Reading is FUNdamental
Words: Jessica Jones • Mar 24th, 2008 • Category: GOODS.
Amazon KindleKindle: Amazon’s New Wireless Reading Device
Amazon Kindle
For New Yorkers, there are only three things to do on the subway commute to and from work: listen to your iPod, stare at crazy people or read a book. Most people do a combination of the three.
Problem is, the train ride is usually long, and we like options. But lugging a variety of reading material from place to place is mad heavy.
That was, until now. What if you could carry around 200 books, which, collectively, weighed a mere 10.3 ounces? Meet Amazon’s new toy, Kindle.
There are no computers. No cables. No syncing wires. This svelte new wireless reading device lets you download your choice of over 100,000 books, papers and magazines in under a minute.
I know what you’re thinking, reading on a computer sucks. But the Kindle’s “electronic-paper” display is a sharp, high-resolution screen that looks like real paper. (I’ve seen it for my own eyes.)
Now flipping through your favorite Toni Morrison novel (she cosigns on Kindle) is as easy as 1,2,3. Hit the bar on the right of the screen to move to the next page; hit the bar on the left of the screen to move to the previous page.
To make downloading easy, Kindle allows you to wirelessly connect to the internet from any location. And there is no fee attached to getting online.
And it gets cooler. Have The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post, TIME, Atlantic Monthly, all delivered to your device before you wake up - beats reading the headlines on your BlackBerry.
The Kindle also give each user free wireless access to Wikipedia.org. God bless ‘em.
Okay, okay. So what’s the catch,you ask? Well depending upon what your finances are like, at $399 per machine, it can put you back in entertainment funds for a couple of months. But considering that you save 50-70 percent on most book titles with this baby, you are spending less cash in the long run.
The device is so popular that Amazon is temporarily out of stock. Backorder yours here.
Jessica Jones is spending these days penning articles about black culture, music and fashion for magazines and newspapers like Black Enterprise, Vapors, Vibe.com and The Village Voice.
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WOW!!! A friend of mine and I were JUST talking about the necessity for this invention a few weeks ago. It’s amazing how things work out. (He HAS to see this write-up. I’m sending him the link ;p) I think it is absolutely essential for us to be able to make books still relevant and appealing to our generation and coming generation who are increasingly distanced from their ol’ school (dang, did I really just call it that???) form. Bravo for this. I’ll soon be copping one.
Eh. I’m just not a fan of these things. CD’s yes. It makes sense to combine then all up into one litte device, but books are just not the same if they are not, well , books.
I like it, but then I don’t. I mean, that’s dope to have all that at your finger tips but I do love the feel of a paperback in hand. When I have a good book in hand, I usually mark it up with notes and underlines. Certain books in my library bring back memories from certain periods of my life that that book helped me through. Then to be able to go through it and read what I highlighted and the comments that I made is kinda therapeutic.
I def feel yall because no matter where I’m living for an extended period of time, I lug my hundreds of books with me regardless of the cost. But, I really wonder if that fervor, appreciation and attachment to books are prevalent or even “normal”. It seems like this time presents an interesting paradigm in which people are able to access a great deal of information at speeds never before seen (what NEW phones don’t have the option of internet access???? who doesn’t at least KNOW about the internet???), yet maaddddddd folks haven’t copped a book in a minute, let alone stepped foot into a library. There’s a disconnect. And I believe that this type of device will fit right in in bridging the gap. It will be appealing to the techies, hip to the hipsters, efficient to the utilitarians and optional (God willing forever and forever) to us folks who just still like to read (…a book)!
I feel you on the sentiments attached to certain books, but I think this tool is great for traveling /transient peeps. I certainly dont see myself cuddling up on the big comfy chair with one of those- Nah…for that, a traditional hardback or paperback is more appropriate.