I should have done a similiar video

Sarah, the Librarian in Black, recently got a Kindle [Why I am a library traitor and love the Kindle] and this is the unveiling, with commentary on the simplicity of Amazon's packaging and instructions:



Sarah's is the latest Kindle (the 'Kindle 3'). As she points out, the only thing that might be confusing to someone who has not charged things via USB is that the USB cord and the plug are connected and the plug simple comes off for charging on a computer instead of at the wall. This was a problem for me, I must admit. I even e-mailed the company thinking I had not received a USB cord, but one of my co-workers set me straight and Amazon quickly sent something back explaining the configuration.

As a contrast, here is an unboxing for the same type of Kindle I have (2nd generation, 3G wireless--which is from AT&T, and free). The guy did a pretty decent job (although I thought he'd never take the plastic off):



Both videos obviously capture a bit of the wonder of unboxing your Kindle. :) I think the comparison is interesting--the newest Kindle (the black one of Sarah's) is smaller. The buttons are different (apparently the power switch on the new one is on the bottom, for example). The five-way button looks like it's less likely to go to the left (this is how you delete and archive content, but thankfully there's always an ask. I've never actually deleted something without meaning to. It's not so much a problem with books, which are archived, but PDFs, when deleted, are removed entirely. To be honest, I'm not sure about active content, like games.)

The device is incredibly simple, and this makes it simple to use. The newest version holds more books, has greater contrast, and a longer battery life. If you have the 3G wireless, it's usually best to turn it off when not in use so that you keep the battery longer. In the new form, that can be up to a month--even I go about two to three weeks without charging mine. Also, you don't actually have to turn off the device. Leaving it on with the screensaver going is fine. From what I can tell from advice on the web, keeping the battery somewhere in the 20% to 80% of charge is fine for the battery. I would only turn mine off if I were not going to use it for awhile, and that's not something that's come up yet. :)

Someone asked about the DX on a list yesterday for a patron with macular degneration. They were interested in how big the print can be, the brightness, etc. This is what I told the person. The DX has a 9" screen rather than a 6" screen. Like the 'Kindle 3' it has the greater contrast and battery along with the refinements of the latest generation. There is no backlighting--eInk is meant to be read just like paper and therefore if you have visual issues you may want to make sure the light you're reading by is relatively bright. The text on my Kindle 2 can go to 3/4" tall (I measured with a ruler), and I presume the DX is has at least this size. It is particularly nice for newspapers and magazines, although I have had the New York Times on the Kindle 2 and enjoyed it thoroughly. There is also the text-to-speech factor, that is available as long as the publisher allows it (I don't buy ones that don't as a general rule, and all of mine, even the free ones, have it.) My understanding is that Amazon added audible menus in the latest device as well. Don't quote me on that, but it was a move to appease those with visual issues. My mom is considering getting a wi-fi regular Kindle having seen how big the print will go, since she has similar issues.

What I forgot to tell them is that the Kindle also supports audiobooks from Audible.

Of course, the DX is much more expensive, but I really think it's a good buy for someone with visual issues, and it's a lot less expensive than an iPad.

Of course, as Sarah points out, the only real drawback of the Kindle is that it does not allow the download of library books. This does not bother me too much as a patron. I still continue to use my library to get 'real books', but as a consumer, I love my Kindle. And I must admit, I enjoy the portability and ease of reading on a Kindle, so that it is actually almost easier to read on one than an actual book. I still love the feel and smell of books, but my Kindle is fun, too. And as a librarian, I know we tend to try to jump on the latest technology, but really, this is how we wind up as repositories for obsolete technology as well. :)

Anyway, congratulations, Library in Black, on your Kindle, and I wish you good reading. You might want to check out some of the addictive games like Scrabble and Monopoly as well--they're great when waiting at a doctor's office. But primarily it is very much an e-book reader, and it does that very, very well.

Well, here it is

Amazon unveils new Kindle, starting at $139: A Wi-Fi-only model hits the lowest price yet for Amazon's e-book reader

Just weeks after lowering the price of the Kindle e-book reader from $259 to $189, Amazon has unveiled a fully revamped Kindle. It's sleeker, better looking, easier on the eyes — and starts at $139.

This new Kindle, Amazon's third generation, is smaller by 21 percent, and 15 percent lighter too. It has much improved contrast, 50 percent better than before, answering a significant complaint among dead-tree purists who compared the device's e-ink screen unfavorably to real paper. It's available in two colors: graphite and white.

To date, all Kindles have used a wireless connection to a 3G network to get books and manage subscriptions. The new ones have Wi-Fi inside, so that people at home or at a coffee shop could log on via that network instead. One Kindle still costs $189, and has both 3G wireless and Wi-Fi inside. The cheaper $139 model only connects through Wi-Fi — and only comes in graphite.

I don't know; it sounds nice (and I must say, the photo comparing them makes the Kindle 2 look positively clunky), but I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything by getting mine when I did. Now, if I were visually impaired, the new text-to-speech menus would be worth it. Of course I'd probably be getting a Kindle DX if I were having trouble seeing, too, and I don't think that feature is on the new DX. I prefer the 3G wireless (I'm rarely in a wi-fi area, except at work, and we're not supposed to use the public network for computers, etc., and I don't have one at home, so the wireless is the way to go for me. Besides, I like going onto Wikipedia at the bus stop.) The contrast might be worth it. I'd still be paying $189 for the wireless, though. It has enough space for 3500 books, but I don't see myself spending that much money. So I'm happy, but if you're looking for those new features, check out Amazon for more info.

I do think it's a step in the right direction, though, because it puts the purpose of the Kindle to be strictly an e-book reader and not some iPad wannabe.

I am so glad I got in before the heavens opened up

I literally got in the house about three minutes before the rain starting coming down in sheets. Yay, for me. Now let's hope the electricity stays on.

Forgive me for being so sporadic of late. On top of work, notes, and the game this weekend, I had a major distraction. Wednesday night I got my first paycheque from the new job (more about that later, turns out there was a snafu) and I went ahead and ordered, after waiting through two models, a Kindle. It was at my desk by Friday morning, and I had not paid extra for postage (the two-day service was free for a limited time, but it came in one). I guess they want you to get your hands on it as quickly as possible so you will buy books. Plus, I happen to live in a city with an Amazon warehouse.

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[A good while longer]

Well, the lightning was causing brownouts, so the power supply shut the computer down to protect it. I took said Kindle, a booklight, and a flashlight that you crank that has a radio on it into the bedroom. It was absolutely black outside. It was a long storm. A friend called me on my cell phone about 9 pm and we talked quite some time. and then finally the storm passed. By then I was sleepy from the rain and just succumbed to sleep for several hours, getting up at 1:45 am to come out here and finish this post.

About the Kindle: I love it; I adore it. The only thing that threw me was at first I thought I was missing the USB cable. It's connected to the charger. You can charge by hooking up the cable sans charger into a computer as well. Fortunately a co-worker who has a Kindle showed me the secret. I'd already sent an enquiry to Amazon and they responded with the same information in a timely manner. I'm really quite satisfied with their service.

By the end of the day I'd downloaded three books, one full-priced (but still half of what I'd pay in hardback), A River in the Sky, by Elizabeth Peters, the latest Amelia Peabody novel, which is part of my favourite mystery series and quite possibly my favourite series of any genre (I've read all of them, and there's something like 20 books). The other two books were just around $4-6. One was the complete stories of HP Lovecraft, plus poems and author biography, and a wiki, and the other was actually a collection of all 15 Oz books, which I've never read but have meant to for some time. A friend has them all, but they're from his childhood; I would never ask to borrow them. So for $4 I got the complete set. :)

I downloaded PrimoPDF, which is free, and created PDFs from my Word files for the game notes and two character-related information my gamemaster had sent me. I loaded those on. They work pretty well. On those, you can't adjust the text in the same way, and it fits it to the screen, making the print rather small (unless you start out with a large, large font on the Word file, which helps). But you can magnify areas by selecting a section and clicking it to make the text of that area bigger, so that's helpful. But I could read it without having to do that.

I put a couple of Loreena McKennitt albums onto the device to play when reading. The Kindle only plays .mp3s, so I downloaded a nice converter that changes .wav files to .mp3s and came with another program that would rip a CD straight into .mp3 files. Most of my music collection is in .wav format, having been taken from my CDs through Windows Media Player.

Saturday night I added a bunch of free books, things like Arthurian legends, the Iliad and Odyssey, fiction by Wells, Verne, Stoker, Conan Doyle, Carroll, among others. I also added a Latin grammar for a nominal fee.

Sunday I surprised people by reading the notes from the game on my Kindle. It worked better than bringing it up on the computer and leaning over to read it.

A few impressions. The text is very clear and easy to read, even with bifocals (another story--I picked up my glasses this morning and have been walking into walls all day, but otherwise have not tripped or hurt myself). It can go up in size or down. I love the text-to-speech feature, and even though it's a bit tinny, you can adjust the speed and gender, and it's rather good considering. All the stories I've downloaded have this feature enabled. Note to publishers: I'm much more likely to purchase your book if this is available. I looked up some Jim Butcher ('Dresden Files') books earlier and they were not. I'd like to finish reading that series, but frankly I'll probably get them from the library, since the reading feature isn't available.

Over the weekend I updated my software and now have access to features like collections (where you can organise your books into folders), find places in books that other people have highlighted (although that can be turned off if you find it annoying; I think it's okay). Plus, you can share clippings too, through Twitter and/or Facebook. I did that with and Elizabeth Peters quote today, if you check out my Twitter feed on the sidebar.

I've read the Kindle, as of today, on the bus, and it didn't make me carsick like a regular book does, so that's a plus.

As far as the web browsing goes, it's a little slow, but considering 1) I don't have to pay for a wireless connexion that is found just about anywhere and 2) it's experimental, it does quite nicely. I can even read my blog on it; it doesn't present the sidebar or videos, but otherwise is readable. I've tweeted from it, but frankly that's easier to do by phone. I even used it to get to some Facebook statistics for a patron which were available on the site, which is blocked by our system. Now, I can't update my status, and it's a bit jumbled to really check out others, so I don't think employers need to worry about workers whiling away the time on social networking sites via the Kindle in the workplace. But for getting a simple press release with status from their site, it worked fine.

I was at the bus stop this morning, reading the Iliad, which reminded me that I'd tried to remember who in Greek myth had been a man turned into a woman for a few years, and thought it was the blind prophet Tiresias. I went to Wikipedia and looked it up, and lo, I was right. It was nice to look something up right on the spot in the middle of nowhere, no wi-fi in sight. One of my co-workers has a Nook (well, apparently several do in one of the other departments as well, whereas at least three of us have Kindles). But she has to be at a wi-fi hot spot to get her content, or at a Barnes and Noble store. One of my co-workers with a Kindle goes down to a lake and still manages to download things there. I haven't found anyplace yet where I didn't get a wireless connexion yet. I usually keep it off when not in use, though, to save the battery.

Two things I learned over the weekend that may be helpful: One, how to tell which Kindle you have. On the back, the Kindle 1 has a serial number with a 4 at the beginning, the Kindle 2 US has one with an 8, and the global Kindle, which I have, has a series of logos above the serial number that is missing from the others. I came across this information when manually downloading the new software. Amazon includes pictures to help one easily discover which one to choose for your device. You can tell what version of software you have by going to Menu>Settings and looking in the lower right of the screen. The latest update (as of today) in a version 2.52. To be frank, I didn't pay attention to how to tell the difference between the two DX models, but they're listed as well when you go to download the software from the Kindle area of your account on Amazon.

The other thing is that I had read that a drawback to the Kindle was (unlike the model 1 or some other eBook readers), the battery was not replaceable. That's not quite true. The battery is not user-replaceable; it must be replaced by Amazon. But they will do so for free if in warranty (either original or extended) and for a fee later. But it's suppose to last awhile and have greater life than the old one.

I did not buy the extended warranty (at least not yet; I have 30 days to do so, but I'm not that into extended warranties, frankly, although it does replace the Kindle from one incident such as a drop, which is nice). I did, however, buy a sturdy cover for it, which is, of course, purple. It looks like a small portfolio when I carry it, and it's not apparent that I'm using a Kindle if I keep it half-open, such as on the bus when I don't want to advertise that I have an electronic gadget worth stealing.

Anyway, that's what I've been playing with. Sorry, I promise I won't forsake my blog over this. :)

Some folks have no sense of adventure

I'm talking about the Author's Guild, which cried foul when Amazon unveiled the Kindle 2, saying that it would undermine the audio books market with its text-to-speech function. (Because of course we all know there is no difference between a book eloquently read by a rich human voice and an artificial computerised one.) I think the Author's Guild would make reading aloud to children a violation of rights if possible. If for no other reason, the innovation is great for those with low vision. Now Amazon, although maintaining their text-to-speech functionality is legal, is caving in to a degree by allowing rights holders to determine whether their books will have the capability of speech or not. I guess it's a win-win situation, but I hope they indicate on the Kindle store site so people can choose books based on whether they want text-to-speech or not. I'd really like a Kindle 2 and this functionality is important to me.

Amazon agrees to cripple the Kindle 2

Thanks to jdscott50 on Twitter for the link.