Off-Topic: Amazon Kindle Review

I recently purchased the Amazon Kindle and thought I'd share my opinion of it.  It is simply excellent for anyone who does a lot of reading whether that is newspapers or books.  There are even blogs available including the SBNation ones.

One can also download samples from any available book for free.  I found myself downloading samples much more frequently that I would have thought prior to purchasing the Kindle.  For those I liked, I leave them on the device to remind me later to purchase them.  That is much easier than trying to remember them amidst the hectic day-to-day living of raising three kids, and it is a lot cheaper than buying three of four books on a trip to the bookstore only to find I don't like one or two.

The Kindle uses Sprint's wireless network which I have found to be very good in the NYC tri-state area.  My current cell service with T-Mobile uses the EDGE network, and that absolutely sucks.  By comparison, Sprint's network may as well be Wi-fi (which my T-mobile phone does have.)  For coverage of the Kindle, click here.

I subscribe the the New York Times via the Kindle for $13.99 per month.  That seems like a lot until you realize how much home deliver of the Times costs.  For Sunday-only delivery, the NYT runs $18 per month.  For seven-day, it is $40.40 per month.  For simplicity's sake, that is a $26 per month savings.

One issue with the Kindle is the cost.  It is currently offered at $369.  This includes the wireless web service I mentioned.  It is a lot to pay up front, but thinking about it over longer time periods makes that less of an issue.

Using just the NYT example, the monthly savings of $26 per month over twelve months is $326 by itself.  Most of the books, at least all that I was interested in, are heavily discounted from Amazon's prices. The typical new release is $9.99.  That is half to a third of the hard cover price.  Multiply that savings over a year, and it is easy to justify the cost of the Kindle.

Plus:

Easier to turn pages.  Can hold in one hand and click.  I found this to be of particular help when I am eating breakfast/lunch and have no need to put my utensil down to turn the page. 

Can reach the fantasy sports sites the my employer blocks via the wireless web browser included.

Can carry a newspaper, numerous novels and samples of many books along with updates from any number of SBNation blogs.  Any of which come with a 14-day free trial period.  All of this is contained in a the same space as your typical trade paperback.

You are free to read anything you like in "private" because no one can see what is on the cover.  So Democrats in Utah and Republicans in NYC have been freed from nasty looks of their more "enlightened" neighbors.

Minus: 

None that outweight the pluses, but I will go new Englander on you and complain anyways.  When carrying it, you have to put it into sleep mode because the next/prev buttons on on the side where your would cradle it in your hand to carry.

The selection of newspapers are limited to the very biggest i.e New York Times and Wall Street Journal. The magazines do not include sports magazines yet.  Those magazines avaialble would fall towards the left on the [political spectrum.  Absolutely nothing solidly on the right.  National Review would be a good place to start.

You can order directly it from Amazon.com easy enough.  I ask that you click on the Kindle ad in the Sponsors box on the left to help Fake Teams earn referral fees.  It costs you nothing, and you save nothing by going to Amazon through another portal.  Using Fake Teams just helps us by putting some resources in our pockets so that we can continue to make the fantasy guides purchases that help inform our content.