So after four months with a Kindle seems a good time to review my feelings about the Amazon eBook reader.

Bottom line is…I love it. A single use device well suited for it’s task. There is a feeling of rightness when holding that is a joy.

Obviously no device is perfect (even the iPad…gasp!) and I’ll run through some of the snags with the Kindle. However for those in the market for just an eBook reader it’s the front runner.

The good

- Screen is really good for reading text on. One of my big problems with the iPad is that the LCD screen is just not comfortable for reading for long amounts of time. The Kindle’s eInk screen doesn’t have these problems, the text having as close to print-on-paper resolution as I have seen. The display is also very readable in direct sunlight or in an environment such as an office with strip lighting.

- Build quality is good enough. It lacks the fit and finish of the iPad but the plastic feels sturdy and the tactile finish on the back makes it nice to hold. The materials also make the Kindle light enough to ensure that your reading experience isn’t compromised by having to keep shifting it from hand to hand or resting it on your lap. In fact it seems designed to be pleasant but unremarkable, helping to maintain the readers focus on the words themselves.

- The Amazon ecosystem. It is just really easy to buy and get books onto this device. Too easy, judging by the increase in my monthly book buying habits!
The buy once read everywhere ethos that Amazon has is also an attractive proposition. The idea that you can lose this device yet your library remains available and ready to download to the device of your choice is compelling. Having the iPad version works for more technical books where images and formatting are important. I have a bunch of web development books synched to my Pad.

- Portability. A recent holiday saw me pack the 241 gram Kindle rather than 5 or 6 books.

The bad

- Screen size. The 6 inch screen can feel cramped, especially if you increase the font-size from the deafult (which I recommend). The main frustration is that the real estate is there, but currently occupied by the hardware keyboard. Besides the navigational buttons the alphanumeric keys hardly ever get used but take up a significant amount of the device.

- Low-light situations. I imagine a lot of people like to read in bed. Unless you are by a good light source the monochome eInk display legibility does suffer. Amazon do a leather Kindle case with integrated light which does work really well, if a little pricey.

- Price. There is actually 2 issues here. Historically, eBook pricing in the Kindle store has been lower than their physical book equivalents, which makes sense when considering lower costs of production and delivery. However increasingly prices are rising, to the point when often the two prices are the same of even higher for the eBook. These are generally accompanied by the phrase “Pricing set by publisher”. Predominately the early low pricing of eBooks by Amazon has been replaced by publishers looking to introduce price parity.
Which is a bit of a cheek considering..

- Typesetting / Formatting. Bearing in mind publishers are charging ‘full price’ for digital, editions, the quality of some of these eBooks is a disgrace. There are often numerous spelling mistakes,  erratic line-spacing and erroneous characters. If the publishing houses want price parity then they need to be providing a quality product. Too often it seems shoddy at best.
That said, the problem lies with the publishers rather than Amazon and the device itself.