The Kindle

Something happened to me this Christmas morning that changed my life, and while I wish it were a deep spiritual experience, instead it was a KINDLE.

Yes, the e-paper based reading gadget from Amazon has zoomed into my life, and changed it forever.

I quickly reconnected to the novel I was reading on my ipod -- "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson, and finished it. It was just as good and probably better on the Kindle.

The best part is getting the newspaper. It simply shows up there in the morning, and while I can get to abbreviated versions of the newspaper online directly, the download to the Kindle is much easier, cleaner and faster. It shows up via a built-in, prepaid wireless service that Amazon has contracted for, dubbed Whispernet. (Whispernet is will be the subject of a follow-up post.)

The Kindle is light and easy to read from. It is physically light, but not lighted. Like paper, one needs to read it in a lighted room. It would be nice if it were backlit, but I can easily read it in a brightly lit car or outside -- can't do that on an Ipod or laptop.

I downloaded the New York Times on Monday, and I liked it real well. I subscribed to the Detroit Free Press because I need to get my local news somewhere. I will probably subscribe to one national paper like the NY Times or maybe USA Today.

I know what you are thinking, I should have waited for the new Apple Tablet which is coming out on January 26 -- I know I told my DW to wait, but she didn't listen. The Barnes & Noble Nook is probably technically superior because it has limited color pictures, but it has been sold out since Thanksgiving, and won't be in stock until February.

Anyway, reading on a electronic screen is great. Since I cancelled the paper last summer, I am so happy I don't have to retrieve it every morning.  I am so past paper -- fat, heavy books.