What I Should Have Given Up....But Happy I Didn't

Well, it's been about week since I have had my new gadget. The sad thing is that I thought it would be the last thing I'd buy for a few months, but while helping Pam shop for a computer I ended up purchasing something for myself. But first lets start with the one from last week.

Okay, so you guys know how much I like to read, right. Well, all of us like to read either for enjoyment, relaxation, or self-improvement. Well, there are devices on the market that can actually store hundreds of articles of reading material (books, magazines, newspapers, etc...) and you can take them with you just about anywhere. Download books quickly and start reading in under a minute. It reads very much like a book only without the weight of a book. I've read sitting at a desk, on the couch, on the floor, in the bed, standing up and all ways were very comfortable. In bed if I drift off to sleep, instead of the book falling out of my hands and losing my place, the device will go into a standby mode and when I return to reading the book it starts up on the last page I left off. This device even has a speech option that reads the text to you so you don't even have to pick up the device to read if you don't want to. There are other features like the ability to download or email Word or PDF documents, and even downloading mp3s to set as background music.

So what is it? Which one did I get? It's the Kindle2 from Amazon. I know, "What!" some of you are thinking. Yes, it is a bit on the pricey side - at over $300 ($359 to be exact). And that has been the number one complaint from people who have either purchased one or want to purchase one. Now, when the first generation Kindle came to market about 4 years or so ago, it too was the same price, and it was on my "to buy" list. But I decided to wait until I cleared some of my other expenses. While it is a little more than what I wanted to pay for, after looking at some other ebook devices on the market, I would have chosen this one anyway. There are some other aspects that I don't care for with the Kindle2. One is that the software is proprietary and you can't read ebooks in other formats that are out there or that are protected files. The other big feature that isn't available (yet I hope) is that there is no color; everything is in black and white / or shades of gray. Now that is only a problem if you are reading something that has a lot of pictures, like a magazine or newspaper that have photos corresponding to the stories or articles, or if you are searching for something on the Internet (yes, you can search Google, Yahoo, Wikipedia and a few other search engine sites). Aside from those things, I love it, mainly because I don't have to carry around extra pounds of books that I am reading, or have to choose which one's to take with me. To me, having options and variety is worth it. I consider it an early birthday present to myself.

Now, the second thing I bought I was not expecting to buy so soon. I bought a Guitar Hero from Best Buy while helping Pam with her computer shopping. While I probably would have gotten one eventually, this was a complete impulse purchase. I am glad I got it, though, so that I can practice and take on those who think they easily beat me (Tylar and Deondray!!!!) Just give me a few weeks to perfect my techniques and then it's on!!

Until next time,
Stacey