To Kindle or not to Kindle

I've had my Kindle Fire HD  for just over a month now and thought it was time that I gave you my verdict. I had been considering a Kindle for sometime.   I decided to purchase a Kindle for it's versatility.  My son has owned a tablet for a few years now and was always telling me how much more portable it is than a laptop.  I didn't need microsoft office but wanted to be able to access the internet and apps as well as being able to store photo's.

All books listed on the Kindle enable you to download a sample, which is usually the first chapter, you can then go on to purchase the full book or delete the sample. The print is very clear and easily readable but  there is a facility on all Kindles to change the size of the font, alter the brightness, size of text and if necessary you can alter the background to sepia or reverse the the text from black on white to white on black. Some of the books available have a text to speech facility so you can listen rather than read.  The Kindle also comes with a audio book store. All the books listed enable you to play a sample usually the first 5 mins. I don't know how the prices of these compare to buying the CD's. 

As the Kindle belongs to Amazon then you link to any wish lists you have created on your account. My book shelf currently has in excess of 30 books still waiting to be read. The majority were purchased prior to my acquiring the Kindle but some have been purchased since.  My wish list currently has 50+ books saved to it in the que for downloading. If I had bought all of these books in paperback I would have nearly 100 books sat on the shelf. I still alternate between books and the Kindle but this is mainly due to the fact of price.  I carry a small note book around with me and when I see a book of interest I make a note of the name. I then check my Kindle to see if it's listed. It then comes down to the price.  Some of our supermarkets have regular deals on their books such as two for £7 or three for £10 therefore it has to be £3.50 or thereabouts on the Kindle for the Kindle to win.  If I am going to purchase from the Kindle I can store in the wish list until I am ready to purchase and read.

I like the fact that if I have been working late and miss any of my favourites on TV that I can now watch them on TV Catch Up.

You can store all your favourite photographs either on your Kindle device or on your cloud which comes as part of the software.  I have already accumulated a number of photographs and still have plenty of space left.  There are lots of apps available to enhance your photographs including instagram, colour effect and my sketch all available to download.  The one downside to the Kindle is the inbuilt Kindle.  The photographs are very poor quality and all photographs have to be taken facing you.  I've not tried the video facility as yet but I'm not sure how good the lighting quality would be.

And lastly my son has set up SKYPE for me so that whilst he is away on tour in Afghanistan we will be able to periodically be able to talk to one another and I will be able to see for myself that he is ok.  Well you never stop being a parent do you just because they have grown up. 

Hope you have found my ramblings helpful.

Have a good week one and all.

M