<< Previous   of   Next >> (click to enlarge) Snohomish County Business Journal/M.L. Dehm This Kindle 2 provides a 6-inch-diagonal electronic page about the size of a paperback novel. The newest Kindle, due on the market in the third quarter of 2009, is expected to be 9.7 inches diagnally. It will also provide horizontal reading for newspaper articles.

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CONTACT SCBJ John Wolcott, Editor jwolcott@scbj.com Dave Clark, Assistant Editor dclark@scbj.com

Kindle reader making electronic books popular

By M.L. Dehm

SCBJ Freelance Writer

Amazon has certainly lit a fire in the e-book market with its appropriately named Kindle readers.

While electronic reading devices in general have mixed reviews, Amazon appears to have actually listened to user concerns and tried to improve on each new generation.

The current product is Kindle 2. Lighter in weight and easier to hold than a paperback novel, Kindle 2 can hold up to 1,500 books. The non-glare screen is not backlit. That means no eyestrain.

It’s also easy to adjust the font size on this device. Page turn buttons are conveniently located at thumb level on both sides of the Kindle and it can go days without a battery recharge.

Another big plus is that books for the Kindle are far more affordable than paper hardcopies. Most new releases and best sellers are only about $9.95. Older titles can be significantly less and there are a large number of public domain books that can be downloaded free-of-charge.

These e-books carry no shipping or delivery fees and download takes less than a minute. Amazon also lets you browse the first chapter of many books before you buy.

One of the best features of the Kindle is the Whispernet free wireless capability. This allows the user to browse and download books and newspapers directly through the Kindle itself without being connected to a computer or Wi-Fi network.

There are over 275,000 e-books to choose from at Amazon, with more being added every day. You can also subscribe to several newspapers and magazines, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes or Newsweek.

A built-in dictionary and access to Wikipedia make research during reading very simple. You can also flag passages or make notes inside the books you purchase. A text-to-speech feature will read aloud to the user if selected.

Currently, Kindle 2 can only accept personal Word or PDF files if they are emailed to your Kindle account. Amazon converts and downloads them for you. The soon-to-be-released Kindle DX is said to have a native PDF capability that business professionals may feel is worth waiting for a few more months.

The next generation DX model will also offer a considerably larger screen, 9.7 inches diagonally compared to Kindle 2’s 6-inch-diagonal screen, yet the weight will still be less about that of a hardcover novel. The larger screen is combined with landscape view capability suitable for newspaper reading.

I bought my father, Myrle Dehm, a Kindle 2 for his 81st birthday. An avid reader, he had mentioned how handy such a device might be, especially the adjustable font size.

One month on and he has taken to the Kindle like a duck to water. In fact, he said he wouldn’t be without a Kindle now. There are a few drawbacks, Dad discovered. Within a week he had purchased the clip-on book light accessory.

“You wouldn’t need it in a bright, well-lit room,” Dehm said. But he found that under certain lighting conditions, the accessory light made reading more pleasant.

The other “complaint” was the ease with which you can purchase books wirelessly from your Kindle. That single click purchase feature combined with the knowledge that you can begin reading purchases within 60 seconds is hard on the wallet, he said.

My own take on the product was also favorable, although I found the 5-way controller button annoying to navigate. You have to pull and push it from the sides. I expected something a little more sensitive and pivotal.

My favorite feature was the free content available from the Kindle store. You really have to dig for it but it is there. I instantly added classic novels by Jane Austen and E.F. Benson to Dad’s library whether he wanted them or not. That’s what happens when you let someone else play with your toys.

Overall, I think the Kindle is a great product and plan to buy one myself. I think I’ll wait, however, until after I hear the first reviews of the Kindle DX and its various improvements later this year.