Early Adopters Remorse

Amazon has announced the release of a new much cheaper Kindle a few days ago. And they are selling it for only $139 at the time of this post. The major difference between this and the Kindle 2 is that it comes in a version that is Wi-fi only. What does this mean?

Wi-fi only means that you will only be able to connect to the Amazon store on the Kindle if you have a wireless network setup in your area. Most workplaces and homes have a wireless network nowadays. In fact, even coffee houses such as Starbucks offer free wireless access as well. Even hotels include that in their feature package.

The 3G option uses the network cellphones use, most specifically Sprint in the case of the Kindle or AT&T for the Nook. The advantage of 3G is that it requires no setup at all. Wi-fi connections are usually secured so it will require some configuration in order for your eReader to be connected.

Besides the price and the 2 different versions here is the highlights of other differences between this generation of Kindle and the previous:

1. Smaller while keeping the same size reading area
2. Lighter
3. Longer battery life (up to a month)
4. More storage (up to 3500 books)
5. Faster page turns
6. More font choices

Looking through the list there is nothing there to compel me to replace my current Kindle. I haven't come close to the 1500 book limit of mine, battery life of about 2 week is fine with me, turning the pages is fast enough, etc.

Now if Amazon finally enabled borrowing from libraries, then I'd be all over the new Kindle.

Kindle Update 2.5

I'm a little late posting this but Amazon has come up with a new version of their software for Kindle 2.

One major improvement in this upgrade is the ability to organize your books finally! The widely requested folders are here and they are called collections. One book may be placed into multiple collections and it is pretty easy to do. It will take a few minutes to a couple of hours to organize your books depending on the size of your collection but finally it will much easier to maintain your reading material.

Other highlights of this software update:

• PDF Pan and zoom.
• Password protection.
• More font sizes.
• Sharing passages from books to Facebook/Twitter

The update is supposed to be done automatically but I myself was too impatient to wait for it and chose the manual option.

If you also choose the manual option these are the steps you need to do:

1. Download the proper version of the update file to your computer (the choices are towards the middle of this page: Amazon Kindle Software Update Page)
2. Transfer the file to your Kindle's root directory via the USP cable.
3. Disconnect your Kindle from your computer then navigate to the Home screen then press Menu>Settings. Here you press Menu again and Update Your Kindle.
4. Wait for the upgrade to occur. It will take about 10 minutes. After it's finished it will restart the Kindle. Do not be alarmed if during the restart it seems for a few seconds you lost all your books.

I am very happy with this software upgrade. Now if my Kindle would allow me to borrow from my library I'd be in heaven!

iPad vs Kindle vs Rock

IPad vs Kindle vs Rock

This image has been floating on on the Internet and I just had to include it in my blog. :)