Kindle Touch Review

I'm a relatively voracious reader. Years ago, I started walking.  A lot.  To do the amount of walking I do a day takes some time. Soon thereafter I learned that I could combine my love of reading with walking and kill two birds with one stone. It's something I love to do.  My colleagues at work can confirm this as I am known there as 'that guy that walks everyday at lunchtime reading a book'.

I haven't owned or spent much time with Kindles - so I don't bring any particular experience that allows me to compare the Kindle Touch to previous Kindle versions.  However, I do own an iPad and have spent hours and hours reading on that - through the iBooks e-reader as well as a Kindle App.

My two-word review of the Kindle Touch:  Buy One!!

There's only a few technical things you need to know about a Kindle.  First, they use a display technology called e-ink that creates very sharp text on a non-reflective display.  There are two huge advantages to this technology:  it's amazingly easy to read in bright sunlight and it doesn't strain your eyes like reading from a computer monitor type display will.  That means... if you read a lot... or love reading outside - buy a Kindle Touch*. 

Second,  it's ridiculously light. I weighed a couple paperback books on a kitchen scale one day at Target.  Very scientific, I know.  I found that a book on the thinner side weighed 7-8 ounces while a book on the fatter side weighed between 9-10 ounces.  Obviously, hard cover books weigh more.  The Kindle Touch weighs around 7.5 oz.  It's lighter than most books.  That means you can carry it around in one hand for long periods of time with no fatigue.  Sweet!!  By comparison - the iPad weighs around 1.5 lbs (the iPad2 is around 1.3).  It's not hard for such a manly-man as myself to carry - but it's definitely a two-handed proposition.

Thirdly, it's a well-integrated system.  That sounds complex.. but all I mean is that the entire process of acquiring, physically getting the book onto the Kindle Touch and reading it once it's on there is really well thought out.  For instance, you can buy a book on Amazon.com and it will pretty much like magic show up on your Kindle**.  This process takes less time than going to the library and standing in line to check a book out.

Oh, and if you're the type that likes to beat decisions into the ground... you could agonize over the Kindle vs. Nook... or Kindle Keyboard vs Kindle Touch questions.  My suggestion:  don't bother.  Buy the Kindle Touch.  Why?  Simple.. it is the winner.  Remember VHS vs Beta?  Remember Laser Disks vs Blue Ray?  Remember Facebook vs MySpace?  Remember keyboards on phones before touch displays?  Save yourself the time... Kindle wins.  That is all.

Note:  For reading in the dark or indoors - or technical books or PDFs.. keep the iPad!!

* You may be aware of the Kindle Fire.  This e-reader has a display that is similar to a computer screen or an iPad screen.  This type screen can produce beautiful images and text.. but you'll strain to read them outdoors.

** This comment assumes you set your Kindle up to be part of a wireless network.