Kindle 2: my personal review
Ok, so, I’ve had a couple of days with my Kindle 2, and here are my early thoughts. I definitely love the form factor, and so does everyone else. There’s something super sexy about Kindle 2, whereas the original is a total clunker. And the e-ink display is sort of fascinating — it just really looks like text on a page. It’s amazing! I don’t really like how much the display flashes — every time you switch screens, there’s a flash to black, and the top row with the wireless strength and battery indicator seems to flash kind of randomly when the Kindle is working. Also, it displays the time on some screens, but not every screen, and sometimes it shows up on top all grayed out, like it should be there but it’s fading. Bug? Magnetic field? I don’t know.
I’m extremely worried about the ease of buying books. I guess it could “pay for itself” if I end up buying 60 books in the next month, but I could drop some serious cash if I’m not careful. It’s just so fast and simple! The book pricing is definitely enough to tempt you, but when I went browsing for books, I realized you only get a real value if you’re buying brand-new books. The savings just aren’t there if you’re paying $9.99 for a book that’s out in paperback for $11.99. But you’re still getting the book, saving space, and saving paper, so it doesn’t feel like a loss. It just doesn’t feel like a bargain.
Actually, here’s one suggestion for Amazon on that note: if you’ve bought a book from Amazon within, say, three months of buying a Kindle, it would be awesome if you could buy the Kindle version of the book for a very small fee — like $2 or $3 — just as a “conversion” incentive. I’m already feeling torn between the big pile of “IRL” books I have to read and the three books I’ve downloaded onto my Kindle. I would love to consolidate my library. I would also like to see, and maybe it’s possible in the future when more publishers are on board, the option to buy the physical book and Kindle version as a discounted bundle. (I know that seems weird and redundant, but sometimes I like to have the CD and the MP3, so I can imagine wanting the physical copy to, say, lend out or something, and still have it available to read on the Kindle.)
One thing I’m already finding outrageous is the pricing and restrictions on subscription content. For example, the Wall Street Journal Kindle subscription is about $120 a year, which is $20 more than the $99/year deal you can almost always find, and which includes the physical AND online edition. And on top of that, you cannot share a subscription in a two-Kindle household, per the Amazon Kindle FAQ. So, if my husband were to get himself a Kindle and we both wanted to read the paper, we’d have to shell out $240 a year. Now, granted, we cannot both read the same article simultaneously with the physical paper, but we can share it, and we can both be logged in to read the online version at the same time. Amazon’s subscriptions should work like iTunes downloads, wherein you can authorize up to, say, 5 Kindles (or, really, two would probably be sufficient for most households) and share subscriptions within a family. Get on that, Amazon.
Then, on top of that, you’ve got to be kidding me if you think I’m going to pay any money at all to receive blog content delivered to the device. I know others have covered this, but come on. It’s one thing to replace a paid subscription to a newspaper, which I might already pay to subscribe to, but paying for free content just for the sake of, uh, paying for it? No, thanks. Then again, the New Yorker is only $2.99 a month, so I totally subscribed to that. I also like how almost everything has a 14-day free trial, so I can see if I like the formatting and cancel without penalty if it doesn’t work for me. In general, I think Amazon should consider a “data plan” for the Kindle that would include some subscription content. I know they probably don’t want to give me a browser and unfettered Internet access, since they’re footing the bill for the data, but I would probably pay $10 a month for a version of the Kindle that included a full browser plus some delivered blog or newspaper content.
Overall, I am definitely excited about the Kindle’s potential, and I’m traveling on Monday, so I’ll let you know how I like that compared to lugging a book. I just hope it’s a device I end up using, instead of getting distracted by all those “actual” books. It’s hard to imagine reading without the added element of passing books around. It’s a much more social activity than it’s given credit for, and the Kindle definitely isolates your reading to your own device. Yet another reason for multiple authorizations, actually — hubby and I could easily decide to read the same book at the same time, or roommates, or similar. I feel like that’s something Amazon will have to work on going forward. This device is unquestionably locked up tight in its current incarnation, and it’ll have to loosen the reins somewhat if it expects to be useful and appealing to the masses. Oh, and damn, I need a case for this thing. Bad.
Just wanted to chime in that I also got a Kindle 2 after reading your pre-order justification earlier this month. I was originally on the fence, but you convinced me and I must say: I love my Kindle 2. I usually don’t even read books, but after getting mine last night, I’ve already read through a whole book and am looking for more! (Thanks so much for also somehow promoting literacy!)
But, I guess now I gotta get a case. Boo.
I’ve been weighing the Kindle 2, but just can’t seem to justify the original expense ($359) let alone the concern that I’ll spend too much on content. That aside, I am saving my 2009 big electronic purchase for the Palm Pre … and am hoping that it will offer a better reading experience than the Treo (the clips I’ve seen from the iPhone for reading seem semi-acceptable but what about battery life?).
You and Tom convinced me. My Kindle 2 came on Wednesday. I have trouble holding paperbacks because my wrists are aging badly. I buy hardcovers for that reason, so this may be cheaper for me. The adjustable font will be useful too. Having said all that, I’m very old school about books, so I hope this wasn’t a mistake. I’m sure I’ll still buy the hardcovers of favorites for the bookshelf.
My son has been downloading free books from Project Gutenberg. THAT is fantastic for classics.
Molly:
I have a question: notwithstanding the inconvenience of not being able to “share” a newspaper or periodical, what is the overall experience of reading one like on the Kindle?
Does it compare well to flipping through an “analog” newspaper, where an interesting article can catch your eye? Do you get a front page with headlines and lots of links like on The New York Times website? How does one navigate from article to article? How do charts and pictures look? Are there still ads present?
With just a couple of newspaper subscriptions, a Kindle could theoretically pay for itself (e.g., those $99 Wall Street Journal deals only apply to new subscribers — it’s $400 annually for those who’ve been at it awhile!).
Although I read newspapers on the web, I still value the experience of holding the real thing in my hands and flipping through it…how does the Kindle compare as a substitute?? Does it have advantages? Disadvantages?
Thanks for your thoughts!
Dan
Everyone says that about the blogs. But they are kind of addictive. You might try them. { although the addictive part might be a reason not to… } I think it’s the excitement of seeing something new on the kindle.
I use a Palm T|X for my current reading.
I would never go back to reading dead trees, it is just far too good to have a ton of books in my pocket to read when ever I have the 2 minutes or more.
That is one reason I have held off on the Kindle, it is not really portable for me. Molly, you might tuck it in a purse/diaper bag etc. and carry it all over. It will not fit in the pocket of my jeans (and if my butt ever gets that wide I am in trouble). I am never more than an arm’s reach from it at home/work/traveling so can read much more than I ever did carrying around a paperback.
For RichC, my battery life is about 8 hours of reading or more when using my Palm, so I am hoping the Pre will have a similar battery life. We don’t really know at this point, but I am hoping for the Pre to be able to replace my T|X when it does die its next death. With the chance to recharge in the car, by usb, etc. I rarely have issues.
BOB
After all the coverage from CNET and Leo I decided to get a Kindle 2. After 12 hours I’m hooked! I agree with you however that it is far too easy to buy books – very financially dangerous. Also what a great solution for the over-stuffed backpack problem that my middle/high school daughters suffer from.
One application that really sold me is to use the Kindle for technical books. As an engineer I frequently need to quickly come up to speed on various new software or hardware technologies. Although you can find info on the web, there are many well written books that can make the process faster. The paper versions are often quite large, making them difficult to read at the gym and taking up lots of shelf space. Worse, they become quickly obsolete so they have little trade/resale/reference value, so there isn’t really isn’t much downside to not having a physical book – somewhat making up for the fact that the (cheapskate) publishers provide almost no discount on the electronic versions of the books (about 10%). Maybe the biggest advantage is speed of delivery. Frequently the need to learn something new comes up suddenly, in the middle of a project as it unfolds. With Kindle I can have the book within a minute, rather than waiting for Amazon to deliver the book. In an urgent situation that often doubles the savings because it avoids expedited shipping.
Thanks for the great reporting!
You answered your own question on the newspaper sharing point — they’re thinking physical paper not web site here.
But, I’ve heard you can’t see the graphics from the newspapers, including the business section ones. If so, that’s a non-starter for me.
Back to web browsing and tree killing.
Largest issue: why spend BOTH a too high device fee AND a not cheap enough content item fee? It should cost under $5 for a book electronically. The only reason it doesn’t is book publisher margin, IMHO. I’m still trying to refuse to buy this (tempting as it is) until one or really both of these aspects get fixed. I didn’t wait on the iPhone, but I think I’ll wait on the Kindle 2. Still.