I don't know where to start but lets start with the Kindle 2 price cut. I was abroad at that time so I couldn't purchase a K2, and so I thought, "Hmm... I'm going to get myself a K2 immediately once I land back in the US"(which would be around 11-12th Aug), (and with free Prime [Student] it would have been just a matter of 2 days wait period max. And so I waited and waited as to when I would actually return. But wait, on July 30-31st they announced the Kindle 3. It would ship on August 27th. I never expected it to get sold out so I waited until August 4th. And then the Amazon page hit me... "Expected shipping date for new deliveries - Sept 4th", and in haste I pre-ordered a Black Kindle 3 3G. This meant that my initial plan of acquiring a Kindle as soon as I returned would have to be 'slightly modified' so to say. Since all was for the better I although a little 'disappoint' accepted it.
Now around 8-10 days later I returned back to the US (college starting
). I had very well seen that the Kindle new order delivery date had been pushed back to 10th September.
Suddenly, I do not know why, I thought I was making a hasty decision by pre-ordering (I never preorder anything, just a fundamental sceptic), and probably $190 is too much money to spend on a 'mere' ebook reader AND I should probably read a few reviews before jumping in and buying it. Whenever I feel that I am making a wrong decision, I generally wait for atleast 24 hours before acting up on it to eliminate the impulse-factor in my decision (which was probably why I did not preorder the Kindle as soon as it came out).
Did I mention that I've been practically wanting an ebook reader for over a year?
So, after waiting 24 hours I again broached this topic in my mind. It said, "Cancel your pre-order, it's not a big deal. You can get one after its released. Worst case scenario would be you get it 2 weeks later than the original launch date and probably a week or so later than you originally would have". It also said, "Come on, you really don't read all that much[lie] you dont need to spend money on such a device."
So, I did.
I cancelled my preorder rationalizing that I should read the reviews before I buy a product and it goes against my 'code' to blindly purchase one.
Now did you see that I've specifically used the word 'purchase' instead of the word úse' in my diatribe against myself?
Yes? That's because I've been (seeing that I'm a student) REGULARLY (almost on levels of insanity) borrowing Kindle from my college library (1 week no renewal). And although college hasn't started, we could still checkout items.
So I did that as well.
After a lengthy break of 2 months I had an e-ink device in my hands again. I checked out a Kindle 1 last Monday and used it for 5 days. It felt great. Gone were the days of squinting at my 2.8" cellphone screen. I liked the scroll wheel. I especially loved the case. Makes you feel that it's well protected and you don't hesitate to throw(well not literally throw, but you get the point) it in your backpack. And the whispernet has been a boon while at bus stops. I could instantly download "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" and be reading in less time than it took me to walk from my college building to the stop(which isn't all that far mind you). I actually found nothing wrong with the Kindle 1's screen. Also, when the clouds cleared and the sun smiled upon the land as I was reading, I would gently chucked in awe of an e-ink screen whose potency grows with the surrounding lighting conditions. Not once or twice, but almost all the time. I would have an air of superiority when others with cellphones would try to hide the screen from the sun with their cupped hands, and here I was welcoming the warm sunshine in its full glory(I just smiled while writing this line as well). This, felt magical. I could see noticeable page turn times but I thought I would/could live with it. And so five days passed, and I returned my Kindle 1... and issued myself a Kindle 2.
The battery was down on the Kindle 2. I reached home and charged it upto 11. I then looked at a book preloaded on it (my library considers request for any book you might want preloaded on the device) titled, "Nickeled and Dimed". Alright, the name sounds familiar... lets start reading. And then I noticed one thing almost immediately. The page turns, they were almost instantaneous. And I was in awe again. My heart said, "How much better is the Kindle 2 to the Kindle 1 which I was ready to accept as my own? How much better will the Kindle 3 be to the Kindle 2 now? Mind, I truly believe you were wrong in manipulating him to cancel it. Can you explain yourself?". My mind had no answer. I realized that I had in a sense made a mistake by canceling my pre-order. That the reader would truly not go underutilized like any other toy one has. That I should put it on pre-order again. I cannot/do not go to a single lecture without the Kindle. I leave my laptop at home, but I do take the Kindle along with me without fail. Although not my own, the Kindle has rejoined me as my companion in these few short days. Hence now wiser I will positively listen to the heart and not the mind.
Now I see that the preorders have been pushed back to the 17th. *sigh* (Goes to pre-order page again)