[clue-talk] Kindle 2

[Steve Parkhurst]

I purchased the Kindle 1 before they were first released. I have been using it for 17 months now and I am very happy with it. 

I do most of my reading with the Kindle; books, magazines, occasionally newspapers. Mostly I read just released non-fiction books along the lines of global warming, green revolution, etc. I read someplace, and I can't remember where, that the second or third best way to reduce our carbon footprint is to read digital books, newspapers, magazines, etc. It is a highly petroleum intensive industry to say nothing about the loss of atmosphere cleansing trees.

If you are a retired individual that travels from RV park to RV park and can find all the reading material you care about in the small paperback libraries these parks have, then you certainly have no need to get an e-reader. Soon, as a retired individual, I plan to travel this way but I would be totally dissatisfied with the reading material available in these parks. With the Kindle I have access to just about anything I want to read and I can download it in one minute on the spot.

Last Easter I was camped in Joshua Tree National Park for 5 days and downloaded several things before going into the park as it did not have cell phone reception. I was set except for my new issue of Time Magazine (it hadn't arrived yet) that I wanted to read. So I drove 10 miles from the campground to where I could get the cell phone reception to download that issue and also the New York Times. I spent many hours reading as well as hiking in the park. It is great to have such a device. 

And it is great to read in bright sunlight. I take my dog to the dog park where I get plenty of walking in the form of laps around the perimeter. While I am walking I can read my Kindle and it has absolutely no effect upon my eyes different that reading under a lamp indoors. I never expected this as my eyes are very sensitive and reading on a computer monitor for very long just kills me.

I cannot answer all the questions that you asked but they are not important points to me. What is important to me is that I probably save a minimum of $10 on every book I order. The most expensive books are $9.99 and if you purchased the physical book at say Borders wouldn't you pay approximately $25 to $30 for the book? Add that up and it probably takes 20 to 30 books to make the Kindle pay for itself. It is money in the bank after that. Also, did you know that a book like Treasure Island is less than $3. The old books are very inexpensive for some reason. My subscription to Time Magazine is $1.49/mo. Now you do not get the pictures with the magazine and some of the formatting is off now and then but it is great for reading the articles. The New York Times is $13.99/mo. but I only wanted it while I was on my trip so Amazon only charged me for the days that I was subscribed I believe. You can start and stop a subscription extremely easily. 

I know that the Kindle has become popular for travelers on business flights. They download work documents from their work computers using the USB cable (I believe they have to convert to MOBI format first, not sure). They then have all their reading material and work documents in small book form. I also have heard that workers are doing this just to take work documents home overnight. It is much more convenient and saves paper and printing, etc.

There is so much more about the Kindle to learn. If you are interested listen to Charlie Rose's interview of Jeff Bezos. Here is the link:

http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/10105

Hope this helps.

Steve P.
  -----Original Message-----
  From: clue-talk-bounces at cluedenver.org [mailto:clue-talk-bounces at cluedenver.org]On Behalf Of dennisjperkins at comcast.net
  Sent: Friday, March 13, 2009 12:29 PM
  To: Clue-Talk
  Subject: [clue-talk] Kindle 2


  I looked at someone's Kindle 2 (sorry, I don't remember your name) after the meeting this week.  I have a few questions about it.  Can you replace the battery?  Can you download books from someone other than Amazon?  How readable is the display when you are outside?  Can you back up your books to a computer or USB device, or only to Amazon?


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