I overcame my doubts about an e-reader being a credible alternative to a real book and purchased an Amazon Kindle WiFi, at a Best Buy, on March 6, 2011. The Kindle Wi-Fi ($139), the M-Edge cover, and taxes set me back by USD 188.54.
Reading on the Kindle was much easier, on my ageing short sighted eyes, than I had expected. There are multiple options to increase the size of the fonts.
After I setup my account on Amazon it was really easy to purchase a book which downloads really fast on a Wi-Fi connection. I have bought one book, 'Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln' by Doris Kearns Goodwin. It cost me $11.99. I have also downloaded one free book.
The ability to download and preview a section of a book before you decide whether on not to buy is awesome.
The battery life is amazing, I have recharged it twice. An average of once every 5 weeks.
I was however disappointing that not all books on Amazon have a Kindle Edition and not all are available for purchase in Africa. I think that my initial assumption that there would be many more options of Kindle books available and at a cheaper cost was flawed because we have many paperback versions available at reduced costs at bookshops like Nakumat. These however take much longer to arrive at our bookshops.
Three days ago my laptop bag, with the Kindle in it, fell out of the overhead compartment of the plane after we landed in Mombasa. Mercifully I did not suffer any injury when the laptop bag landed on my head but I fear that the fall damaged the Kindle.
I am now rethinking whether an e-book reader really is a suitable alternative to a book. Whilst this was a freak accident a real book would not have suffered any damage that would have prevented me from continuing to read the book. I am sure a cheap paperback version of any book will be in relatively good condition in 50 years but I doubt the Kindle version will.
I will download the Amazon Kindle App for PC to enable me complete reading the book. I will also shop for a cheap paper back version of 'Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln' .
Thereafter I will try to get my Kindle repaired but highly doubt I will be buying another e-book reader!
Reading on the Kindle was much easier, on my ageing short sighted eyes, than I had expected. There are multiple options to increase the size of the fonts.
After I setup my account on Amazon it was really easy to purchase a book which downloads really fast on a Wi-Fi connection. I have bought one book, 'Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln' by Doris Kearns Goodwin. It cost me $11.99. I have also downloaded one free book.
The ability to download and preview a section of a book before you decide whether on not to buy is awesome.
The battery life is amazing, I have recharged it twice. An average of once every 5 weeks.
I was however disappointing that not all books on Amazon have a Kindle Edition and not all are available for purchase in Africa. I think that my initial assumption that there would be many more options of Kindle books available and at a cheaper cost was flawed because we have many paperback versions available at reduced costs at bookshops like Nakumat. These however take much longer to arrive at our bookshops.
I am now rethinking whether an e-book reader really is a suitable alternative to a book. Whilst this was a freak accident a real book would not have suffered any damage that would have prevented me from continuing to read the book. I am sure a cheap paperback version of any book will be in relatively good condition in 50 years but I doubt the Kindle version will.
I will download the Amazon Kindle App for PC to enable me complete reading the book. I will also shop for a cheap paper back version of 'Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln' .
Thereafter I will try to get my Kindle repaired but highly doubt I will be buying another e-book reader!
This is an interesting review. I have of late been captive to the iPhone and more recently the iPad. I have been amazed at how much I have managed to read over the last few months and especially the last few weeks with the iPad. iBooks as well as a kindle app has seen to it that there is nothing you miss by not having a kindle.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your information pal. Many people like to read but because of their tiring and hectic lifestyle, they could barely manage some time to go through some books. But now, when we are having the choice of this eBook reader, I think the problem is sorted out a lot. Thanks for sharing your Amazon Kindle Reviews.
ReplyDelete