High-Tech Reading

Not too long ago, Amazon.com created a nifty little gadget called the Kindle.

It’s basically a high-priced, high-tech e-Book reader. And when I say high-priced, I’m not foolin’ ya. The sucker costs $400 and all it does is display electronic books and magazines.

Now, when it comes to tech gadgets, I’m the guru. I love ‘em all. So naturally, I couldn’t wait to place my order with Amazon, right?

Wrong.

First, the price is ridiculous. $400 just for the machine? On top of that, you still have to pay for each book.

Secondly, this thing does nothing except display books. In this day and age, why would I carry extra stuff in my pockets?

Which is precisely why I love my cell phone. It does everything.

• Of course, it is a great phone.
• It’s a Pocket PC which means I can create and edit any Microsoft Word, Excel or Powerpoint document. Of course, it has it’s own keyboard, but it also has handwriting recognition on its touch screen.
  
• It has a camera and a video and speech recorders.
  
• It has GPS, Google Maps, and the Internet complete with broadband speeds.
• It syncs with my Outlook calendar, contacts, and checks for email every 5 minutes.
• And, of course, it has an eBook reader.

All this for half the price of the Kindle.

But does it work well?

Oh Hell yeah. I decided to try an old Stephen King book which I read over ten years ago. I figured that if I found myself having a difficult time concentrating on reading a book on a small 3 inch LCD screen, then it wouldn’t matter because I’d already know the story.

Well, it didn’t take long before I became totally immersed in the story. I forgot I was holding a cell phone and tapping a screen occasionally instead of turning a page. I was just totally hooked.

Then, the best part of the eBook came to light. I went to bed and instead of holding a 1,000-page tome while trying to make sure the light hit the page just right would make my arms just drop. Now, I hold a 3-ounce cell phone and read myself into oblivion. As an added bonus, I don’t even need to have my bed lamp on. When my eyes glaze over and I drift off to sleep, the phone shuts itself off after a few minutes. The next morning, I tap the screen and there’s the book, just where I left off. It holds the bookmarks in memory even through battery changes.

Amazon can keep their $400. I’m in love with my cell phone.