Jed Rothwell wrote: > The Kindle 2 screen size is 4.8" high, 3.6" width, 6" diameter (15.3 cm > diameter). The weight is just over 10 oz (280 g). This is about the same > page size and weight as a 517-page paperback book on my shelf. (A book > by David Hume.)
I don't generally carry 500+ page books around with me. I choose slimmer volumes when I'm going out. > > Paperback book size (h, w): 7" x 4", 1.25" thick, page size excluding > margins: 6" x 3.5" Palm Pilot size: 4 3/4" x 3" x 5/8" thick Palm wins running away. > Kindle 2 overall gadget size: 8" x 5.3", 0.36" thick, page size > excluding gadget 4.8" x 3.6" (as I said) So it is about an inch shorter. But it's an inch longer than the book, and it's an inch wider -- and the book was already awkwardly large for a lot of pockets. (Compared to a Palm Pilot, the Kindle is an outrageous pig.) This sounds to me like it's too big to fit in a pocket. Consequently, a Palm Pilot is far more useful in many circumstances, even with its wretched screen and lousy OS. A Kindle at home takes the place of a book (which I can easily carry around the house) or a computer screen (which is already in the house). A Kindle on-the-go doesn't take the place of anything; it's too big so I'd leave it home. So, right now it's just a toy: it does jobs which other things we already had also do, but doesn't do those job a whole lot better than what we already had. A Palm Pilot at home takes the place of a book, and on the go it does too, because it's small enough to take along easily. So, it does a job things we already had do *not* do: It lets me take along large books in a format that fits easily in a pocket. Consequence: I bet there are a lot of Kindles gathering dust. Wake me up when they make folding Kindles, right not I'm not interested, thanks.
