<p>Garland, you’re right. In my world, my Kindle will never totally replace real books, and we are both heavy library users. But what Kindle does, it does well. We no longer have to take an extra suitcase for reading material when we travel, and I always have tons of books in my purse. I can read Spanish books without having to leaf through a dictionary several times on each page. I can sample and buy books that haven’t hit the library yet. I sample more books than I would have without it because it’s so easy. If you are an avid reader, it just amps up your choices and opportunities. But I can absolutely understand why someone would be reluctant to purchase one and it is not a necessity for sure.</p>
<p>Preironic–your stance makes sense, and if I do end up with one of these in the future, it will be for reasons like travel. It’s nice to sees someone take up a new technology and not immediately crown it “a necessity.” that approach seems to get rarer and rarer.</p>
<p>Xiggi–I’m pre historic in that i’m still resisting the “everything is disposiblel” view of technology, even though it’s becoming a reality. From both economic (at least, personal economic) and environmental reasons, I will continue to resist!</p>
<p>I love, love, love my Kindle even though it’s been replaced twice and I paid full price (close to $300 I think) when the second generation one came out. I love not having to haul books with me on trips, I love not having the books laying around my house when I’m done reading them and I love that I can order a new one up in the middle of the night if I finish one. I especially love that I can turn off my Kindle and when I wake up at 4 am, my laptop knows where I left off the night before so I can read in bed without turning on a light. Now when I get a book as a gift, I am kind of disappointed because I’d rather read it on the Kindle. My family now knows to just get me Amazon gift certificates. I’ve never been a library person because, don’t laugh at me, I am afraid someone has been reading the book while sitting on the toilet. The only downside for me is it’s difficult to flip back through the book before you have all the characters straight or if there’s a map that you want to refer to. Also if you have read any books by Jen Lancaster, who uses a lot of footnotes in a humorous way, you do not want to order her books on Kindle.</p>
<p>I bought a Kindle slightly reluctantly, mostly because I get tired of taking five or six books with me for a one-week trip. Turns out my favorite thing about it is the Sunday New York Times. I can download the whole thing for 99 cents, no advertising, and I no longer have to deal with an enormous pile of paper sitting around yelling “read me or recycle me!” every week.</p>
<p>I also subscribed to the New Yorker for a total of $4/month. Again. No pile of paper and I can take the whole stack with me everywhere I go.</p>
<p>I’ve had my kindle for 2 years, with no problems whatsoever. My mom got a new kindle this year, and after a couple of days it wouldn’t turn on (like the OP). I called amazon, within 2 minutes was talking to a real person, and within 15 minutes he had sent a new one. It would have even been shorter if there hadn’t been some confusion about who bought the kindle (she got it for getting an amex, so she hadn’t bought it). It would have been here overnight if not for the snow, and amazon sent several emails apologizing for the delay! That seems pretty impressive to me. I think getting a case to prevent accidental bumps and scratches when it’s in a bag is important.</p>
<p>NOT a necessity, but a wonderful luxury.
I understand Garland’s stance completely and I don’t usually fall head over heels in love with new gadgets. (Which is very good for our family budget since DH would like EVERY new electronic thingy the moment it is born).</p>
<p>I have a 2nd generation Kindle that is now one year old. Santa brought it last year and it was $249 then I think. Have had not ONE problem to date with daily use.
It does seem that there are more problems being posted regarding this year’s crop of Kindle 3s. Do you think that Amazon rushed them to market for holiday season?
Or just that so many more folks are buying this year thus more stories of problems?</p>
<p>In any case, it IS great to hear how responsive Amazon is to customer complaints.
Not surprising that they would want to avoid any tarnish on the Kindle rep.</p>
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<p>I hear you! I hear you! </p>
<p>Fwiw, it does annoy me that so many of our electronics are beyond the simplest of repairs. You might understand my frustration when being told a new iPhone was toast (bad pun) from merely being moist in my backpack. The same about HP laptops that become bricks when the video card gets too hot after one year. Even at my young age, I remember there “used” to be a time when it was easier to fiddle with technology and replace faulty components. </p>
<p>I guess my point is that with today’s planned obsolescence and the “low cost/low quality” mantra, it has become easier to measure the value of items by their projected life expectancy, and … be prepared to replace them earlier than common sense would dictate. ;)</p>
<p>Yeah, I see your point. It does seem to be the reality. I will continue to love my books, despite, again, knowing I am living in the past.</p>
<p>Slightly off track, but I’m with y’all on Amazon customer service. I had a terrible experience with B and N a few weeks ago, enough to convince me that if I did get a reader, it would not be a Nook. Rude and stupid–guy kept starting every sentence with “pretty much,” as in “pretty much, it, um looks like you can’t cancel, even though it said you could, cuz, pretty much, it’s in the system now.” </p>
<p>OTOH, with Amazon, we had a delivery problem which was totally UPS’s fault, and Amazon handled it beautifully, promptly, and courteously. What a difference!</p>
<p>Not to hijack my own thread, but Amazon also was a delight with a problem of my daughter’s. She had order a couple of things that were to come from 2 different vendors. According to the tracking noticed both items arrived on the same day and were left in her condo mail room. When she went to pick them up, they were not there. There had not been any issues of mail going missing in her building in the past and the packages came earlier than they should have. One call to Amazon and my daughter’s credit card was immediately credited. I believe Amazon said they were having trouble with these companies, although I never did understand how two different companies screwed up on the same order, unless it really was an Amazon problem. Whatever, she got her money back, so that is all that matters.</p>
<p>I keep urging DS to use the one he got for Christmas to make sure they aren’t any bugs. He’s 19, loves reading and was thrilled for the gift. He has books all over his room and this really appeals to him. He also got Call of Duty…so his attention is a bit torn, he’s 19, playing wi-fi with two teenage brothers on their laptops while everyone is home. I get that. I just don’t want him to miss a possible problem with the Kindle and notice it when he really starts getting more familiar with it in a couple of weeks.</p>
<p>In the meantime I have massive gadget envy and am doing everything I can not to abscond the Kindle just to check it out for myself ;)</p>
<p>blueiguana… I think you should help your son get his Kindle going… Charge it, load his favorite books (a lot of classics are available for free)… and maybe just read a few pages to make sure everything’s good.</p>
<p>Has anyone ever cracked the screen on a Kindle? My D fell asleep with her Kindle and must have rolled over it. Should I contact Amazon or just write it off?</p>
<p>Can’t hurt to contact Amazon. I’m a little surprised I haven’t cracked the screen on mine – I’ve fallen asleep a couple of times and had it drop to the floor. Now I at least try to hold the Kindle well over the bed.</p>
<p>Amazon just quoted me $65 for a screen repair. I’m sure they just send out a used Kindle, which is still fairly generous on their part, as it’s really our fault.</p>