Kindle + iPhone = LOVE!

I purchased the Kindle 2 a couple of weeks ago and have been wanting to post some of my thoughts and feelings now that I feel comfortable using it. I guess that is wrong. There is nothing uncomfortable about the Kindle 2. From the first time I picked it up I knew that the designers had done a fantastic job with the ergonomics. It is the right weight and feels solid without being heavy. It feels good to hold and the buttons are right where you would expect them to be. You know you have a good product when you enjoy just holding it. That is the Kindle. So far so good.

After unboxing it, I quickly downloaded UR by Stephen King using the Kindle Store. I didn't have a specific book that I was interested in reading at the time, and this one looked interesting. Plus, it was rated pretty high. The Kindle Store is just like a mini-Amazon/App Store for the iPhone. You can search for books, see the best sellers, view newspapers, blogs, magazines and of course you can buy books from the Kindle Store. All of this without wires! You do not have to do this via your computer or having your Kindle tethered to your computer. The Kindle has Whispersync, which is Amazon's wireless connection, so you can download books from anywhere you get cell reception. Talk about convenient. I am kind of an impulse buyer and I like the fact that I can buy a book NOW! No more Barnes and Noble. No more waiting for the book to come in the mail. Instant gratification! ;)

The Kindle is a joy to read from. Amazon claimed that their E-Ink display is just like reading from paper. I must admit that I was a little skeptical. I have tried reading from my computer and iPhone, but after a while your eyes get tired and it just isn't convenient to read from either one. I was pleasantly surprised that their claim was right on. I enjoy reading from the E-Ink display and most of the time I really do forget that I am reading from an electronic device.

I love not having to turn pages and it really seems to speed up my reading too. The page refresh rate seems adequate for me as I will usually press the next page button halfway through the last line. I like that my thumbs, left or right, rests right on the Next Page buttons.

Three days after I received my Kindle, Amazon released Kindle for iPhone. Now you may be asking yourself why I would care when I have the actual Kindle. The answer is because you can read your book on either device. All of your books (purchased through Amazon) are available on your iPhone. But that is only part of the awesomeness. Where this is really cool is they sync together to always have your furthest point read. I use this non-stop. I can't tell you how many times I have been waiting for something, even for a few minutes, and will pull out the iPhone and read a few pages while I wait. Later on when I go back to the Kindle it will ask me if I want to go to the furthest page read. How awesome is that?! Of course you can purchase books through Safari on your iPhone. It amazes me that two completely independant companies have a product that works so well together.
I kind of consider myself a bit of a bibliophile. I like books. I like to read them, touch them, hold them, and own a lot of them. I even make and rebind books. But I have to tell you. The Kindle is absolutely incredible. Will it replace books? No. I don't know if books will ever be completely replaced (at least not in my lifetime). But I don't see myself going out to buy a book if it is available through the Kindle Store. It is just plain easier. Plus, the books usually cost 1/3 of the retail price. The Kindle will pay for itself.

I would like to see more features in the Kindle, but it is almost perfect for what it is. Email would be nice, as well as more computing power. You can get online with the Kindle, but it doesn't have the processing power to render anything, but the most basic sites. Below is a picture of my site, which admittedly isn't very robust, and it took quite a while opening the site, and then of course doesn't render it correctly. Who cares. I have three computers at home, one at work and an iPhone for cruising the internet. I just wanted to make the point that it was available and would be cool if it could process like a computer. I am sure we will have something like that shortly and I can't wait.All in all, I am in love. It is perfect for what it is and I think Amazon got ripped off. It is worth more than I paid. I wish they had a larger selection of cases for Kindle, but I found a kick butt site called SF Bags, and they had a slip case that I love. One of my favorite features about the Kindle is how small it is. I didn't want to inundate it with a big case. The Slip Case from SF Bags was perfect. It fits the Kindle very well and even has a soft plastic insert inside the material to protect the display while it is in the case. Awesome! On a side note about SF Bags. They had the best customer service. I received a personal email from them telling me that they had received my order and when the expected it to ship. Then I received another personal email from the owner when the case had shipped. He wasn't just telling me the case had shipped, but asked me how I found their site, if there was anything else he could do for me, and of course the tracking number. When I received the case, the person who had shipped it had written a little thank you note on the invoice. Stuff like that just doesn't happen anymore. It makes me feel like they value and appreciate my business. This company is pretty awesome in my book.

Anyway. Go buy a Kinle 2 and get your Slip Case from SF Bags. You won't regret it! You might just get smarter for doing it. :)