I don't think that I have taken the opportunity to explain the beauty of my simple first generation Amazon Kindle. Since the device is central to this blog, allow me to explain briefly the device and my potentially irrational dependence and affection for the little slab of whitish plastic and not quite liquid crystal screen.
For those not familiar with the Kindle, it is an electronic book reader. Sony had one first but Amazon added several technologies that were absent from the Sony reader and coupled it with a direct link to the Amazon book distribution mechanism. It is larger than the small paperbacks but smaller than hardcovers. I think that Amazon claims that it can hold about 120 books on the device without using additional memory. It can also host audio books (but what's the point, really, as an audible book would be much better on an iPod). It has an onboard dictionary so you can highlight a line of text and it will look up the key words on that line. It has a very basic web browser. You can add notes and bookmarks, of course, and can even have some clips emailed to you. There are also about 5 different font sizes, so you can increase them when you're, for example, on the treadmill.
The device uses a technology called electronic ink that is markedly (no pun intended) different from the display of a regular computer screen etc. The screen is not backlit, so it can be read outside in direct sunlight. This electronic ink technology also significantly increases the battery life. I have found that I can be reading all day on vacation and not have to charge more than overnight, which is pretty good. Not to mention that when I go on vacation I don't have to figure out which books to take and leave behind based on how far I am and what I might want to read while on holiday.....
The coolest feature by far, though, is that books are downloaded wirelessly to the device within about a minute of ordering them. And you can browse the Kindle store of books on Amazon wirelessly on the device, which device is linked to your Amazon.com one-click settings. So I could literally be on the beach, ask you what you're reading, look it up and download it all within about a minute.
All this, plus the books are less expensive than the printed versions and you save the environment. When I lived in the US, I found it particularly nice for newspapers. Not only were the Kindle versions less expensive (I paid $27.99 per month for Saturday and Sunday home delivery of the NY Times, but could get it electronically every day on the Kindle for only $12.99 or so), but I received delivery wherever I was and never had to worry about stop notices for the newspaper or dealing with unread papers upon my return.
So with that as background, you can imagine how I would love this device -- cheaper, electronic, less baggage space. What's not to like? Well, there is one small drawback. Amazon chose to partner with Sprint for electronic delivery. Problem is, Sprint doesn't have a global network. So essentially you can only get electronic delivery within the continental United States. Hmmm.... That does not include Germany, in case you were wondering.
So there is a backstop measure. You can download content to your computer (as you would have to do with a Sony in any event, at least until their newest offering) and then push it to you Kindle. Not ideal, but in a country where English language books are not easy to come across, still a good deal. (And especially when dollars are so cheap in Euros!)
So the Kindle has been my cheap and easy connection to US political and other reading since I arrived. Until its untimely freeze this past freeze. It has a sort of "mouse" and related pointer area within the device and said device became nonfunctional on Friday. I tried restarting and even resetting the device, but to no avail. The main screen looked fine, but I was unable to use the "mouse" to select a book, so I was unable to read anything. Ruh roh.
Yesterday, I sent a message to the Amazon Kindle online help line and they asked me to call them, which I did. The dude, Blake (seriouslz?), was nice enough but, after suggesting that I reset the device (as if I hadn't thought of that before) declared the device inoperable and out of warranty. But, out of the goodness of his heart, he would be able to give me a credit towards the purchase of a new device. Except they could not ship said new device to Germany. I declined.
This morning, I tried a few other things that I thought might revive the Kindle (oddly, I haven't given it an individual name, which will register as odd with those who have read the rest of this blog, ala Bonnie, Hudson, etc.). Alas, none of them worked. So I did the thing I do when I am most frustrated with my laptop. I pulled the power plug and yanked the battery. After a long wake-up, the Kindle is just fine. No issues. New Kindle? I don't think so, "Blake."
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