The Amazon Kindle – Gadget Of The Year?

There’s a great deal of interest in electronic gadgets which perform a variety of different functions these days. Phones which have cameras, can surf the web, play music and act as satellite navigation devices are good examples of these “fusion” gadgets.

Perhaps the best example of all is the iPod. It’s definitely a multi-tasker – it’s a phone, music player, web surfer and has a huge variety “Apps” which can vary from games to hotel recommendations. It even has an Amazon Kindle App which lets users read Kindle books on their iPod.

The Kindle reader could also be categorised as a multi-tasking device. After all, in addition to it’s main role as an e-book reader, it can be used as a web browser. When it comes to surfing the net, the Kindle is admittedly a little limited – mainly as a result of its display, which is monochrome and has a relatively slow refresh rate – which makes it unsuitable for video playback.

However, it is exactly the Kindle’s e-ink technology display which makes it so much better to read books on that either a computer screen or an iPod. The fact that the e-ink display is not back-lit means that it produces much less eye strain than a back-lit LCD monitor.

Another benefit of e-ink technology displays is the fact that they only draw power when the screen is being refreshed. This means that e-book readers can go for long spells on a single battery charge. It’s the ideal scenario for a portable battery operated device. Typically, e-book readers can last for several thousand “page turns” between charges. For the average reader, that will equate to anything between four and six weeks of use.

So, somewhat ironically, the very thing that makes e-book readers ideal for reading books on – the e-ink technology display – currently puts a slight limitation on their performance in other areas – such as video display and surfing the internet. In all probability, color e-ink displays with faster refresh rates will be available in future and devices, such as the Kindle, will become better suited for use in different areas.

In the meantime, based upon the fact that e-book readers are very much the hot gadget of the moment, it does look as if there is still a place for devices which do one job only. Just so long as, like the Amazon Kindle, they do that one job very well.

Read more about the Amazon Kindle reader and see how you can save money by downloading cheap – or even free Kindle books – straight from the Amazon website.