[Web4lib] Kindle debate one owners viewpoint

[DeeAnn K Allison]

I've been reading the comments back and forth for several days trying to
decide if I have anything useful to offer.  Since I have a Kindle I thought
some early views might add something to the debate. I have tried other
e-book readers before and found the small screen hard to read and difficult
to navigate so the Kindle is my first jump back into the e-book water so to
speak.  This is my 2-cents worth...

What I like:
The "ink technology" is way better for displaying text than anything else I
have seen.  It is much easier to read than a laptop but  the photos are
sometimes not so good.  I  won't be buying any coffee table books for it.
The "whispernet" delivery of books works well even for my area where
wireless can sometimes be problematic.  At first I was a little concerned
about my stuff being kept on an Amazon server but in the end I decided I
have already crossed that bridge.  After all, my citations are stored in
Refworks and my patron record has my favorite searches.  It will be handy
to be able to retrieve downloaded books if I need them again. One nice
feature is the ability to search across all my books.  It seems to take 24
hours for the new items to be indexed.  This is something that as I get
older seems more appealing as I often forget where I read something.  The
combo scroll button/clicker is pretty slick once you get used to it.  You
can highlight sections using a box instead of a color, and add notes, which
are stored under My Clippings.

There is an experimental area where the audio and web browser are listed.
The web browser isn't too bad, it divides webpages into multiple pages so
you change pages rather than scroll down.    I found this to work better
than all the browsers I've tried on my Windows mobile cell phone. The speed
was also acceptable.  It won't replace my PC any time soon but I think it
will be a useful tool for books that have links embedded in them.  The
audio is pretty good but it only plays mp3 files.

You can add a SD card, I put a 2 GB card in it and it handled that just
fine.  You can also turn the wireless off for air travel.  When you order a
book you can cancel it immediately if you did so by accident.  The ability
to add personal  files so you can read/view them is an interesting feature
but I haven't tested it yet.  The cost for doing this seems reasonable to
me.  It has also passed the first drop test.

What I don't like:
The Next Page button is poorly engineered.  It is way too large making it
hard to handle the device without accidentally turning the page. You really
have to learn how to hold it; it is a little like juggling a hot potato.
You have to watch  prices for books, the kindle version might cost more
than the paper version.

Why did I buy it?
First, some of the books I buy are frankly, one time reads.  I'm tired of
them piling up, I could take them down to the local mom & pop paperback
exchange and sell them but this way I can delete them from the handheld and
download them again when  I have forgotten that I ever read them.  I like
the search feature.  I like the screen - it is really that good.  Finally,
I like to play the role of an early adopter.  I'd like to think that  using
the technology early on I can have an impact of future versions.  I have no
illusions this is the Holy Grail of e-book readers and I'm not too
concerned about the end of paper books.  I'm more concerned that only 1 in
4 Americans read a book last year, if this gets people reading all the
better.   Each person has to decide when something meets their basic
requirements. At this point in time this fills a niche for me.

If I get tired of it I can always add it to the growing technology
graveyard in my  basement.  It comes in a cool box that looks like a book,
it will hold several discarded electronic gadgets.  It also has a nifty set
of screen savers that makes the unit look like a book cover when it is in
hibernation.



The opinions in this e-mail are solely my own and do not reflect those of
my employer.
Dee Ann Allison
Professor & Director
COR Services
University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries
(402)-472-3944
http://iris.unl.edu