I finally bought a Kindle!

I’ve been thinking about getting one for a while now. My sister has one and I’ve been borrowing hers when I go hiking as my Dell Streak‘s screen is just not readable in bright sunlight due to glare. I always question myself before I buy anything nowadays to make sure it’s something I will really be using.

I’ll be traveling long term out of the country in January and I’m expecting my new Kindle to get a lot of use from it. I know I will be outside quite a bit and I’ll be doing a lot of reading, so the Kindle’s E Ink display is perfect for this. I’m also planning on doing multi-day treks, long bus/train/plane/boat rides, and possibly end up in places with no electricity for days at a time. The Kindle’s long battery life (up to 1 month for the model I have) will come very handy in these types of situations.

When I heard about the price drop after the Kindle Fire tablet was announced, that was really the time when I seriously considered getting one. I actually thought they just dropped the price of the older Kindle model (now called Kindle Keyboard). But it turned out they actually made 2 additional models. Smaller, lighter models without the keyboard which I never really used to begin with. This is just perfect as I try to pack as light as possible!

I went with the cheapest, most basic, $79 version of the Kindle for these reasons:

1. Well, it’s the cheapest one :D.
2. It’s the lightest/smallest version.
3. I never cared about the keyboard as I rarely used it.
4. I thought about possibly getting the $99 Kindle Touch since it’s only a $20 difference, but it’s an extra $20 for functionality that I probably won’t really miss, plus the touchscreen part is just another thing that can break.
5. I bought this device for reading, so lack of audio is really no big deal (I actually didn’t even know the other versions have audio until I read some reviews). And again, it’s one less thing that can break.
6. I really doubt I’ll be in a situation where I won’t have access to electricity for more than 3 weeks, so the $79 Kindle’s 1 month battery life is more than enough (the Touch and Keyboard models can last up to 2 months).
7. I don’t see myself ever filling up the 2GB storage which can store about 1,400 books (the Touch and Keyboard versions have 4GB storage).

This model feels just like the Kindle Keyboard without the keyboard. It has a dedicated button that brings up an on-screen keyboard. It’s very light, easy to hold, very simple and easy to use, and fits in my pocket!

It fits!

This Kindle also only comes with a USB cable without a power adapter, but you can buy the power adapter separately from Amazon for $9.99. The power adapter doesn’t have to be specifically designed for the Kindle, by the way, you can use any power adapter with a USB interface (I use my Dell Streak’s power adapter).

Using the Dell Streak's power adapter with the Kindle

So far, I love it!