Kindle: Day One / RP!

[thistlechaser]

When I returned home from work, my new Kindle was waiting at my door. Same with the previous Kindle: They just left it at the door, in a public walkway, where anyone could have just walked off with it without notice. Luckily no one did.

In the first moments of using it, I was very unhappy: None of my books had cover images and it was slow as hell to use. Turned out the slow part was the cause of and because of the lack of covers, and soon both issues were fixed. (It had to download 100+ covers, and apparently downloading so much made everything slow.)

My first reaction was that it was cool that it was so small.
My second reaction was that it would be a problem that it's so small.

Unfortunately small ereader means a small screen (duh). I like to keep the text big in an effort to go easy on my eyes, but just using the second largest text size (which is smaller than what I use on my iPad), and I get very little text per page. The largest size is bigger than I need -- luckily, as then you get just a tiny bit of text per page. It's just too bad the second largest is too small.

The other issue is that, unfortunately but understandably, the Kindle feels really, really cheap compared to my iPad. However, as one was $700+ and the other about $150, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. The touch screen doesn't work nearly so well (with the iPad, it's like you're moving it with your brain because it's so responsive), plus even when not downloading something, the Kindle is noticeably slow. Not like AOL dial up slow, but things like my computer, phone, and iPad respond instantly to a tap or a command, there's a slight delay on the Kindle. The delay plus the less responsive touch screen makes it frustrating to use.

Another issue is that it's all black and white. I know it's not reasonable, but I wish sellers would list things an item doesn't have -- like I wouldn't have bought that first Kindle if I had known it didn't have a touchscreen. Color only comes into play when looking at the covers/picking a new book, but it's depressing to not have it.

However, this is only my first day using it. I'm going to finish at least my current book on it (probably the next one as well) to give me a chance to get used to it. Maybe I'll stop noticing the issues. (And speaking of not noticing things, the built-in ads only bugged me once today, with that was with lots of use and playing around with it. I'm pretty sure they won't be an issue.)

Positives to it? It's smaller and lighter, though when using it at home, the iPad's size and weight aren't an issue (away from home is a different story). I can't really think of any other positives other than "It's cool" (though a lot less cool than it would be if it had color...).

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And on RP! Eeeee! I RPed all night and it was wonderful! I haven't RPed so long and with so many people since... I don't know, sometime back in WoW? Usually scenes with lots of people are rough, but mostly the group broke into smaller conversations with new people coming and going through the evening. I love playing a social butterfly character -- it makes it so easy to ICly meet new people and take part in scenes!

RP seems to go on all day and all night, so I think I'm going to be able to go back to playing daily. So happy! :D And oddly for a large group of RPers on a MMO, no one was bad! I think the worst RPer I encountered today was still at "pretty good" level.

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I'm loving the current book I'm reading, and the Kindle tells me I'll finish it in about three hours of reading (okay, cool feature there!), so in the next day or two I'll post the review for it. If I don't get to it before Monday, have a good long weekend, all! (Unless you're not in America. In that case, have a good normal weekend, all!)

Comments

[lokyst.livejournal.com]

Where the Kindle shines is when reading in daylight.

dOxxxicle was briefly contemplating getting a Kindle, but I apparently know him better than he knows himself and persuaded him to check it out in person before buying.

[indigo-forest.livejournal.com]

I have a nook, but I use my ipad mini for reading. Perfect size and love the color :-)

[al-zorra.livejournal.com]

I got an e-reader (Kobe) for Christmas. I HATED IT. I hated it so much I got the giver to send it back and get a refund.

It seems to me, at least, that instead of sinking into the reading experience, the reader spends all of her time trying to get things positioned correctly, the right size, trying to do that frackin' swipe thang, etc. etc. etc. No concentration here. The "page" was way too small -- one would be trying to "turn" the page every paragraphy at least. Also holding it felt all wrong and clumsy and uncomfortable.

It would be so nice to have an electronic device that had a decent display and easy operation to have a few books on for travel and so on, but e-readers aren't it. From, granted only my own experience, I can't figure out why people are so in love with their e-readers.

Plus they're entirely useless for research materials, maps, and all the rest. And most of my reading by about 99.9% is histories and related materials.

Love, C.

[hamsterwoman]

Can't comment on the touchscreen thing, since I went for one without a touchscreen on purpose (I don't like them). Mine does get a tiny bit laggy, but it's comparable to turning a page/shifting a paper book, so it doesn't bother me.

With the non-touchscreen page turn, the first couple of days I found it annoying to have to turn the page more often than I would in a paperback, because of the smaller screen (even with the mid-range text size I use), but it became automatic very quickly, so that when I have to scroll back to something I "just read", I'm always surprised how many page-turns ago that was, because it sort of becomes seamless. Not sure if it works the same with the touchscreen page-turn, though...

I never even look at covers anymore, because they just don't look right in b&w. I've never actually used the Kindle to "browse" for books -- only buy books I already knew I was planning to read.

That said, I most heavily use the Kindle for reading during my public transit commute and when traveling, so size/weight and battery life trump the little bit of a lag and lack of color.

(BTW, not sure if your local library has the Overdrive link, but library books on Kindle was the thing that tipped me over into finally getting an eReader. The selection is still not stellar, though a lot better than it was 2.5 years ago when I bought mine, but it's really great to have the convenience of a library without any of the inconveniences -- no having to actually schlep out there to pick up/return books, no late fees.)

[tersa.livejournal.com]

Well, yeah, it is a much bigger size difference from an iPad, but I like the Paperwhite because it's sized more along the lines of a trade paperback than a coffee table book. :P It's a great size to fit in a smaller purse and causes less strain on your hands and wrists to hold it.

And yeah, no color. eInk can't do it. You can only get color right now on backlit tablet-like things, like the iPad, the Kindle Fire, or Nook Color. If you really need pretty colored covers to buy a book, I'd suggest doing so at the Amazon webpage rather than via the Kindle itself. :)

If you're having to put the text up to the second largest font size, have you checked with your eye doctor about getting bifocals or reading glasses?

I'm sorry you had such a negative initial reaction to it, but I'd suggest sticking with it for a while if for no other reason than the eye strain issue. Give it some time to see if you start to notice yourself feeling less eye strain the longer you use it versus the iPad (and no cheating! or it'll negate the experiment results).