Derrick
ლ(ಠ_ಠ )ლ
- Joined
- Nov 22, 2010
- Messages
- 5,085
- Reaction score
- 5
Amazon’s Kindle 2 has recently become available in South Africa and as e-book readers go it’s a pretty good deal.
The Kindle 2 differs from its predecessor in a number of ways. It features a 5 way joystick controller which makes navigation easier, the 6-inch screen now offers 16 shades of grey instead of the four from the previous model, page turns are 20% quicker, storage capacity has been bumped up to 2GB (which will hold 1500 books) and the battery lasts 25% longer.
Its interface is easy to use and its thin, lightweight frame means that the Kindle 2 is easier to carry around and read than most books – a deciding factor for many prospective buyers. The fact that the device has ‘next page’ button on either side of the screen makes page turning easy.
The screen itself is crisp, easy to read and responsive. The lack of constant backlight, which is the primary cause of eye strain in electronic monitors, means that the Kindle 2 doesn’t put pressure on the eyes.
In terms of battery life the lithium polymer battery can function for up to four days with the 3G wireless service turned on and up to 2 weeks with it off, which is impressive. Its 532 MHz ARM-11 processor handles the functionality of the device well.
Amazon’s Kindle bookstore, where the device sources its titles, features over 285 000 titles which range from new releases such as Micheal J Fox’s ‘The Adventures of An Incurable Optimist’ to classics of literature such as Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’.
New and bestselling titles retail at a set price of $9.99 (R80) while older titles such as Charles Dickens’s ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ can retail for as low as $0.80 (R6.67). Additionally the Kindle bookstore also offers subscriptions to several international newspapers, magazines and blogs.
Unfortunately the Kindle 2 offers no MicroSD which means that users are limited to the use of its 2GB hard drive. The battery is also non-removable which means that to continue reading a user would have to set the device down to charge.
The Kindle 2 doesn’t offer pdf or Word format support but users can have these files converted by Amazon at a price of $.10 (R0.80) per document.
Overall the Kindle 2 is a fun, intelligently designed e-reader with access to an enormous collection of titles for reasonable prices. Although the question regarding whether this technology will see an end to tangible books remains unanswered there is little doubt that this device offers its own unique and experience for avid readers.
The Kindle 2 differs from its predecessor in a number of ways. It features a 5 way joystick controller which makes navigation easier, the 6-inch screen now offers 16 shades of grey instead of the four from the previous model, page turns are 20% quicker, storage capacity has been bumped up to 2GB (which will hold 1500 books) and the battery lasts 25% longer.
Its interface is easy to use and its thin, lightweight frame means that the Kindle 2 is easier to carry around and read than most books – a deciding factor for many prospective buyers. The fact that the device has ‘next page’ button on either side of the screen makes page turning easy.
The screen itself is crisp, easy to read and responsive. The lack of constant backlight, which is the primary cause of eye strain in electronic monitors, means that the Kindle 2 doesn’t put pressure on the eyes.
In terms of battery life the lithium polymer battery can function for up to four days with the 3G wireless service turned on and up to 2 weeks with it off, which is impressive. Its 532 MHz ARM-11 processor handles the functionality of the device well.
Amazon’s Kindle bookstore, where the device sources its titles, features over 285 000 titles which range from new releases such as Micheal J Fox’s ‘The Adventures of An Incurable Optimist’ to classics of literature such as Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’.
New and bestselling titles retail at a set price of $9.99 (R80) while older titles such as Charles Dickens’s ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ can retail for as low as $0.80 (R6.67). Additionally the Kindle bookstore also offers subscriptions to several international newspapers, magazines and blogs.
Unfortunately the Kindle 2 offers no MicroSD which means that users are limited to the use of its 2GB hard drive. The battery is also non-removable which means that to continue reading a user would have to set the device down to charge.
The Kindle 2 doesn’t offer pdf or Word format support but users can have these files converted by Amazon at a price of $.10 (R0.80) per document.
Overall the Kindle 2 is a fun, intelligently designed e-reader with access to an enormous collection of titles for reasonable prices. Although the question regarding whether this technology will see an end to tangible books remains unanswered there is little doubt that this device offers its own unique and experience for avid readers.