Month: November 2010

A year with Kindle…

On By Ben JenningsIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

So about a year ago I broke down and got a Kindle 2 e-reader from Amazon.  I know this is a hot item right now and so I wanted to write about it for anyone considering getting an e-reader for themselves or a loved one for Christmas.  So- Why do I love using my Kindle?

In no particular order…

1. Accessiblity/Convenience.  Get books whenever and wherever I want.  Free 3g connection means I can download books from anywhere in the US through Sprints wireless network at no additional cost.

2. Ubiquity.  I always have my books on me so I’m reading more.  Amazon makes my books available to me not only on my Kindle but also on my laptop, ipod touch/iphone also for free. This means I can read on my iphone in the waiting room of the doctors office and then come home and pick up where I left off on my kindle.

3. Blogs, Blogs, Blogs! Recently I’ve discovered that I can access my google reader account through the basic web feature.  This means I can read the blogs I subscribe to through reader on my device anywhere I am.

4.  Review what I’ve read in my browser Not only can I access all of the notes and highlights I make in a book on my device, I can also access them at https://kindle.amazon.com/.  This means I can view a summary of all of the parts of a book that I marked as important allowing me to review it later.

5.  Read then Share. I can tweet/facebook these same highlights which brings a social dimension to my reading.  Other people can see and benefit (or scoff) from what I’m reading.  This is a pretty new feature, and one that I’ve enjoyed recently

Amazon recently came out with the next generation of kindles and also slashed the price of them by $70-$100 (depending on if you choose the wi-fi only or wi-fi +3g model).

Leaders are readers.  This device isn’t for everyone, but it may be something you could use.