Who says Amazon.com is only limited to selling books? Today, Amazon has joined the ranks of being one of the major technological innovators. In fact, Sonyâs Reader has found great competition from one of Amazonâs newest products: the Kindle Reader.
Its name could have a much stronger impact, considering that âKindleâ means âenlightenment,â or the birth of great ideasâand it is, if youâll learn to look past beyond its many flaws:
1. Being connected has its pitfalls. The wireless connection of Kindle spells both boon and bane for the product. Itâs good because you can basically carry your favorite books, blogs, and other whatever reading material literally no matter where you go. The downside is its browser isnât really its main priority. Rather, it gives so much emphasis on being a book reader. Thus, donât be surprised if youâre going to meet numerous error messages. The only consolation perhaps is the fact that you the images really donât appear so awful.
2. It stopped looking good. Itâs surprising how critics never failed to mention Kindleâs designs if theyâre asked of its disadvantages. It seems like the designers behind the product have lost their touch in creativity. It appears bland and too plain. It doesnât make any better when pictures started showing everywhere, depicting it as close to being ugly. In reality, though, Kindle may not be equal to Apple in the looks department, but itâs still look like a cool gadget, at least at first glance.
3. Itâs flip, not scroll. People are so used to scrolling, no matter how tiring this routine can be. Think of PCs and cell phones. However, you may have to accustom yourself to flipping when youâre using Amazonâs Kindle. Perhaps itâs because it tries to truly imitate a person reading a book. You flip on the pagesâyou donât scroll.
4. Convergence doesnât exist. Why was the iPhone such a huge hit? More than its design, it attempts to merge two of the most important devices today: phone and iPod. Convergence is the buzzword, considering that individuals love anything that will make life much more convenient. Kindle doesnât seem to possess that, though. It becomes a more advanced ebook reader, with wireless connectivity on the side.
5. It canât read important file formats. There are certain formats that are only applicable to Kindle. These include .txt and MP3 files. File formats such as Word, HTML, and JPEG are unreadable. If you need to read an important Word file, you still have to send the document to Amazon, who will later convert and send it to you. Even though this is Free of charge, definitely, youâll find the entire process taxing and totally time-consuming. To make matters worse, Amazon and Kindle doesnât support RTF documents when, in fact, itâs a subset of Word document, which is apparently supported by Kindle.
Despite the many âfaultsâ of Amazon Kindle, it doesnât take away the fact that itâs a revolutionary gadget. Itâs so easy on the eye and comfortable to carry around. And besides, if youâre truly a bookworm, wouldnât be building your own library and placing it in your bag more than enough?
