Before I left for camp, I wrote about the expected arrival of my Kindle 2. I promised that after I got back, and had some time to play with it, I would write a review for all of you who may be considering getting one or just want to know more about it. Well, I've now had it since the 21st of June, which is the day I got back from camp. To be very honest, there are only two things I would change, one of which I think will improve with time and the advancement of technology. Let me explain further.....
There's a text to speech feature on the Kindle. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with what text-to-speech is, it's a process where the words that are printed on the screen are converted into spoken language and you can listen to them instead of read them. The particular text-to-speech engine that the Kindle 2 is currently equipped with sounds very robotic and lacks inflection in places where a certain amount of inflection is needed to get the full feel of what's going on in the book. I eluded to the fact that I felt like that text-to-speech engine might improve as technology advanced, and time passed. I really believe that this has the potential of happening. It's sort of like the technology in communication devices that people who are nonverbal use to communicate. As a result of the fact that I have the ability to use my natural words, I've always felt that they sounded a lot synthesized, a little robotic, and very unnatural. However, I'm sure that those who use them have a great appreciation for how much less synthesized, robotic, and unnatural they sound compared to even five years ago. As technology advances it can only get better, right?
The only other thing I would change at this point is the position of the on/off switch. It's on the top of the unit, which means that in order to have easy access to it you either need to be standing in front of it, or able to tip it up, neither of which I can come even close to doing by myself. No worries though, this is Danielle your talking about and if there's anyone who's going to be patient and persistent enough to figure out a way to do it independently, it's going to be me, and I've done just that! 
If I was going to be asked to be a part of the design team for the next Kindle, I would suggest putting the on/off switch somewhere near the 5-way controller for easier access for those of us who have difficulty leaning forward to reach the top of the unit. That might just be one of those things that if enough people write in and suggest it as a possible change in the future, it'll happen. Who knows, only time will tell!
I didn't really realize how much I enjoyed reading silently to myself until I got the option. See, prior to getting my Kindle, I wasn't able to read silently because I wasn't able to hold the book open, and/or turn pages independently. So, I either had to ask for help when reading a regular book, or try to find the books I wanted to read on audio CD, which can be a challenge in itself because not every author has put every book they've ever written on CD. Not only that, but it's difficult to listen to an audio book if there's a whole bunch of background noise, and as a lot of you know, my apartment doesn't stay quiet for very long.
Then there's this whole other piece of being able to get more easily lost in the characters and plot of the book. It's almost as if you can get lost in the world of the book, and completely forget about the world around you, if even for only a brief moment! It's just all too amazing!
As I said in my previous post about this, most of my books that I'm finding are free, but there are a few books that I want to read that are only available on Amazon.com for a small price. Most of the New York Times bestsellers are $10 or less. If you would like to contribute to helping me get my wish list of books, you can go to my previous entry about this, and follow the steps that I've provided there.
One more thing: as those of you who are able to sit down and read a regular book do the next time, stop for just a brief moment, think back to this entry or the previous one, and realize how lucky you are, and then realize that even though you hate technology sometimes, here's a case where it truly has opened up a whole new world that I don't know if I ever would have entered without it!
UPDATE: I'VE RECENTLY ADDED A DONATE BUTTON ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE PAGE AT THE BOTTOM OF MY BLOG PROFILE THAT'S CONNECTED TO MY PAYPAL ACCOUNT. FEEL FREE TO USE IT INSTEAD OF RISKING ERROR IN TYPING IN MY E-MAIL ADDRESS INTO AMAZON. NO MATTER WHICH WAY YOU DO IT, (E-MAIL OR PAYPAL DONATE BUTTON) REST ASSURED IT'LL ALL GO TO THE SAME PLACE! 