlines regard it as an electronic device (yes, sure, but with wireless off I’m pretty sure it’s rather harmless, and forcing me to not read it is less effective as a safety measure than going through everyone’s pockets to ensure their cellphones are actually off). My brother’s solution to this was to get a cover, making it look like a physical book, and I think I’ll follow suit.

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