eLearning Service

Earlier this month, Amazon introduced the Kindle 2 ebook reader (check out the link in the right sidebar), which produced a flurry of reviews.

John Biggs at CrunchGear says the Kindle is the future, but lists 10 reasons to buy and 10 reasons not to buy.  Your own circumstances will dictate which way to go, assuming you have the bucks to make the purchase if that is your choice.

Biggs reasons not to buy focus mainly on his perception that Kindle is not a good research or reference tool, including for students.  But its great for travelers, he notes, especially those who like to take a lot of books along with them.  The new Kindle 2 can hold 1,500 books, but there is no SD slot for added memory.

There is no mention in the post of the new text-to-speech function, which is being loudly complained about by Roy Blount, president of the Authors Guild.  He feels authors are being cheated by Amazon which is not paying for audio rights, unlike the publishing of traditional audio books.

I confess I haven’t heard the Kindle 2 read a book aloud.  I am a big fan of audio books because I like the acting ability of the narrators, not just the capability of having a voice read to me.  I always assumed that the relatively expensive cost (which I lament) of audio books paid for talented professionals who create a different experience for the listener from that of a reader of the printed work.

I haven’t seen my reason listed anywhere for not buying a Kindle ebook reader, tempted as I am because I love tech gadgets.  It has to do with my reluctance to purchase books, including audio books, that I can get at the library.  The kind of book I like to own these days is unlikely to be satisfactory as an ebook because it would have copious illustrations.  I also read, or start to read, hundreds of books a year.  A fair number of them turn out to be books I do not want or need to own.