Reconciled with Amazon's Kindle

I’d never been a fan of eBooks. Something about them didn’t feel right. Staring into a backlit screen on my laptop trying to read Dan Brown or Vince Flynn felt like reading a government white paper on the photosynthesis of grass growing on the parliament lawn.
Then I had the “E-thereal” moment of being graced with my first Kindle.
My Kindle 3 was an amazing plastic slab that transported me to many places without a single swipe, pinch or squeeze. E-Ink is an amazing innovation, providing vision-friendly print that doesn’t leave the eyes in need of a salt wash.
Then Amazon lost me when my Kindle 3 died. After many chats with the call centre in some Indian city, I finally gave up, dejected and once more reading on my laptop.
It had been a quick relationship, just five months. The last book I read was “Eat, Pray, Love”. (Maybe that’s why my Kindle 3 passed away.)
Fast-forward 10 months and Amazon unveils the Kindle 4. Begrudgingly – and bitter at having missed out in the meantime on such wonderful books as “Selected Soldering and Brazing systems” ($6,233) – I decided to give it another try.
My Kindle 4 came in a plain and simple brown box, but within in it, I knew, was a world of knowledge, entertainment and personal exploration.
The slimmer, shorter and lighter Kindle 4 is missing a keyboard and headphone jack, an alarming omission at first glance. “What have I done?” I fumed in a cloud of buyer’s remorse.
With the chip of doubt on my shoulder, I lifted the Kindle 4 up like Rifiki the Baboon hoisting baby Simba in “The Lion King” and felt a strangely satisfactory sensation. It was so light and comfortable in my ogre-like hands. I immediately developed an intense bond that purged all ill feelings. Amazon had reincarnated my beloved Kindle as something even better.
Amazon claims the Kindle 4 is much faster. I haven’t noticed any difference, but the Refresh and e-Ink lag times are much improved.
If you want an all-in-one tablet eReader, the Kindle 4 is not for you. The experimental Web browser is absolute rubbish, the lack of a physical keyboard will panic some users, and the memory has dropped from four gigs to two – the equivalent of about 1,400 eBooks. And you get only Wi-Fi.
However, if, like me, you only wish to do the one thing the Kindle was made for – read books – then you won’t be disappointed. The screen real estate is just as big and the overall eReader is much lighter and more responsive when “turn” the page.
I have yet to be disappointed by this new Kindle experience. The sheer number of books available from Amazon represents a virtual playground of stories and knowledge.
All in all, this Kindle is designed for reading and that’s what it’s good at. There are no frills, bells or whistles, just unadulterated reading pleasure. I give it 5 out of 5 wheelchair points.