Kindle Introduction
My new Kindle with Wi-Fi and 3G has a personalized Welcome message available as one of the menu choices. The brief letter tells me that that the goal is to have the Kindle “disappear” during the reading experience. That didn’t happen. The comfortable fit of the device must, to some degree, depend on the size of the hand holding it. My hands certainly knew they were trying to steady and support the rectangular Kindle. Fortunately, the page-turn buttons on either side, while receptive to the push, were not overly sensitive to the touch. That was a good thing since my hands ranged along the sides of the device trying to find the best hold.
Kindle Keypad
The keypad of the Kindle is a series of small bumps as letters, a space bar that wastes space, a selection button that needs the space wasted by the space bar, and a few additional button bumps such as Del, Clr, Sym( for Symbols) and Aa, which allowed me to change the text and screen in ways that made it readable for me. It would be helpful if I could change the button size so I could read the letters and possibly use them with some keyboard agility – but a person can’t have everything.
Kindle Text
One of the reasons I bought the Kindle was the age of my eyes and the need to have adjustable print. It was initially frustrating not to find a menu option that ushered me smoothly into larger font-size. My first time through the Readers Help menu choice I didn’t see it. Whether I overlooked it or inadvertently clicked past the page, I’m not certain. My second time through, I found the wonderful world of Aa options, and customized my screen to one larger font size, medium line spacing make up for the lost screen space, and the standard vertical screen. The options do allow for landscape format on either the left or right side, and, as with the page turns, the Kindle should be complimented for allowing right or left handed readers equal options in design.
Finding My Kindle Book
Then came the real test for me. Narrowing down the search and choosing a book. The search was the easy part. I already had a topic in mind. The Kindle Store allowed me to select from the usual first-line filters, fiction, nonfiction, children’s and other useful categories. From nonfiction, I typed (hunt and peck method on the little bumps) my specific interest in submarines, which duly appeared in a small box on the bottom of the screen. The search produced quick results on the screen, a few of which raised my eyebrows. Submarines, yes. Nonfiction, I wasn’t so sure. But, not being familiar with the books, I let them go unchallenged. My goal was more specific. I typed Submarines World War, and didn’t bother to put I or II. This produced satisfying results immediately. Several of the books that filled in the screen were books I owned already. This gave me confidence that the Kindle search filters had done the job I had asked of it.
I selected a book I hadn’t read and was offered the chance to buy it, place it in the shopping cart, or sample it. I chose sample, wanting to try the writing style before I committed to buying the book. Kindle very kindly suggested I continue shopping while the sample was downloading, and assured me it would pop on the screen when that was done. (Note: Buying the Kindle and buying the books to download are two very separate purchases. Not all Kindle selections are free or at the monthly bargain price of 3.99. Somehow, I had forgotten that, and was vaguely surprised to see a price of nearly $27 listed on one book of interest.)
The sample allowed me to search further for specific words and phrases, as one would with most downloaded documents. I tested it with the words “depth” and “explosion,” and found the results satisfactory.
Kindle Browsing
But the best part of the Kindle exercise was the ability to browse the first chapter. That meant the ability to read the first chapter. I took advantage of that immediately. There, I had my first taste of what the Kindle was supposed to give me. A whole chapter, in text my eyes could read, with page after page uninterrupted by pop-up windows or scrolling ads on the side. It was not an unpleasant experience – and for an old book-lover like myself that is saying a lot. I fully intend to put in my shopping cart, and to keep shopping in the Kindle Store, and to pay full price. All of that is saying even more.
Buy Kindle
If you buy Kindle now you can throughly enjoy this online world of books. You won’t be disappointed.