Monday, April 30, 2012

The Kindle Touch - a product review

I have to say, I really like my Kindle. I asked for it for Christmas this year, on a total whim, and I got it from my in-laws! Both of our parents really spoil us every year. I guess I can understand, because I spoil my kids any chance I get.

The things I like:
- Free books. I've discovered many new authors and books via the Top 100 Free Book List. If I'm shopping on my Kindle I only see a B&W picture of the cover and I'm much less likely to buy the book based on it's cover. I buy it based on it's synopsis and reviews. I have bought a few books, but I've downloaded so many for free I'm not buying many.
- Portability. Your books are good on one iPad, one iPhone and one Kindle each. If I leave my Kindle at home, I can read on my iPhone while I'm sitting at the doctor's office, etc. It automatically syncs up to the last page I read on my last device.
- Easy to put down a book. If I start a book and it's lame, I close it and start another one. I switch back and forth a lot when I'm kind of into more than one book.
- The charger fits into my iPhone charger block.
- Library loans. I haven't tried it yet. Not all libraries participate, but it's worth looking into. The book selection is limited, but it's pretty cool that you can do it!
- The battery lasts forever.
- I love reading on it, it's light and small. I can adjust the size of type if I want and I can even have it read to me out loud.
 
The downfalls:
- I wish the Amazon website would allow me to organize my books into categories. I find the process to be a bit of pain on the Kindle itself.
- No backlight. This is a actually a big plus for people who like to read outside as it reads just like paper. (I have a dream about reading outside. It involves my children playing like little angels and me sitting on the back porch with a book. Like I said, it's a dream.) However, I would like to read laying in bed at night without having to use a book light. Not really a big deal though, if I want to read in bed I usually use my iPhone since it lights up.
- The inability to loan and buy used bugs me the most. I think if you own the book you should be able to sell it used when you're done, or give it away/loan it to a friend just like you can with a paper book. There is some sort of loaning program. I think you can loan once and it might only be certain books. This might be a technology issue and I hope they'll change it in the future. When I go look for a new book and it's $12 to get it on Kindle and $4 to get it mailed to me, it's hard for me to justify downloading it. I might just end up getting it at the library.

I would definitely recommend this product and I think the price is very reasonable for what you get. None of the downfalls would stop me from buying it again, I still absolutely love it! They are all minor details. I read a lot more than I used to and that makes me happy!

No comments:

Post a Comment