First, what I didn’t buy Kindle Touch for:
– tech review,
– reading books in my mother tongue – Polish.

There are a couple of major reasons why I have ordered Kindle Touch from Poland and had it delivered privately as this model is not available for international shipment.

1. To buy and read books in English

I’ve tested Kindle ecosystem since I downloaded Kindle app to my iPhone in April 2009. Long enough to recognize my preferences. I like the fact that books are stored in the cloud and I can get access to them from any device which is at hand. I like instant purchase and download.

In short: convenience. I’ll do everything to avoid connecting the device to a computer to get one book added to it. I would rather skip reading those ebooks I have on my computer than spending long hours on conversion.

The seamless experience wants one thing to sacrifice in my case: books in my mother tongue. There are less than 100 at Kindle Store. In Poland most ebookstores use epub format and DRM from Adobe. My English is good enough to read ebooks in English. I started to read them. I converted to English.

If you live outside US, and you want to read books mainly in your own language, make sure they are easily available for Kindle (unprotected mobi format) – or think twice before buying this device.

2. To have a family ereading device

This will be an interesting thing to see – I think ereaders can be more of the family than personal experience.

Books, unlike music or television are meant to be enjoyed personally. Ebooks are also enjoyed personally, the device can be used by one person at a time, but this single device can be used as a virtual bookshelf by the whole family – just like a bookshelf for paper books.

If the family consists of four members, it doesn’t mean every single member needs an ereader. They can read books also on a computer, mobile phone or a tablet.

This set of devices can give access to books stored at one account. This is what I’m going to do – to use my Kindle account to be the digital library of English titles for the whole family. Not separate accounts synced with different devices. One leading device, one bookshelf for all.

Book is very personal. Ereader doesn’t have to.

3. To give tips for users of this device

Two earlier reasons wouldn’t have been enough to buy Kindle Touch. But I run this site to give tips for ebook readers, knowing how difficult it is to find information on using an ereading device or app. Using not buying.

Media and bloggers focus on giving advice on which device to choose. You know: reviews, hands-ons, first impressions. And then, stop. People who use the ereaders need help. They have to operate a device to read a book. There was no need to learn how to operate a print book.

Buying an ereader is a tiny part of the process, which doesn’t even deserve to be the beginning of a story. In fact it shouldn’t. Before you buy a device you could learn about ebooks you want to have and test them. A device should be bought by someone who is aware of how to use it.

So, don’t expect an analysis of whether 800 x 600 px screen is better in Kindle than in Nook. I’m not into it. I’ll share tips on how to add books to Kindle, how to manage books, all what may be helpful for Kindle owners to enjoy ebooks.

* * *

As you see, my reasons to buy Kindle haven’t been flying around technical specifications.

For the majority of users, including me, tech specs are not that exciting. What they are interested in is “why the hell there is no power button”.

In fact operating a device to read ebooks should be as simple as turning it on and off.

(Via Ebook Friendly » Tips & More.)

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