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My years of college courses have left me burned out. I have grown tired of turning over page after page of boring text. My eyes ache from hundreds of hours staring at tiny textbook fonts and computer screens. My back hurts from hundreds of pieces of paper held together by a hard, protective covering crammed into heavy backpacks. While I love books, they have ruined me physically and, to some extent, emotionally.
Amazon.com’s Kindle could save me from falling into a more depleted state. I borrowed it for a couple days to see if it really was the answer to the problems of a medium existent since early printing and publishing began in 15th-century Europe. It’s the best bit of technology I’ve seen since the iPod, and that got pretty popular from what I understand.
When I first laid my hands on the Kindle, it felt right. It’s comfortable to hold and operate. A white plastic device about the size of a thin book – 7.5-inches tall, 5.3-inches wide, 0.7-inches thick. Weighing around 10 ounces – it feels similar to a paperback novel.
The Kindle’s screen has received high praise for its “paper-like quality.” I agree it’s “paper-like,” but in the beginning, it’s a bit harder on the eyes. However, after an hour or so of adjustment, it grows on you. Whether or not it’s as easy as reading paper is debatable, but there is no doubt reading the Kindle screen is far less painful than reading a computer screen. Additionally, the screen is glare-resistant, making it easy to read in the sun or a brightly-lit office.
One of the few downsides of the Kindle is its keyboard; it’s a major pain to operate. The buttons are exceptionally small and close together, meaning only the most precise surgeons and people with long fingernails could type a title without hitting the wrong key a half-dozen times. I managed to work around the Kindle’s keyboard, using the scrolling device and the side buttons – which are also used to advance to the next page or return to previous ones – to navigate the menus and book and publication lists.
These lists expand daily. By connecting wirelessly to the Kindle Store, there is access to more than 190,000 books, 20 newspapers and 18 magazines – most of which download in under a minute. The Kindle can hold more than 200 titles.
What I love most about the Kindle is the potential it holds for students. Amazon is working on incorporating more textbooks into its store. The Kindle gives the reader the ability to bump up the size of the font, simplifying reading. The user can make notes and annotations on a page, or highlight pieces of text. Digital textbooks could save students hundreds of dollars each semester.
The real setback of the Kindle, and the only one that has prevented me from snatching up one of my own, is the price tag. On Amazon, the Kindle sells for $359 -about $200 more than I’m willing to spend on anything at this point in my college career.
After the initial investment, the Kindle can potentially pay itself off quickly in the hands of a voracious reader. Most books in the Kindle Store run for $9.99. Monthly subscriptions to newspapers range from $9.99 to the lower teens, while magazine subscriptions will set you back just a couple dollars. If you’re willing to use the Kindle extensively and take advantage of its large library, it is certainly worth the investment. Grade: A
Bangor Daily News