Review: Amazon Kindle

Sci/Tech | Wed, Nov 5, 2008 at 9:04:53 pm PST

I wavered back and forth for months on this purchase. It seemed overly expensive, and it didn’t have that sleek industrial design look that we’ve come to expect from high end gadgetry.

And Steve Jobs said it was a “non-starter.” He should know, right?

Well, no. Steve may have a good record of launching killer gadgets, but he was wrong on this one. Way wrong. I think he might be a little jealous.

My new object of gadget lust: Kindle: Amazon’s Wireless Reading Device.

This thing rocks hard. If you’re a hard core reader like me, it’s a dream come true.

The high points:

Almost instantaneous wireless downloads, with no connection problems and no monthly charges. Almost 200,000 titles online, usually at big discounts. Download sample chapters before buying. Save clippings and bookmarks, adjust text size, search the Amazon store for titles and authors, read reviews, and look up words in a built-in dictionary. A high resolution electronic paper display that’s nearly indistinguishable from real ink on real paper—because it uses real ink. Weight: a bit over 10 ounces. Size: about the thickness of an average dinner plate. Battery life is incredible; if you turn off wireless, it stays charged for at least a week of constant use.

It stores an enormous amount of data as is, and uses SD memory cards to store an even more enormous amount. It even plays MP3 music files.

It’s an iPod for books, and I highly recommend it if you’re as addicted to the joys of reading as I am. With the amount I read, it will pay for itself in about two months. And it’s unbelievably cool to be reading in bed, finish a book, and buy the next book in the series and start reading it without even getting up.