(Note: For ebook and audiobook conversions, see Fowler Digital Services.)

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Note to self: Do not put Kindle on top of car, then drive away letting Kindle fall into street in front of home. Also, do not leave Kindle in street overnight, exposing it to rain and passing cars. If you do, it will look like this:

Happy ending: Fortunately, when I bought my Kindle I purchased the 2-Year Extended Warranty which provides full coverage for accidental damage. Amazon sent me a brand new Kindle the next day fully loaded with all my books, notes and highlights in place and ready to read. Thanks, Amazon!

Related posts:
    • Ebook Formatting for the Ipad, Kindle and Nook
    • Top 10 Kindle Features

(Note: For ebook and audiobook conversions, see Fowler Digital Services.)

      (Note: For ebook and audiobook conversions, see Fowler Digital Services.)

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Note: This is an older review for the Kindle 1.  For more updated information, click here for the article: Top Ten Kindle Features.

My brother, David, works in the book industry, and I got to check out his Amazon Kindle recently. It seemed pretty cool to me, but I am a sucker for any gadget, so I asked him if he would write a guest review for the blog. He graciously agreed, and so here is an in-depth review of the Kindle from a book professional who has used it extensively for over a month. David’s pros and cons list comes first, followed by his full review. So what do you think of the Kindle? (See related post: Kindling a Spark for Electronic Reading)

Amazon Kindle Pros:

• Fast, wireless delivery of books, no need to sync the device with a computer.
• Impressive initial collection of 90,000+ books ranging from New York Times bestsellers to obscure textbooks.
• Online backup; not worried about losing content if device is lost or damaged.
• Great for reading short content such as newspaper or Wikipedia articles.

Amazon Kindle Cons:

• Poor visual appeal: Black text on a dingy grey background instead of white; brief screen blackout for each page turn; device looks like old technology.
• Clunky scroll wheel for navigating; Kindle would benefit from touch-screen technology such as used by Apple.
• Lack of real page numbers limits use for students needing to provide footnotes for quotes.
• Frequent page turns are tiring; difficult to “pre-read” a chapter or know how many pages to go in a chapter; not a great device for reading long books.

(more…)

      (Note: For ebook and audiobook conversions, see Fowler Digital Services.)

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Amazon.com has just released Amazon Kindle, their new wireless, portable electronic reader. The $400 price tag is a bit steep, but that includes free wireless connectivity to the Amazon Kindle store. The Kindle holds up to 200 books, or you can also store your purchased books at Amazon and access them whenever you want. (Hmmm, seems like I posted on something similiar back in September.)

This has a lot of neat features, but I am still waiting for one tablet that will do it all – book reader, laptop, media player, internet access, etc. all in one paperback sized tablet. This seems like a step in the right direction, though. (Related series posted below.)

Media Access for the Next Generation:
    1. Introduction
    2. Immediate Access
    3. Localized Storage
    4. Subscription Services

Update: Gizmodo has a great article comparing Kindle with other E-Book Readers, past and future.

(Note: For ebook and audiobook conversions, see Fowler Digital Services.)