I mentioned in my last post that I received a surprise gift of a Kindle 2 by mail a week or two ago.I had been eyeing the Kindle for about a year but had hesitated, as new technology (of any kind) creates a huge, black hole in my personal schedule when it sucks me into its gravitational field.
Plus, I usually like to see my friend, Rupert, buy something first, break it, and learn how to fix it before I buy it. That can save me several days on the phone with a helpful Indian customer service agent.
Nonetheless, I found the Kindle to be delightfully easy to understand and very easy to use. (Special code to men: You can pick it up and work it without reading the Help Manual.) The Kindle has a particular feature called Whispernet, which is what allows the device to connect wirelessly with Amazon and download books, newspapers, magazines and blogs.
What I discovered about Whispernet is that, indeed, it whispers, and often: “Buy a book, buy a book, buy a book.” It’s kind of like Edgar Allen Poe’s tell-tale heart; even now as I type it’s whispering economically obscene things to me.
Whispernet also explains how Amazon had such a good Christmas while the rest of retail stumbled.
Anyway, after a couple of weeks of usage, here are my top four reasons (thus far) for loving the Kindle 2:
1. Last week it snowed 15 inches. I was standing in the kitchen at 6:30 a.m., a quarter mile from my mailbox at the end of an unplowed driveway, coffee in hand, wondering if the dogs and dogsled were ready for the trek out to get the Wall Street Journal. Instead, I hit a button on the Kindle, and $.99 (and about 30 seconds) later I had the WSJ. Yes, I know, it’s a bad choice in a recession, especially when I could drag my laptop into the kitchen (or, yes, put on my boots and walk). But I think it's important that we all find little ways to remain decadent Americans despite the economic downturn.
2. When I leave my Kindle in the pocket of seat 17A on the next flight I take--as I have done at least once with every decent piece of technology I have ever owned--all of my purchases are backed up by Amazon and can be downloaded to the new, guilt-ridden Kindle 2 I'll have to buy.
3. It taught me something about blogs and Web 2.0. I follow maybe 20 blogs. When I went to the Kindle feature that allows me to download blogs I discovered that the monthly fee was $.99 to $1.99 per blog. Now, that’s a real-life pricing survey: I'm being asked for the equivalent of one (very) small cup of coffee to get a month's worth of a blog. The result: I don’t subscribe to any blogs on Kindle. They just don't provide enough value to me. It made me wonder as I was reading this morning in the WSJ about the growth and mystique of Twitter, how big that service would be if folks had to pay just $.99/month for it. I think I know the answer. [Note to self: Don't ever try to charge for this blog.]
4. Last but most important, the Kindle 2 makes me feel like Jean-Luc Picard, with the knowledge of the galaxy at my fingertips. I keep walking over to the Tassimo machine and saying, “Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.”There's been no reaction yet but, thanks to my new Kindle, I’ll keep trying.
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