Patti O'Shea's Blog

My Kindle 2 arrived today. I’m off from the Evil Day Job this week, and since I wasn’t sure whether or not I’d have to sign for the package, I got up early so I could shower and get dressed before the UPS guy came. The earliest I’ve known them to drop anything off was 11:45, so I figured 9:15 was safe enough to be brushing my teeth. Unfortunately, that’s when I heard the doorbell ring.

I rinsed fast and ran for the door, but the UPS guy was quick and he was gone already. Luckily, my package was sitting next to my door and I welcomed the Kindle 2 into my home.

So what are my impressions? The first thing that struck me after taking it out of the box was how thin it was. This made me nervous every time I handled it because it feels fragile and I’m afraid to press the buttons too hard. I’m sure this will pass once I get used to it. I’m also sure it will help once I have a case for it. The K2 comes naked. I ordered the hot pink M-Edge case, the one that stands up on it’s own, but it won’t arrive for a couple of weeks. (I linked to the case because I had a lot of Googlers found my blog by searching for a hot pink Kindle case. Good to have you here.)

Until the case arrives, I’m thinking of carting it around in the box it came in. Some people have posted that they carry it without a case, but I just can’t do that.

The Whispernet function is nice. I ordered a copy of Virgil’s Aeneid (yes, I am a geek) and I had it in less than a minute! Too cool. There were also free books available in the Kindle store as Harlequin celebrates their anniversary, so I had those delivered as well. These, however, I’d ordered online before my K2 arrived and when I synced, there they were. Cool!

Typing on the keyboard was easy and comfortable, something I didn’t expect since the keys are so tiny. I liked being able to adjust font size. I think I got spoiled by the computer and all the comfort settings I use because of the time I spend writing.

Minuses. As someone on Twitter pointed out, file management is an issue. It is. Even with the few books I have on there now, it’s a pain in the butt to page through them. It would definitely be nice to be able to put them into folders, like Research, Fiction, Classics and whatever.

I also would have liked the screen to be a little brighter. Maybe it seemed dim because it was cloudy here today and there’s no back light on the K2. In sunshine, it might be better or I might have to buy a light for it. Of course, if I was spending a lot of hours reading on it, I might like that grayness.

There were also “ghosts” of previous pages on the screen while I waited for the next one to come up. I don’t know if that’s normal or not since I’ve never used a screen like this before.

These are very general first impressions. I have a book due March 1, so I haven’t had time to play with my new toy much. I will be posting more thoughts when I do get my hands on it.

I’ve been drooling over the Kindle since the original edition was released, but I talked myself out of it. Not easily. I waffled over and over for weeks and just when I thought I’d for certain talked myself out of it, someone at my (necessary) Evil Day Job bought one and the coveting began again. The only thing that finally ended my indecision was when I read the Kindle 2 was coming out and it would be in colors like the iPod Nano was. I totally love color and the idea of having a hot pink Kindle if I only waited was enough to convince me. Yes, shallow, but there you have it. I can be bought for fuchsia.

To my great disappointment, when the Kindle 2 was released, only Stephen King got a pink version. This breaks my heart. Hey, Amazon, I want a pink one, too! I’ll even take purple or tangerine or red. Don’t they know how many of us are waiting for bright exciting colors? Sigh.

But it doesn’t seem to matter. I’m lusting after the Kindle 2 anyway. I keep opening Amazon in my browser and looking at the thing. I’ve already found a hot pink case to make up for the lack of a hot pink Kindle 2. The price is off-putting. Talk about a big ouch! I was hoping the price would come down with second gen, but that didn’t happen.

As you’ve probably guessed, I’m waffling again. I want one. It would be great for research because if I needed information and found a good book on the subject that was Kindle-ized, I could order it immediately and have it in minutes. I could also highlight and bookmark and snip the parts that pertain to what I need. Much, much easier for relocating information months later. I can’t tell you how many books I had to dig out and go through a couple of years ago to find one fact. I knew I had read it. I knew I owned the book. It took me hours to locate the right one. This, alone, makes the Kindle attractive.

On the other hand, that price still stops me cold. Plus, I’d have to get the extended warranty–just in case. It would freak me out if I didn’t at the price point it’s selling at.

In the pro side of the column, some of the books are cheaper in Kindle format and I could take dozens of titles with me in one small gadget. That’s one of the things I totally love about my iPod–no matter what mood I’m in, I can find the right music because it’s all there. When I used to bring CDs to the EDJ, I would guess the night before what I would be interested in listening to, and if I was wrong, I was out of luck. The Kindle would be the same thing for books. No matter what I felt like reading, I could have it with me.

On the other hand, that price still stops me cold. Seriously. $359. Plus $65 for the extended warranty, plus $45 for the hot pink cover.

The iPod has more than one use. There’s music, there’s podcasts, there’s iTunes U (which I love with all my heart), there’s television shows which I also love because I never have time to watch TV. But I bring my car in to be serviced, bring the iPod with me, and catch up on some programs. The iPod also lets me load my contacts list so I can have that all with me, it has a calender function, an alarm feature, it shows me the time in London or Sydney.

Kindle 2 doesn’t do that many things which makes the money harder to spend. And now I’m wondering about Kindle 3. Will that come in hot pink?