Amazon.com is now offering their all new Kindle devices for pre-order. The new Kindle and Kindle DX are smaller than previous versions, have higher contrast to make reading easier, and the Kindle includes wi-fi for $139 and wifi + free 3G coverage in 100 countries (including Germany) for $189. New features include being able to search wikipedia and integration with Facebook and Twitter so you can share favorite passages.
I would love to have wifi on my Kindle, but I got the first international edition a year ago (I still really like it, so won’t be trading up). I find it easy to read with and there’s good 3G coverage here in Germany. Books download quickly to the device, although there is (or at least was when I first got my Kindle) a fee to download to the device from outside the US, so I download to my computer then transfer the books to the Kindle, but I can browse online from the device.
I find the Amazon battery power estimates of 1 month per recharge to be accurate. I go a really long time between charges, using the 3G network eats up the battery faster, but I hardly use it.
Because you can optimize the print size and number of words per line to your preferences, I find I can read a great deal faster than with print books. That’s a good thing and a bad thing, since I go through a lot more books now.
There are 1.8 million free out-of-copyright books available on Amazon. I’ve read Madame Bovary (overrated), and downloaded Frankenstein, Lord Jim, Northanger Abbey, The Jungle Book and The Time Machine for free. Books in paperback cost about the same, whether you buy the paperback or the electronic version, but you save trees and bookshelf space reading with the Kindle. It’s also a bit too easy to buy books. Occasionally while watching the Daily Show or Colbert Report, I’ll see an interview with an author and think, hmmm, that sounds like a good read, then I just head over and download the book, whereas if I was buying the paper version, I might stick it on my wishlist instead, then wonder several months later why I had put it on my wishlist.
I still buy reference books, like cookbooks or parenting books, as flipping back and forth isn’t that handy on the Kindle, although being able to search books is cool. If you’re interested in an e-reader, head on over to the Kindle Store
Speaking of cookbooks, Die echte deutsche Küche
Do you have a Kindle or a copy of Die echte Deutsche Küche? What do you think of them?
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…then I just head over and download the book, whereas if I was buying the paper version, I might stick it on my wishlist instead, then wonder several months later why I had put it on my wishlist.
I find that amusing, since my experience has been the opposite. I had gotten in the habit of putting something on my wishlist and including a short note on where I learned about it from (typically including a URL if it came from a blog post). Now I order samples, and wonder months later what prompted them…
(Hey, if one can put notes in/annotate samples, I can make a notes to myself for the future! I’ll have to try that.)
Hey Jim, I didn’t know you read my blog! I never got in the habit of writing notes about where I learned of something, probably would be a good thing to start doing. I tend to download the sample, read it immediately, then want to get the rest of the book. I haven’t gotten any books I regret buying this way, I’m just reading a lot more political/current event related books than I ever have before.
I bought my husband a kindle a little over a year ago. Following that, I went with the Kindle app and fell in love. He passed his kindle down to me this past month, and I love reading on it. On the other hand, I still like some books in paper copy.
You can also find other books free on Kindle. Some authors discount books or offer then free of cost, especially book 1 of a series, which is nice if you want to try it out. I use the links at the bottom of this article (http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10403316-1.html) to help me find them. Sometimes I download the free books even if I don’t plan on reading it right away simply because it is free.
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That’s a great link, Maria. Thanks! Now I’m off to go find more free books (I often download them right away too)
Your boys are darling! I should buy a kindle, but there is something about turning the pages and holding a book in my hands that I still love. Would be a good thing though if I lived abroad because I know books are so expensive in Germany.
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