I have been fond of reading ever since I was a child and I have collected lots of pocketbooks since. I have lost most of them.
Then came the technology in which you can read books in electronic devices. And I have jumped and adapted to this immediately. Since I always have my phone with me and I am always in front of a PC at work, it has never been a problem to me reading on such devices. Reading electronically is almost free since I get to download from the net all the books that I wanted to read as compared to buying them from the bookstore. My phone has become my friend during long waits for the shuttle to home and my companion before I sleep when the lights are already turned off.
I have known about e-readers since they existed. When the very first Kindle was launched, however, it did not interest me much. I thought, "buying a black and white device is not practical at all when I have my phone already in color". I was very satisfied reading via my phone.
Kindle did not actually get popular in the Philippines since recently when Amazon, its maker, started shipping the product internationally. It was just initially available at the States.
How was I convinced to buy a Kindle?
Before I bought one, I read a lot of reviews first about the previous Kindle generations. I usually do this so I know I would be buying a product for its worth. I found out that the Kindle being sold at that moment and was just released a few weeks back is in its fourth generation. It has buttons you can click to navigate a book and control the device, and of course, it is in black and white. A touch version called the Kindle Touch and a colored tablet-like version called the Kindle Fire are being released also but on a later date on the time that I bought the Kindle.
It was not as expensive as I thought. I bought the "with special offers" version (with advertisements) which only costs $79. The version without ads costs $109. I have read that the ads would not bother you while you are reading and they will only show up on the main menu at the bottom of the screen. The reviews on the device were all great. I knew that it was not just a marketing tactic since those who posted the reviews were those who really bought and tested the product. The product also boasts that you will experience reading on a real paper, with no glare even in bright sunlight which all the tablets and phones available in the world fail to do.
I had my Kindle shipped to a friend in the US last month who brought back the Kindle to me when she got back in Manila and gave it to me earlier today.
I was so excited and I loaded it up immediate with the books I currently wanted to read. And the reviews were all true. It was a wonderful reading experience. I could not believe that I am actually holding an electronic device and not a real book. The text is also crispier on the device than on paper. It was also easy to navigate and is very light to hold given that it is the thinnest e-reader available that you can buy. However, you would need to buy a book light to be able to read at night since the device has no backlight.
I immediately fell in love with my Kindle.
More information about Kindle in Amazon.com.
