On the Amazon Kindle

The Kitten and I have talked about moving a coffee-maker up to the bedroom for some time, and earlier this week, she moved one of our Keurig single shot coffee makers up there. Last night, I was setting it up--getting ready to snuggle in for a long-winter's morning avoiding the great blizzard of '10. As I climbed up into bed, I bumped into the is book-like object wrapped up in a small blanket--I opened it and there it was---a brand new Kindle DX--an early Valentine's Gift from the Kitten, who thought that the morning ahead of us would be too good a Kindle-morning to have it sitting in its box awaiting Saint Valentine's Feast.

For those of you who who have been living on a South Seas Island with a friend named Wilson--the Kindle is a product that uses cellular coverage to access a panoply of books and magazines. It downloads them to the reader which is about the size and thickness of a Time magazine, and maybe weighs a pound in a half. The quality of the reading surface is extraordinary.

For the longest time, I could not figure out the utility of the Kindle--why would someone buy it? It reminded me a bit of the "iPod", and anyone who served with me in USS BULKELEY can probably affirm my complete and utter contempt for the technology of that device. I just couldn't figure out why it was any better than a Walk-man. But there were people on the ship I trusted who looked at me like I had ten heads--saying "Captain, just buy one and you'll figure it out." So I did. And the impact was instant. Holy moly--every single song I own at my fingertips! I can listen to music that I LIKE ALL THE TIME! I can download ONLY THE SONGS I LIKE OFF OF CRAPPY ALBUMS. The freedom, the choice, the individualism--THIS was a devise for a moderately libertarian conservative.

The Kindle was another such story of technology adoption. My Wall Street guy--Greg--got one some time ago and raved about it. I couldn't understand why. After all, I can read the Post and the NYT online on my laptop--why spend $450 to get this little device that lets me SUBSCRIBE to things I read for free on the web? Plus, all it does is let you read things. It isn't a phone. It isn't a PC. It's only black and white. There were so many questions--so, so many questions. But more and more people I respect seemed to be buying them and getting a great deal of utility from them. It seemed to me about the only people who would get anything out of one of these is someone with a long train or bus commute each day. But I remained open-minded.

So then Apple put out its unfortunately named "iPad", essentially a tablet PC with some optimization for reading. It looks like a big iPhone--which for me was a strike against it from the start--as I've always thought iPhone's LOOK cheap (even though they appear quite strong). The iPad looks BIG and CHEAP. But--it lets one do other things while one reads--like answer emails or cruise the web, etc.

Over the course of the last two weeks or so, I've been weighing the following decisions. 1) Would I derive sufficient utility from an "e-reader" to justify the investment and 2) if so, which device?

I answered the second question for myself first--the Kindle seemed to me to be the better answer. First there were the questions of taste--I simply dislike the way the iPad looks (see above). Secondly, those who owned the Kindle raved about its display--without backlighting, it is visible in bright sunlight and it is easy on the eyes. There are several Kindles--a big one and a small one, and it seemed to me that the big one was for me (though again, it is still only the size of a magazine). I decided that I would buy a Kindle in a few months, after the iPad cut sufficiently into its market share for Amazon to lower the price.

The first question then, was answered for me--utility was no longer an issue, as it was presented as a gift. I will tell you, it was a complete surprise and the reaction I had to it was probably the most excited I've been about a present since I was a kid.

So now, onto the device itself. The Kitten had already been playing with it during the week (she and the Kittens were quite excited to give it to me) and she subscribed to the Washington Post, the New York Times AND The Conservative Wahoo Blog (which any of you with Kindles can do too!). I read both the Times and the Post--and I must say, the experience was superb. Here's why:
1. The quality of the display is superb.
2. I could quickly page through the stories I didn't want to read.
3. No ads
4. None of the physicality of page turning--normally not a problem, but I realized the benefits this provide when I thought of the time I had on Thursday reading newspapers on the Southwest flight I was taking--being careful not to noodge the guy next to me as I went from page to page.
5. No email, no web. When I read on the computer, I'm far less disciplined than I should be. If I hear the little email alarm, I'll check to see what it was.
6. It returned the joy of reading the paper in bed to me. We live in the country, at the end of a long farm lane---if I wanted to subscribe to a "paper", I'd get to walk down the lane every morning to pick a paper out of a plastic tube. Here, it is sitting there waiting electronically for me every morning.

This is simply a device to enable the joy of reading--it is NOT a device to "connect" you to the world around you. In fact, I think that is its charm--and the attraction to me. I love reading a book or magazine--the focus it demands. Reading on a computer offers far too many opportunities for distraction and mischief.

So--if you are considering an "e-reader", consider this a full endorsement of the Kindle DX.