At 10.2 ounces, Kindle is lighter than a typical paperback and as thin as most magazines. Barely a third of an inch in profile, you’ll find Kindle fits perfectly in your hands. Kindle is as easy to hold and use as a book. We designed it with long-form reading in mind. When reading for long periods of time, people naturally shift positions and often like to read with one hand. Kindle’s page-turning buttons are located on both sides, allowing you to read and turn pages comfortably with one hand from any position. The page-turn buttons now flex inward to prevent any accidental page turns when picking up or handling Kindle. Kindle has a new easy-to-use 5-way controller, enabling precise on-screen navigation for selecting text to highlight or looking up words. Kindle is completely wireless and ready to use right out of the box–no setup, no cables, no computer required. With Kindle’s 25% longer battery life, you can read on a single charge for up to 4 days with wireless on. Turn wireless off and read for up to 2 weeks. Battery life will vary based on wireless usage, such as shopping the Kindle Store and downloading content. In low coverage areas or in 1xRTT only coverage, wireless usage will consume battery power more quickly. Whispernet utilizes Amazon’s optimized technology plus Sprint’s national high-speed (3G) data network to enable you to wirelessly search, discover, and download content on the go. Your books and periodicals are delivered via Whispernet in less than 60 seconds. And unlike WiFi, you never have to hunt for a hotspot.
I love my Kindle. It is easy to use does everything I need it to!
I bought the Kindle to receive my electronic copy of the International Herald Tribune every day, whether at home or while travelling abroad. From this perspective, the investment is a no-brainer : the newsstand price is CHF 4.00, while the electronic copy costs me only CHF 0.99. So, in less than a year the Kindle has paid for itself. Apart from the comfort of picking the Kindle as of 2 :00 AM in the morning to read the IHT there are a number of other great things about it. First of all, a full charge covers more than a week of reading, so when travelling there is generally no need to remember to take the charger. Secondly, the integrated thesaurus allows you to look up the meaning of words instantly. As for all non-english readers, this happens quite often, and whereas normally you would keep reading and guessing from the context the word’s meaning, you will now learn new words as you read. And finally, the screen is a pleasure to read from. I haven’t given five stars for a couple of areas that can be improved : schematic pictures and tables are often hard to read and require you to rotate the screen. Electronic newspapers could carry many more pictures than they currently do ; for instance the IHT often has few pictures per copy. Apart from that: no regrets about this purchase and warmly recommended.