I’d intended to upgrade to the Kindle 3 prior to my cruise, but missed out on pre-ordering when Amazon ran out of inventory. What interested me most from the e-reader refresh is the higher contrast screen and the clever lighted cover accessory. Plus, I figured I could get away with a WiFi only model ($139, versus $189).
However, now that the initial excitement (and my cruise) has passed the impulse to purchase has subsided. The fact is, I don’t read many novels in a given year — averaging less than one a month. So my current Kindle (v2) is probably sufficient. Although I may pick up a third party light of some sort and do hope some of the v3 software tweaks make their way down to my hardware.
Having said that, a Kindle 3 will be joining my (extended) household in the near future. As my mom, an avid reader, is ready to go digital. The library is frequently out of the new releases she’s often looking for, which won’t be a problem with Amazon, and the Kindle’s compact form appeals to her. I also suspect she’ll bump up the font size for more comfortable reading. Lastly, she is adamant that her Kindle has 3G. Although she doesn’t really know what 3G is. But she knows that she wants the ability to download books anywhere. As you still can’t easily share digital media, we’ll be slightly abusing the system — I’m purchasing the Kindle for her as a gift, yet we’ll keep it registered under my account… that’ll work out well as we have some overlapping tastes in literature.
Do any of you with an original Kindle or Kindle 2 have upgrade plans?