The Amazon Kindle is getting a whole lot smaller, faster, and cheaper: $139 with free Super Saver shipping. That's quite a bit less than what it began at.
Money Beagle, though, isn't moved at all by the ongoing e-book reader price war:
- His library is right around the corner and well-stocked.
- Most of the time, he reads books once.
- Moreover, he doesn't want to pay for what he can already read for free.
We don't own one either, but for different reasons. My wife is by far the more avid reader, but she takes her books in the tub with her. Taking a Kindle in the tub would be a very, very bad idea. 🙂 And just like I like to own my CDs, I like to own my books (if I don't borrow them) rather than lease the right to read them.
Having said this, though, I've met a number of people who absolutely love their Kindles. What are the reasons for getting one?
- Reader is cheaper, better, and faster. Not that they were clunkers to start with, of course, but the newest generation of Kindles are smaller, lighter, hold a charge longer, and brighter than they were before. Waiting to get one has paid off in that regard, because you get more Kindle for the money.
- Instant gratification. You pay to get the books instantly, but you can get them instantly. No waiting for people to return the book you want to the library. High bid wins!
- It's not just a viewer, it's also a reader. You can have the Kindle read the book aloud to you. Heck, just set it on the passenger seat and let it read to you if you have a long commute.
- Great if you love books but don't have the room. You can store 3,500 books on the new one.
- Your books are backed up. I have to say this is a really nice feature. My wife's hard drive crashed and we lost quite a few downloads from iTunes. We were responsible for our own backups, we found out later, and didn't have them, so we were out in the cold. On the flip side, it's nice to know that we wouldn't have to pay for everything again if something happened to the Kindle.
- They are neat. If I read more I'd be tempted.
The Amazon Kindle definitely isn't for everyone, but it might be for you.
I also read in the bath and always (very carefully) take my ereader into the bath with me…then one day it struck me how easy it would be to protect it and now I toss it into a ziploc bag and zip it closed. I can still easily read and turn pages but if I lost my grip it would be pretty safe!
I currently don’t see the value since I don’t buy new books. And the electronic versions are almost as expensive as the paper ones. There’s also no way to buy used versions, which is where I tend to get copies of the books I want to keep.
Some libraries have electronic book catalogs and you can check out books just the same as you would a paper copy but the selection is very limited. If they had the same range then this might be more tempting.
The real killer for me is the lack of used books. Until I can get them for the same price I do paper ones (under $5) then I’m not interested.
The value here, I think, is space. I had to travel across Europe and Asia last year and was gone for almost 6 months. The library will not lend books for this long. I picked up a kindle and loaded it with classic books…most free or at .99. I even picked up one or two new books but in total I had around 40 books that took up NO SPACE!!! This was awesome.
Even for short jaunts, due to premium value of space on flights, I would have this device. It saves so much space and is very, very light.
I guess if I never went anywhere and could always use the library, I would not own a Kindle but because of my lifestyle…it is awesome!
3,500 books is a lot. I’ve been thinking about getting one for a while now. Still not 100% sure if I will though.
Thanks for referencing back to my article. I suppose that if I ever tried one, I might find some value, but for me, I love just picking up a book, and if I drop it in the water or get sand in it, it’s a lot cheaper to buy a replacement book than a replacement reader!
I think I will get one, I have been thinking about it since they came out, and I love reading so I really want to try this. I am glad they got a bit cheaper though, then I have some advantage for waiting until now!