Kindle Review

I was in love with my Kindle when I got it. The words were so crisp and clear and I could put rooms full of books on it! I took it everywhere, showed everyone, and talked about it all the time, but I didn’t use it a whole lot. I read a few books on it but still found myself reading a lot of books from the library.

This wasn’t because the reading experience was any better with paper books. I actually thought reading on the Kindle was more enjoyable. I’m just cheap And I read a lot, a whole lot. But I’m not rich. I can’t afford to buy every book I read. I’ll buy a book if I think I’m going to want to refer back to it in the future, but for the most part I read a book and I’m done. I knew this about myself before I bought my Kindle, I just thought I could read borrowed library ebooks on it.

My library has an account with Overdrive so I am able to check out electronic books and audio books. (You check them out and they expire after two or three weeks. No late fees!) I thought I was going to be able to check out all kinds of library books for my Kindle and be in book heaven forever and ever.

Amazon had other ideas. They put some serious restrictions on what you can and can’t do with your Kindle and the ebooks you purchase from them. If you own a Kindle you can only read books purchased from the Kindle store. If you purchase an ebook from Fictionwise, legally, and with your own money, you can’t read it on your Kindle.  If you want to utilize the free books from your public library, that you support with your tax dollars and late fees, too bad. If you didn’t buy it from Amazon you can’t read it on your Kindle.

But maybe you’re rich. You don’t need to use the library and you certainly don’t want to waste your time shopping the internet to save a couple of bucks on every book you buy. Yay you! 2 years later a new ebook reader comes out with a color screen so you can see the pictures in your photography books and the pretty decorating ideas in Better Homes and Gardens Magazine. This new ebook reader makes it really easy to take lots of notes, too. You can even cut pictures and sections of text and paste them into a project folder for later reference. This new ebook reader is everything you’ve ever wanted! (I wrote this way before the iPad came out. Seriously! I was actually writing about the rumored Microsoft Courier. I want it way more than I want an iPad.) But it’s not made by Amazon. If you buy this new reader you’ll lose all of the books you purchased for you Kindle. Or, you’ll have to keep your Kindle forever if you want to access those books in the future. LAME!

THAT is my major beef with my Kindle.
Things I like about my Kindle –

• BIG page turning buttons – I crank up the font and can read on the treadmill. Because the buttons are so big it’s easy to turn the page while I’m running. (I’m not sure about the new version of the Kindle. The buttons are larger than on other ebook readers but I’m not sure if they’re as treadmill friendly.)
• Book prices – Amazon almost always has the lowest price on ebooks
• Books purchased books are stored by Amazon – If you buy an ebook from Amazon you can download it to your Kindle over and over again so if you need to free up space, your Kindle crashes and erases everything, or you upgrade to a new KINDLE you’re OK. (If you upgrade to another brand, you’re in trouble. But we’ve already discussed that.)
• Sharing books – You can have up to 6 Kindles on your account and all Kindles have access to the same books. If you and your spouse have Kindles on the same account you buy one book and load it on both Kindles.
• Book selection – Amazon has more books available than any other ebook seller.
• It reads to you (Kindle 2 only) – It doesn’t sound like a robot, either. Well, not too much. You can choose male or female and even give it a British accent! How cool is that!?! Not sure I’d use it but I still think it’s cool.

Things I don’t like about my Kindle –

• No memory card slot – (I have the Kindle 1. It has a memory card slot. The New Kindle 2, does not.) I like being able to expand the memory so I don’t have to try to figure out which books to delete to make room for new books.
• No replaceable battery – If the battery dies you need to send it in for expensive repairs or you need a new Kindle. (Again, I have a Kindle 1. I can replace my battery.
• Can’t move books purchased from the Kindle Store to another brand of reader.
• Can’t read books purchased from other sources.
• Can’t read free ebooks borrowed from the library.