A New Kindle in My Bed

KindlesNearly 6 years ago, I got a first-generation Amazon Kindle (around $400 at the time). I loved it right away, as you can tell by this blast-from-the-past blog entry.

Over time, that love has grown even more. Who would have thought that a device that looks like it was designed in the 1970s would work so well, and for so long? Other than some battery issues, it’s held up remarkably well.

Kind of like my ’03 Camry, I saw no need to upgrade my Kindle unless it completely stopped working. However, Amazon got me last week when they put the Kindle on sale for $49. $49! How is that even possible? So I got one.

As good as the original Kindle was, switching to the new one is a little bit like walking out of an underground bunker after 6 years and seeing how much the world has changed. There’s a huge jump in technology between the two models, mostly in terms of the weight, the clarity of the screen, and the refresh rate–the page no longer goes blank for a second when you move to the next page. The battery also lasts for weeks.

There’s also a touchscreen instead of buttons on the sides. I was rather fond of the buttons, as they made it easy to hold the Kindle in one hand while laying in bed, but I’ve figured out a new position for holding the touchscreen Kindle and turning pages with one hand. Also, there’s no weird two-button combo to turn on and off the Kindle.

My favorite feature, by far, is “time remaining in chapter.” I read every night for about 30 minutes–that’s the time it takes my brain to shut off and for my eyelids to get heavy. As soon as I start feeling that it’s almost time to fall asleep, all I want to do is finish the current chapter and put the book down. With the new Kindle, it monitors your reading rate and tells you how long it will take you to finish the current chapter. Mind. Blown.

So yeah, I’m falling in love all over again.

Do you have a Kindle? Which one? What’s your favorite thing about it?

9 thoughts on “A New Kindle in My Bed”

    • I thought about getting that (it was also on sale), but I couldn’t think of a time when I’d use the backlight (I read with the light on). Have you used that functionality?

      Reply
      • To be honest, not often. Sometimes I’ll read at night and it’s nice not having to get up and turn the lights off afterwards, but normally when I read, it’s light out. The real reason I got a Paperwhite was that when I bought it, it was the only Kindle model that had a touchscreen and E-Ink screen.

        Reply
  1. I still read old fashioned style books. The real ones with real pages out of paper. I just like the feeling of it and the possibility to quickly flick through a book.

    Reply
    • Wouter: I like that too–even the smell of a book is awesome. I prefer to get business books that I want to reference many times in paper form, but fiction goes to my Kindle. 🙂

      Reply
  2. I bought my wife the Paperwhite a few months ago, she absolutely loves it. The reason we got the PW is so she can read it in bed while I’m asleep and she doesn’t need the light on (which keeps me awake!) it’s seriously brilliant. I didn’t know about the time remaining in chapter bit! That’s amazing! I only wish we’d had the kindle when we went on holiday, rather than carting stacks of books around (my wife reads a lot…).

    Reply
    • Gino: It sounds like I may need to get a paperlight if I also get a wife, but for now I can leave the light on as long as I want. 🙂

      Reply
    • Josh: I read over the Kendall vs. Kindle debate when I was preparing for this entry, but it was so long ago that I wasn’t sure if people would get it. Ha ha, well said! (Kendall doesn’t read these comments, does she?)

      Reply

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