Kindle Review

Hooray! My Kindle arrived this morning. I've been reading Kindle books on my iPhone and laptop since Christmas but this is my first dedicated eReader device.

I was a little worried when someone on the Kindle forums mentioned that the screen was very dark in comparison to a backlit screen and being use to a backlit screen (and not having any eye strain from it), I was concerned I wouldn't like the eInk. But it seems perfectly readable in the daylight even with half the blinds in our living room closed and no other light on it. I can certainly see how people who get eye strain from backlit screens would greatly benefit from eInk, it's very easy on the eyes and not like a computer screen at all.

I did not have as much as an urge to touch the screen for navigation as I thought I would but I DID feel like the navigation was slow in comparison to a touch screen. Especially with the screen or part of it flashing to black every time I click something (you get ghosting images if it doesn't do this), compared to the iPhone, I feel like it's regressive technology. I'm hoping that now that I've set it up, I won't need to do much in the way of navigating any more anyway.

I've managed to accidentally bump the turn page button 3 times already. I hope I just have to get used to where the buttons are and that won't continue to be a problem.

Combined with the cover, it's a little heavier than I expected - definitely heavier than an average paperback book, probably more the weight of a hardback even though it's dimensions aren't bigger than a paperback. One of the reasons I switched to ebooks was because of the strain holding a book open was putting on my hands (the other reason being that we don't have room to store many books in our tiny apartment) so I'm a little concerned about the weight but I usually rest my book/phone on a pillow while reading any way so hopefully it won't be a problem.

For the most part, it's really cool. The main reason I bought it was because the iPhone screen was kind of small to ideally read on (though it didn't strain my eyes, it was annoying to have to try the pages every 3 seconds) but my laptop was too big to "curl up with". This is the perfect size and even though I don't need it, I'm impressed with the eInk. Although having to charge my iPhone battery everynight never seemed to bother me, it is kind of a relief not to have to do so with Kindle too. Because of how eInk works, it only needs to use the battery when you click something - this means the battery can last for weeks, possibly even months.

I also bought the official cover with a built in light so it's all protected and I don't have to worry about reading in the dark. Very, very cool. I suggest anyone who reads frequently to at least check it out.

I'm going to go read!