Kindle

I have been intrigued by the idea of an e-book reader for some time and based partly on Julie's opinion of hers, I pulled the trigger for a kindle 3 3G off of e-bay. The reason I went with this model was because it has unlocked 3G connectivity. This means that I can browse the web or check my e-mail anywhere that it gets a phone signal. Unfortunately the provider is AT&T, so the coverage isn't all that good and also it is the same as my cell phone. Still, this is a pretty slick feature even if it is black and white and slow with a clunky browser and tiny keyboard. I also really like the idea of having hundreds if not thousands of books available to read without having to cart around a huge stack of them. For instance this would have been really cool and handy for the Thailand trip.

here is my kindle with most excellent library pic by Anne Nydam

There are a number of things I really like about this device.

- it has a long battery life, especially if I don't use the wireless. I can read at least a book or 2 or three (I haven't ever run it down, so I don't really know). When reading books it only takes electricity to change the pages.
- the screen is easy on my eyes. If I stare at the computer screen or the Droid for hours my eyes get a bit wombly but this hasn't happened with the e-paper of the kindle so far.
-it is small - smaller and lighter than many paperback books.
-you can search on it - I put my camera manual on it and it is handy to be able to search.
-it remembers your place.
-it has 4G of memory - that is a lot of books.
-the screen is easy to read in bright light - even full sun
-it is easy and quick to transfer stuff from the computer to the kindle

macro image of the e-ink

Things I don't like or would like to be able to change

-no external memory - it would be nice to plug an SD card into it for even more books (and since it plays mp3s, I could do that too).
-typing on the mini keyboard really isn't that easy and I feel like I hit the page forward and backwards buttons by mistake too often.
-I feel like it could be easily broken. I wish it was more bombproof, although I realize that would make it heavier and more expensive. I did make a cover for it which should help.
-when I read it with my headlamp I have to make an effort not to reflect the headlamp off the screen into my eyes.
-rumor has it the kindle phones home and tells Amazon exactly what all you have been reading.
-I wish it had another 3G carrier instead of ATT - maybe Verizon or someone else with better coverage out west.
-it would be cool if it was color and could show movies, but that is probably a bit down the line and more expensive at first (or a backlit battery sucking eye-hurting screen).

I am still figuring things out on it, so I am sure I'll find other things I like and dislike about it. For instance I need to figure out how to get books out of the library for it.

The latest thing I did was make my own screensavers (not technically screensavers - they are what shows on the screen when it is asleep). I made one of me as an author to mimic the ones it came with and I also put one of my sister's block prints on there (see the first pic). I also found some other images from the web and turned some of my photos into pics for it. I liked most of the ones that came with the kindle, but I like mine even better.

here I am masquerading as an author (this pic always cracks me up)