What's So Great About The Amazon Kindle

The Kindle comes with a dictionary already loaded. And once you register with the Kindle Store there are many free books that can be downloaded. One of my favorite features is when you read a word you don't understand, you can hover over it and the dictionary gives the meaning right there. No more stopping to look them up or just reading on and hoping to figure out the meaning later.

Once you've played around with the features and are ready to buy books, Amazon offers a free download of the first chapter so you can make up your mind whether to purchase. There are 620,000 books available including the New York Times best.

These are the first dozen of my favorite Amazon Kindle features: (but there are many more)

1) The paper like screen - The Kindle has a high tech display screen that looks nothing like a computer screen. It's amazing that it reads so much like a real book. And it doesn't have a glare when it's out in the sunshine.
2) Listen to books - Kindle can read books and newspapers aloud. Great for in the car or after dark.
3) Rotating Screen - This reminds me of an Iphone. Turn it vertical and it displays in a portrait format, turn it sideways and it changes to landscape.
4) Instant word definitions - as mentioned above.
5) Web browser - connects to the internet anywhere with a text like display.
6) Really long battery life - The battery lasts up to a week if the internet isn't used.
7) Ultra cool power cord - The cord plugs into a standard electrical outlet but that piece of the plug can be removed to reveal a USB that plugs into a computer.
8) PDF documents - Read them from anywhere on the Kindle.
9) Sample 1st chapter downloads - Download the first chapter of many books for free to test it out before purchasing.
10) Social Networking - Keep in touch with your social network sites via the world wide 3G network feature.
11) Free Public Domain Publications - Download pre-1923 released books for free (like Pride and Prejudice).
12) 5-Way Controller - This is an easy to use controller that provides precise navigation.

The Only Drawback That I Can See -

When the battery dies it has to be returned to Amazon to be replaced. They aren't available in stores. Actually this can be viewed as a positive when you consider that it keeps people from dumping batteries in the landfill. And everybody knows how fast Amazon is at shipping so I'll bet it doesn't take more than a few days.

As I was writing about my favorite Kindle features I saw a news flash about the Amazon Kindle price cut. What a great bonus and a great way to start your summer reading program. The original price for the Kindle G3 that works globally was $400, then it dropped to $259 which included free 2 day shipping. Then Barnes and Noble dropped the price on their "Nook" electronic reader to $199 and within hours Amazon reduced the price of the Kindle to $189. That's HUGE! A 30% price cut. Even more incentive to buy and now there's no excuse for not owning one even if you're a casual reader.