Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 4991-4995 of 4995
 Books: The real thing March 4, 2008
Frank S. Johns II (Richmond, Va.)
6 out of 69 found this review helpful
I am impressed with the technology of the Kindle. It has the feel of a book, to the degree that a small computer can feel like a book. It has a user friendly screen and easy to read interface. But, it's not a book. A book is a physical, kinesthetic object. You turn the pages, you highlight passages that you want find in the future and you put it on your shelf for future reference. Books don't need batteries. I suppose that if you buy books through Kindle that after a while you will save money over buying books online from Amazon, but it will take a while to save that $399. Finally, the Kiindle is just too expensive for me. Call me a Luddite, but I prefer books over electronic books.
 Many pluses, a few negatives March 4, 2008
Thomas Pitts (Cuyahoga Falls, OH USA)
23 out of 29 found this review helpful
I've now used the Kindle for about six weeks. On the positive side are the portability and ease of use of the device. It's handy and simple. The online store is good and downloading new material is a breeze. Traveling with the Kindle is a joy. No more shoving two or three books into the suitcase for a week's vacation. The screen is completely readable in any light that a book would be readable. The adjustable font is an excellent feature. The built in dictionary is also welcome. I added an SD card with about a megabyte of new age music which adds greatly to relaxing and enjoying a good read.
On the minus side, the carrying case doesn't hold the Kindle in place very well. Several of the Kindle edition books I've read are badly edited. Section breaks in some books are not as apparent as in printed editions. Although convenient, the page advance buttons can be hit inadvertently. When returning to reading, particularly if it's overnight, I find myself re-reading the previous page to make sure I've not missed something. I rarely would do this with printed books.
My two biggest criticisms are "feel" issues. First, although progress through the Kindle book can be monitored with the advancing ellipses, I miss the sensation of physically moving through the pages of a printed book, anticipating the ending, being able to judge how much further I have to go. At times I feel a sense of irritation because I can't judge the pacing of a story in quite the same way as with a printed book. And, second, I don't go to the book stores much any more! I miss browsing through the stacks, looking at the covers and feeling the books in my hands. Using the online store is simply not the same as going to the local book store, grabbing a few things after some pleasurable minutes walking between the shelves and sitting down with a cup of coffee to peruse the day's discoveries. Alas, convenience has it's cost.
Having said all that, I haven't picked up a printed book for pleasure in six weeks and have thoroughly enjoyed reading the dozen or so books I've downloaded onto the Kindle. I would strongly recommend this product to anyone who reads extensively, particularly for pleasure.
Kindle Review March 4, 2008
Jason Deeds (San Diego, CA)
25 out of 31 found this review helpful
It's now been a little over a month that I've been playing with Amazon's Kindle Digital Book. Overall I have to give them 4 out of 5 stars. I'll go into more detail about what points I think are great and what I think are lacks here. I was going to separate it into Positives and Negatives, but I've found almost every feature has both. So I'm just going to go through the features and name both.
Wireless - This really breaks down into four sections
1. Wireless shopping;
a. Positive: What an amazing feature. I've used it twice already. If you travel a lot or even moderately or even read during your lunch break this is a wonderful feature incase you finish a book while out and about. The search feature is easy to use and the speed of the wireless is a look quicker then I expected. The other great thing about the wireless is when you do purchase a book online via your computer you don't have to hook the Kindle up. Just turn it on and it's downloaded right there. So if you are like me you buy like four books at a time and then just turn you Kindle on.
b. Negative: The interface being black and white, while wonderful for reading makes it a little annoying while attempting to zoom around the Amazon site. This come up later too with the internet connection.
2. Wireless Internet/Email:
a. Positive: Just having the ability to go on the internet from anywhere I go. Funny Part is you can read all your blogs and not have to buy a subscription like they want you too. I do like the fact that I have access to my Gmail anywhere I go.
b. Negative: The interface of the internet is very old school cell phone. Getting around is cumbersome at best. Someone really should have talked with google, or firefox and come up with a black and white version of their browsers. Spending just a little extra time on this could have made a huge difference from a selling point of view.
3. Wireless Files transport:
a. Positive: It's easy to load and easy to transport files via the Kindle. I do like the ability to read my own stories on their and makes notes.
b. Negative: Once again it come back to the interfacing one your on you've loaded things onto the kindle it make take you a min or so to figure out how to find them. Once you have though it is fairly easy.
4. Separate Wireless on button:
a. Positive: This is one of the features in my mind that really stands out. The wireless does not need to be on at all times. And they realized the battery drain it would create to have it on at all times. I know this is a simple no brainier but you would be surprised how many small things like that go unnoticed. I've left the Kindle on with the wireless on and it last about 24 hours. With the Wireless power off I have now idea how long it will last left on cause it never seems to run out of power.
b. There is no Negative
Screen:
1. "Electronic Paper Display"
a. Positives: The display is amazing clear and easy to read. It truly looks just like a book. One features that I think is underplayed but they really should try and push is the its ability to increase and decrease the font size. I have no problem reading the smaller font size, but for people who do, this is a great connivance, and I think it was a very thoughtful additional feature.
b. Negatives: Just like a book, you can't read it in the dark. I don't know why they didn't add some kind of option to light up the screen. Something that you could turn off if you wanted to. Yes I like to read in dark rooms, and I know it's bad for my eyes. I know it's not a color screen for reading purposes but I just feel their has to be a way to do both....hmmmmm
Interface:
1. "Next, and Pervious Page" buttons.
a. Positives: East to use. A little to easy, see below.
b. Negatives: While reading in bed it's very easy to accidentally press one of the two "Next Buttons" and have to flip back a page. I'm not sure why they felt the need to put two "Next Page" buttons. The set up just feels like it could use some refinement.
2. The Keypad
a. Positives: All thumbs. Holding the book in both hands the keypad is all about using your thumbs. It's curved in such a way that it's fairly easy to use. Keys are responsive as long as you realize...(see below)
b. Negatives: There is however a little lag between pressing the key and the appearance on the screen. This made for a few double types when I thought I had keyed to softly. This is something they really need to change in their next upgrade.
3. The Scroll bar
a. Positives:
b. Negatives:
4. Notes and Dog earring:
a. Positives: I love this feature. You can highlight a passage and make notes and it saves it all in one area in "Your clippings" I haven't used the Dog Earring feature much, but I guess it came from being able to mark your page easily or mark a place you want to further review later.
b. Negatives: I'm not seeing any real down sides yet.
Battery Power:
a. Positives: Great battery power. Having the Wireless on and off switch gives you the feeling of control that would otherwise be absent.
b. Negatives: They have a hibernate mode that puts a screen saver up if the Kindle is left alone for to long. I have found out, by mistake, that if you leave it on to long it goes until the battery drains then shuts off. If there is a auto shut feature I have yet to find it.
Content:
1. Free Book Sample
a. Positives: Great way of finding out if you like a book before you buy it, but lets be honest at these prices, just buy the damn book. CHEAP
b. Negatives: None really, except It is kind of a waste
2. Blogs
a. Positives: Automatic updates without having to search through each blog. Connivance connivance connivance.
b. Negatives: Your paying for something that you could look up with the Kindle's internet function
3. Newspapers and periodicals.
a. Positives: Now this I like, although I haven't subscribed to any yet. This is something that would not just be accessible via internet. It would save paper and dealing with time for me.
b. Negatives: Content. They don't have many companies on board yet. I mean they have the big wigs, but none of the smaller guys are on board yet.
4. Books
a. Positives: Great Price! I'm find a lot of the older SciFi for anywhere between 99cents to 5 bucks. I can deal with that! OH and as a writer I can upload and sell my stories for cheap! I might not make much but something is better then nothing.
b. Negatives: Selection. I hate that I found book one and two of a series I'm reading, but then 3 - 7 were not there! What the heck! That was a big turn off for me. It's slow right now. I think as things go along it they will get more and more loaded. I think every wannabe write like myself got the same idea, and kind of flooded some of the book categories esp SciFi! It's hard sometimes to sort through it all. I hate to say it but there needs to be some kind of filter, although I'll be the first to admit I have no clue how to do this.
Kindle Email
a. Positives: Quick way to view your files via Kindle.
b. Negatives: None that I have notice so far
Ability to play music
a. Positives: Duh play music and read at the same time is almost a requirement for me.
b. Negatives: can't hold many songs with out expanding the memory
Expandable Memory:
a. Positives: Great way to just add your music when you are on the go.
b. Negatives: We really shouldn't have to have expandable memory
Amazon E-book Library:
a. Positives: The face that you can link up to six Kindle to one account Rocks! Not that I could afford to go out and buy six kindles. I love the idea though. A True family library.
b. Negatives: Not being able to read my ebook content on my computer. I understand why they are doing this right now, cause they want to sell more Kindles. But I think ultimately they are going to have to create a way for reader to read their content they "own" on their own laptops. Either through a created software or something.
Overall as a writer and reader I think the Amazon Kindle is a great leap forward in the right direction. Think of the Kindle as the first Ipod, to the reading community. What Amazon needs to do is take a step even further and make the Kindle what it really could be a touch screen ebook with great internet. Think of the IPhone but bigger, and able to read books, and play music. I think Amazon is like Itunes is getting a early start on a pretty captured market.
With any First Generation technology there are going to be still working out the bugs on this hardware and software, but I can say without a doubt that I think for their first try I give Amazon Kindle 4 out of 5 stars. I can't wait to see what the come up with in the next few years.
 I WANTED to love it, but. . . . . March 4, 2008
J. Marren (Glen Ridge, NJ USA)
29 out of 58 found this review helpful
I asked my husband for a Kindle for my birthday--at this price it was a splurge. I'm not an early adopter, but I'm an avid reader, and the thought of always having books with me was enticing!
But I was so disappointed I returned it. First of all, there's no option to backlight the screen, so it's just as hard to read in dim light as a regular book--for this price, a backlight feature should be included. Second, the page turn buttons are enormous, and it's maddeningly easy to flip pages in error, and hard to get back to your place, as it's not always clear how many pages you went forward or back. Next, the case fits poorly--I just couldn't keep the thing in the case--one of the "corners" that's supposed to hold the device in the case was crooked. And the so-called "clip" on the back just doesn't work. The on-off switch is on the back, so you have to take the device out of the case or try to slip your finger underneath to turn it on or off. And finally, the device as a whole has a sort of flimsy, plastic feel to it--very different from an IPod.
There are more subtle problems, too, with using a reader. I realized after so many years, that I read in chunks, not line by line, and although the screen is large, it has a lot less text on it than the two-page spread of a book. It's also very difficult to go back to something--yes, you can "mark" pages--but one doesn't always know that something is significant until later on. With the screen, you lack the "image" of the page where you might have read something you want to go back to later. The text is numbered in chunks, not pages, which is oddly disorienting--it's hard to figure out where you are in the book.
As I read my one and only Kindle book, I found myself longing for the Apple design teams to get their hands on a Kindle and fix it. I'm no Apple fanatic by a long shot, but using a Kindle made me appreciate my IPod classic more than I do already. Amazon has a long way to go with this one, as well as some psychological barriers to overcome. The computer and music player are new technologies, so people "got used" to how to use them afresh. Books have been around for several hundred years, and we all have reading skills and habits that may be hard to change. Back to the drawing board!
 Beware the coverage area March 4, 2008
rever (Tennessee)
17 out of 57 found this review helpful
This was a gift to me - I gave it back to the giver for them to return it because, you guessed it, the wireless service used by this device doesn't cover the area where I live.
So regardless of features, available books, privacy issues, coolness - look at the map before you order this. Look at the map closely. Remember that this particular wireless service is well known for lack of coverage away from cities and Interstate highways. Yes, I could drive about twenty miles and sit by the exit from the nearest Interstate and read. But I won't do that.
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