I have to ask:
Are you going to buy a Kindle 3? What are your thoughts?
Let your thoughts and comments ring true in the comments. Feel free to troll it up too.
😉
If you’re interested in a great unboxing video done by Michael Hyatt, check this out.
JayCaruso says
I am probably going to get one. At $139 for the wifi version, it’s a really good deal. The thing that is great is the books I’ve already purchased (for my computer and my phone) can be moved right over to it. I’m glad Amazon made it easy to move the content between devices.
Cliff Lusk says
When it was announced, I sold my original Kindle 2 on craigslist and ordered the new Kindle 3. I’m sure I’m going to love it more than the Kindle 2 since its lighter, a bit faster, more batter life, and much more crisp. Plus the new case has a built in light!
Adam Shields says
I am a huge fan of my kindle 2. This one seems to have made good changes in the right places. I probably won’t upgrade for now, but if it drops in price again I might.
I think for the first two versions the most important features were the size of the bookstore and the 3G service. But now that there is a kindle app for almost any cell phone or computer I don’t think the 3G is as important. If I want to look up a book I hear someone talking about or add it to my wishlist, I can do it on my phone, my ipad, my kindle or my computer.
So for almost everyone, I think the Wifi only one is the way to go. The exception might be if you are buying for a parent or someone that is not very technically savvy. Then you can have the 3G on all the time and send books to them without them having to worry about it.
Brett Barner says
I have the Kindle 2. Purchased the refurb for a cool $100 that includes 3G anywhere. The Kindle 3 is nice, but for me, my Kindle 2 does just fine. That doesn’t mean I won’t encourage others to pick up a Kindle 3, but I’m sticking with the 2 for now.
Brian N says
My wi-fi-only Kindle 3 arrived Friday. This is my first e-book reader, and I’m impressed.
The most impressive thing is the screen. E-ink is just way cool. I have the Kindle app on my iPad, and I’d rather read the e-ink display because it’s so crisp and easy on the eyes. The iPad has advantages of a larger screen and a backlight (though one could argue that those are disadvantages in some ways), and interacting with the book via touch screen is quite intuitive. In fact, my wife has been using the iPad for a few weeks, and it didn’t take her long to try swiping from one page to another on the Kindle, and “clicking” on links on-screen. In comparison to the other electronic devices we use these days, the Kindle does seem a little clunky to navigate. Not terrible, mind you; I just have to remind myself that this is an electronic book reader, not a black & white computer.
Consumer Reports nails the top pros and cons in their 2-minute video overview: http://bit.ly/amHbxy. Here’s my own non-exhaustive rundown of the good and bad:
Pros:
-The screen is gorgeous. Stunning. Not iPad-style gorgeous, but perfect for a reader, and certainly double-take inducing for anyone who hasn’t seen an e-ink display before.
-Page turns are sufficiently quick. Don’t expect to see any complaints about page turn speed, like with the Nook.
-The page turn buttons are almost silent–quiet enough for all but the most noise-sensitive spouses.
-The size and weight are excellent. I wouldn’t mind if it were just a bit lighter, but I suspect it’s on par with a paperback.
-I’m looking forward to the excellent battery life, but haven’t pushed it enough to report on that.
Cons:
-Page turn buttons are just barely too slim, especially if you’re holding the Kindle with one hand and trying to turn pages with that hand’s thumb. I don’t think I’ll drop it, but larger buttons would have made me more certain.
-The lack of numbers on the keyboard is a disappointment. And the keyboard uses a grid layout instead of the offset layout of a typical QWERTY keyboard. Why, oh why, do companies do this? That small change reduces my typing speed.
-The “5-way,” as Kindle calls its navigation pad, is too small, and too close to other buttons. That’s really too bad, because it’s otherwise intuitive and functional enough.
-It crashed once in the first 36 hours.
There are certainly other pros and cons to mention, and I probably missed one or two obvious ones, but those are some of the first to come to mind. I’m really enjoying this device, and e-books in general.
John Saddington says
wow, thanks for this!
Rodlie Ortiz says
One of the main issues I have with the Kindle and Amazon in general is that they don’t use page numbers. They opt for the “location” numbers instead. If you’re trying to do stuff in the academic world, it doesn’t jive too well. It’s just awkward to try to cite with it. Fuller Seminary is still trying to figure those things out. I would buy one tomorrow, and buy about $300 worth of books if they were to add in the page numbers. I actually bought the Kindle 2 a few months ago and returned it. I share my experience of why I returned it and what I’ll miss about it here:
http://www.modernekklesia.com/2010/05/why-im-returning-my-kindle-2-e-reader-and-what-ill-miss-about-it.html
So for now I’m going to stick to regular books for the ease of use.
Tom Dye says
Kris Kringle put a Kindle in my wife’s stocking for Christmas. Then my wife made the mistake of giving me permission to “play with it.” I’m not even a reader and I love the Kindle 3; I can’t put it down.