While we are all busy tracking earth shattering inventions and gadgets, there is a silent revolution taking place in the book publishing world. Ebooks have entered the domain which techies feared to enter – e-publishing. The pioneer in this field is once again Amazon which brought out the first real, paper-like ebook reader – The Kindle. The experience of reading an ebook on a Kindle is unbelievable – it is almost like reading a book, only much better. What is it which makes Kindle a better ereader than other devices like an iPad? iPad has been much hyped, highly visible and marketed e-reader. But the reading experience of an iPad is not as good because of several reasons.
E-ink and what does it mean?
E-ink is electronic ink which transforms an e-reader into a book. In fact with E-ink technology, readers can actually feel as if they were reading a paperback. The only disadvantage is that it is all in black and white. Anyway who has heard of color text in books? Amazon Kindle was one of the very first which had E-ink display. Kindle reads like real paper and therefore there is no glare. Because of this you can read on a Kindle even in bright sunlight unlike a LCD screen.
Downloading e-books with Kindle
Buying books and even periodicals is a breeze with Kindle. You have to simply subscribe and download. You can even get your daily dose of news on your Kindle. With the capacity to store more than 3500 books, a single Kindle can hold every single digit you might read in your entire life.
Technical details
The battery life of a single charge is around one month with the wireless switched off. This makes it convenient for holiday travel. For those who are night birds silent page turn button means you don’t disturb your partner – which bookworms would realize is the biggest obstacle in their quest for peace. With Kindle you can share your best meaningful passages through Facebook and Twitter interface which is ideal for romantic liaisons. With the pdf reader you can rest assured that most of the eBooks are within your readable reach.
The best technical aspect of a Kindle is that it is least technical. Even a novice can learn the art of Kindle navigation in minutes. There are no fancy buttons and provisions which you won’t be using anyway. Shorn of complexity, a Kindle is a pure joy for those who want to read books.
While there are other competing products like Apple iPad, Barnes & Noble Nook, and ubiquitous Sony readers, Amazon Kindle is evolving and growing its capabilities. With the ability to share, swap and lend books, the Kindle may well become a traveling library. Creating simple gadgets requires high technology and that’s what Amazon has achieved with its Kindle. If the future of books is digital, Kindle like devices will be as common as your cell phone today. For that matter, future Kindles will also work as cell phones.
Guest post by: Nitin Aggarwal is the founder and owner of Offshore Ally- A virtual assistant and call center company. He likes to blog on SEO, SEM, social media, and technology. Connect with him via twitter.
That is really interesting. I didn’t know many of the fact such as it will go for about a month with out recharging. That is great. I have wanted a kindle and was thinking of waiting for an ipad, but I frankly don’t need all the bells and whistles that come with the ipad. Thanks for the review.
I just received my Kindle. I LOVE it. It is such a great way to read. It really is like using a book. It isn’t hard on the eyes, at all.
I saw these at the bookstore last time I went. Everybody was checking them out. I’m still not convinced though. I still like a physical book. You’d lose some of the amazingness of Seth Godin’s book concepts if they were on a reader like this. He put some serious thought into designing the book layout.
I guess it’s that whole digital picture frame vs actual print mentality. A real print just seems more valuable to me.
I have been panting after a Kindle since they came out, but right now they’re just cost-prohibitive. (I’m a poor, starving student, lol.) But the e-book revolution is coming, if it hasn’t already arrived. E-book sales make up a growing percentage of publisher’s sales, and more and more authors are going the e-book route rather than with traditional publishers because the larger houses are scrapping their backlist and only publishing their “brand name” authors. Where does that leave everyone else? I love how Amazon has provided such an awesome way for the e-book revolution to continue with ease and convenience.
If only hope the iPad could use E-ink too, so we don’t have to lug along both (iPad and kindle) when we travel.
I know and understand why people love a kindle but for me I love the smell of a real book, something so exciting about a boxed set of books arriving from Amazon and I love passing on my old books to people….the right book fits the right person and they then pass it on. So I am not a convert.