My ‘almost’ Kindle II buy—and a few words on reading lights for E Ink machines

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By David Rothman

I came dangerously close to buying a Kindle II  last week for $230—a price workable even with my budget and my unhappiness with the K-machine’s DRM. Owning the II would give me a chance to write about DRM in the most direct way, beyond using the Kindle app on my iPod Touch.

The seller said, truthfully or not, that he was a FedEx pilot. The plan was that I’d try out the Kindle in my apartment lobby, see the related paperwork to make sure the Kindle wasn’t hot, and pay him good old American cash if I liked the machine. No show. Was he a real pilot flying into the D.C. area, by coincidence? Or just a scammer who backed off, knowing I was on the guard? Or maybe a jerk who, without notice, canceled because he found a buyer willing to pay more?

The story doesn’t end there. I missed my old Sony Reader PRS-505; and, as long as I was checking out Craigslist, I managed to scare one up for $173—a legitimate deal, it would appear, as indicated by the just-received tracking number. That was almost $40 less than I’d sold mine for. Now I could once again read library books in, ugh, PDF. And maybe ePub soon?

But what to use for a reading light? I didn’t have one before but lately have taken to reading books while walking in my complex’s long halls, where the lighting could be brighter. The word from one reviewer was that Sony’s light-cover combo was not so terrific, and I wasn’t sure if this was right, anyway, for reading while walking. Not everyone is down on the official light-cover combo. But in the end I chose the Mighty Bright XtraFlex 2 Reading Light, a clip-on gizmo favorably written up in a review of a bunch of lights. I’m not certain about the Mighty Bright’s ergonomics for use with the PRS-505 when walking, but at around $13, it’s a cheap gamble. I’ll still use my iPod Touch, by the way—I just wanted some variety and a chance to mess some more with Calibre. So did I make the right choice? What reading light are you using with your own E Ink machine? Or do you think that the existence of the Sony PRS-700, with a built in light, makes this issue moot?

Detail: No, I haven’t "run" into any neighbors while I walk. I glance up from the screen while I’m reading and tend to walk at odd hours. I’m also reminded of a line in The Great Gatsby about trusting careful drivers—in this case, careful walkers.

And a warning about Craig’s List: It discourages out-of-town transactions, and I would warn you to exercise special caution even when dealing locally. But prices do seem to be cheaper than on eBay. Someone just snapped up an original Kindle, apparently, for $150.

Related: Ficbot’s excellent PRS-505 writeups.

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