I like to consider myself a bookworm. At least I like to think that I love to read and try to find time in my busy schedule and life to read. Books are usually thick and heavy hence why I am reluctant to bring them anywhere much. They’re big and fill up space easily. So I thought an e-book reader would be a good idea for avid readers like me.
Torn between a Kindle and a Kubo, I decided to get a Kindle in the end. Yes, a Kubo, especially a refurbished unit is slightly cheaper than a Kindle but the latter trumps in quality and content. My unit was surprisingly, a brand new unit. The previous owner didn’t even take it out of the box yet. A brand new unit at secondhand price, almost too good to be true but it is true.
At a glance the Kindle Basic, like its namesake is just really basic. A rectangle slab with significant bezels all around especially the chin. There’s only one On/Off/Wake Up button and one micro USB charging port. The body is unmistakably plastic but it is also sturdy and really light.
After charging for the first time, it took me a while to figure out how to turn on the Kindle. Almost thought I got a dud unit. Fortunately it does turns on after a long press of the power button. The Kindle connects to Wi-Fi and I can sign in with my Amazon account to access the Kindle Store and buy/download books from there. I can also sync ebooks from my computer via the micro USB cable provided. Of course, I need to convert them to AZW file format first because it does not support other popular ebook file formats like epub or mobi. I use Calibre to sync files between my computer and the Kindle. And in case you didn’t know, Calibre can also be used to convert from all the popular ebook file formats to another. The Kindle Basic model comes with 4GB of space which may not sound a lot but when you consider that the ebooks are around 5-10MB in size in average, you’ve got plenty of space in there.
If you buy ebooks from the Kindle Store, they will be synced across all your Kindle devices and Kindle app on your phone. Transferred ebooks however are device-dependant. What I love the most about the Kindle is the Futura font. It just looks so nice and legible on the e-ink display of the Kindle. Sure there are other fonts available but I just love Futura the most. Reading on the Kindle is also a pleasant experience. I can swipe back and forth to turn the pages just like on a real book. If I need to find the meaning of any particular word, I can just highlight the word and long press to see the definition in the dictionary. The device is super lightweight compared to a physical book and the battery last for 2 weeks minimum even if you use it one to two hours every day.
The only downside of the Kindle Basic is that it does not have backlighting so you need proper lighting to read your ebook just like reading a real book. Reading on your bed in low light is not ideal. That’s why I got myself a little reading light to clip on my Kindle for the purpose. The Kindle Paperwhite or any of their more expensive models does have backlighting but they cost a lot more of course. Other than reading ebooks, this Kindle Basic features an experimental web browser app in case you’d like to do some light web-browsing on the device. Since its experimental, the browsing experience is rather poor and slow on the e-ink display. So unless you need to do some emergency web-browsing, you’d be better off using your phone or regular tablets. Oh one more thing, this Kindle Basic shows only monochrome display on its screen so no colour pictures for you.
For something that’s under 300 ringgit, the Kindle Basic is one of my best purchases in recent memory just for its usefulness. The fact that it weighs very little and is compact and slim compared to a paperback also explains why I like to carry it every where I go. I must admit, I still read on my Google Play Book app from time to time simply for the fact that it syncs across all my devices but for a fully immersive reading on my hands, nothing beats the Kindle.
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