Kindle Update

Thanks to Mary Keough, over at IBM, for reading my post and correcting me on the weight of the Kindle Touch. I was thinking of the new $79 Kindle when I said six ounces. I weighed four devices this morning to make sure I got this right. Here is what I found.

I have to admit that I am vascillating a bit between the Kindle and the Kindel Touch. They are both very light and a pleasure to read on. The touch screen is nice, but the simple buttons on the Kindle create a certainty about your intentions. When I swipe, sometimes I go back a page to make sure I had not swiped two pages. With the Kindle, a click is always “a” click. All the Kindle devices are great, and I suspect the Fire will keep getting better with software updates and follow-on models.

Mary asked about the advertising and quetioned whether it is worth the extra $30 on the Kindle or $40 on the Touch to get the device “without special offers”. My opinion is that it is not worth the extra money. The special offers appear as a screen saver when you stop reading. They are totally unobtrusive. You can easily not even notice them. If you want to look more closely and are interested in something being offered, you can go for it. Speaking of reading, the biography of Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson was really great (see Apple at Grand Central Terminal). I am now reading Fall of Giants: Book One of the Century Trilogy by Ken Follett. I have read most of his books, and this one too is really good so far. 

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Tags: amazon, apple, fall of giants, fire, founders hall, ipad, iPhone, isaacson, ken follett, Kindle, kindle fire, kindle touch, steve jobs

Kindle Fire – Part 2

On September 28, Amazon announced three new Kindles — a $79 Kindle, the $99 Kindle Touch, and the $199 Android-based color touch screen Kindle Fire tablet. Technology pundits have criticized the Kindle Fire’s touch screen and various aspects of the user interface (see Daily Report: Kindle Fire Attracts Critics, and Buyers – NYTimes.com). I have observed the shortcomings also, but I think the device has a market niche that will be well served — people who like to read books. At $199, it is less than half the cost of an iPad. Amazon will relentlessly promote the Fire on its site and is rumored to be nearly ready to provide software updates for better performance and improved user interface.

I remain a believer in purpose-built devices. The iPad is great for documents, weather, stocks, surfing the web, and reading books at the kitchen counter. The Kindle Fire is great for reading books. That is what it does best. It can also do most everything the iPad can, but not everything. I don’t see myself giving a slide presentation with a projector and the Fire. I don’t plan to put 40 gigtabytes of dropbox folders containing all my data on the Fire. The Fire is great for reading a book, listening to music, or watching a movie. It is basically a media player. You can do many tablet computing tasks, but that is not what it is best at. The device I like the best for reading books is the new Kindle Touch. It weighs six ounces and has no moving parts. Turning pages and setting bookmarks is as easy as a touch. You can change the font size to the optimum and read comfortably for long periods of time wherever you may be — incuding outdoors in the sun, which you can do with an iPad. If I am at the kitchen counter and want to read for ten minutes, I launch the Kindle app on the iPad and it automatically takes me to wherever I left off on the Fire or iPhone or wherever I last read — a seamless experience. So many gadgets, so little time! I plan to donate the entry-model Kindle to the senior center.

Tags: amazon, apple, fire, founders hall, ipad, iPhone, Kindle, kindle fire, kindle touch

kindlefire – 1

There are many reviews out there already about the new Kindle Fire (see Nook’s Specs Are Exaggerated, Again). I would not glority this posting by calling it a review — it is simply my first reaction upon receiving the kindlefire this afternoon. The fire was actually delivered to the Marriott Atlanta Century Center on Tuesday. I have been in Florida for the last few days and when I got notice of the shipping, I had the Kindle diverted to where I would be staying during the weekend for a University of Phoenix residency (more on that later).

My first reaction on taking the fire out of the classicly simple Amazon packaging was that it was heavier than I expected. It is not as heavy as the first Nook, but it is heavier than the other new Kindles. After a few hours of using it, I would say it is lighter than the iPad and not really so heavy after all. Speaking of the iPad, the obvious question from many will be “how does it compare to the iPad?” My son reminds me that the fire “is not an iPad”, and it should not be compared to something that is totally different in design and intention. I agree — the two are different animals with different purposes.

I had some difficulty setting up the fire because of the marginal WiFi signal in my room at the hotel. The fire wants you to confirm your Amazon account after getting a WiFi signal, but the Marriott wants you to confirm your room # before it activates your wireless. It took a while to figure out how to get around the Catch 22. The fire is clearly a content device — it is designed for reading books and the news, watching movies, and listening to music. There is a large selection of apps but I have not yet had time to try many. The free enhanced email program available in the Amazon app store works very well.

The fire navigation is a bit awkward but I think that is a matter of getting used to a different paradigm. The text entry mode has a nice movable cursor for use in corecting entries that is very nice. I need more time to experiment with it, but as a first impression, I think that text entry may be better than the iPad in that respect. I know — don’t compare the fire to the iPad! They are both great and I look forward to more experience with the fire and will share that as the days progress.

Tags: amazon, fire, ipad, Kindle, kindlefire