My Review of the Amazon Kindle 2 (6″ World Edition)

I’ve had my Kindle for about two weeks now and I think I have a good handle on its capabilities and shortcomings. Putting my review into perspective, it is important for you to know that 1) I am NOT an avid reader (I read about 2 books per year) and 2) this is the only eReader I have ever owned. So understand that I cannot really compare the Kindle to other eReaders, but I did do a lot of comparison before deciding to get the kindle over the Sony Reader or Nook.

All things being equal, The Sony reader was my first choice, as it received a lot of high marks for its open format support and usability. However, they only have 1 model which has built in cellular wireless, and the latest model did not receive many favorable reviews from Sony Reader Fans. Also, the Sony was considerably more expensive for a device which I felt was a luxury item. The Nook appeared to be a contender on price and features, but users have complained about the overall speed of the device and it appears to be twice as thick as the Kindle. Also, the keyboard is virtual, which doesn’t work well for me (from experience using other virtual keyboard devices).

What I like most about the Kindle: Size/Form Factor, Ease of use, Clarity of Screen, Wireless, annotations

There is a LOT to like with the Kindle – but what stands out the most for me (and other people whom I’ve shared the device with) is how compact the Kindle is. Sure, the screen could be a little bit bigger, but the device is very thin while maintaining its user friendliness. The button placement is well thought out and placed and you don’t spend a lot of time hunting for menu items. Some reviewers complain about the 5 way toggle switch (a touch point navigation button for moving around the screen and menus) but I don’t have any problems using it. It would be nice If they had some abrasive material on the tip of the selector to make it that much easier, but I have no complaints about it as-is. The true elegance of the device is in its ease of use. Menu items are well thought out and easy to understand. I think even a techno-novice could pick up the Kindle and quickly become an expert with its functions.

One huge benefit of the Kindle is its built in cellular wireless. I’ve purchased about 10 books from the kindle store and I think that the process is flawless if you know the specific book you are looking for. I think some of the categories and other search features are a little lacking – so for in-depth searches, you may want to hit the Amazon website. If you can’t find the book you are looking for, it is possible that you may have misspelled something, or they don’t have it in ebook format. I think Amazon could do a little better job by telling you that a book (if it matches your search) isn’t available in a digital format, and give you the option to have a hard copy shipped to you.

The screen is very easy to read. I’ve spent several hours in a single stretch reading it, and eye strain is not an issue. Also, I think you should know that the slight flicker when moving between pages is not at all a distraction for me – it happens quite quickly.

Finally, I LOVE the annotation feature. I’ve used this much more than I thought I would to mark passages for later review or note taking. It is very easy to bookmark a passage and make a short note for later review. You can also call up the annotations on your PC when the kindle is plugged in via the USB cable.

Dislikes: Lack of support for other file formats, Keyboard, Price

One major downfall of the Amazon (which I hope they fix with a software update) is lack of support for the popular, open, ePub file format (which both the Sony and Nook readers support). Amazon has their own proprietary file format for reading documents on the Kindle. Although you can read PDF files natively, the device lacks the ability to truly read from a pdf file. You can send the documents to Amazon for conversion (there is a free option) but the files that I’ve tested this with, have come back garbled and difficult to read if they have too much special formatting (the Kindle doesn’t like tables within documents). I will have to play with this some more, but at this point, I’ve decided to only use the device to read Kindle formatted content until they come out with a software update to make this a better experience. If you are looking to buy a Kindle to read PDF files – you may be better off with the Nook or Sony Reader.

For me, another clear benefit of the kindle is the physical keyboard (vs the virtual keyboard found on the Sony and Nook). The Kindle 1 keyboard received a lot of negative feedback, and the Kindle 2 keyboard is an improvement. However, the keys aren’t reassuring to press and I often have to correct the words that I’ve typed. The buttons are spaced to far apart, and the rise of the keys just isn’t enough to help you navigate from key to key or get a solid key-press. I feel that I would be as fast typing on this keyboard as I would be on a virtual one.

Many of the people whom I’ve shared my Kindle with have also commented on the lack of a built in reading light. I can say that having a built in reading light would be a HUGE convenience, but there are plenty of external lights you can purchase. I’ll also point out that with a reading light, the device would have to be larger, and the Sony reader has a built in light which has received a lot of criticism for the glare it causes.

For the original price of $360 (for the Kindle 1 at release), I felt this was a luxury. For the current price of $260, I still think that this is a luxury. You would have to read a LOT of books to see a dollar value savings (hardcopy vs. digital prices of books). What would make the kindle absolutely perfect is 1) a price point in the $150 range 2) a better, more natural keyboard 3) a recessed built in reading light and 4) better support for different file formats (PDF, ePub).

In conclusion: I love the Kindle. I’ve done more reading in the last 2 weeks than I have in the last several years. I look forward to getting a lot of enjoyment out of this device and think that eReaders in general will be a technology staple in the future. I am not sure if the Kindle will be THE device to have in the future, but certainly it appears to be the most mature product on the market and I think future versions of the device will only improve its usefulness.

If you have any specific questions about the Kindle – feel free to ask in the comments.

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