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| Brand: Amazon.com
Category: Amazon Devices
Buy New: $359.00
Rating:  5509 reviews
Sales Rank: 1
Color: Bisque
Media: Electronics
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.7
UPC: 892685001003
EAN: 0892685001003
ASIN: B000FI73MA
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 3 to 4 weeks
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| Customer Reviews:
The Kindle Takes A Licking And Keeps On Reading January 7, 2008
59 out of 61 found this review helpful
Hmm. I suppose I should file a "review" now that I have been punishing my "Kindle" for awhile.
I Am Most Impressed With:
The "Kindle" is rugged. I have placed it in the leather cover with the unit switched off, and banged it around for hours in tool bags, backpacks, and saddle bags. No damage, no data loss, no malfunctions, and not a single problem booting up and operating in temperatures from 20 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit (unprotected outdoors on a winter evening in Colorado to being in a Zip-Lock Bag reading in my brothers hot-tub)!
Also, the "Kindle" display is very easy on the eyes (I soon got used to the page turning flash - which is not too bright). The ability to adjust the font size means I can get by without my reading glasses, if I have to.
The "Kindle" does not heat up after prolonged use, while my laptop computer and PDA get quite "toasty". The light weight makes it easy to hold at any attitude.
The "Kindle" does not make ANY kind of ringing, buzzing, beeping, clicking, or clacking noise during reading or note making operations - so there are no distractions from the reading experience - and my horse does not get annoyed at the "Kindle" like he does with my cell phone and PDA, which leads to him trying to snatch and crush them with his big front teeth.
Things That Have Worked Well:
Battery life of days in the wilderness with the wireless turned off.
Wireless service is great when ordering and downloading books from Amazon.
Wireless coverage along the New England Coast (NY, CT, RI, MA to NH) is excellent. Also good wireless coverage in airports in Pittsburgh and Denver when flying to Colorado.
File Transfer back and forth from my Windows laptop computer is simple to perform.
Very easy to expand memory / storage with SD cards.
Easy to make bookmarks, highlight text, and make notes (since I am already used to the small mechanical keyboard as it is like my PDA).
Things That Work But Need Improvement:
Need to expand book / file mangement to include user designed folders to support the varied and rapidly growing number of items that I will be placing on my "Kindle" (books, text documents, music, pictures, and so on). I would like folders I can create and name for work files, poetry, science fiction, and so on.
Need to be able to better define search parameters (which exact books / documents / folders are to be searched, look for upper or lower or any case letters, exclude or include numbers, exclude all cap letters, and so on).
Continue making improvements to "Experimental" Web Browser.
Continue expanding book / newspaper / mag offerings. When a series of books is being offered, start at the beginning of the series, and be sure to complete the series!
Things That Do Not Work Well:
Need a menu where the user can define what each Next, Previous, and Back Button do, with the option to disable any button.
Not having the option of "password protection" when I could have sensitive text documents on my "Kindle" (such as address lists) is stupid beyond belief.
Placing the On / Off switches on the back of the "Kindle" was dumb. So explain to me again why these switches are not on the top of the "Kindle", where the leather cover will not hide them and restrict access?
I could swallow a bunch of plastic shavings, get drunk, and puke a better way of holding the "Kindle" securely in that leather cover, while still making it easy to install and remove (Ah well, the stick-on Velcro dots I added work well.).
A fine leather cover on a $400 device and it is held shut by a cheezy elastic strap?!? Also, offer cotton cloth and other material choices for the cover.
Critical Things To Try For In The Next Generation:
Somehow expand wireless coverage, or provide an optional feature / plan that expands wireless coverage, to rural areas.
Color E-Ink Display and a Faster Refresh Rate. Try to keep as many "dots per inch" resolution / sharpness as the present E-Ink Display.
Also offer a larger (laptop computer size display) Color E-Ink Model / Tablet with a touch screen and hand writing stylus for the college, engineering and scientific crowd. Native PDF support is a must for this model. Battery Life can be traded off in this model, but still should run about eight hours with the Wireless turned off.
Offer a low profile night light that clips directly to the front upper edge of the "Kindle" and provides a fan of non-glare light, with adjustable brightness in white or red light. The night light should have its own batteries and controls.
Overall, I give the present "Kindle" Four Out Of Five Stars. It does what I want it to do everywhere I expect to do it - and so far it has taken a licking and keeps on reading.
Regards,
Mark Whitney
Ideal device January 6, 2008
24 out of 29 found this review helpful
Kindle is the ultimate book to carry along. Easy to use. Ordering new material is easy and exciting. So very light and convenient to read while waiting anywhere, anytime. It made a great Christmas present for my spouse and he is so happy with his new "toy". Just wish the list of books and magazines was more extensive. Want USA Today. Also, everyone who sees Kindle wants to own one. Very inovative. Just love it!
 Great product, But..........................................even better content! January 6, 2008
34 out of 36 found this review helpful
OK, as I look up at the top, I see that I am the 1,364th review. So by now, I don't think we need another person telling us that the page advance buttons are inconveniently placed. I got my Kindle last week, and it took me about two days to figure out how good this device really is. Like any new tech toy, I look at the product and the content as two separate and distinct things. Years ago, I joined a very good audio book service which was great for about two years until I couldn't find any new books that interested me. I cancelled my subscription the next month.
Which brings me to why I love the Kindle. The product is very easy to use, and with 95,000 books to choose from, I am comfortable in saying that this may be a product that stays with me for many years. NOT because of the Kindle itself, but because of Amazon's ability to bring new magazines, books and newspapers to its readers which will keep people like me interested for years to come. If I am engrossed in a great book, I just don't care how the web browser responds or if the cover is made of vinyl or leather. Just bring me the news, a great book to read when I travel, and let the engineers work out the issues in version 2.
So Amazon, thanks for a great device, and your ultimate success will be in bringing all your new Kindle readers more than just 13 newspapers, and 8 Magazines in 2008. The price I paid for this was as much a bet on Amazon's ability to bring the publishing world around to converting thousands more books and magazines to the Kindle version. And if that happens, and I think it will, this very good product will be even better than it is now.
I never thought I read anything unless it was printed on paper, but Kindle taught me the new way. January 6, 2008
48 out of 51 found this review helpful
OK, I'm a READER! I've even gotten gifts from Amazon, because I buy so many books and I NEVER give away or (God forbid) throw away a book, this includes paperbacks. Yes, maybe I'm a little strange, but books really mean something to me. When I move I have more than 75 boxes of hard cover first editions and I'm always looking for someone to build bookshelves. I guess I made my point.
In the past, I have just ignored any info about reading books off a screen. I've wanted the tactical experience of reading. You know, the weight of the book, the texture of the paper, the cover art, the flap info, etc., but after reading about Kindle I thought I'd give it a try. Now I'm not saying this will keep me from buying books, but now my first editions will stay pristine and when I travel I can take mucho books without adding 'inappropriate' baggage-weight plus I HATE to buy books in airport shops.
For Christmas, I was given The Reader by Sony. It's been returned. Hey, if I wanted to read off a computer screen or be attached to my computer for reading I'd use my laptop. The thing I found appealing with Kindle was being able to download books, newspapers, mags on the run, without paying a fee for the service and not needing to be connected to my computer. I also liked being able to retrieve them from my Amazon account if I for some reason my purchases were lost on my Kindle.
The magazine selections are not that great and I wish USA Today was one of the papers offered, because it's article length would be a good fit for Kindle. But I've enjoyed reading the SF Chronicle, NY Times when I'm traveling. No more cumbersome, heavy weight pages getting ink print all over me and my clothes, and when I'm finish I just delete no papers to leave behind or offer to a stranger. Pretty green. :)
OK, I've state all the stuff you'd know if you read the literature on Kindle. What I found amazing was the look and feel of holding and reading from the Kindle. The page really looks like a printed page. Easy on the eyes. I like cuddling down in bed and only needing touch to turn the page. The first book I read was Sue Grafton's T is for Trespass. I have all her first editions and thought here is a chance to test this and not affect the perfection of this edition, which of course I bought. To my surprise and pleasure I loved reading it on my Kindle. The only thing I missed was not being able to tell where I was in the book. My usual guide is my bookmark. I also think they need to work on the way Kindle fits into its cover so it won't slip out.
I'm excited to travel with my Kindle. I can't wait to go into an airport shop and see a book I might be interested in or get a recommendation from a fellow traveler and be able to download it RIGHT NOW. The downloads are super fast. They do have artwork, not in color. The battery life is pretty good. But I'm always concerned I might run out of battery life while I'm reading. The recharge time is very reasonable, just remember to turn the unit off when you aren't reading. Hibernation eats up battery life pretty quickly.
OK, is this helpful? The bottom line is that I'm happy I have the Kindle. I would buy it again. I will give it as a gift. I just hope that I don't get an email telling me about a new the charge for connecting and downloading books. I will not want to subscribe and I will most likely retire the Kindle.
Nicely done January 6, 2008
26 out of 30 found this review helpful
Short and to the point - this is one of the best products I have ever owned. They got too many things right to even mention any minor issues (besides - I have a computer and a phone to do those things Kindle doesn't.) If they beef up the browser - apple is going to give them the top spot in the tech world.
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