As the saying goes: never say never!
I was firmly entrenched in the "I will never own an ereader" category for a long time but not any more! I am now the proud owner of a Kindle Paperwhite, which I received as an early birthday present. :<)
So far, I am enjoying the Kindle Paperwhite but there were a few tense moments when it first arrived here. Well maybe not tense, but a bit frustrating!
I'm careful to follow the instructions with any kind of electronic gadgets, how to set up etc..when I get a new "toy" . Yes, I actually do read the instructions!
Well, when it came to printed instructions with the Kindle Paperwhite, there wasn't any included with the package. I didn't know if I should charge it up first, turn it on first, did I need to be connected to WiFi for charging, set-up... as a non-techie person, I had a few questions and was left wondering how best to proceed.
I then checked online at Amazon and it was still rather sketchy when it came to step-by step set-up on how to get started. And so much info. to browse through, that wasn't pertinent to what I was trying to find either. I finally just plugged it into my computer, allowed it to charge and then went ahead with the set-up, following the prompts on the Kindle itself.
Yes, I know that we are all trying to cut down on paper these days but a simple: Quick Set-Up Card or Page, included with the package itself, would have been most appreciated. And do they really need to send instructions in Canada and the U.S. in a gazillion different languages? I don't think so. That's sometimes the excuse for not including instructions with an item now. .
After getting things up and running, WiFi passwords and all (I usually don't use it, feel more secure with having my Notebook hard-wired to Internet) it was fun to try out some of the features that come with the Kindle Paperwhite.
I appreciated that the screen is really close to reading from an actual white paper book page, not like some of the earlier ereader models I checked out that had a greyish cast to them.
The page forward is so quick and easy too, without that unpleasant "scroll" that again was what I disliked when I looked at ereaders a couple of years ago.
The pages load fast, no lag time. I'm a very fast reader and again, this was one of the things I didn't like about earlier ereader models I had tried out. Seemed way too slow to be pleasant to read with them. Not the case with Kindle Paperwhite.
The estimated reading time feature based on the speed you read, is so cool too.
I have noted already that the battery doesn't stay charged up as long as I had expected, when you are using the Kindle Paperwhite for hours at a time. I'm guessing this one will probably allow me about 10 hours of actual use, based on what I've noted already. Sometimes I read for hours at a time, so I guess I'll have to get use to charging this unit up on a fairly regular basis.
Overall, I'm happy to finally have an ereader and I'm glad that it's the Kindle Paperwhite.
I did a lot of research comparing the various options available with different brands/models before I decided on the Kindle Paperwhite. As is the case with any gadget, I picked out the features I thought I'd enjoy most and so far, it's exceeded my expectations. Still learning how to use all the features and feel a bit clumsy typing on the onscreen keyboard, but hopefully will improve on this in time. At least I know the keyboard, LOL and don't have to "hunt and peck" as some people do.
If you have an ereader, do share which brand/model you chose and why.
If you don't have one, are you planning to purchase one soon?
March 19th update:
Here's the link to my Kindle (knit) Cover that I mentioned below in a comment, in case you want to knit one too. :<)
Overall rating for this product: Very Good. 4 out of 5.
