10 reasons not to buy a Kindle 2
1. It’s bad for research. I’m working on a book right now and I wanted to use the Kindle for all of my research. Sadly, this is almost impossible. The book is a physical object – you can move through it, skimming for notes and important points – and there is something in our education that gives us a sense of space inside a book. I don’t quite know how to explain it, but you know how you can pick up a book and show someone what you’re looking for in a few page turns? You know it was halfway through, maybe a third of the way down the page, and it was near another set of words. The Kindle is not conducive to that kind of mental map-making… yet.
2. It’s horrible for reference. Don’t buy a Kindle of you just read programming manuals. Programming manuals offer something different. While it seems counterintuitive that a document you can search programatically wouldn’t be good as reference material, you’re better off looking up function calls on a website and using the physical book as a guide to building your programs. This is a corallary of point 1, above, so this could change.
3. The Kindle is flimsy. You’ll go through your day thinking you will break your Kindle. You don’t fit that much screen on a thin device that is meant to be thrown into a bag without a care and not risk cracking it. There will come a day when you open your bag and see that your Kindle is dead, even in its case. It’s not your fault. Say it with me: it’s not your fault.
4. It’s not ready for students. Add points 1, 2, and 3 together and you come to the conclusion that this is not ready for students. This may be a good device for English classes requiring lots of long novel reading, but as an education tool it isn’t quite there.
5. The net connection doesn’t work internationally. For some reason last year I was convinced the Kindle had Wi-Fi built-in. I was trying to get on the Internet in Warsaw, Poland and I kept looking for that Wi-Fi button. Then I remembered – no Wi-Fi. And I cried. How I cried, my friends. Then I downloaded the Kindle book onto my desktop and dragged it over via the USB cable. So that’s, in essence, your international solution.
6. No SD slot. While the Kindle can easily hold 1,500 books, what if you’re the kind of person who likes to keep everything in its right place? Maybe you want to make a book playlist? Maybe you have 1,501 books? I don’t know. Sadly, the Kindle doesn’t allow for memory expansion. Not a big deal, but to some it’s a bad thing.
7. Flight attendants will tell you to turn it off on take off and landing. You can’t explain that it’s epaper and uses no current. You just can’t. It’s like explaining heaven to bears.
8. It contains a battery. Remember, Reader, the Kindle is mortal. It will die on you when you don’t have your charger.
9. It’s bottom heavy. The internal battery makes the device want to plop face down on your chest. I read it last night when I was sleepy and it kept getting ready to fall on me.
10. There’s just something about a dead tree book, isn’t there? It’s nice to pop into the airport news stand and pick up a novel. It just is. I’m sorry.
http://www.crunchgear.com/2009/02/25/10-reasons-to-buy-a-kindle-2-and-10-reasons-not-to/.
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I believe this expresses the opinions and viwes of a normal, average person: the casual language and tone used in the article denotates this, or at least this is the impression I got from it. It highlights the main problems some people have , however, if one considers the whole list of problems many individuals will agree with one or more of them. It expresses the view that people have been raised amongst book- real, physical books- it is simply weird to substitute a hard copy with a word document. For one that has grown reading books, it is imply uncomfortable to be reading ALL the time from a computer. I would easily rely on this 10 points as proof of the problems Kindle may cause. This isn't the opinion of an expert of some sort or a writer, just the opinion of a normal reader, anyone could identify with this opinion. Despite what one may think,general opinions are good too.
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The kindle is one of the latest inventions they have invented to read. At first the kindle may seem practical and fashionable but it all depends on the reader. If you are a person who likes to fold the pages, underline unusual words and leave your book on the floor than the kindle is probably not the best idea for you. The kindle is a luxurious and delicate invention made for people that like to carry many books in their backpacks, and are responsible to charge it. Hopefully no with it less people can make the excuse to skip reading during vacation. Remember before buying it, research and learn about what you want and need.
ReplyDeleteThe Kindle has become the easiest way of carrying a huge quantity of books in a small amount of space. Although, it helps the reader to have all his or her books in a single place, it has many characteristics that may become a problem to the reader. For example, the fact that Kindles are like portable computers might bother some readers to the point of ending their enthusiastic readings, mainly because they tire the eyes after several hours of using them, the sense of touching a page and feeling the emotion of turning it is totally gone. Moreover, with a book you can turn the pages,go back if you need to and even you can be looking at two pages at the same time. For some individuals the kindle might be practical, while for others it could eventually make reading unwanted and tiresome.
ReplyDeleteThis article shows how, although ebooks, vooks, and Kindles are increasingliy popular, nothing beat a paper book. The Kindle has unreliable internet, it requires a battery, and it is "flimsy." If I bought a Kindle, it would be to have an easier access to books in a compact and light design. If I can't take it to school or on trip without worrying about breaking it, why would I buy it in the first place. I would prefer hoolding a paper book that I can flip through, highlight, and mark without trouble. I wouldn't want to have to go through the trouble of having to use an electronic deveice for my reading homework.
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