Reveiw: Kindle 2

         So, for anyone that knows me, it's not a huge surprise that I read books like I breathe. I like them more than television or any other type of entertainment, and I can go through a giant novel in 3 days or less. So, as one would expect, there came a time in my life where I quickly realized that there was no longer any room in my apartment for books. I had filled up bookshelves, fireplace mantles, drawers, and even had stacks of them lying in corners of various rooms. It was time for a change. So I powered up my laptop, and purchased myself a kindle 2.

           I waited patiently for a few days for my new device to arrive. Five days later, the UPS delivery guy rang my doorbell (I was in the shower, of course.) Within the next few minutes, there I was, dripping wet in a towel, with a wonderful cardoard box in my hand. Shampoo be damned, it was time to open this bad boy up. 

          Opening the packaging was awesome. You know how hot pockets have that little perforated strip on the side of the box? So do kindle packages. No clamshells, no stabbing it with a knife, just riiiiiipppp, and there you have it. 

 

        The device itself was lighter, thinner, and sleeker than I had imagined. I could easily hold it in one hand, and being quite a small individual, my hands are not that large.

           Now, for a voracious reader who travels frequently, this is the most awesome thing on earth. You can both shop for books online through amazon.com, or by using the 3G capability on the device itself. Which means, if you're in a hotel at 3am, finishing up the fourth book in a particularly entertaining eight part series, no need to try and find an all-night bookstore. Just pop open the kindle store on your kindle, and buy book five. Simple.

          But even cooler are the free books. Most classics are free, having been transcribed into kindle format by various volunteer groups, but Amazon puts out a list of free books once a month (usually on the first) and these can range from bestsellers to new authors. They don't always stay free, but if free is the price you downloaded it for, free shall it forever be to you.

         The contrast is good, and I enjoy the fact that I can change the font size for when I don't feel like wearing glasses. The audio feature is a little funny. The voice that reads the novel is really computerized, and a lot of understanding literature is in tone and inflection. Not my favorite. But the 3G is excellent, I've only experienced gaps in service in places that would be totally expected, like out in the middle of nowhere in my home state of Alabama. 

          All in all, I give it five stars. It's easy to read, the selection and price of available e-books is just right.