Kindle for sailing

[Rob19574]

Hi all - I just received a Kindle for Christmas from my wife and thought about starting a thread on the potential uses and applications for cruisers. I'm not affiliated with Amazon and have no interest in product promotion but thought I'd give my point of view here.

The Kindle DX is a wireless book reader that works through a Sprint wireless network (similar to cellular access). There is no charge for the wireless internet access once you buy the Kindle (sell for ~$489 DX...the Kindle 2 I think is around $289). Aside from being able to download books to the reader you can also subscribe to a number of popular daily newspapers, magazines and online blogs. It also has a built in browser so you can read anything online such as weather sites or access your email. The neat thing about the newspaper subscriptions is that they are streamed right into the unit before you even get to your morning coffee. The screen is not like a normal LCD or laptop screen - it uses very little power and the overall unit recharges rather quickly. You can also read the screen in direct sunlight with no problems.

Seems like a very nifty thing to have on a boat to stay informed on news, access books and do some light internet surfing / email - even access weather sites. The internet access is not the fastest but it works and is free after you buy the unit. Newspaper and blog subscriptions cost anywhere from a $1.99 to $15 per month. I'm still trying to figure out if it makes sense to pay for a news subscription when you access the same sites for free. It does seem to reformat website pages nicely for ease of reading.
Its not going to work too far offshore so again, not for blue-water use but great to have while in port.

I was always under the impression the Kindle was just for books....there is much more you can do with them.

- Rob

 

[RichBone]

Right, and the market just got a little hotter with the introduction of Barnes and Noble's reader and the anticipated announcement of Apple's.

Rich

 

[Ross]

If these gadgets will get people reading again then it is wonderful. Personally I am fond of paper and ink books. They are completely portable, use no batteries, no one will steal it if I lay it down and go for a cup of coffee. For the price of Kindle I can fill a long shelf with used books.

 

[RichBone]

If these gadgets will get people reading again then it is wonderful. Personally I am fond of paper and ink books. They are completely portable, use no batteries, no one will steal it if I lay it down and go for a cup of coffee. For the price of Kindle I can fill a long shelf with used books.

I agree with you about the simplicity of paper and ink and I much prefer having a newspaper in hand as opposed to reading it online, but what I think the gist of Rob's post was the potential of the electronic reader. In much the way that ipods aren't just music players and cell phones aren't just phones anymore, readers have the potential to be much more than just a reader. There's a lot of room for growth between the ipod and and the laptop.

Rich

 

[Maine Sail]

If these gadgets will get people reading again then it is wonderful. Personally I am fond of paper and ink books. They are completely portable, use no batteries, no one will steal it if I lay it down and go for a cup of coffee. For the price of Kindle I can fill a long shelf with used books.

But if you are like me, and spend most of your time in the car, a real book just does not work. I do a lot of books on tape/CD and download some to my iPod too so I can read while I drive... Sadly there are very few marine related books that you can get in audio format...

 

[Ross]

A great advantage I see to a system like this is the ability to review many books at very low cost. But if I find a book I really like I will buy a hard copy.

 

[Rob19574]

I think the Kindle is still a rather expensive device for reading books unless you read so many books per year, the reduced cost per book makes up for the entry price - and if you read books from the library or pass-alongs from friends the cost may never be recouped. However, when you factor in all the other things you can potentially use the device for - such as free internet access while cruising to access email or weather sites - it may somewhat justify the price. There are many free kindle books available as well, such as Joshua Slocum's Sailing Around the World Alone....abeit it was published 100 yr ago.

My original perception was different until I actually had the Kindle in hand and used it. Waking up on the hook this summer in my favorite anchorage and being able to skim through my favorite news reads while having coffee is appealing to me.

- Rob

 

[ConchyJoe]

Bought my wife a Kindle DX for Christmas. She loves it. The DX also has an audio jack so you can listen to books that have that ability, if you are driving.

 

[higgs]

I can see a lot of advantages for a Kindle on a boat for the avid reader. Its gotta be a real space saver. Like the iPod. I have the equivelent of 300 CDs on it. can you imagine crusing with 300 CDs.

The disadvantage of the Kindle is that one loses the ability to trade books with others. It is fun to visit places and peruse the leave one take one library.

 

[kendall]

I looked into the kindle and similar readers, and came to the conclusion that it doesn't do anything you couldn't do with a small laptop or netbook.

For the most part (with a computer) the only expense after purchase is internet access, thousands of sites carry news stories, and even video.

In short, I feel that for the price you can buy a halfway decent laptop, or nicely equipped netbook, and have the ability to do a lot more with it.

Ken.