So, for Father's day this year, my wife (and kids to a lesser extent) got me the new Kindle 2 from Amazon. If you really love to read, this is for you. Naturally, I love it.
She was torn between the Kindle and the Sony Reader. They're remarkably similar, but the Sony has a few more bells and whistles, but it's missing the 3G wireless capability of the Kindle. I would have been happy with either, I'm sure.
The kindle is cool because it has the ability to download a book without having to find a hotspot, or some other external network connection. Also, it has a built-in web browser and online dictionary that is really handy. It also has a compass in the stock and this thing which tells time... no wait, that's the Red Rider Air Rifle... Anyway, it's pretty Geektacular.
A buddy of mine found a couple of websites that have free downloads, mostly classical stuff, so I went ahead and grabbed a few dozen. Loading them to the Kindle was as simple as copying and pasting (the kindle attaches as a removable hard drive).
The only actual purchase I've made thus far is a subscription to Newsweek. It's only $1.49 a month and I can cancel at any time.
One final thing is this - you can download a sample (2 or 3 chapters) of pretty much anything to "try before you buy". When you get to the end of the sample, you're just one click away from purchasing the download (which only takes a minute or two).
I have to say, I'm really enjoying my new g-toy. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to go read my free download of Voltaire's Candide. Suck on that, chumps!
2 comments:
I wouldn't mind getting a cheap generic one to read plain text or pdf, so that I can read more easily than my laptop in bed. I'm not willing to spend much, though (what a shocker).
That sounds like the perfect present for you!! Glad you're enjoying it, plus it's probably keeping you out of Suzanne's hair ;-)
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