Gadget Gawking will be an occasional short (or not) review and assessment of a gadget making the headlines. So, to kick this mini-column off, I've chosen the Kindle!
I was fortunate to spend a little quality time recently with a brand-new Kindle that a colleague had purchased for their organization. The Kindle is what might be generally called an ebook reader or e-reader device with WiFi. It is available exclusively from Amazon.com online.
And it is neat from a techy point of view: thin; smaller than I thought it'd be; ergonomically well thought out; light-weight; always on WiFi (via Sprint's cell phone network); doesn't need to be plugged into a computer for any reason; text is sharp; page-turning very quick.
But pretty expensive for what you get ($400 - empty, no ebooks) and it displays only grayscale images, no pictures! Try reading Time without the pictures or graphics, pretty fun huh!? And no touch screen, granted the iPhone comparison has spoiled us gadget-lovers, but for $400 I want to touch my screen, my $89 three year-old Palm has a touch screen! Although, once you get the hang of it, the non-intuitive scroll-wheel is a pretty neat way to navigate, but thank goodness I was shown how to get around or I'd still be staring at a blank gray screen.
And you can use it as an MP3 player ... A really big one from 1989, it's like the size of a trade paperback (but thinner). So not small enough for a pocket, you'll still need a case or a purse or a man-purse or a backpack to take it around in.
And the kicker! Anything and everything you put on it you have to pay for or subscribe to (even free blogs!). And you can't offload or print out any of it; it's a purely closed little digital eco-system.
So if you don't have access to a computer or a laptop to read blogs that your local library can provide you, by the way, and if you like to surf the web in grayscale, and if you like to read the latest best-seller on a screen, and if you have lots of disposable cash (or just won the Lottery), then this is the gadget for you! And they're back in stock at Amazon.com too!
With my pretend $400 I'd buy an iPod Touch - color touch screen, "free" WiFi, and music and videos and the web - I think I might buy a scratch-off ticket at lunch! This will be an upcoming column ...
To read a related commentary in Library Journal Online talking about the Kindle and the book-selling business, click here:
http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6547061.html
