Amazon’s Kindle Helps Me Pack Lighter
July 31, 2008 by Mary Jo Manzanares
Filed under Travel
Amazon’s Kindle is my new favorite travel product. I received on a couple weeks ago as sort of an early birthday gift, and in just that short of time have grown to totally love it!
The Kindle is a new kind of electronic reader, and provides a high-resolution paper-like display. It’s practically like reading a real book, with a few special touches that make it even better than the real thing.
It looks just like it does in the photo, weighing in at 10.3 ounces (lighter and thinner than most paperback books), with a six inch diagonal screen. It easily fits into my purse, so just like with a paperback, I have something to read handy – where ever I go!
The Kindle is very easy to use (no computer required), even for the non-tech traveler. You can search for books and download them by accessing the Kindle store using your device. Downloads take less than a minute. You don’t need a wi-fi hotspot, as it uses cell phone technology.
There are lots of books to choose from, too! While all books are not yet available in Kindle format, most of the books on the New York Times Best Seller list are, and I found a good selection from all reading genres. I like the feature that allows me to download — for FREE — the first chapters of a book to sample. From there, I can decide if I like the book enough to buy it and download the entire thing. This feature has saved me from a couple of purchasing mistakes, and also teased me on some titles that I otherwise would have passed by. Many top US newspapers also also available in Kindle format, as are many top blogs.
I can pack lighter with the Kindle. Instead of packing a handful of books for a week’s vacation, I can load up my Kindle. Even if it’s just a quick overnight, I don’t have to pack a second book because I’m nearly done with that first. I have the choice to pre-load with all the books I can’t wait to read, or I can just wait to download the next book after I finish what I’m reading now. The Kindle will hold over 200 books, so even voracious readers will never be caught without, and with a SD memory card, it will hold even more. (A back up of all your book purchases can also be found online.)
As with all electronic gadgets, especially the ones that you travel with, I was concerned about battery life, and the need to pack one more re-charger. user manual recommends that you re-charge regularly, rather than waiting till you drain the battery. I turn the wireless feature off, unless I’m actively using it, and have barely made a dent in the battery usage. I’ll probably adopt the practice of re-charging when I’m at home so I don’t have to worry about that on the road.
I haven’t tried all the cool features yet, but one that I really appreciate is the adjustable text size. I’m of that age where my reading vision isn’t quite what it used to be, and the selection of larger font sizes helps my old, tired eyes.
The Kindle wireless reader comes with a book cover, power adapter, and USB 2.0 cable, and sells for $359. Replacement parts and a few accessories are also available. Exclusively at Amazon.
I’m glad to read a review on this, as I’ve been considering one for a long while. I’m a big reader, and I’m also a fan of the texture and weight of an actual book. I do know they can be impractical at times though, and I do love gadgets also. Perhaps I can compromise and get this, and still separately purchase those books that aren’t yet available.
I’m really enjoying it — and have it tucked in with me nearly everywhere that I go. So far, there only a couple of books (from specialty niches) that I haven’t found available.
It’s saved a lot of my book buying budget.