A few days ago, I was full of excitement as I purchased a new Kindle 2 e-reader. I’m reading quite a few books these days, and I made all the arguments, which I think are still good arguments, that I would save money by buying the e-versions of the books. And I could carry all the books in one place. And I can search through the books. I was pumped.
But then I actually started to use it. And here are the reasons why I’m returning it:
1. Doesn’t show standard page numbers. The Kindle uses a proprietary system called a “location number.” So instead of showing you that you’re on page “46”, it will show “112-58.” What does that location number mean? Who knows. Is there any correlation between that number and the actual page numbers? None at all.
If you’re just doing casual reading, then it’s not that big of a deal to know your exact page number. You’re just reading for pleasure, so it’s all good. But I recently started going back to school, and I have to do lots of academic reading and writing. The lack of page numbers becomes a problem when you get to the area of citing your source. If someone is looking at a footnote you wrote, they’d like to be able to see that you took the quote from page 97, as opposed to 335-23. This, for me, is the biggest reason why I’m returning it. Perhaps in ten years, it won’t be an issue to have footnotes filled with Kindle’s proprietary numbers. But for today, people still want to know the exact page number of your citation.
2. Not enough screen contrast. The Kindle uses special screen technology called E-Ink, which makes it easy to read for long periods of time. The only problem is that it’s a fairly dark-looking screen. At first, I thought it was because there wasn’t a lot of light where I was. But I found to be comfortable for my reading, I had to be directly below a light source. And you don’t have an option to make the screen lighter or darker (that I know of). This was a small issue for me. But found that the contrast in a regular book is much easier to read in.
3. Doesn’t automatically show footnotes. This is another geeky point, but it’s important if you’re reading academic materials. I happen to have the Kindle version, as well as the regular print version of a particular book in front of me. On one page in the print version, there are footnotes that take up a good fifth of the page: footnotes with contextual information on it. On the Kindle, there is nothing. At all. Of course, you’ll see the little footnote symbol at the end of a particular sentence. But if you want to see the footnote, you have to click on that little footnote symbol, but it doesn’t automatically show the same footnote as on a printed page.
And if you do click on a footnote, it will send you to an “endnote” section of the book where all the footnotes are. Once you’re there, you can’t easily click back to go back to where you were reading. So you can’t quickly glance at a footnote, and then go back to your reading. It’s a whole burdensome process.
For me, those are just too important of features. I’d rather just read from the physical book and have those things.
Here’ what I’ll miss about the Kindle 2, though:
1. The weight. It’s super light. It weighs 10.2 ounces, which is less than most books. The iPad, comparatively felt much heavier in my hands.
2. It’s form factor (shape). Holding it feels really great. It’s thin and super light and feels very natural.
3. Ease of advancing to the next page. I can’t imagine an e-reader that is easier in “function” to read from. There are two large buttons on either side to advance to the next page. It feels natural to advance this way, rather than clicking on a screen or swiping your fingers on a screen (sorry iPad users!). It’s also really easy and effortless to highlight on a screen.
4. Downloading books. It takes just about 60 seconds to download and begin reading your new book.
So, overall, I think it depends what you want to use the Kindle for and what you’re willing to put up with. If you have to do academic writing and reading, this is not the product for you. Organizations such as MLA, APA, and Chicago Manual are still in a tizzy over how to cite the Kindle properly. If you want to do it for relaxing pleasure-reading, then this might not be a bad option, if you don’t mind the dark contrast on the screen.
What about you? Do you have one? What do think? What is your favorite e-reader?
UPDATE: I ended up going with a Kindle 3 when it came out and I’m really enjoying it. Here’s the review I did on the Kindle 3.
[image by jinglefly]
I just use Kindle for Mac and the iPhone app. These are for the books that I read weekly. I am trying this year to read one a week. It works good for some books I would read and then give away anyways. The books I think I would want to keep for future reference I, like you still prefer hardcopy. So for me it’s a mix. I can go through a bunch of knowledge cheaper with the kindle reader for Mac and iPhone app and still keep the important books for me.
Chris, that’s an awesome goal of one per week!! Do it! And that’s an interesting strategy as well, of just reading on the mac and iphone. Have you considered getting an iPad for the reading?
I have but right now its cost prohibitive for me. Works great on the Mac and iPhone. Since it syncs in the cloud, where ever I leave off on both machines I can pick right up on the other with out having to remember where I left off. It seems to be working great for me right now.
I have gotten one a week most weeks this year but not every week. It has pushed me though. I dont think I could do it if I didnt have it on the iPhone as I always have a book with me on that.
ohhhhh… who would’ve thought! thanks so much for the review. makes sense since i use the iphone kindle app & never liked the lack of pg. #s. yup, not a good idea for academic rdng! when did you start fuller’s dmin program? hows it going? sometimes they do a week intensive here in hawaii. what a great excuse to come put here!
Hey Dave….I actually started the program a few weeks ago. I have my first intensive at the end of the August. Until then I have to do lots of reading and writing reports and such. So far so good. Whew…I’d love it of they did an intensive there….I’ve never made it to hawaii before, so I certainly wouldn’t complain 😉
Yeah, I feel like it could have been a pretty good deal, the Kindle, if only I could see footnotes and see page numbers. If they do an update and fix it i’ll probably pick it up then.
I received a Kindle 3 as an unexpected Christmas gift. I’d been ambivalent about e-readers and hadn’t really wanted one. Now that I have mine – I totally love it, but agree with you on the points you made about it not being friendly for academic reading (and the one about not having to swipe with your finger; I have an iPhone and used the Kindle for iPhone app prior to getting my Kindle). These days, I don’t have occasion to write papers and provide citations, so the page number thing isn’t as big an issue. It’s still one if you wanted to share a quote with a friend who has a ‘real’ book – figuring out where the quote is is something else…
The one thing I find really annoying about it is that there is no [legal] way to access library books if your library system happens to offer that option. Sure, there are thousands of free books you can download for Kindle, but most of those happen to be older books – classics that are no longer under copyright. For anything current – you have to purchase. The Sony e-readers and I’ve heard the Barnes and Noble ones are compatible with library e-books. Yes, the prices for Kindle books are cheaper than ‘regular’ books, but like Chris, I’m trying a book-a-week project again this year, and the charges can add up pretty quickly. Plus, every so often you come across a book that you really dislike – if you bought it, you’re annoyed about the time you wasted reading it and the fact that you paid good money for it!! 🙂 So I read a lot of library books and only buy the ones that I really like. We may have to allocate some money in the budget for e-books.
Thanks for the post!
Wow! That’s a lot of books, Melissa! Good for you. I thought Kindle had the capability to borrow books from library. Hmmm…guess not. That’s definitely too bad. I tell you, I would probably buy a kindle tomorrow if they turned on the page feature. Not everyone needs it. But I definitely do.
Enjoy yours, though!
Page numbers are coming to Kindle, Pastor Ortiz! A software update has been issued/will be issued shortly that will allow real page numbers to show up. Here’s the excerpt from the email Amazon sent to Kindle customers:
Real Page Numbers
Many titles in the Kindle Store now include real page numbers, making it easy to reference and cite passages and read alongside someone reading the print book in a book club or class. Page numbers will also be available on our free “Buy Once, Read Everywhere” Kindle apps in the coming months. As with all of Kindle’s features, we want you to lose yourself in the author’s words, so page numbers and locations are only displayed when you press the Menu button.
Will keep you posted on how it works out.
Hope you’re settling in after your move. We moved two years ago and there are still unpacked boxes in our basement. Guess that means we should really have a yard sale or something – if I haven’t used something in two years, I probably really don’t need it, huh? 🙂
Wow! Thanks for letting me know, Melissa! That is soooo exciting. Wow…that really just made my day to learn they’ll have page numbers. I will definitely jump back into the kindle/ipad world. That was the only thing really holding me back.
By the way, yard sales and selling things on Craigslist is good for the soul. Believe me…it’s in the Bible somewhere 😉