|
Web surfing on a small screen can be frustrating. Add the slow refresh rate of eInk and it makes it pretty annoying. I'd rather surf on my smartphone. If it's a mobile site, that should be fine like others said. Wikipedia search works really well and is nicely formatted.
When I first bought the Kindle, the deciding factors were content search, dictionary lookup and annotation. Sony 505 has none of these. The 700 now has search and annotation but still no dictionary support. It wasn't out when I was looking. The Amazon store was also a big plus. I didn't think I'd be using the wireless aside from the occasional web or Wikipedia search with eInk being as slow as it is. I figured it was for tech-phobic folks who were intimidated with the idea of loading content via USB. Once I started using the Kindle, I realized what was really brilliant about Whispernet.
It's not so much being able to shop from the device. That works well in a pinch but shopping from my computer is easier. It's faster. I have a mouse and a regular keyboard. I rarely shop from the Kindle. The nifty thing for me is being able to send myself the free samples with one click on my computer and then buying the book with one click from the device if I decide I like it. When I see a book I think I may be interested in, I send the sample. The next time I turn on the wireless, it'll be there. I don't think about whether or not I'll really want it. I don't spend time while I'm shopping trying to read a few paragraphs and decide from that little bit whether it's worth my time and money. I used to do that in the book store and was frequently wrong. Now I get about a chapter of the book, sometimes more. I can read it on my Kindle when I feel like it. At the end of the sample there's a link to buy it. I click on the link and in less than a minute I have the book. I could be at the park or on the train or just ensconced in my comfy chair with a cat and a cup of tea and there's my book. I don't have to try to guess what I'll be in the mood for next. Sometimes I read a sample but it's not what I feel like now but I end up reading it later and getting the book. I've also read a lot of samples and not bought the book at all. Back in my paper days, I would have because I generally bought several books at a time trying to have enough to tide me over. If it looked interesting, I bought it but I often ended up with books I didn't like enough to finish. I've finished every book I've bought with the Kindle. This feature saves me a good deal of money. Plus I get to read what I want when I want.
|