…I like to curl up with my Kindle!
I’ve only had my Kindle a few days but I thought I’d give you my initial thoughts.
Delivery/Cost The Kindle cost $259 USD, delivery was $21 and there was $42 in import fees/deposit. I assume that means that if the duty was less than $42 I would get a refund, but I haven’t seen one yet. That is expensive, but since Kindle books are less expensive than regular books so I should have a savings if I keep the Kindle several years. I ordered it on the 24th and it arrived at my house in the morning of the 27th via UPS.
Ease of Use I have built up a substantial ebook library prior to purchasing the Kindle, but as soon as I unwrapped it and plugged it in I wanted to buy a book to see the process. So I bought Barbara Kingsolver’s new book The Lacuna ($9.99 USD) using Amazon’s One-Click ordering. I inadvertently told it to put it on my Kindle, not changing the dropdown box to Deliver to Computer so I paid an extra $1.99 to have it wirelessly delivered to my Kindle. Learning experience.
I then converted a number of books from a variety of formats (.pdf, .lit, .txt, .rtf) using a program called Calibre. Everything was converted and was readable with no problem, but some had a few problems here and there where the formatting looked a little strange. I also downloaded two books of poems by W.B. Yeats - The Secret Rose and The Green Helmet from the Gutenberg Project website and while The Secret Rose is exactly as I remember it (one of the first editions I sold when we moved) The Green Helmet was only one page. The Gutenberg project is a volunteer project so there are bound to be issues once in a while.
Pdf files The big disappointment for me was a .pdf of a book that even when converted was unreadable. The first page of the .pdf said that it was formatted for a screen of 1024 X 768 so that is probably why. Then I tried a .pdf of a magazine and it was not scalable so it, too, was too small to read. I have a feeling .pdf files will continue to be hit or miss. You can send them to your Kindle account at no cost if you email the file to yourname (at) free.kindle.com
Reading on it It takes a little bit of getting used to, but probably less than a half hour. I love it. You can hold it up when reading on your side or lying down and it is not heavy. You can read while eating without putting a knife across the pages to keep them from rustling. You can turn on the “read aloud” function if your hands are occupied. The only thing I wouldn’t do with it that I would with a regular book is read in the bathtub. But we don’t have a bathtub, anyway! And don’t worry that you won’t get used to clicking instead of turning a page – you will!
I also love that you can highlight passages in a book. Sometimes the prose is so wonderful, or the idea so well described that you want to remember it, and the Kindle makes that easy.
Avid readers will love it I read a lot, usually between 50 – 100 books a year. Being on the lookout for good books to read in English is a big job down here. We do have good sources for books, but it ebbs and flows, and that just doesn’t work for me. So now I can buy books on my Kindle when I hit a dry patch – but with all the ebooks I have accumulated, that should take a while.
One of our main objections to the Kindle was that Paul and I almost always share books. The way it works is that if you both have Kindles (I believe up to 6 on an account) all of them can share the same books on the same account.
Things I’m looking forward to When a new Fodor’s or Lonely Planet comes out we’ll buy the Mexico edition for the Kindle. No more lugging big books around when we’re exploring a new place. When I go yarn shopping I can load the pattern on it to make sure I buy the right thing. I can load up our address book.
The Kindle even gave me another excuse for knitting, as you can see the felted case I made for it at the top of the post!
- Oh, one other thing. It is a little strange to not know if you are reading a large book or a pamphlet. I had to look up the Kingsolver book on Amazon to find out it is 528 pages. Also, when you ask me if I have read a book, I usually visualize its cover. Not too much with the Kindle.
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November 30th, 2009 at 5:18 pm
Nancy, I just downloaded the Kindle to my iPhone and I love it as well. It is not as big as the regular Kindle, but you can enlarge the print. Is that a cover that you knitted for your Kindle?? Cute!
November 30th, 2009 at 5:20 pm
Just thought of another comment! Are you on the Goodreads website?? CHeck it out. It’s great for voracious readers like us.
December 1st, 2009 at 5:01 am
Hmmm… Interesting! I’ve often wondered if I’d like one of those. I like the “feel” of a real book in my hands, if that makes sense, so I’m curious if I’d ever get used to not having that. How many books can you have on it once?
December 1st, 2009 at 6:13 am
Beth, almost everyone says the same thing..”I am a Luddite, I like the feel and smell of a real book” but truly, that goes away very quickly as the Kindle is SO user friendly. You can put up to 350 books on it more or less. It is like saying, I like the feel of an IBM Selectric, I will never use a computer..you fall in love with a Kindle almost immediately as is seen by Nancy’s experience. I would be lost without mine and for traveling….a godsend.
Nancy, remember when you order on Amazon, it gives you all the specs..so you know how long a book will be when you buy. I had to start looking for the mgb size, too.
December 1st, 2009 at 12:54 pm
I have mixed feelings about the Kindle. I love to mread and am an avid reader. In fact I just ordered 5 books this morning from Barnes and Noble after ordering 6 on Sunday. I love the feel of books, the jacket art and thinking about who I will pass my book onto when I have finished reading it. When I get ready to retire and will be spending months in MX. I will probably purchase a Kindle. Meanwhile I will take yours and others advice on downloading and other available sites to get ebooks. Thank you!
December 1st, 2009 at 3:10 pm
I’m so glad you’re writing about your Kindle, I am so interested in this. Like others have said, I too love the feel of a book and the smell and cover-but here in MX it is very hard to get your hands on anything new without ordering and mega shipping.
So, is it true there is an audio feature to it too???? If you get tired of reading you can switch to audio and it will read to you???? That might be the tipping point for me.
Please tell us more about your Kindle as you get comfortable with it.
Thanks.
December 2nd, 2009 at 5:39 am
Like others, I’m interested in your evaluation and observations. I have been lusting for a Kindle for quite awhile, but because I cannot share books I have declined the pleasure of owning one. I wonder how it compares to Sony and the Nook. Guess I’ll have to do some research. The knitted cover is beautiful!
December 2nd, 2009 at 9:48 am
Boy, those import duties are high – more than 16% of the price. I thought that NAFTA was supposed to eliminate charges like these.
December 2nd, 2009 at 8:41 pm
Cheryl, Congrats on reading on the Kindle (phone) too! And also for the goodreads tip, I had been there a while ago but lost track.
Beth, I just told Paul that if I had a book on the shelf and the same one in my Kindle I’d read on the Kindle! It holds about 350 at once I think.
Zoe, Yep Yep Yep!
Jackie, For me it is perfect. One of the things I always think about is if there is an earthquake or storm or something I need to have a big pile of books to get me through….and the Kindle gives me 350! As long as I can hit the electrical outlet once a week or so!
Marilyn, There is a read aloud feature and while some people have said it sounds robotic I thought it was fine. But it isn’t for every book in ever format. I am crazy in love with this thing, you really need to find someone who has one so you can mess with it for an hour, you will see.
Kate, I probably would have got a Nook if they were available but they are sold out and seemed to have really goofed up on their projections, so who knows how well they will do the rest… It’s a gamble to decide which format will win, but as long as you can convert files into other formats, it really doesn’t matter. I tried the sony in a store and it seemed slow but I’m not sure I gave it a fair shake. I would google compare kindle sony nook and see what you get!
Ron, All electronics have high import fees coming in to Mexico.
December 3rd, 2009 at 6:36 am
I am just like that, Nancy. Great book waitiing on the shelf or Kindle..it is the Kindle, hands down. I have a wonderful Amy Tan book, Saving Fish from Drowning, from the library and I just can’t make myself pick it up. Weird. However, I am on my last downloaded book on Kindle, so I just may get to it today. Sighhhhhh.
December 3rd, 2009 at 12:53 pm
Here’s an article from today’s New York Times comparing the e-readers that are available now and also upcoming.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/03/technology/personaltech/03EBOOK.html?8cir=&emc=cirb1&pagewanted=all
December 4th, 2009 at 11:09 am
If you want to convert .pdf’s, Download and use the free Mobipocket Creator–publisher’s edition. It does a much better job of converting .pdf files than Calibre. Calibre is great for other conversions, but is weak for .pdf books. Creator does a better job formatting. Kovid is developing a new .pdf converter for Calibre, but has not released it yet.
http://www.mobipocket.com/en/DownloadSoft/default.asp?Language=EN
If you want a lot of great pre-formatted books, go to http://www.mobileread.com and sign up (free) for the forums. Many members “make” e-books of out of copyright and non-copyrighted material. It is in the Upload mobi/prc section.
December 4th, 2009 at 12:48 pm
Knit Kindle pouches — I think you’re onto something.
Thanks for the review; I’m still thinking, not sold on it yet…
December 4th, 2009 at 3:27 pm
Tim, Thank you so much for those links! Wow! I use a Mac but Paul has a PC so we will do the pdf conversions from his computer since they don’t have a mac version of Mobipocket Creator. And the mobileread link is fabulous! So many books, and in my format, too! Thank you so much for sharing.
Alice, Check out the mobileread link and you’ll be convinced. And there are forums that discuss how to pick a reader that might be interesting.
December 12th, 2009 at 7:13 pm
Nancy, I just looked at the back of my Kindle. It’s made in China. That’s why the duty is so high: it doesn’t matter that it’s shipped to you from the USA; what matters is where the item was made. Actually, the duty could have been a lot worse: many electronics from China can be charged as much as 500%. Yes–FIVE HUNDRED percent of the cost of the item!
December 15th, 2009 at 11:18 am
Mexico Cooks!,
My Kindle says Assembled in China, but I think that each item is approved and its duty set at that time, that’s how Amazon knew what duty to charge me. I think I would have skipped it if it had been 500% of the cost!