One Stop Boy Shop

Why in the world would I re-review the Kindle 2?  I’ve discovered more things that I wished I had said, some good and some bad and some ugly.  In the past month since my initial review, I have read 9 books on my Kindle.  Here is my original review.

The Ugliest

The first and most important issue for me to get out is that I rescind my endorsement of the cover from my original review!  It cracked the front cover of my Kindle.  The way it is designed is very flawed.  It attaches to your Kindle by metal hooks that slide into slots on the side of the Kindle.  They made the hooks out of a more durable material than the Kindle, so in a fight between dominance, the hooks win and your Kindle cracks.  I’m not alone in this opinion.  There are 13 other negative reviews written on Amazon’s site that mirror what I’m saying.
This is the one… remember I don’t like it!

I personally think that they should quit selling it and redesign it.  A protective cover should PROTECT not break.  I called Amazon to report the cover problem.  Actually I wrote to them and they replied asking me to call.  I did not call to demand that they replace my Kindle, I just wanted them to be aware of my story.  After putting me on hold though, they came back on the phone to tell me that they felt I was negligent with my Kindle and that it breaking was my fault and my fault alone.  That said, they were over-nighting me a new Kindle.  Huh?  Um, Ok!  I guess if it makes YOU (amazon) feel better to blame ME and I get a new Kindle out of it, I won’t complain. 

The Bad

Some books, I’m discovering, are really pretty messed up in the Kindle translation.  I’ve read 9 books so far and all of them had *some* errors and were tolerable, but the House of Night, Book series was full of mistakes.  I’d like to get a copy of the paper book and see if it’s that way in print as well, but I have a hard time thinking that a publisher would put their name on a book that had so many grammatical errors.  I sent Kindle 2 in some samples of the errors and they received them very kindly.

Cost of books.

I’m not overly excited about the cost of the books in the Kindle version.  I thought the price differences would be substantial and they’re really not. I’m noticing that the difference between paperback and Kindle is an average of about $1.00 per book.  Sometimes there is no difference in the cost between paperback and Kindle and you’ll usually pay a lot more for the Kindle version than you would buying it used.  But in most instances I probably would’ve just gone to Barnes and Nobles and paid a lot more for the convenience.  Barnes and Nobles is now much less convenient than my “go anywhere, access books on the fly” Kindle and much more expensive.

The Good

You can read it while you’re on a Treadmill!!!  Now that is some awesome news for me.  I hate to get onto my treadmill, but when I set my Kindle in front of me and started reading (with larger text than normal) and walking, I got totally lost into my book and my 40 minutes were up before I was ready to stop reading.

Even though there are some negatives in my opinion, I feel the need to make it very clear that I LOVE my Kindle 2!  I gave most of the pluses in my initial review and I encourage you to go back and read that.  Do not let this mostly negative update suggest that I do not recommend the Kindle 2.  It is AWESOME!  There is no way that I would have read 9 books in a month if I had to wait until I had time to drive to the Book Store or wait for UPS to deliver an order.

The Kindle 2 is still a hit in my book.

As a surprise, my husband bought me a Kindle 2 this week.  About 2 weeks ago, we’d had a conversation about them, weighing the pros and cons and wondering if it would be something that I would like.  I love to read but I love books!  I have a “library” to prove it!  LOL   I love to hold a book in my hands, I love the reward of turning the page to find out what happens next.  I love to pull a book off of a shelf to reread the back, gaze at the cover or to recommend it to a friend.  I also love to reread my books.  I love the weight of a book in my hands, and I love to see my bookmark move along through the pages, marking my progress.

I didn’t think that the Kindle was for me.  But he bought it.  It arrived.  I opened it hesitantly.  I imagined that I’d be returning it after a basic look over to be polite.

First thing that I noticed is it was much lighter in weight than I expected.  I plugged it in, and started charging it.  I waited, and waited, and waited… still convinced that I wouldn’t like it, but eagerly awaiting that green light to come on indicating it was charged and ready to go.

Imagine my surprise when I had trouble putting the darn thing down! I downloaded a book recommendation from a Twitter friend.  It’s called “Marked, (House of Night, Book 1)”.  I’m actually enjoying this book!  And I’m enjoying reading it on the Kindle.

Now the down and dirty.  What don’t I like?

It does not have a backlight.  It NEEDS a backlight!  I have a separate Mighty Bright XtraFlex2 Clip-On Light (Black, Kindle Version)(another gift from my husband), but quite frankly I don’t think it SHOULD need one.  It should have one built in.  It shouldn’t even be considered an extra, it should be a “necessary”.

I don’t like the hesitation in shutting down.  Generally when I have to stop reading it’s in a hurry like maybe Nate has climbed onto the kitchen counter and is balancing precariously on the edge of danger.  Inevitably, as I close the book as I’m simultaneously powering it off, it changes pages on me… grrrrr

What do I especially like?

I can take an entire library of books with me, anywhere that I go!  I carry a very small handbag, and it fits!  It’s lovely, thin and lightweight.

I love that I can increase the size of the text so I don’t have to worry about finding or wearing my reading glasses.

I can immediately have any book that I want!  It’s wireless so it doesn’t matter where I am, someone at the grocery store can recommend a book to me and I can download it right then and there.  It operates effortlessly on Sprint’s Network.  There is no monthly charge for this, it comes standard with your Kindle.

It integrates with your Amazon wish list and will recommend books that you’d be interested in (which you can buy, on-the-fly!).

The cost of the books are substantially less than buying a paper-bound traditional book.

It keeps track of your progress in the book by showing a %age of what you’ve read.

You can (and should) buy a Leather Cover
for the Kindle separately (my husband bought me one).  The cover for the Kindle is a MUST.  It allows you to hold it like a book, you can close it like a book, all the while offering a protective covering for your precious Kindle.  It helps keep your reading experience book-like.

So even though I was hesitant.. and was more like a hostile witness on the stand, it very quickly won me over.  I will miss not having a book to put away on my shelf, although I’ll just have to remind myself how many trees that I helped save.  The Kindle 2 is a hit for me.

Please also read my Update Review to the Kindle 2.