Kindle conversion experience
Right, then, I bought this Kindle.I have to say, I was skeptical. Really skeptical. A small laptop, an iPhone-like device - I could see a whole slew of ebook readers that would have more utility than the Kindle. Something that allows you to share text, something that allows you to email snippets to friends, something that allows for embedded video and all sorts of other things....
And the photos of the damn thing - FUGLY.
But then one day I saw Shatzkin slip his into his blazer pocket on his way out to lunch. It was so light and thin. And I thought, hmmm....And I was infected.
Not convinced, but definitely infected. Then I began thinking about impending travel. Stacks of books? Or...that light, thin white thing?
Then I began talking with others who own them. Clients, colleagues. Everyone who owns one loves it. And I thought...how can I continue to be skeptical without actually experiencing the damn thing myself? How can I help publishers with their digital plans without using an ebook reader?
It was a toss-up between the Sony Reader and the Kindle, but what really got me was the wireless connection. Downloading books on the fly - dangerous for the wallet, but I wanted that functionality. I never update my iPod because I hate hooking the damn thing up to my computer. I love the idea of downloading books from the air!
So I bought it. And waited breathlessly. And came home from work yesterday and plugged it in to charge, and read the manual, and immediately ordered two books I've been wanting to read, and a magazine subscription. Once it was charged, I did what I do with all my books - took it onto my bed, curled up, and immediately fell asleep with it.
A success. If I can nap with it, it works.
Today I downloaded a third book while waiting in the car for my boyfriend to do an errand at the hardware store. I am halfway through one of the books already, and am dipping into the magazine here and there in small downtimes. The flicker of the "page turn" doesn't bother me. I do sometimes mis-navigate, but that's just a question of getting used to the thing. The ergonomics of it seem fine to me - I appear to be able to hold the thing in the way it's meant to be held, and I don't trigger page turns without wanting to.
Is it fugly? I don't really think about it. I'm too busy reading my content.
So I didn't expect to like it at all, and I love it.
What I offer:
