Revisiting the Kindle
In preparation for my trip to Nashville next week -- love you, vacation -- I was checking out a few travel tips. Time's 25 Gotta Have Travel Gadgets caught my eye, mostly because I wanted to see how the other half vacations.
(The joke's on me: Thanks to my tech-nerd boyfriend, we are roadtripping with both a GPS device and his oh-so-sleek iPhone 3G, which both made the list.)
And there, at No. 9, is that Kindle contraption. OK, OK, maybe it's a good idea for students...and people lugging five or six or 10 books halfway across the country with them on a regular basis. But while I have a pile o' books that will probably need their own suitcase for this trip, I only do this vacation thing once a year; I can deal with the extra luggage.
In other words, I'm still not convinced. You may have seduced Time, Amazon, but you're going to have to work a little harder for my love.
Comments
My boyfriend wants one for his birthday, but he reads curled up with his iPhone, so I figure the Kindle is a $400 bigger screen. I'm getting him something else.
Posted by: Mary | August 5, 2008 1:45 PM
For what it's worth, it's down to $359.
As it happens, I'm away on vacation now. I have several dozen books, four issues of two monthly magazines, and maybe 14 issues of a weekly magazine with me, plus regular updates to a blog (Reality Blurred). It's all in my Kindle, and I have a single carryon bag. I've had mine since shortly before my blog post about it awhile back, and it's definitely been worth the investment.
Have fun schlepping the books. I know I'll have all of mine at the beach.
The iPhone is nice and all, but it's a backlit image. That, plus the small screen, can put a strain on the eyes. Also, you can use a Kindle in bright sunlight and not have to deal with washout or glare.
Posted by: Claude | August 5, 2008 11:00 PM