And today it’s Touch 3G vs. Fire:
Now, I don’t know about you, but I am in heaven. It’s like Amazon peered into my thoughts and made my dreams come true. And now I am torn between what looks like two amazing devices.
On the one hand, Kindle Touch 3G. The best of the Kindle with none of the encumberances. It’s got a touch screen, which eliminates the need for a keyboard, same screen size as the old version, a great capacity, allows for audio books and Read-To-Me (or whatever it’s called – and here I hope there is an earphone jack) and it even lets you borrow books from the library! How neat is that? The 3G is automatic, there’s no Wi-Fi set up, so you’re good to go at home or internationally. This is the Kindle I have been holding out for.
And on the other hand, Kindle Fire. A direct competitor, they say, to the Nook Color 2, which means it has a full color back-lit screen, higher storage capacity, and is more like a touchpad PC, with Amazon’s own web browser, access to their digital media, etc. It’s small, only has a 7″ screen, which makes me iffy, but it has the same/similar movie, music, reading, apps featuresa s the iPad. The only thing it’s lacking is the cameras. Which, I don’t know about you, but those make me paranoid as hell. I always think someone is using built-in webcams to spy on me. Which is why I have blacked out cling on the one on my laptop, and I always close it down when not in use, just to be safe. But I wouldn’t have to worry about that with the Kindle Fire, which is great.
I put both of these on my wish list. I might even get both, if push came to shove. Right now, though, While the appeal of a color browser is there, I think I’m leaning more towards the Kindle Touch 3G. My book lover heart cringes at giving up the smell of a good old book, the feel of pages between my fingers, and the look of a beautiful cover on my bookshelf, but I think it’s time to take the leap.
Even if I do get this, however, it won’t replace my paper books completely. I think part of me is still expecting society to break down (possibly next year 
) in some great event that will render all technology useless and plunge us all into Antiquity. If that were to happen, I think the first thing I’d hoard would be not water, food, or clothes, but books. So, books still my first love and, as you know, that’s not something one ever gets over. But my second love is technology, and these new devices are singing a powerful siren’s call.
What do you think? Would you get one of these devices, or a different one? Which one?
Yes, it’s exactly what it sounds like. Actually, it’s better. I’ll be giving away two autographed e-versions of Blood Trails (PDF format). It’s my beach vacation time, which Hailey would very much approve of, so in her honor, I’m going to make it very easy and laid back. No hoop jumping, no tests.
