I bought an Amazon Kindle 3 WiFi on a whim back in February. Since then, it has become a daily travel companion. Why? First of all, over 3500 books can live in this diminutive device. That means that I no longer have to tote a bunch of dog-eared paperbacks, bent magazines, or heavy hardbacks around. And, as the TV ads say, the 6" non-reflective E-ink(tm) screen is amazing, even in bright sunlight. The contrast-ratio is much better than the Sony Reader that I used to carry. The ability to change the font-size means that you can go from small to large type in seconds. It is also sips electricity. You can read for a month or so without a recharge. Try that with an iPad or other tablet.Getting new books into this device is dead easy. Since it has built-in wifi and Whispersync(tm) technology, you can purchase a book and start reading it in less than a minute in most cases. One thing that I didn't know before I bought it is that each Kindle comes with a unique, modifiable, e-mail address that allows you to send books, PDFs and other compatible files to it via e-mail. You can choose which e-mail accounts it will receive data from, so you don't have to worry about spam.
Kindle books are usually cheaper than paper books and many are free. The money that I have saved in buying paper books and paying shipping costs has made the Kindle a real bargain for me. Plus, with the Kindle software, I can also read my books on my computers, iPod Touch, Galaxy Tab and Blackberry.
Other features include built-in stereo speakers, a headphone jack and a built-in mp3 player. That makes it easy to listen to music or Audible (tm) audio books on the go. Some books allow text to be read aloud using a computerized voice. This isn't something that I use but it is a great feature for the visually impaired. It also has a built-in dictionary that allows you to look up definitions while you are reading and an experimental web-browser. I recommend the browser only as a last resort as it is slow, has a monochrome screen and does not always display pages correctly.
The Kindle 3 sells for $139, but you can also buy a 3G version for $189 if you want to be able to download books or magazines away from a hot spot. There is also a subsidized version for $114 (Kindle with Special Offers) if you don't mind reading ads.
There are rumors that Amazon is planning to introduce an Android tablet this fall. I hope that it doesn't mean that the Kindle 3 is a goner, as its E-ink(tm) screen, light weight, low-cost, and amazing battery life make it a more appealing reading option than heavier tablets.
www.amazon.com
