The Kindle Touch 3G … holy cow this is great for travel!
I used to read books frequently, but somewhere along the way my reading of books turned to reading more and more magazines. I attribute some of this change to packing for work, where space is at a premium. A magazine is slim, you read and toss it (well, except National Geographic) and keep moving, where as a book is thick and once you’re done reading it, you carry it around with you.
For avid readers, my rationale for where I track back my transition away from reading books may seem a tad hard to swallow, but I began pondering this a few weeks ago when I first unboxed a Kindle Touch 3G and found myself reading Beyond Bin Laden : America and the Future of Terror from start to finish over the course of a few days.  Why do I attribute the Kindle Touch 3G to return to reading books? Simple … the Kindle can hold countless books, magazines and even blog subscriptions in a device that can be carried virtually anywhere, with a seemingly limitless battery life, that fits in the palm of a user’s hand and has a screen that allow it to be read with ease.
Once I became accustomed to the Kindle I found myself taking it out of my bag and slipping it into my cargo pant pockets, tucking it into my jacket pockets, my pants’ slash pockets … and anywhere else it fits.
I had downloaded the Kindle App for my iPad quite some time ago, but found it didn’t get back into reading books. As much as I love my iPad, it doesn’t fit in the palm of my hand, into my pant pockets, even with its fantastic battery life much of how I use the iPad is battery draining and … have you ever tried to view the iPad screen while sitting next to a bright window you can’t close? Not exactly ideal.
Traveling has almost always involved watching movies and working for the past decade, often while reading a magazine at the same time … now I have found myself returning to reading books and enjoying it.  The Kindle Touch 3G can be packed in anything you’re carrying, taking up no space in a bag, stuffed in the pocket of your jacket, and go more than two weeks without being charged while reading two hours or so a day with the 3G turned on (apparently if you switch the 3G off the battery can last two months!) and … wait for it (OK don’t wait for it, apparently every one knew about this but me) … you can borrow books from your local library and download them to your Kindle (my Mom knew about this, chalk one technology thing up in her favour after all these years). The advantage to the Kindle Touch 3G over the non-3G Kindle Touch is the ability to download books, magazines, newspapers, blogs, anywhere in the world the device can hit a 3G network, at no cost to you, which is fantastic!
I still find myself reading The Economist and the Financial Times, but now I find myself reading them more frequently on the Kindle Touch 3G.  So, what’s loaded up for the next few flights? Republican Gomorrah: Inside the Movement that Shattered the Party, by Max Blumenthal.
Below are a few photos of my Kindle Touch 3G’s screen that allows readers to keep reading in bright sunlight; the Kindle in my pant pocket and the Kindle stacked onto of my iPad and 11″ MacBook Air for size comparison.
Happy Flying!
You’ll want to be careful with the Kindle – the e-Ink screens are very fragile, and can break even if you just lean against something the wrong way. It’s certainly much more fragile than a phone, or even an iPad or Kindle Fire.
Most of the good covers cost half of the price of the Kindle, so you might not want to go that far, but you should at least make some effort to keep it out of harm’s way. I also tend to use my Fire or my phone for a lot of reading, and only use the e-Ink Kindle when reading before bed or when I know I’m going to be reading in bright sunlight.
let me recommend a book and blog (same name) called I Love My Kindle (ILMK) by Bufo Calvin.
I subscribe on my Kindle 0.99/mo but you can also get it free via rss on other devices.
Lots of really useful info about the kindle, amazon and the book industry in general.
Also, if you are a mystery fan, read Stop, You’re Killing Me, a blog about mysteries, new releases and awards winners (such as the dagger or the booker, etc). I’ve found a lot of new-to-me and just plain new authors from them.
Can you also use the Touch to check email and/or web sites or do I still need my IPAD?
What’s the advantage of the Touch over the non-Touch version (apart from the obvious)?
Marty,
With the Kindle Touch 3G the “experimental” browser to surf the web only works when on wifi, not on 3G. The older versions allowed you to surf via 3G. My use of the Kindle Touch has been purely as a reader, although I have been looking at the Kindle Fire as a reader and multi-media, email, browser device … however the Fire has no 3G and like the iPad is not idea in bright sunlight, so it ends up like the iPad for me.
I have not sought to use the Kindle for web and email as I have an iPhone, which is far more capable when it comes to email and browsing.
Happy Flying!
-Fish
NB,
The Kindle ‘non-touch’ has a keypad rather than a keyboardless design.
Happy Flying!
-Fish
The old 3G keyboard version gives you free lifetime international data. You can use the experimental browser to check email and news while traveling outside of the united states for free. It comes in handy if you don’t have an unlocked GSM phone.
I really like your writing style, excellent info, thank you for putting up :D.