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Our Amazon Kindle review

Kevin | 05 September 2009 | 0 comments

What we like about Amazon's Kindle

Anyone who has ever spent any significant time on a computer knows how difficult it can be to read extensively on a monitor. It's hard on the eyes. The long term success of e-book readers first and foremost depends on their performance on this issue. This is where the Kindle's high-contrast screen does a great job of simulating a printed page. The Kindle can be enjoyed for several hours at a time in a wide array of lighting.

Now while Kindle wasn't the first e-book reader, they were the first to understand the importance of access to content. Amazon.com has dominated the print book market for years. This was the websites original bread and butter. They are to books what Itunes is to music. Amazon knew instant access to their bookstore was a requirement. However they took Kindle further by expanding beyond their large library of of e-books. The Kindle can access newspapers, magazines, and blogs via Amazon's online store. But you say you have no access to wifi where you would likely download books? No problem, they solved this problem by creating a free wireless network for every device called whispernet. You could never connect a kindle to a computer and still have access to all its features. Some final noteworthy goodies included are that it does have an SD expansion slot, a sturdy ergonomic design that should withstand a beating (a must have feature for student backpack storage), a built in keyboard to make notes (another must have feature for students), and it's both Mac and PC compatible.

What the Amazon's Kindle could improve upon:

One thing that might irk consumers is the fact that newspapers and blogs charge for their content on the Kindle. This might be an unreasonable complaint, but the luxury of free news is something the computer age made us come to expect. If this is something you refuse to pay for you can still access content how you normally do, but for example to get The New York Times on your Kindle every morning will cost you a nominal fee. The lack of a quality web browser is a common complaint. Yet it's an E-book, not a tablet PC - I find it a little unfair to judge it by another products standard.

You will probably want to buy a cover for the product, but there are several accessories available at Amazon.com to geek it out with your own personal flair. If you have a specific file format you want on the Kindle and it's unsupported you will have to email Amazon.com to convert it for you. A free software solution might be something Amazon offers in the future to help cut out the middle man.

The Final Verdict on Amazon's Kindle
If you want to get an E-Reader the Kindle is the way to go. Much like the Ipod governs the music player market largely due to its seamless relationship with Itunes and ease of use, the Kindle should easily dominate the E-Reader market due to being linked with the worlds premier online bookstore. I could see other devices entering the market, but content is always king with devices like this, and Amazon will dominate this market for years, if not decades to come.

For more reviews of the Kindle, check out Amazon.com.

Filed Under: Reviews

What we like about Amazon's Kindle

Anyone who has ever spent any significant time on a computer knows how difficult it can be to read extensively on a monitor. It's hard on the eyes. The long term success of e-book readers first and foremost depends on their performance on this issue. This is where the Kindle's high-contrast screen does a great job of simulating a printed page. The Kindle can be enjoyed for several hours at a time in a wide array of lighting.

Now while Kindle wasn't the first e-book reader, they were the first to understand the importance of access to content. Amazon.com has dominated the print book market for years. This was the websites original bread and butter. They are to books what Itunes is to music. Amazon knew instant access to their bookstore was a requirement. However they took Kindle further by expanding beyond their large library of of e-books. The Kindle can access newspapers, magazines, and blogs via Amazon's online store. But you say you have no access to wifi where you would likely download books? No problem, they solved this problem by creating a free wireless network for every device called whispernet. You could never connect a kindle to a computer and still have access to all its features. Some final noteworthy goodies included are that it does have an SD expansion slot, a sturdy ergonomic design that should withstand a beating (a must have feature for student backpack storage), a built in keyboard to make notes (another must have feature for students), and it's both Mac and PC compatible.

What the Amazon's Kindle could improve upon:

One thing that might irk consumers is the fact that newspapers and blogs charge for their content on the Kindle. This might be an unreasonable complaint, but the luxury of free news is something the computer age made us come to expect. If this is something you refuse to pay for you can still access content how you normally do, but for example to get The New York Times on your Kindle every morning will cost you a nominal fee. The lack of a quality web browser is a common complaint. Yet it's an E-book, not a tablet PC - I find it a little unfair to judge it by another products standard.

You will probably want to buy a cover for the product, but there are several accessories available at Amazon.com to geek it out with your own personal flair. If you have a specific file format you want on the Kindle and it's unsupported you will have to email Amazon.com to convert it for you. A free software solution might be something Amazon offers in the future to help cut out the middle man.

The Final Verdict on Amazon's Kindle
If you want to get an E-Reader the Kindle is the way to go. Much like the Ipod governs the music player market largely due to its seamless relationship with Itunes and ease of use, the Kindle should easily dominate the E-Reader market due to being linked with the worlds premier online bookstore. I could see other devices entering the market, but content is always king with devices like this, and Amazon will dominate this market for years, if not decades to come.