My first weeks with the new Kindle 3

I am always interested to get new gadgets in my hands and let all the new user experiences get into my daily life. And I can say eReaders are intrusive.

I started reading eBooks on my MacBook, shifted temporarily to an iPad and then back to my iPhone - no, I am not an addict to the i-devices or an Apple freak and enjoy playing with any other gadget, too. But this will be another story to come. I also like Android phones a lot and especially the Samsung Galaxy Tab is a very remarkable device as written in my previous blog, but today I want to focus on my new reading device.

I was never sure, whether the different display technologies really make a difference in how you consume books, but I have to say it really does make reading a complete different experience.

Let's go step by step 

• The new Kindle 3 is compact, light and has a really improved display. I got it delivered to my home address in Germany for about 150 Euros. Delivery was fast and just took some days. Amazon is really a worldwide seller with fast and reliable delivery. Even if the follow up order of a leather cover went wrong for the first time, as the same delivery address I got my Kindle was reported undeliverable and the whole process got stuck, but the refund got back immediately.
• Some friends I showed the device first thought it to be a mockup device with a printed paper on top as the contrast is nearly as good as on a printed page. The background color is still not really white but somewhat greyish, but even in low light conditions the text is as readable as any other book.
• The WiFi connection works flawlessly and the whole concept of the order and delivery features of the Kindle store make collecting books on your Kindle a snap. I prefer to browse and buy with my MacBook and get it downloaded to the Kindle during the next usage. And as text is so compact to download the whole process is fast and smoothly running on the device.
• You can order books, magazines and newspapers either piece by piece or for monthly subscription rates. Even first German newspapers are available. But the electronic newspapapers are just very short versions of the printed edtitions and so it pretty much depends on the individual paper, whether this is really worth it or not compared to their respective internet presence that comes for free. Magazines look a bit better in that respect but you still have to compare online versions and the e-editions to decide about your own willingness to pay.
• The Kindle has lots of features, like browsing and direct book shopping, but I prefer just to download and sync my reading status and the to get to "off" mode. Wich means to disconnect with all my online activities and to focus on the books I read to "be transported into that mental realm readers love, where the outside world dissolves, leaving only the author's stories, words, and ideas", as the Kindle welcome article indicates.
• You take this Kindle with you like any other book. You open or unpack it from the cover, switch it on and start reading. 
• You dont care too much on the charging status of the device as the power lasts at least for a week, even if you do some daily sync with the WiFi.
• Because of its small size and light weight you can hold it in one hand for hours. And it is lighter then most of the paperbacks your get. So reading on this device is is just a lot of fun.
• Reading of foreign language books is a real superior experience on the Kindle as at least an Oxford readers English dictionary comes with it and helps me a lot as I am not an English native and still have to look up some words while reading. You just mark a word with your cursor and get a popup explaining it. Nice isn't it? Other dictionaries can be installed but I have no experience using them. Some friends told me, it can be managed without too big problems.
• You can have a lot of different books with you at the same time. So, if you get tired on reading a book you can easily switch to another one. No hassle, all is in your hand and the Kindle kindly remembers the page you have read. Like that feeling of convenience ;-)

All in all I would heavily recommend eReaders to people that are frequently travelling or using public transportation a lot. You can really make use of your time wherever you are.

I have to get back to my Kindle 3 now to get further with my actual ebook, "The Facebook Effect" by David Kirkpatrick!