Go Green with Kindle – eBook Reader

This gadget was in my mind for review since I started my blog, but somehow I not able to write about it. But now it is right time to write about it since Amazon has finally launched it in India.  Amazon has launched just basic model of kindle in India. The one that I’m using, Kindle Touch is still not available in the Indian market. Feature wise both models are identical, only difference is that Kindle Touch has touch screen and stereo speakers. The review that I’m writing here is based on my experience of Kindle Touch.

So what is this eBook reader all about? In simple words, you can read your favourite books or periodicals on the gadget that is more or less like tablet computer. 

Then why it called eBook reader and why not tablet computer? Answer is simple eBook reader runs only one app to show eBooks, whereas tablet computers are meant for running many apps. 

On tablet also you can run eBook reader app. So then why to buy eBook reader and why not tablet? As I said eBook readers are meant for book reading, it has got all those things that are required for book reading like suitability for long hours of reading, brightness of screen etc. Whereas tablet is difficult for reading books since they are meant for other job also. For e.g. its screen brightness has to good for video viewing also.

So what is so special about Kindle? Is it the only one eBook reader? No, Kindle is not the only one eBook reader available. There are many like Sony and ASUS or Indian brands like Infibeam. 

Following are few the points which that make Kindle stand out.

Display

Six inches E Ink display with 600x800 resolution is good for eyes, perfectly suitable to read for longer time. Eyes don’t get strained like as they do if you read more on laptop or tablet PC. On Kindle you can read even in direct sun light. But you will need reading light if you have the habit of reading at nights. 

Reading

Reading books on Kindle is an amazing experience, and I don’t agree with people who say

that if you are a real reader then you should read only hard bound books.  Also reading on Kindle Touch is simple too. Just touch on right side or in middle for going to next page or on extreme left to go to previous page.  Just tap on top of the screen and you will get menu that will help you in many things like search some word, change display font size, etc. Kindle comes with pre-installed Oxford dictionary. So if you come across some unfamiliar word, just touch and hold on that word, Kindle pops up the complete definition of it. Now compare this situation with reading a hard bound book and having to search meaning of some word?

Audio Assistant

This is the most interesting and useful feature of Kindle Touch. If you are reading an interesting book but tired of reading, still you want to read further then just put headphone in your Kindle Touch and ask Kindle to read the book for you. Now you don’t have to hold Kindle as well. Paper book readers, are you listening? There are only audio books available on Amazon for Kindle. 

Listen Music

If you love music or prefer to listen to music while reading books, then you can do both with Kindle. Kindle can play mp3 music files while you are reading book on it. The only limitation is that Kindle plays only mp3 format.

Read PDFs and Web Browser

You can read PDF files on Kindle Touch as well. But if you have lots of PDFs to read then Kindle is not the right device for it. Since PDF file is not generated specifically for Kindle, it is a bit difficult to read long PDF files or many PDF. So if want to read PDFs once in while than you can use Kindle for that. Kindle Touch comes with basic web browser which is very useful to read on web site. Video doesn’t work on this web browser. So you can’t use this for web surfing but surely you can use it if you want to read some write ups on web site like Wikipedia and all.

Storage and Battery

Kindle Touch comes with 4 GB internal memory (3 GB usable) which can store up to 3000 eBooks. Rest of the books you can always store on Amazon cloud storage (up to 5 GB is free) and download to Kindle whenever you want one. Battery life of this device is awesome. If you read 1 hr per day without wifi then it will last for a month. 

Available Books

More than million (1,298,234 to be precise when I was writing this post) books are available on Amazon for Kindle out which more than 40K are free books. This is the biggest advantage of Kindle over all other eBook reader. Mainly these books are English but many foreign languages books are also available on Amazon. But if you are fond of Indian regional books then Kindle is not very useful for you.

Go Green and Portability & Storage Space

Many of you, who are heavy paper book reader, if you start reading books on eBook readers then assume how much paper is going to be saved and that will save so many trees from cutting. Now don’t argue with me that ‘what about e-waste that will be get generated from such devices?’ This is one of the passing benefits of shifting from paper book to eBook reader. But you will agree with me on other point that is portability that will come with eBook book reader. Consider you are going on a long business trip or long vacation and you want to carry your favourite books with you. How many books can you carry? With Kindle Touch it will be 3000 if not more.  If you get internet connectivity then you can buy new books also sitting in hotel room. Other advantage with such eBook readers is the physical storage that is required for storing paper books. If you are staying in metros space is at a premium everywhere. So you can store 3000 books on such a small device.

Negatives

Because of touch, screen gets smudged and needs frequent cleaning so that it will not distract reading. As I mentioned above, reading long or many PDFs are difficult on Kindle touch. Kindle touch (220 gms) is 30% heavier than normal Kindle (170 gms) and 1.4 mm thicker as well. But it is still lighter then tablet PC or other eBook readers. Kindle Touch is not available in Indian market. Also the Sponsored version (with special offer as they say on Amazon) is also not available in India. Sponsored version show ads when you are not reading book and they are 30% cheaper than with out ad device.

So if you look at the negatives they are not real negatives as such. I have added that part because it is standard part in any review. It was real hard to find any real negatives in this device.

Gadgetdost verdict:
If you are book lover and read lot of English books, then you should go for it. If you can buy it in US then you should buy the sponsored version since there is no real issue of ads and you can save a lot of money.

Note: If you read more Indian author books then you can go for Infibeam PI 2. Which more or less the same as Kindle Touch but they have Indian regional e-books. But before going for it Pl check the books available by visiting their web site.