I must confess I squealed like a basketful of puppies when my fingers closed around this gadget. I've been wanting to try one forever. As a compulsive reader I wanted to know what it offers in the way of a new reading experience. And as a writer whose books will shortly go electronic, I needed to see how my work would be presented to the world.
I've been holding out on getting a Kindle – waiting for the device to be refined and upgraded, for Apple and Amazon to get over their turf war, and for the choice of downloads to reach a decent number. The Kindle Store now offers upwards of 800,000 titles, enough to satisfy the greediest bookworm.
The unboxing experience was refreshing because, for once, a million bits and pieces didn't fall out of the packaging. There was –
- a Kindle
- a USB cable that doubles as a power cable
- a slim manual
And that was it – three pieces in total.
No need to expect days of frustrating set-up before I could start playing with my toy. I even scratched through the packaging looking for the 3G card, before realising that it was pre-installed inside the device, and that it works globally. Hooray!
The 2nd Generation Kindle DX is a slim, elegant tablet with a large 9.7" display. Mine has a white surround, but I believe it is also available in graphite. The display is so astoundingly paper-like that I wanted to peel it back to reveal the real screen beneath. This is the famous e-ink technology that makes so many consumers still choose the Kindle over the iPad. No backlit screen = no eyestrain = no migraine after hours of reading.
The control buttons are aligned on the right-hand side, with a keyboard beneath. That keyboard doesn't look like it offers a particularly comfortable typing experience, but only time will tell. I've downloaded three books already and will report back when I've worked my way through them.
Now to kick back for a few days of reading, all in the name of research...
