Kindle Fire; Travel & reading made enjoyable

Written by Rori on 11 April 2012

Mine Kindle Fire is an outstanding tool for enjoying reading, anytime, anywhere. Photo Rori Paul

I’m a reader. I love pulling out a book and just learning new things or getting lost in another world. Its simple to do and yet, so blasted hard. A year ago I swore I’d never, ever get a Kindle of any sort. That I would never use a tablet of any sort for reading. There was no way you could convince me that going technological was the way to enjoy reading. I love the feel of a book, the smell of the pages, the way it sits in your hand, how it makes the experience of reading as much a part of the reading as the actual reading.

I’d never consider a Kindle.

Then the Kindle Fire came out, we moved, and I suddenly was looking at books another way.

There is nothing like having to pack your book collection that can make you see, feel, and understand that one book is one thing, a couple hundred means weight, space and cost. So we backed up our books, and we got rid of a lot.

We’d already treated ourselves to the Kindle Fire at Christmas so getting rid of them was a little less of a sting, yet a strange new world.

KINDLE FIRE ROCKS
Yea, you read that right; a year ago no way, now it rocks. I love it. I do use it at times to watch a movie, but rarely.Mine is for reading.

With Amazon Prime things are even easier, from those movies to buying books, but what makes this all a home run and rocks the party for me is the ease.

From reading a chosen book (like Dean Koontz) to watching a movie to chatting on Facebook, the Kindle Fire is a fun way to stay in touch with the world and slip into your own private world. Photo Rori Paul

I can now take my Kindle Fire (and my books – all of them ) wherever I want. I can read whenever I want, I can read whatever I want when I read. There have been plenty of times when I’ll begin reading a book, then stop that and switch to another, all with only one device. With its cover, it even has the look and feel of a book, but the ease of my computer.

Now I will admit, I have not come close to replacing many of my books. So far, not a big issue. Many were not that hard to get rid of; I wouldn’t have re-read those, many were somehow out of date, and many were just no longer of interest.

So when I do replace them, its because I really want that book and I’ll do so as time moves along. It won’t really matter how many books I buy since the Kindle Fire and its cloud hold a whole lot of material.

RUN DOWN
PROS:

Price: Very good for the Kindle Fire. Not that they have them a bit more “perfected’ you get a great screen for reading or watching a movie and the price is very reasonable.

Amazon Prime: Wouldn’t do it any other way. With the Prime account I can buy at a discount, watch free movies, get other products at a discount, can read some books free from their library, and the Amazon Prime movies and tv shows can also be watched on our computers or TV through our Roku. Prime is a yearly fee, but we have already more than paid for each of ours. (4 months)

Take note: the Amazon Prime membership is a great idea and we’ve loved ours. You can purchase from either the KF or your computer. DO note that there is a single button/click option that will let you load your information, then when you buy, simply click once. This is a GREAT option and there is a “panic button” kind of abort the purchase if you make a mistake, but do watch your fingers. We haven’t had an issue yet, but I always watching when I’m in the Amazon store.

Feel: Its a little heavier than I expected, but I’ve come to like that. I know its there and has a solid feel. I treat mine like a baby and have added a cover, also bought through Prime. That allows me to hold the leather looking/feeling covered book, protects the Kindle Fire, and it has a set up-stand like opportunity that lets me stand the book and not have to hold it.

Watching a movie is as easy as hitting a couple buttons. Go into the Amazon store and either buy one you get to keep or borrow one (requires an Amazon Prime Membership) Photo Rori Paul

Number of Books: Very good. No not everything is in here, but I wouldn’t call it a con (at this point). I only have one book I’m so far bummed I can’t get on the KF, but in general, I’m happy with the overall number of choices. I’m looking at general leisure reading as fulfilling and only some business related books have me still needing to buy or consider hard copies (really paperback) over the KF. You can even vote to have books taken to KF.

Ease: I can take it everywhere, so travel is a breeze. Do get the warranty – which I believe our research in Nov/Dec. showed only available through Amazon. Have the peace of mind. But take it with you or leave it at home. And when you read, you can read all the books on there ** When you are not connected to the internet remember to have downloaded onto the device. The cloud only works when connected. You can choose to have on either both, or send up to the cloud and free up KF space.

CONS:

The Tub: Ok, so one of my favorite reading spots is during a hot bath. NOT going to happen with a Kindle Fire. So think about that if you can’t live without being in the tub. Perhaps you have a favorite chair or maybe the beach. Where you read will determine if you’re into the technology aspect.

Number of Books: While I do not consider it a con at this point, you might find that the books you enjoy are not yet available. Amazon is bringing more online all the time, but do hit their site and look: are the books you read on the Kindle list?

Amazon Prime Membership: For us the membership has been a great thing. We can watch movies, read, buy all on the Kindle Fire or our computers. The movies and TV shows we stream on our Roku as well. For a single yearly fee we get more than our monies worth. Be sure that you’re just as comfortable as we are – will you use it?

Among my favorite elements is that you can literally track what you're reading, your highlights and notes and you can jump around the book. Unlike a real book where you might search for something, with the KF the KF is tracking for you and in one spot, shows you all the information. Photo Rori Paul

In the end, we are both very happy with the results we’ve enjoyed with our Kindle Fires. We think it is a great way to enjoy reading and then some. We are both adding new elements all the time.

There are other tablets and opportunities on the market. In deed, I’ve just gotten a MAC IPad. However, for my lifestyle, both professional and personal, I am using my Kindle Fire strictly for the reading while my IPad will be a work tool, allowing me to carry a computer when needed to mobile. If you need one unit for all, you might have to consider the IPad for that. I’ve only just gotten mine, so do not know the overall use that can be had. ** Mine will still remain a primary professional tool.

*** I have also just learned you can get a Kindle App for your IPad which means you can bring your Kindle stuff over to the IPad – yes, I will be learning all I can about this now… WOW! Technology is amazing!

Choose the size of your words, the background, even the color of the words. Adjusted for your comfort is something you cannot do with a regular book.

Choose the passage or words you want to highlight or look up, then choose your action. The KF will track this all for you in one spot so when you go back, you can easily jump to those notes or highlights. Great for remembering something or doing school work.