Should You Buy the Amazon Kindle?

I love to read! I am a voracious reader - it is what I do. I purchased the Amazon Kindle about a year ago (I have the Kindle 1). I cannot think of any other purchase that I have made which has completely changed my life the way the Kindle has. Of course, as with anything, there are both positive and negative features. Should you buy the Amazon Kindle?

Here are my overall thoughts and opinions:

Books, Books, Books: The Kindle is getting to be an expensive habit for me. In one year, I downloaded over 100 books. But - it is just so easy! I hate going to the library - I always forget to return the books and who has the time? Instant gratification is the way to go!

It is extremely easy to use and download books on the Kindle. Although you can download directly from the Kindle itself, I usually work through the Amazon website. It is far easier to browse through the website, especially if you are not sure what you are looking for. Amazon has over 450,000 books available for download. There have only been a very few books that I was not able to receive electronically. Actually, this is somewhat of a negative too because I have finding that I am reading (and buying) many more books than I normally would and books that I would probably never have purchased at the store.

You also have access to numerous magazines and newspapers on the Kindle although you do need to purchase a subscription in order to download them.

Cost: The Kindle itself is a bit steep at $259. However, if you are the type of person, like me, who typically purchased your books to read, you can't beat the Kindle. Nearly all new release hardcovers are $9.99 and most paperbacks run between $5.99 and $6.99. This is a substantial discount from what you would pay at a bookstore.

Accessibility: With Amazon's Whispernet technology, I can access all of the books that are offered for Kindle at Amazon's store pretty much anywhere in the world. I have not had any problems with reception or inability to download. The sync from Amazon to your Kindle takes less than a minute.

Easy on the Eyes: Unlike computer screens, the Kindle is not backlit. It is designed to look just like regular paper and it relies on the ambient light for reading. I purchased a small clip on light for night reading which assists greatly. I do wish that the contrast would be better - currently the "ink" is dark grey on a light grey background. I think it would be even easier to read if the writing was darker. However, I have none of the eye strain typical to looking at a computer screen for long periods of time.

Ergonomics and Design: The Kindle is very easy to hold with one hand and you can put it anywhere. I often prop it up on the kitchen counter or table when I am working. It also works great on a treadmill. Depending on how small you set your font, you can end up constantly clicking to turn pages but this is easily offset by not having to deal with a bulky paper book. You do not need to move your hand around to turn pages, the "Next Page" button is designed to be within easy reach of your thumb when holding the Kindle.

Power: It only takes a few hours to fully charge the battery. You can charge either from your USB port or with a regular U.S. power adapter. As long as you keep the wireless function turned off, the battery charge will last a very long time. I have had it last through 2 or 3 books (weeks). But, if you forget and leave the wireless on (as I have from time to time), you will barely make it through 1 book (1 week).

Portability: Thanks to Kindle, you can now take your entire library with you wherever you go. It is small and very light - at 10 ounces, it weighs less than a paperback book. I usually just keep it tucked into my purse. Therefore, I have it available wherever I go and whenever I need it. The other day I was stuck at the bank drive through and just pulled out my Kindle to pass the time.

Space: My husband is very happy that I am no longer adding to the boxes and boxes of books that I have stored in our basement! The Kindle will hold up to 1500 books. While some people like the feel of a paper book in their hands, the Kindle certainly saves trees thereby benefiting the environment.

Other Features: Although I personally haven't used these features, the Amazon Kindle has a text-to-speech function, a basic web browser, wireless access to Wikipedia and the ability to download certain documents.

Cons: Turning it off and on can be a pain and sometimes takes a while. It is very clumsy to navigate through a book to read ahead (I know - I cheat! I can't help it sometimes) or to go back to re-read passages. You basically have to guess what page number you want to get to and type in that page number. I also would like to be able to organize my books into folders or by author. And, some of the books are formatted poorly which is mildly annoying.

Overall, though, I am extremely happy with my Kindle and cannot imagine life without it. You should buy the Kindle of any of the above reasons appeal to you.

Rachel Nielsen is a budding author and a new internet contributor. She has many interests which she would like to write about. Please see her blog for more information: Reasons to Buy the Amazon Kindle.