Year of the Kindle

[Slo-go'en]

Like many others (saw at least half a dozen), I carried a Kindle on the trail this year.

The device held up well with no problems over the 6 weeks/500 miles of trail which I traveled. Battery life is exceptional, but maybe not the "up to 30 days" claimed. Even so, it never ran out of power on the trail and I only recharged it once. (make sure the wireless is turned off)

I noticed that at cool temps of say 40 degrees or less, the screen takes a second or two to update - significantly longer then at warmer temps. This makes flipping pages a little annoying. Using the Kindle at even colder temps during the winter or late fall may not be practical.

All in all, I feel it was well worth having the Kindle along and it got used everyday - especially since I had the Companion trail guide loaded into it and did not carry a hard copy. The only problem with that was I was reluctant to take it out of the pack if it was raining.

I only wish the Kindle had the ability to write and up load trip journals. Will have to suggest that to Amazon and maybe they will come up with something - if enough other people ask for that feature too.

[Phreak]

I'm taking my Kindle on the JMT this year. As far as the rain, I keep my kindle in a large ziploc bag - protects it from moisture and you can still read and scroll with no issues. I tested it in the shower and it worked perfectly.

[beartripper]

It is a handy tool. Like you say, if only they would add a little more to it. You are correct about turning off the "Wireless Connection."

[leaftye]

I wish tablet pc's were nearly as light and had color e-ink screens. They'd be great for writing journals thanks to the electronic stylus.

[Rocket Jones]

I wish tablet pc's were nearly as light and had color e-ink screens. They'd be great for writing journals thanks to the electronic stylus.

All the same, I hope Amazon resists the urge to "feature creep" the Kindle. It's an excellent ebook reader. Adding extra capabilities would increase the cost, shorten battery life, and make it into an iPad.

Maybe, if they would take one-half step back towards the first Kindle, and put back the SD card slot. That would be handy.

[leaftye]

I don't see expensive ebook readers sticking around if consumer tablets and tablet pc's get e-ink or OLED screens. They'd have to be very low priced to remain viable, like under $150.

[Rocket Jones]

I don't see expensive ebook readers sticking around if consumer tablets and tablet pc's get e-ink or OLED screens. They'd have to be very low priced to remain viable, like under $150.

A short while ago someone extrapolated the price reductions on Kindles and during an interview with the head guy at Amazon, asked him if the plan was to start giving away Kindles and make their profits on sales of ebooks. He didn't say no.

The cheapest Kindle now is only a little over $100, and Wally World and other big box stores are about to start selling them.

[JaxHiker]

I just use the Kindle app on my smartphone. I already have that with me and I can leave the larger, more bulky Kindle at home.

[Spokes]

I just got back from Spain and was able to do some day hikes along the Costa Brava. A friend brought his Kindle and used it all the time as a reference tool. He preloaded it with documents about Spain he thought he'd need. Just converted them to pdf's and emailed them to his Kindle account. Now I wish I would have brought mine!

This may be of interest. I've found a free eBook management application called Calibre for the Kindle. The neatest thing is you can schedule it to fetch news from a variety of news sources and automatically send them to your Kindle from your desktop. Best of all they come out formatted in a way where you can read them. No more small print or illegible pages!

If you visit the website be sure and watch the 6 minute demo video for a review of all the features.

Cheers!

[Lyle]

Hmmmmm.

I don't even carry a cell phone. I must be hopelessly under equipped. :-)


Oh Well, I like it that way.

[CowHead]

only problem with a kindle is you can't rip the pages out to start a fire and if you burn that it just smells like S^&*T

[rustmd]

on one of my recent alaska hikes, i brought my kindle. 4 weeks on the tundra, hiking/canoeing. the kindle was magnificent. i still use my local library (not yet kindle-friendly) but when i travel, i use my kindle. for us "avid readers", it works wonders.

[CaptChaos]

A short while ago someone extrapolated the price reductions on Kindles and during an interview with the head guy at Amazon, asked him if the plan was to start giving away Kindles and make their profits on sales of ebooks. He didn't say no.

The cheapest Kindle now is only a little over $100, and Wally World and other big box stores are about to start selling them.

I have a Kindle and love it. I went to purchase my wife a Kindle and saw that the price had come down. When I asked about it the person at Best Buy said to stay away from the new low cost Kindle for $114.00 as it displays ads all of the time.

the person told me at Best Buy that a lot of people had purchased the cheaper unit for Mothers Day and they were already bringing them back due to all of the ads that were coming up on the units.

[Rocket Jones]

I have a Kindle and love it. I went to purchase my wife a Kindle and saw that the price had come down. When I asked about it the person at Best Buy said to stay away from the new low cost Kindle for $114.00 as it displays ads all of the time.

the person told me at Best Buy that a lot of people had purchased the cheaper unit for Mothers Day and they were already bringing them back due to all of the ads that were coming up on the units.

I haven't seen one yet, but I thought that the ads only display when the unit is off. IOW, instead of the kindle title screen pictures, you see an ad.

[Jay_NJ]

After running into a thru-hiker aptly going by the name: Amazon... I was impressed enough to order the kindle wi-fi version (no-ads) version. I've been playing with it over the last few days and it is actually lighter then the paperback i am currently reading by about .5 ounces. Screen is great and I loaded last years thru-hikers guide on it and everything in the pdf displays perfectly!

[JaxHiker]

fyi Amazon's service is top notch. I was reading "Three Hundred Zeroes" the other night when the screen flickered and died. They sent me a new one overnight.

[Dobie Swift]

Just got a B&N Nook for Father's Day. First book loaded? The ALDHA Companion. Woot!

[Loneoak]

Does anyone know if the A T Guide will ever be avalible for the the Kindle? It seems that is the most popular guide out there.

[Wise Old Owl]

I wish tablet pc's were nearly as light and had color e-ink screens. They'd be great for writing journals thanks to the electronic stylus.

The reason for the great battery life, is the screen! making it a color would kill the battery. You will need to wait for the tech to catch up.