Location: Home

Kindle: Amazon's New Wireless Reading Device

Other Views:

Brand: Amazon
Category: Amazon Devices

Buy New: $359.00

Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars

3427 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 24 hours

Features:

•	Revolutionary electronic-paper display provides a sharp, high-resolution screen that looks and reads like real paper.
•	Simple to use: no computer, no cables, no syncing.
•	Wireless connectivity enables you to find, buy, and read instantly—whether you’re in the back of a taxi, at the airport, or in bed.
•	Shop the Kindle Store directly from your Kindle.
•	Buy a book and it is auto-delivered wirelessly in less than one minute.

Accessories:

•	Solio Universal Hybrid Solar Charger (Black)
•	Solio Universal Hybrid Solar Charger (Pink)
•	Solio Universal Hybrid Solar Charger (Silver)
•	iGo A00 Power Tip for Amazon Kindle
•	Solio S323-B36T Hybrid 1000 Universal Charger for Mobiles, Ipod and Cameras

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars

Why and how the Kindle changes everything November 25, 2007
Steve Gibson (Southern California, USA)
31670 out of 32232 found this review helpful

This is less a "pros and cons" review than a hopefully useful commentary about the Kindle compared with other eReaders and what it means for the eBook industry. (I believe that everything has changed with the Kindle's creation.)

For many years I have been an avid reader of eBooks using almost every eReading device on the market. So as an early-adopter of techie gadgets I had been anxiously awaiting Amazon's Kindle since its first rumors. So I immediately purchased it both out of curiosity and hoping for a better "next generation" eBook solution. In case you're wondering whether I'm "that" Steve Gibson, I probably am -- I'm the guy who gets Google's first three or four links when Googling my name.

I was driven to write this review because it is somewhat distressing and, it seems to me, a bit unfair for the Kindle's average review rating to be dragged so far down by Kindle NON-OWNERS who, judging from their comments, seem to be quite annoyed by all of the positive comments about a device that's expensive, monochrome, not a general purpose media player, unable to leap tall buildings, or in some way less than they were expecting, wanting, or hoping. In contrast to non-owners, the people who actually HAVE Kindle's appear to universally love it, though with very valid caveats. I think of this as "The TiVo Effect" since, for the right sort of user, the Kindle will be life-changing ... but it certainly won't be that for everyone. Although it took me a few days to get completely comfortable with it, I am now hooked.

So, for what it's worth, if this posting is discovered by any truly interested pre-purchasers, I hope that the following commentary might place the Kindle in "perspective" and be of some value to you. (And if it is, I hope you'll click the button at the bottom to indicate that, so that this review might be found by more potential buyers ... Thank you!)

I have read many novel-length books on my various Palm's, I owned the original Rocket eBook, and I own both generations of Sony's eInk readers, the PRS-500 and PRS-505. So my clear bias is of someone who enjoys technology for its own sake and who loves the idea of reading books on a "device."

Amazon's first-generation Kindle arguably has a few warts (see below). So depending upon your needs, budget, willingness to purchase a "first-generation" gizmo that you might regret purchasing and want to replace a year from now, and so forth, you might well decide to wait for the next generation Kindle that will doubtless be even better. But whether you choose to jump aboard now or later, Amazon's entry into the eBook market is a BIG deal -- it forever changes the game. I think there is no doubt that for the first time ever, a substantial number of people who were never captivated by ANY previous eBook system will find themselves reading and enjoying textual content on Kindle's eInk screen.

The weird initial love/hate reaction to the Kindle is being compared with Apple's iPod, which was also initially met with striking polarization. We all know how that turned out. :) Although the iPod was far from being the first portable MP3 player, and critics called it a copycat, it was the first portable music player to go mainstream, and it changed the world. I believe that, similarly, the large and tightly interacting collection of Kindle features, that go far beyond those of any other previous eBook attempt, will cause the Kindle to be the first eBook to succeed. By connecting their massive book library, as well as newspapers, magazines, blogs and the Web -- wirelessly -- to a long-battery-life chunk of consumer plastic, Amazon has kicked eBooks into the mainstream.

Is the Kindle perfect? Not yet. Is it expensive? Yep. Does it feel like a first-generation product? Absolutely. Will I purchase the next Kindle too? Please let me be first in line!

Investing in Kindle's future...

From a DRM (digital rights management, aka eBook copy-protection) perspective, my eBook content ownership is already spread around all over the place; from Mobipocket, to Palm eReader, to Sony Connect, and now to Amazon Kindle. Sure, that annoys me a bit, but it's the price one pays for being an early adopter of technology that isn't yet ready for prime time ... as, until now, no eBook system has been. Sony's efforts came the closest, but that all ended for Sony (and everyone else) with the introduction of the Kindle. Existing owners of other eBook formats will certainly continue purchasing content for their devices, but who in the U.S. would purchase a new $300 Sony eReader when for an additional $100 they could have the Kindle ... which is so much more than any of the other "disconnected" read-only devices?

In other words, given that Amazon is Amazon, and the fact that they already, right out of the gate, offer so much more than any other previous solution, I feel comfortable now building up my eBook content ownership with Amazon. Sure, I've been wrong before, but this is where I'm placing my bet. I won't be purchasing any more content for Palm's eReader or Sony's. And I like the fact that the content I am purchasing now for this first-generation Kindle will certainly always be readable on whatever future generation devices Amazon's efforts will evolve into.

Look Ma, no wires!

The huge deal with TiVo was time-shifting and commercial skipping. The huge deal with the Kindle is its wireless connectivity. Being a "traditional" eBook user -- i.e. download into PC and "dock" the eReader to upload -- I didn't 'get' that at first. Now I'm as hooked by that on the Kindle as I am by my Tivo's ability to whiz through endless commercials. The Kindle brings the same sort of freedom and power to textual content that the cell phone brought to voice communications.

Sure, I'll purchase eBooks for the Kindle. But I have subscribed to a newspaper and two magazines ... and it is truly a paradigm shift to have their content "just be there" in the morning all by itself. And the periodical content is clean, blessedly free of ads, unnecessary pictures and distractions.

An ugly duckling in need of forgiveness?

Like many people who worship the infinitely-understated elegance of Apple's iPhone (and many other Apple creations), the Kindle's appearance put me off at first. I was as vocally critical of the darned thing as any of those "one star" reviewers. When the first early photos of it leaked a few months before its release, I thought "No way, what a joke! That must be an early balsa-wood mock-up." Now that weird angular wedggie is sitting here next to me as I type this. And I have forgiven it because something odd happens after using it for a few days: You begin to realize that it really works ... and it works well. (And have you ever tried actually typing on the iPhone's all-screen keyboard?)

Did someone say "warts"?

The Kindle's screen appears to have slightly lower contrast than Sony's second generation reader, but much more than Sony's first generation offering. Also, the Kindle's fonts are *far* superior to Sony's, extremely legible, in six sizes and with real italics, not just algorithmic slanting. I'm a bit annoyed that the line-spacing is so large on the larger fonts since page changing is an "event", but, again, this is just the first shot.

And speaking of page changing, I am not a big fan of the page navigation on this first Kindle. So much of the device is devoted to making page changing easy that it's difficult to pick up and handle the device without inadvertently changing pages. But once you're settled down and reading, the fact that only a thumb-twitch is required is nice. One way or another I'm sure that Amazon will get plenty of feedback about everything ... and the next one will be even better.

You want to charge me what??!!

There's also been a great deal of confusion about Amazon charging for the conversion and delivery of our own content into our own Kindles. Amazon *only* charges for wireless delivery, the conversion is 100% free. If you eMail your content to YourKindleName@kindle.com it's converted and downloaded into your Kindle for 10 cents. But if, instead, you eMail your content to YourKindleName@free.kindle.com it's converted and a link to the converted file is eMailed to your registered eMail address at NO charge. You can then download it and use your PC's USB connection to transfer the content to the Kindle.

Moreover, the FREE MobiPocket v4.2 Creator will convert many formats -- HTML, MS Word Docs, Text, and Adobe PDF into .PRC files -- nicely compressed and encrypted if you wish -- which, when transferred into the Kindle are directly readable. I have converted two large eBooks which I already had in PDF format into native Kindle format and they work perfectly -- no cost and no Amazon involvement at all. And I'm sure that quite soon there will be all sorts of free Kindle content converters popping up all over the place.

So I'm glad that I purchased this first-generation device, and that I'm participating in the first real wave of eBook industry creation. None of my other eBook readers offer nearly what the Kindle does. Thanks to Amazon and their Kindle, eBooks have finally happened.

5 out of 5 stars

Response to negative comments November 19, 2007
Kurt G. Schumacher (Broomfield, CO USA)
2866 out of 3149 found this review helpful

Now that I've had several months to use the Kindle, this is my "real review". And my rating is still a solid five stars.

Kindle has changed the way I read. In the past, I have always had a book at hand. Books in progress were in the bedroom, the living room, the family room, the bathroom, and in the car (for waiting rooms). Now, I just have my Kindle with me all the time, and I have *all* my books with me.

I got a 4 GB memory card so I have room for tons of books. As soon as I download a book, I move it to the storage card. I can decide what I want to read at any time. It's great!

I keep the text size at 5, which is great for my old eyes. I find that I actually read faster with the Kindle, and with less eyestrain, because I am looking at a flat page at the same angle all the time. I don't have to deal with curved pages when the print is too close to the spine.

The Kindle is light enough to read in bed comfortably. I can even read Stephen King novels without spraining my wrist! I got a clip-on light with works well for reading in the dark. Once I found a place to clip it, that is. There are buttons all over the Kindle, so finding a place for the lamp that doesn't cover a button was a trick. Best place I found is the upper right corner, over the "cursor window". It covers the power button, but I put the light on after I turn it on so it's not an inconvenience. It also covers the top of the window, so if you need to scroll to the top you can't see the cursor. But that's a minor problem that doesn't occur very often.

I've transferred text, HTML, PDF. MP3 and other files to the Kindle without any problem. An unexpected bonus is that the Kindle can play audio books from Audible.com. The Audible software recognizes the Kindle as a compatible device and moves files to it (even directly to the storage card) with no problem.

The ability to preview a book is awesome. It's helped a lot in my buying decisions.

There are a few things that are less convenient than a "real book".

- Illustrations, figures, tables, etc are usually so small that they're unreadable. This is the major problem I've found so far.

- Paging back and forth to find something is clunky. I sometimes find myself thinking "what was that I read a few minutes ago". Finding the right place in the book, and then getting back to where I was, is slow and cumbersome. I need to read the users guide to see if there are some navigation tricks that will help.

- There is a definite flicker when you go to a new page. But I find that I don't even notice it any more. It was only distracting for the first couple of days.

I love my Kindle. The benefits are great, the drawbacks are few. I know a lot of people don't like the proprietary format and DRM, but neither of those are an issue for me. I buy most of my books from Amazon anyway. I very seldom give books away. I sometimes sell books to used bookstores, but the inability to do that with electronic books isn't going to break my bank.

Generally the only person I share books with is my wife. And since the latched onto my Kindle the first day I got it and I almost didn't get it back, I bought her one of her own. We can download the books we buy to each of the Kindles. And there's another benefit. She is *much* harder on books than I am. So now we each have our own copy, and I don't get irritated by broken spines and bent paged. :-)

I also know that Amazon will come out with Kindle II or Kindle Pro or Kindle Plus or something better at some point. I'm not worried about that either. When that happens, I'll move my memory card over and find a new home for my old Kindle.

I love my Kindle. Five stars.

5 out of 5 stars

[have one] A must have for the professional reader! It's a pocket library! November 19, 2007
B. Williams (Colorado)
1857 out of 2012 found this review helpful

I have been beta testing the Kindle since September, and I can say without equivocation that this device will soon become a MUST HAVE in many professional fields (but it also is great for the avid reader of books for entertainment). If you travel a lot, or require rapid and accurate access to references (as I do), the Kindle is definitely soon to be a necessity. I am a medical student, and I loaded a medical library onto the one I've been beta testing (including everything I need to study for the board exams I'll be taking in a few months). I've been an avid reader my entire life- rarely without reading material close at hand from the time I learned. If anyone is a book connoisseur, it's me.

The Kindle is fantastic. If I need to look up a term, or a treatment, I just type it in, and seconds later, the Kindle returns with all references to it within the entire library. Now, I know how valuable this is... it's a reference library I can carry with me. More than that, though, the ability to find the information I need quickly could save lives. Also, the readability is superior to any PDA. The "Electronic Ink" format reduces strain on the eyes, and those of you with vision problems can adjust the font size to VERY LARGE fonts. Sure, the PDA has plenty of useful medical tools you can download, but I find more often than not, I want to be able to see the full text involving the condition, diagnosis, and treatment of the term I'm looking up.

I know that I can't feasibly carry a medical library with me for some of my future endeavors (volunteering with Doctor's Without Borders), but with the Kindle, that's possible now... I just put the library on the Kindle, and pack it with me.

It's more than that, though. The Now Now service allows the user to ask any question in the world, and real people will research it for you, and within 24 hours, you will have answers on your kindle, waiting to be read. You can also upload music to your device, so that you may listen to a background melody as you read. In addition, the web browsing features are also useful, and while at the moment are still limited, are bound to get better with time. The most useful sites, namely reference sites, though, are easily accessed and browsed.

Also, there is the 24/7 access to the Kindle store directly on your unit, so you can access new books any time you want. The connection also lets you access any books that are stored on your Amazon account. It doesn't matter if you can't fit every book on your Kindle (although I've fit over $[...] of books on it, with room to spare)... the ones that don't fit are stored remotely with 24/7 access.

Oh, and don't worry about PDF's. I believe they're working on adding that to the accepted formats, and in the meantime you can just use a MOBI tool to convert your PDFs to MOBI format, and they'll read fine on your Kindle. I also see in the Kindle forums that Amazon has a conversion service that Kindle users may use to have PDF's converted to Kindle formats.

Flying on planes? No problem. Just a flip of a switch turns the wireless off, and your Kindle is safe to use on your flight. Plus, if you have the wireless off, your battery can last up to a MONTH!!!

Other stuff? I can check my webmail, sub to my favorite news sources (Various Reuters blogs), sub to magazines, etc. Annotations, bookmarks, and highlighted text are saved to your "Clippings" files, which are text files you can load to your computer for editing and printing.

Is this worth the $[...]? DEFINITELY. And it's only going to get better. I've already made suggestions for useful upgrades, accessories, and services, and it's been clear that they've been heard. One accessory I've suggested is a solar cover that can charge it, so that it is completely autonomous (good for in the field with Doctors Without Borders). As it is, the battery is extremely long lived, particularly when the cellular connection is turned off... far longer than any PDA I've used. With the wireless turned off, the battery can last up to a MONTH.

One service I've requested for Kindle is an edition upgrade service. A lot of textbooks come out with new editions every couple of years. I've already had to replace most of my medical textbooks because of this, selling the old ones. I have suggested an edition upgrade service, where the user is notified of the new edition, and Amazon could buy back the old one at market value, letting the user get the new one at a price that is the difference between the market value of the old edition and the price of the new one, with a small commission.

Finally, I've also suggested parental controls. Some parents may not want their kids to have access to all of the content they've loaded to their Kindle, or direct access to the Kindle store.

When the beta program is over and I have to return it, I will only do so very reluctantly... It's worth the $[...], but that's money I just don't have.

**** The bad: Well, there is no security on purchases at the Kindle store, which means that if it's stolen, or if the kids get a hold of it, you can have your bank account drained pretty quickly. However, I have addressed this issue with the development team and tech support, and my understanding is that they are working on correcting it as we speak. I have asked that they put a password requirement for purchases. The nice thing is, for software bugs, if you have your wireless activated, the updates will automatically download and install to your unit.

Also, yes, the content available is somewhat limited, but not by much, and it expands every day (I just subscribed to a magazine that I like, and it wasn't available a couple of weeks ago). Also, I've converted a plethora of free ebooks to Kindle format- nearly all of the books I've looked for. It didn't cost, either. I just used the free service and did the transfer from my computer via the USB cable.

Recommended for: Any avid reader, college students, professionals, military (after all, they can't take a lot of books to many of the places they're sent), people who travel a lot, etc.

IN RESPONSE TO SOME OF THE NEGATIVE POINTS I'VE READ:
1. You can use Mobi creator (free) to convert PDF's to MOBI format, then upload to the Kindle via USB.

2. The AC supply is rated 100-240, which means it is compatible with European power sources, and the adaptors that fit the wall sockets are cheap and easy to find. I expect that when the Kindle hits the European/UK markets, it will include a supply that fits those wall outlets. No, the wireless is not yet established with overseas providers, but that's no reason why you can't use it... you just hook your USB connector to your computer and get your content that way.

3. No one has e-ink technology in color yet. That's still a few years away, and one interview I saw stated that it is something Amazon is working on for this. The e-ink is an important feature, since it is far easier on the eyes that the LCD displays you see in computers, PDA's and other readers. Interview where this was said: http://www.charlierose.com/guests/jeff-bezos

4. Amazon has instilled ways of bypassing the $[...] fee when sending yourself documents. It's just not direct, since it uses email and you have to hook up to your PC and load the files yourself once Amazon emails the converted format.

5. As a beta tester, I've had the privilege of downloading more than 100 books, and I can honestly say that the pricing is quite good, and in all instances was less than retail, not to mention no shipping costs.

6. 3G wireless service is generally expensive, and you have to pay a monthly premium. With the Kindle, there are no monthly fees. You pay for your device and books, and that's all. It doesn't take much time for it to pay for itself.

7. You're not going to find a broader selection of books for any other ebook reader. Not only can you purchase ebooks from Amazon, but ebooks you may have for Mobi applications, or even txt/html/PDF format books from the Gutenberg project convert and can be viewed on the Kindle just fine. This also includes Google ebooks, which you would access via the web browser the Kindle has. I've had quite a few ebooks converted, including older titles by Tom Clancy and Michael Crichton.

8. You CAN access your email with the Kindle. Just use webmail!

9. Need to give a speech? Just use the free conversion service and put it on your Kindle. I've done this, and it makes things far easier... no light papers to fly away in a gust of wind, adjustable font, etc. It's like having a mini teleprompter!

5 out of 5 stars

My first half-hour with the Kindle November 20, 2007
Randall B. Miller (Tulsa, OK)
1287 out of 1346 found this review helpful

I picked it up at The UPS Store. Took it out of the box, turned it on, saw that it was charged. The wireless indicator was all bars. I scanned the instructions, pressed home, selected Time magazine and a book, and had them in the machine in less than 20 seconds each.

Then I started reading them. (While in the parking lot where I had picked it up moments before.)

First impressions:

1) My Kindle was preregistered and said "Welcome Randy" on an early screen, and was ready for me to buy stuff.

2) I own the Sony PRS-500 and 505, and the screen is the same quality, as well as page-turn speed. The buttons are very different and better...the turn page button is 5 inches long, the "turn page back" button is a half inch long. This makes much more sense than Sony's minimal equal-sized buttons.

3) The fonts are MUCH MORE PLEASING. Sony basically has one font and three sizes, this has much more and look better designed for this kind of screen (rounded serifs, etc)

4) It has a dictionary you can go to when you don't know a word (Sony doesn't).

5) Bestsellers are $9.95, compared to $16.95 Sony.

It's too new for me to go further, but I'm very surprised and impressed so far.

There is more white plastic (not puke-yellow like in the photos you've seen for a few months) around the screen than Sony has, and the Kindle is much thicker, but still lightweight. Yet holding it is easy, and the "next page" button being practically the whole right side of the book is ideal.

The wireless connectivity, the interaction with the internet on the screen, takes this out of Sony's reach.

I honestly didn't expect to be be buying books within minutes of opening the package, before I even got home from picking it up. WOW!

THIS DEVICE IS FOR AVID READERS ONLY...so much negative comes from non-readers that want it to play movies, tv, radio, audio books. This device is to replace text-oriented store-bought books...and not much more. So yes it sucks as an HD movie player. whatever! If you read constantly, want to aquire books from thin air on a whim, the Kindle is for you.

Add-on note: The size of the device (at its largest) is EXACTLY the size of an unopened DVD--that can't be a coincidence...all 3 dimensions.

UPDATE A MONTH LATER: I'm hooked on several blogs delivered several times a day (I wssn't a blog reader before). I'm reading MUCH more, carry this thing with me everywhere I go. I've found I'm a more adventurous reader...I try the free first chapters and am reading many more books I wouldn't have tried before.

I read a lot of criticism of this product by many that have never used it. So many of these negative 'reviews' seem to be based on such small concerns, its like hating a car for its hubcap design.

This thing has changed my life. I went from avid reader to voracious.

Adding the blog reading, and spending odd hours going to the web browser on a whim...I hope the $399 price doesn't stop someone from such an important device. Books popping into a device instantly, with FREE internet access...I haven't touched my Sony 500 and 505 readers since I got this thing.

(Yes, I still read 'normal' books, magazines, and newspapers--the Kindle is another option that has expanded my reading world)

5 out of 5 stars

I have used it and love it November 19, 2007
G. W. Lamb (WA United States)
1181 out of 1531 found this review helpful

I was one of the "test subjects" for the device. I have been using it for about 2 months and it has changed the way I read. The only complaint I had was that I was not able to use the device outside of my home. The books/mags/newspapers appear for all intents and purposes "instantly". It is actually more pleasant that reading a book. The screen adjusts for the light and the the ergonomics are perfect for me. I have a large library and can only see buying a "book" now if it does not offered on the Kindle or if it has great sentimental value.