My Kindle Reviews

Dracula by Bram Stoker

2010-08-31T02:22:00.000-07:00

I’ve never been into horror books or movies, never watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer, nor did I know much about vampires in general. In fact, my thoughts and images regarding vampires were pretty much shaped by Count Chocula commercials and the Sesame Street Count!

I’m not really sure why I chose to download Dracula by Bram Stoker as one of my first Kindle books, but I’m glad I did! I found it extremely easy to read, even though it was written in the late 1800′s. A lot of it was set in London, and it was cool to read references to train stations and other landmarks that I have been to or heard about.

I had no idea that the book was written as a series of journal entries and letters from the main characters. At first I was thrown by this, when suddenly the person “telling the story” changed from one character to another; but it didn’t take long to get used to it. In fact, it enhanced the story by allowing me to learn what was happening through the different experiences each character was having.

All in all, I really enjoyed reading this book. It was exciting and interesting all the way through. I highly recommend it if you’re looking for a good, classic book to read either for your Kindle or through old-fashioned paper!

You can buy your own copy here.

I, Robot – a Short Story by Cory Doctorow

2010-08-31T02:06:00.000-07:00

A really quick read is Cory Doctorow’s version of I, Robot which was written as an homage to Isaac Asimov’s original series of short stories of the same name. Doctorow’s version is part of a series of short stories called Overclocked.

So far, I’ve only read the one story, I, Robot. I haven’t seen the movie of the same name, nor have I read Asimov’s versions. Because of this, I felt like I wasn’t quite getting the whole picture of what Doctorow was getting at. The story seemed to be much too short for what he wanted to say. I’m guessing that the other stories contained in Over Clocked may tie things together for me.

The good news is that the story was very well-written and humorous, which made me interested in reading Asimov’s I, Robot stories.

Click to Visit Amazon and purchase I, Robot – a Short Story by Cory Doctorow

Wired Love: A Romance of Dots and Dashes

2010-08-31T01:53:00.000-07:00

A 19-year-old young woman becomes obsessed with chatting electronically with a young man 70+ miles away. Not unlike a zillion young women and men in the 21st century.

Yet this “online” romance took place in the 1800s!

Nettie is a telegraph operator who dreams of being an author. One day in the course of normal business she receives a message from “C” a telegraph operator in another city. They strike up a “conversation” in Morse Code, and soon become fast electronic friends.

If you’ve ever chatted online over the Internet, you’ll recognize the feeling of excitement Nettie had each morning when getting to chat with her online buddy. Their conversations passed the time and made the job less boring.

And if you’ve ever met someone in real life who you had previously only known online, you’ll also recognize the strange feeling of trying to reconcile the person you had created in your head with the physical being in front of you.

While the story and ensuing romance were somewhat corny toward the end, with the typical “Three’s Company” type misunderstandings threatening to keep Nettie and “C” from being together, I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Mostly because I found it so cool that chatting online is not a new phenomenon.

This book will definitely be of interest to almost anyone who’s ever chatted online, for that very reason.

Click to Visit Amazon and purchase Wired Love: A Romance of Dots and Dashes

Amazon Kindle DX Review

2010-08-31T01:01:00.000-07:00

Size seems to matter to the folks at Amazon. While the Kindle 2 has a 6-inch (measured diagonally) e-ink screen — roughly the area of a mass-market paperback book — the DX’s 9.7-inch screen resembles a page from a typical hardback. Put another way, the DX flaunts 2.5 times more display space. More text on a page means more lines and, if you prefer, a bigger font, without having to turn the page as often. Best of all, the DX was engineered not to feel big. Virtually the same thickness as the Kindle 2, the 19-ounce heft won’t tax your wrists. Its keyboard is actually a little smaller than the Kindle 2’s, so almost all of the DX’s front surface is covered by the screen.

The reader’s appearance is further streamlined by its absence of buttons on the left-hand side of the unit; the controls to turn pages have migrated exclusively to the right side. Even though I’m a righty, and do most of my page turning from that side, I do miss the Kindle 2’s Next page button on the left, which I use when reading in bed, head propped up by my right arm.

The Kindle DX can hold up to 3,500 books, periodicals, and documents. It has a 9.7″ diagonal e-ink screen that reads like real paper and boasts 16 shades of gray for clear text and sharp images. It also has an auto rotating screen, much like Apple iPhone, That enables you to Display auto-rotates from portrait to landscape as you turn the device so you can view full-width maps, graphs, tables, and Web pages. The 3G wireless connection lets you download books right from your Kindle DX, anytime, anywhere; no monthly fees, no annual contracts, and no hunting for Wi-Fi hotspots . With the text-to-speech feature, Kindle DX can read newspapers, magazines, blogs, and books out loud to you, unless the book’s rights holder made the feature unavailable.

Overall, the DX feels more like text and less like device and comes closer to the stated goal of the Kindle: for the device to disappear, leaving only the joy of reading.

Click to Visit Amazon and Get Your Kindle DX

Kindle DX Graphite Review

2010-08-31T00:45:00.000-07:00

The Kindle DX Graphite will be a big disappointment for those who predicted (or hoped) the next generation Kindle will feature touch or color screen or video playback capability. For people looking for a device that gives them pleasurable reading experience, however, the Kindle DX Graphite will surely match their expectations. Sporting 50% more contrast and faster page turns than the first generation Kindle DX, the Graphite eReader offers even greater readability. And now with lighter price tag of $379, the Kindle DX Graphite is a solid choice for business people, students, or anyone looking for a large-screened yet ultra portable eReader.

Like the Kindle DX White, the Kindle DX Graphite sports a 9.7-inch eInk screen display that excellently displays a broad range of reading materials. Instead of Kindle’s trademark off-white casing, however, the Kindle DX 2’s screen is enclosed by a graphite casing.

Though both Kindle DX versions share similar features and capabilities, from a readability perspective, the Kindle DX Graphite is overall a better device than its white twin. The Graphite offers 50% more screen contrast and a higher contrast ratio of 10:1, making text and images look a lot sharper and clearer. Also, perhaps taking a page from the B&N Nook, Amazon’s choice of graphite casing is just perfect. The graphite enclosure provides to make the dark text of the Kindle DX Graphite stand out more against the white screen background.

The Amazon Kindle DX Graphite offers all the goodness you find in the Kindle DX. It also comes with built-in accelerometer, text-to-speech function, PDF reader, long battery life (2 weeks with wireless off, 1 week with wireless on), basic web browser, and a large library space capable of storing up to 3,500 ebooks and other reading materials. There’s the access to Twitter and Facebook, library collections organizer, and support for 6 font sizes. Further, the Kindle DX Graphite is an excellent choice for those who travel abroad much and for those who live outside of the US as the device comes with AT&T-powered global 3G access. Whether you’re in the US or abroad, you can enjoy wireless downloads and wireless syncing. As with other Kindle models, you can enjoy use of 3G without worrying about monthly bills.

Content Formats Supported: Kindle (AZW), PDF, TXT, Audible (formats 4, Audible Enhanced (AAX)), MP3, unprotected MOBI, PRC natively; HTML, DOC, RTF, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP through conversion.

Instead of bending to the pressure of the media to add video playback capability, games, touch screen, or other features not related reading, Amazon simply focused on improving the Kindle DX’s readability. The Kindle DX Graphite is a testament to Amazon’s great emphasis on perfecting the reading experience.

Click to Visit Amazon and Get Your Kindle DX Graphite

Kindle WiFi Review

2010-08-31T00:25:00.000-07:00

After a long wait, the Kindle 3 has finally arrived, not only with one but two versions: a Kindle WiFi and a Kindle WiFi + 3G model.

For those who want a sub-$150 eReader or who have no need for 3G accessibility, the WiFi version is just as formidable as its 3G brother. With its thinner form factor, more ergonomic design, improved readability and even bigger storage, the Kindle WiFi is positioned to out-perform every other eReader out there. And with its incredibly low price of $139, the Kindle WiFi is more enticing than ever.

How does the Kindle rock? Let us count the ways:

Amazon has given the Kindle WiFi a complete redesign. The first thing people will notice is its smaller form factor. Amazon has trimmed the Kindle in all corners, cutting out as much 21% unnecessary spaces. The result is a more streamlined, tighter look. The Kindle 2 measures 8 x 5.3 x 0.36 inches. In contrast, the Kindle WiFi measures 7.5 x 4.8 x 0.34 inches only. That doesn’t sound like much, but when you hold the device, you’ll feel the difference more dramatically: it feels lighter, thinner, and much easier to hold with one hand.

To allow for the smaller form factor, Amazon also removed the row of numbers button and resized the page turn buttons to just 1/3 of an inch wide. The navigation buttons have been re-organized to allow for a more ergonomic arrangement. The Menu, 5-way buttons, Back, and Home buttons are now located under the screen directly next to the QWERTY keyboard.

The keyboard buttons are more rounded and arranged closer next to each other, making typing a lot faster. The slimmer page turn buttons now come in a rocker style, which responds to presses easily without making any annoying noise. Instead of Word labels, the page turn buttons are now labeled with > and < arrows only.

What’s more notable is the way Amazon has made the Kindle WiFi’s readability much better than ever. The screen has 50% better contrast that its predecessor. It is also zippier, offering a 20% faster page turn rate. 4GB onboard storage is double the size of the Kindle 2, and it can hold up to 3500 reading materials. Battery life is also doubled; it can now last up to a month with the wireless turned off.

Amazon has added a lot of new features, too, including the ability to modify line spacing (options include small, medium, and large) and typeface (options include regular, condensed, and sans serif). The device also supports several languages (Japanese, Korean, Cyrillic, Chinese).

The Kindle WiFi has free access to AT&T networks. It is available in Graphite only.

Click to Visit Amazon and Get Your Kindle Wi-Fi

The KIndle 3

2010-08-30T23:32:00.000-07:00

Just when everyone’s thought the only way Amazon can top its Kindle 2 is by adding color and touch, the new Kindle 3 proves us wrong. Like its WiFi-only sibling, the Kindle 3 comes with a more compact form factor and ergonomic button placement, faster page turns, sharper and changeable fonts, bigger memory, improved PDF, better accessibility, up to 1 month battery life, and more. The Kindle 3 is the living proof of Amazon’s unwillingness to compromise great reading experience for anything.

How does the Kindle rock? Let us count the ways:

The Kindle 3 carries over lot of Kindle 2 reading-centered features, including social networking, free 3G access to Kindle Store (and its wide selection of competitively priced books and other reading materials), 60 second book downloads, free 3G access in over 100 countries, and cross-platform book sharing.

On the other hand, the Kindle 3 makes big improvements on the Kindle 2 over (1) ease of carrying the device, (2) ease of using it, and (3) readability of the device.

The Kindle 3 still sports a 6-inch eInk screen. To make the Kindle 3 more portable, however, Amazon has reduced its size to a svelter 7.5 x 4.8 x 0.335 inch form factor. The size reduction also allowed for a lighter weight of 8.7 ounces. The result is a smaller, thinner, and lighter device. Though the size got smaller, the memory got twice larger. The Kindle 3G + WiFi has 4GB memory, which can carry up to 3500 books at a time.

The battery life is also doubled: with the wireless turned off, the Kindle 3 can last up to a month, making it even more ideal for traveling. You don’t need to bring a charger even if you’re planning to spend a long vacation away from home.

The Kindle 3 has also been given a facelift to achieve a more ergonomic design. Amazon seems to have given a lot of thought as to what to scrape out and what to retain. The page turn buttons flanking both sides of the screen are now just one-quarter of an inch wide and are labeled with > and < arrows instead of words (as found on the Kindle 2).

The buttons come in a rocker style that press towards the edge, making them easier to press and quieter, too. The joystick got smaller, and is now found under the screen along with the Home and Menu buttons. The number buttons have been removed (to access the numbers, press the symbol button), and the keys are arranged more closely to each other.

Nearly half of the improvements on the Kindle 3, though, have to do with readability. The Kindle 3G is sporting a new eInk Pearl screen offering 50% more contrast. You can breeze through the menu, and the pages turn noticeably faster, too, than on the Kindle 2. You can now change the font type (choices include Condensed, Serif, and Sans Serif) or the line spacing (choices include small, medium, and large).

The Kindle 3 also supports non-English fonts including Japanese, Korean, Chinese, and Cyrillic. Built-in PDF reader is better than ever, allowing you to add highlights, notes, and look up definition of words in the dictionary. It can also access password-protected files.

The new Kindle reader still offers free 3G access in the US and in over 100 countries all over the world. Also, Kindle owners will now be able to enjoy the benefits of WiFi, such as accessing the web or store when outside a 3G area.

The browser is now WebKit-based, and can be accessed either over 3G or WiFi. When browsing the web, you can set the page into text-only mode to make reading easier by choosing the Article Mode.

It’s not just the normal-vision readers who are going to benefit from the enhancements and new features of the Kindle 3G + WiFi. The device can read out loud item descriptions and menus, too, and so is great for people with low or impaired visions.

The Kindle 3 is available in Graphite and White.

Click to Visit Amazon and Get Your Kindle

Manifold: Time by Stephen Baxter

2010-08-30T10:11:00.000-07:00

The first book in the “Manifold” trilogy by Stephen Baxter, Manifold: Time is a fast-paced story that traverses multiple universes and travels back and forth through time.

The story revolves around Reid Malenfant and his ex-wife/employee, Emma Stoney. When the mysterious Cornelius Taine shows up in Emma’s office one day, life is never the same. The brilliant but seemingly crazy Taine convinces failed-NASA-astronaut/entrepreneur head of “Bootstrap Inc.” Malenfant that the “Carter catastrophe” (a probabilistic doomsday prediction) is real. Which causes him to change the entire focus of his business.

While Malenfant was never one to play by the rules, he pushes the envelope (and the legal system) enough to keep Emma busy as he builds a covert rocketship using old NASA Space Shuttle engines which he had bought for other purposes. They decide to fly to a tiny asteroid called “Cruithne” because of a message from the future that Malenfant and Taine intercepted using a Feynman Radio.
There’s a lot of physics and quantum mechanics discussed in the book. The book had a great mixture of futuristic science and interesting theories to keep me reading way past my bedtime.

The part that sounds really silly, and yet was actually believable was the brain-enhanced squid! Since squid are supposedly very intelligent creatures, author Baxter used them in an interesting way within the story.

Another sort of funny thing was that the book was set in the year 2010 at the outset, but there were a lot of futuristic things such as auto-piloted cars that we don’t have yet in the real 2010. The book was published in 2000, so I was a little surprised at how much Baxter imagined the world might change in just 10 years!

I really liked this book, and plan to read the next ones in the trilogy: Manifold: Space and Manifold: Origin.

Click to Visit Amazon and purchase Manifold: Time

Kindle Accessories

2010-08-30T09:37:00.000-07:00

So you just bought your new Kindle from Amazon. Congratulations! You’re probably wondering what Kindle accessories you may need somewhere down the line. It’s important to you that you keep you Kindle as clean and in the best condition as possible. There are many kindle accessories for you new device including covers, skins, cases, reading lights and earphones.

Mighty Bright XtraFlex2 Clip-On Light

The Kindle’s display is fantastic for reading in daylight, offering the same contrast ratio as paper. But just like paper, when the lights go down, you’re going to struggle to see the text, even if you’ve been eating your carrots. That’s where this clip-on light comes in handy, offering some targeted LED illumination. Plus, it’s got be better than strapping a flashlight to your forehead.

Click to Visit Amazon and Get Your Clip-On Light

Amazon Kindle ClearTouch Anti-Glare Screen Protector

Yes, this one’s a bit boring, but what could be worse having to grit your teeth and stare through a big, ugly scratch on your Kindle’s display every time you have a read? ClearTouch Anti-Glare's numerous features enhance your Amazon Kindle's display and provides you with more than protection from scratches!

Click to Visit Amazon and Get Your Screen Protector

Leather Kindle Cover

The range of Kindle covers is vast. There are many types of great covers and cases to choose from. There are different types of Kindle cases to suit everybody’s needs and desires. If you are a professional you may want to go for something smart like a genuine leather cover. You can get them in black and brown. If you want to add some color into your sophisticated Kindle case there are also pink, purple, red and green leather cases available. If you’re all about style and fashion then you can get patent leather animal skin designs. You can even get a cover that resembles a clutch handbag! If you’re into natural, earthy accessories you can get a hand woven Kindle case. If you love the outdoors then maybe you would want to go for protective neoprene sleeve or the touring covers which have a handy exterior pocket and a hidden handle making them easier to carry while you’re on the move.

Click to Visit Amazon and Get Your Leather Kindle Cover

Kindle Car Charger

Here’s another one that falls into the practical category. As the Kindle ships with both a US power adapter and a micro-USB cable for charging up via your PC, your vehicle is the only place you might run into power issues. This useful device promises a rapid charge, won’t overcharge, and comes with a lifetime guarantee, so certainly ticks all the sensible boxes.

Click to Visit Amazon and Get Your Kindle Car Charger

There are also other Kindle accessories such as Kindle Sleeve, Kindle Stand and earphones. The Kindle reviews have been outstanding. Yes you have bought the best reading device and with so many Kindle accessories available you can really make your Kindle your own!

My Review of the Amazon Kindle

2010-08-30T00:11:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I decided it was time to buy an Electronic book reader. I’d briefly seen them in person, but hadn’t had time to really look at or play with either of them.

I started out by reading up a bit on e book readers. Then I found that Amazon’s Kindle rates at the top of them all. So I ordered the Kindle late on a Thursday evening, and decided to take advantage of Amazon’s same-day delivery option, a concept which nearly blew my mind, to have it arrive on Friday. Sure enough, it arrived at my home Friday afternoon.

Unpacking the Kindle is a delightful experience. The device arrives pre-programmed with your Amazon account. There was no registration process of any kind, it was as if this Kindle knew me and was anxious to
be my new reading companion. The Kindle store was already populated with book recommendations based on my Amazon history, and the device happily sync’d the four books I’d purchased on the Kindle for iPhone app a few months before.

I was immediately glad I’d chosen the Kindle over others. Amazon had clearly put significant effort into building a complete end-to-end experience with minimal friction to purchasing and reading books or other content. In some respects, it even seemed they’d outdone Apple, who many consider to be the king of this kind of execution.

The Kindle looks and feels solid. The plastic feels more expensive and higher quality. The size and weight are pretty much ideal for its purpose. The button placement is well thought-out, and the labels make it trivial to pick up and start using.

There are a few features that I really like about the kindle, so here’s the list:
1. Simple to use and with the wireless access buying books is a cinch.

2. Read-out-loud feature allows me to stay with the action even when I’m doing something else.

3. I can read all night (for 4 – 5 days in a row) without killing the battery. To accomplish this I do turn the wireless off (wireless access is a battery killer).

4. It actually learns what you enjoy reading, makes book recommendations based upon that, and so far the recommendations have been good ones.

5. Amazon’s pre-order feature allows me to order books by my favorite authors when I find out they are being released, and they automatically download to my kindle on the release date.

I could actually keep going with this list. But the things I like most about the Kindle are its book recommendation features and its convenience. I can decide I want to read a book, buy it right on the Kindle, and then 2 minutes later be sitting in my lazy boy enjoying the book.

A couple of recommendations I do have for those who decide to invest in a kindle: Get a clip on light to make it easy to read in the dark, and be sure to get a case for it. The protective case is an excellent tool when you accidentally drop it (and yes I did this). Other than that I would recommend the Kindle to anyone who enjoys reading.

Another thing you’ll find great about the Kindle is the huge number of books available for it. I’ve owned the device for just over a month, and my book list is already up to about 17. My recommendation is that anyone looking for a reading device should put the kindle at the top of their list.

Click to Visit Amazon and Get Your Kindle