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GA Russell · 03-17-2011, 11:26 PM

I was shopping at BJ's today and saw my first Kindle. (I've never seen one in the wild; and this Christmas I did all my shopping online, so I never bothered to visit a store that carries them.)

I am posting this here on the jetBook forum because I don't want the Kindle fanboys to think that I'm a troll trying to pick a fight.

The display unit was working. The price is $136 (plus tax, I'm sure).

Here are my impressions:

1) It was smaller than I imagined. The space devoted to the keyboard didn't bother me at all.

2) It was lightweight compared to the JBL. Judging the weight of display units is difficult for me, because all of the ones that I have seen (Sony and now Kindle) have been attached to a spring-cord which tugs rather strongly.

3) I was very disappointed with the eInk pearl screen. I have an Astak EZReader with last year's eInk vizplex screen, but this was the first time I saw the new pearl screen.

People talk about contrast, but what is important to me is the blackness of the text - and the Kindle's text is not nearly as black as that of the jetBook Lite (and its siblings).

4) In sum, I can imagine that someone with arthritis would prefer the lightness of the Kindle, but for the screen I would have to choose the jetBook.

03-17-2011, 11:26 PM	#1
GA Russell What a weekend! Posts: 7,695 Karma: 31487351 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Raleigh, NC Device: Paperwhite, Kindles 10 & 4 and jetBook Lite	I saw my first Kindle today. I was shopping at BJ's today and saw my first Kindle. (I've never seen one in the wild; and this Christmas I did all my shopping online, so I never bothered to visit a store that carries them.) I am posting this here on the jetBook forum because I don't want the Kindle fanboys to think that I'm a troll trying to pick a fight. The display unit was working. The price is $136 (plus tax, I'm sure). Here are my impressions: 1) It was smaller than I imagined. The space devoted to the keyboard didn't bother me at all. 2) It was lightweight compared to the JBL. Judging the weight of display units is difficult for me, because all of the ones that I have seen (Sony and now Kindle) have been attached to a spring-cord which tugs rather strongly. 3) I was very disappointed with the eInk pearl screen. I have an Astak EZReader with last year's eInk vizplex screen, but this was the first time I saw the new pearl screen. People talk about contrast, but what is important to me is the blackness of the text - and the Kindle's text is not nearly as black as that of the jetBook Lite (and its siblings). 4) In sum, I can imagine that someone with arthritis would prefer the lightness of the Kindle, but for the screen I would have to choose the jetBook.