Does Amazon's Kindle 2 make sense for baby boomers?
April 25, 2009
My book reading has been tailing off over the past several years from what it used to be. I admit that as a 62-year-old baby boomer who has typically read a lot from books to magazines.
But, I've found it more difficult to read books for a variety of reasons. I like watching certain television programs at night and when they are over I'm generally tired and during the day, it's not always easy to pull out a book because of distractions. And my eyesight is not what it used to be.
So, when my son Justin got his Kindle 2 and I had a chance to use it, I decided to take the plunge. I've had it for a week and I've run it through it's paces. I've used it while waiting in the dentist's chair, while waiting for a long train to pass and in bed with my head firmly on one pillow trying to see if reading would make me feel drowsy tired.
Then when my wife and I decided to take a couple hour lunch at a state park on a lake, I took it with me.
A first conclusion: It's a conversation starter and a meeting stopper. In the dentist's waiting room, patients who typically have a look like they're waiting for their execution, excitedly asked me about who my Kindle worked and whether I liked it. A meeting where I participated got started a half hour late because everybody wanted to see it and had many questions.
The test was yesterday's lunch at the Sleepy Hollow State Park about a half hour northeast of Lansing, MI. We ate lunch on a picnic table in the sun with the wind blowing. It worked like a charm. I could see the page perfectly. I read 10 pages of my book and then I tried the audio where the Kindle reads the content to you. Perfect. My wife who was down by the lake shore could hear it.
And then I tried to download a book sample. The 3G inside the Kindle locked right into a signal and within a minute I had the content.
I will continue sharing as I use it. I'll also share my growing reading list where I'm starting to check off items that I've read.
But, I've found it more difficult to read books for a variety of reasons. I like watching certain television programs at night and when they are over I'm generally tired and during the day, it's not always easy to pull out a book because of distractions. And my eyesight is not what it used to be.
So, when my son Justin got his Kindle 2 and I had a chance to use it, I decided to take the plunge. I've had it for a week and I've run it through it's paces. I've used it while waiting in the dentist's chair, while waiting for a long train to pass and in bed with my head firmly on one pillow trying to see if reading would make me feel drowsy tired.
Then when my wife and I decided to take a couple hour lunch at a state park on a lake, I took it with me.
A first conclusion: It's a conversation starter and a meeting stopper. In the dentist's waiting room, patients who typically have a look like they're waiting for their execution, excitedly asked me about who my Kindle worked and whether I liked it. A meeting where I participated got started a half hour late because everybody wanted to see it and had many questions.
The test was yesterday's lunch at the Sleepy Hollow State Park about a half hour northeast of Lansing, MI. We ate lunch on a picnic table in the sun with the wind blowing. It worked like a charm. I could see the page perfectly. I read 10 pages of my book and then I tried the audio where the Kindle reads the content to you. Perfect. My wife who was down by the lake shore could hear it.
And then I tried to download a book sample. The 3G inside the Kindle locked right into a signal and within a minute I had the content.
I will continue sharing as I use it. I'll also share my growing reading list where I'm starting to check off items that I've read.