Until this week, the AmazonKindle book reader was not something I gave any thought to. I buy more books per month than anyone I've ever met, but I am not nearly as fond of acquiring electronic gadgets. I'm a hard sell at the local BEST BUY. Since my Grade 1 year, when I first gained access to a Public Library, my eyes have scanned the spines of so many shelved books, and so often, that I recognize many thousands of them from a distance. With the Kindle books no longer have spines, but our thumb still performs a service and we must adapt to pushing buttons to turn pages. Still, there is no denying that book publishers are offering us options that we should at least consider. This week I received the gift of a new, super light Amazon Kindle with 3G connectivity. I must admit it's a slick gadget. What's more, it might be something for you to consider.
The AmazonKindle isn't just a book reader. It also allows you to surf the Internet and read your favorite History Blog or newspaper in the warmth of bed. It uses the same 3G capability as your cell phone but you are not billed for downloading. You only pay for books you purchase, and usually at a fraction of the paper edition.
I'm told the Kindle doesn't have that nifty Net-surfing capability on the street. It's currently an "experimental" function. Many schools in B.C. are blocking cellular signals, although teens I know tell me they have mapped out the sweet spots the jammers don't reach. The Kindle probably will only perform the book download function at school and not allow them to access the Internet, unless the student set up the the appropriate account with their cellular provider. The Kindle screen is a marvel. There is no glare, and the flat B&W image is so clear that you can read it from an angle. In bed, lay it on your tummy and use your hands for toast and tea, if you wish. Fully charged the device will let you read for a month, worry free.
Those of us who wear prescription lenses can adjust the book reader to a larger or smaller page size. Here my AmazonKindle is adjusting a single LOST VALLEY blog article divided into book pages, rather than as a single scrollable page.
The Amazon Kindle has to be Web-capable because it downloads book selections from the Amazon store. I haven't done any shopping yet, or checked out the free titles, but I've had fun with the Kindle 3G's Internet browsing capability. For example while watching a German movie which is based on recent events in that country, questions came to mind and I was able to check with Wikipedia and IMDB from the couch, without having to go to my PC. There are several Bloggers I follow who publish very long articles. Now I can save that part of my daily reading for bedtime. It's an option you may want to consider, especially if you live in the colder parts of Canada or the U.S.
The OFFICIAL AmazonKindle site is here. There is a demonstration video..
1 comments:
Glad you're enjoying your new Kindle!
One thing I want to emphasize, however, is the fact that your Kindle is 3G capable. The proper link is this one:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003FSUDM4
To sum up in a nutshell, Amazon provides a service called the 'Whispernet', which is how books are delivered to your device anywhere, anytime. In addition to books, you may also access webpages regardless of where you are. I've accessed wikipedia more than once while en route to school. This service is provided free of charge by Amazon, and is one of the many reasons I chose to purchas my own.
Many of the smartphones nowadays (Blackberries, Androids) also have this capability, but they must pay for a "Data Plan" on top of their current contract for voice and messaging services.
Some neat things to note about Kindles that aren't well documented:
Pressing the ALT key, and then a key in the row of QWERTY will result in the corresponding number instead of the letter. Q would turn into 1, W would equal 2, and so on.
You can change your default dictionary preference by pressing the MENU key after entering the SETTINGS page.
While you most likely would be uninterested, you can play Minesweeper or GoMoKu by holding down the keys SHIFT (Upwards arrow), ALT, and M while on the home screen.
I'm glad you're enjoying your Kindle, and I hope Internet Anywhere, Everywhere will help you better gather information in your everyday life!
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