Read Any Good eBooks Lately?
I did it. I finally bit the bullet and bought an Amazon Kindle. The Kindle caught my interest when rumors first broke about it’s upcoming debut, and now that it has been available for several months I decided it was time to take another look.
If you are not familiar with the Kindle, it is an electronic reading device, but it has a special e-ink screen that make your eyes feel like they are reading from paper, not a lit screen. My BlackBerry makes a decent reading platform, but not a GREAT one. I enjoy reading in short spurts on it (as mentioned previously, I am seriously addicted to Viigo) – but the backlit screen is just not comfortable for extended periods of reading.
Moving toward a digital library is becoming easier as time goes by, as every day more and more books are being released in the digital format. Most Classics are free, and there is a large selection of ebooks available in a variety of formats. Although Kindle Books (purchased through Amazon) are tied to a single Amazon account, more than one device can be managed by an account to allow content sharing. This isn’t a perfect situation, as sharing only applies to books, not subscriptions such as blogs, magazines, or newspapers – and “Amazon Recommendations” will no longer be geared toward YOUR reading preferences. The slight problems aside, I am absolutely adoring my new Kindle, and I can say in earnest it really is as cool as everyone says it is. Reading on the Kindle feels equivalent to reading newsprint but ink smudges are a thing of the past.
If you are looking to add ebooks to your digital collection, here are a few links to get you started:
- http://www.freekindlebooks.org/
- http://manybooks.net/ or http://mnybks.net
- http://www.feedbooks.com/
Happy Reading!
Image credits: Kindle by John Pastor, Books by Manu M
Personally, I don’t think Amazon has done a good job of marketing that product. Just got to check out my uncles Kindle the other week. It felt/looked much more engaging than the product descrition/photos on amazon.com let on. And although the product has been around for a while, only in the last month have I ever heard any purchase/user chatter about it. Maybe the Kindle is getting some momentum.
And, after seeing the very cool display in person, my wish is for the Kindle display technology to make its way to laptops so I don’t want to remove my eyes from my head at the end of each day like a pair of dried up contacts. Or even better yet, then I really could work outside without having my face buried in the screen.
I think (and hope) the e-ink technology is beginning to pick up speed. Amazon’s Kindle was the first I heard of it, but I was surprised to find out there are at least 4 other competitors out there with the same technology. I had never heard of the Sony Reader, Iliad, or Cybook until I started researching purchasing the Kindle! So, I completely agree with you… somehow there is a gap in advertising these devices. Why do not hear of them until our friends show them to us?
One reason I think the Kindle has been slow to show it’s face is that ebook readers are such a niche market, and Amazon doesn’t have a traditional “brick and mortar” store. When Apple launched the iPod, they advertised everywhere, AND, there was always the benefit of walking into an actual store to touch and feel the device. Now that I think about it, I’m not sure where Amazon advertised the Kindle other than on Amazon.com.
One of the benefits of e-ink is that it uses less energy, so with all the attention of “going green,” I hope that it becomes more popular on other devices (or something else is produced that is similar). My eyes will be much happier as technology progresses! 😉