Cheap isn't necessarily good, and Kindle, Amazon.com's highly hyped ebook reader, isn't the year's best gadget. Kindle does what it claims. This reading device displays books, newspapers, magazines, blogs, and the rest on electronic paper. It connects to Amazon.com's online bookstore. Kindle allows readers to funnel money right to Amazon and get product in exchange. The price has dropped, but there are better choices.
Kindle Disadvantages
- Control buttons - Made of flimsy plastic, they feel brittle and their response is sticky, not crisp.
- Keyboard - Similarly, the keyboard is not sharply responsive. User must hit keys more than once for reliable response. Placement is awkward and obtrusive.
- Navigation through this ereader is neither user-friendly nor intuitive. It's a drag to figure out where things are.
- The unit's response time is slow, sluggish. Page turning is frustrating.
- It's too easy to buy something by accident, and nearly impossible to reverse the purchase.
- Not enough contrast on the display.
- Black and white only.
- User can only buy through Amazon. Kindle is a one-trick pony. It's a sales tool for Amazon product.
Kindle's Good Points
Consumers, especially tech savvy consumers, awaited electronic paper, and Kindle delivers. It's an interesting wiggle, but not the be-all-and-end-all. Reading in adequate room lighting is fine. It's even possible to read out in the sun, a plus for some. However, those who expected to read in bed by low light are disappointed. No backlighting. Amazon sees calls that a plus because backlighting is the biggest eye-strain issue in computer use.
There's a fair amount of reading material available at Amazon for Kindle. Customers can browse for a long time without running out of reading material. The problem is, there are lots of titles and reading material that will never be available on Kindle. Readers looking for a specific book or periodical may end up disappointed.
Kindle's price point recently came down from mid $200 for the basic reader to just under $200.
Why Reading Fans Should Hold Off on Kindle
Tech pundits and moguls say any reader being sole right now will be obsolete in 2011. Some tech fans simply must have an electronic reader right now. Barnes and Noble's Nook is a good alternative. It's a better made device -- more hand-friendly, faster, and allows users to buy from diversified vendors. The sexiest thing about Nook is the proprietary content available only inside a retail store.
Test users who played with Kindle for three days said it was easier to read than they expected. But all said the test experience did not move them to buy. They didn't feel a real bang for the buck, and decided to wait for next year's crop of readers to see where the value might be at that point.
Amazon's Kindle is not an impressive device for everyday use. It looks and feels as though it might have a short working life before various components fail. Reading material is available, but controlled, as is typical of Amazon. Priced at about $99, this might be a nice gadget to play with. As things stand, the competition seems to have more to offer, and near-future entrants will almost certainly trump Amazon.
Maryan Pelland - A professional, established freelance writer, I've earned the moniker, "expert" in technology for baby boomers. I have deep experience in ...
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