Amazon’s Kindle Tops Online Learners’ Wish Lists
Nov 23rd, 2007
This week Amazon announced the long-awaited release of their new ebook reader, the Kindle. As an avid reader and on-the-go learner, I've been waiting for something like this. I love the idea of reading a favorite novel or college textbook in a waiting room, in a line, or on a plane. The Kindle has a lot of surprisingly useful features, but It's not quite the dream machine I'd hoped for. Here's why:
The Pros: Kindle uses e-ink technology so you feel like you're reading a book instead of staring at a computer screen. It's easy on the eyes. It's especially simple to download books, even without a computer. Kindle will connect to the internet anywhere to download a book you purchase, at no additional cost. Kindle also gives users free Wikipedia access.
The Cons: Kindle doesn't display documents in PDF format, which is pretty limiting. It's made to work particularly with books purchased on Amazon.com, so it may be more of a pain to upload no-cost books from Project Gutenburg and other public domain collections. At $399, the Kindle rather expensive. Its design could also use an iPod-like makeover.
So, what do you think? Will the Kindle earn a spot on your holiday wish list?
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