I now love my K1 more than ever!

[raccemup]

I just wanted to share how I have come full circle (back to the K1) after several agonizing weeks of trying to decide whether or not to switch to K2.  After careful consideration, photo inspections and reading tons of posts... I absolutely LOVE my K1 (Estelle) and will be keeping her until one of us expires.  This is not a financial decision.

Like many people, I was initially allured by K2's sleek, slim, "sexy" design.  I love gadgets and the cooler, the better.  No doubt about it, K2 is very pretty!  K1 is more utilitarian looking.. it's kind of like the Honda Element.  Not so pretty to look at, but very practical and useful.  I personally even dislike the asymmetrical design.  However, these are things that I love about my K1 and that have ultimately won me over for good.

1.  The screen contrast and background color are brighter/better for READING.  I have inspected many side-by-sides (many of them here) and K2 background is clearly a shade or 2 of gray darker.  This would have been the thing I made this decision on.  I was hoping and thinking that K2 would be even BRIGHTER than K1 and I would have switched in a heartbeat... it is not, it's darker. 

2.  Although I could have lived w/o it and it's almost a non-issue for me, the SD card slot makes my life easier as I keep mp3's of music on there and photos. 

3.  When the battery "buys the farm" I can go out and buy another for ~$20

4.  For reading, it does everything it's supposed to do and does it well.  Period.

5.  I can customize my own screensavers as seen in this thread: http://www.kindleboards.com/index.php/topic,4591.0.html

There are a few things where K2 has an advantage over K1.  IMO, they are:

1.  I just looks nicer.  It's sooooo pretty and cool looking!

2.  Text to speech - I would never and I mean NEVER use this option but that's just me.  Now it's not guaranteed for every book and authors will decide the fate of this feature on a case by case basis.  But I get this is an awesome feature for some (if not most) people.  I especially feel good about something that enhances the quality of life for those with disabilities and for that, this feature is truly awesome.   

3.  The pictures display FAR better with the 16 shades of gray - I personally only use Kindle to read books and books only so this is a non-issue for me.

4.  Faster page turns - I haven't noticed that K1 was "slow" by any means.  It's just fine, in fact. 

Sooo.... I finally got clear that my attraction to K2 was simply based on looks and looks only.  K2 is like the pretty girl in HS who everybody wants to be with but then there's also this homely girl that has a great personality. 

This is not to offend anyone who chose and/or ordered K2.  This is simply MY OPINION.  Newcomers who never had K1 will never know the difference and LOVE their K2's!!!  Those that chose to upgrade to K2 for your own reasons, I wish you nothing but happiness with it.  It's a wonderful thing!!!   

[Neversleepsawink;)]

My husband offered to get me the K2 for my bday in July, I thought for sure I would ask for it.  I too, have found I like the K1 better (heard to many complaints).  I won't be asking for K2. 

[Vegas_Asian]

Great review

[Wannabe]

I love my K1 also. Although I must admit I did have a few weak days of really wanting the K2-BADLY. But then I realized that my K1 serves my purposes just fine. The K2 doesn't have anything new that I need so I'll just keep my K1 until it dies.

[Linda Cannon-Mott]

Nice review! I enjoy reading different opinions. I have a K 2 but I loved my Klassic also. For me the text to speech is something I have really enjoyed, I could never listen to an entire book but it is perfect for my 45 hour commute every morning and evening. I think the Kindle whether it is the Klassic or K 2 is a sweet device and the best purchase I've ever made. It provides me with hours of enjoyment everyday. I very rarely watch TV anymore.

[didir1010]

I love your review!  I did decide based on finances to purchase a K1 from eBay.  I've had it for about a week now and I LOVE IT!!  It was the best purchase I have made in years.  It is great that I am able to read so many books in such a small package, AND I look cool now when I go to the local Starbucks with it!   

[Britt]

K2 is like the pretty girl in HS who everybody wants to be with but then there's also this homely girl that has a great personality. 

LOL!

[beachgrl]

I too am pleased with my K1.  As far as the one feature I was jealous of, the text to speech, it doesn't sound like it will be as available as first advertised.  I guess I will continue to use my iPod if I want to listen to a book on car trips.  I love the K1 so much, I have taken advantage of the drop in used kindle prices to buy them for family members and I am now considering buying a spare for myself just in case mine dies when it is out of warranty.  Maybe all the bugs will be worked out for the release of Kindle 3.

[Betsy the Quilter]

I bought my brother a Kindle for Christmas, I think he was one of the last to get a K1 shipped.  I asked him if he was sorry not to get a K2, and he said "There's nothing I can read on a K2 that I can't read on a K1." 

Betsy's law of electronic upgrading:  when there's something I have to do (or really want to do) that I can't do on my old device or with my old software, I upgrade.  For some people, the K2 meets that criteria, for some it doesn't. 

I think it's great that there are now a whole bunch of K1s available for a whole new group of people.  Let's grow that base!  The more Kindlers the better for all of us!

Betsy

[skanter]

I got my K1 two days ago.  I looked at the K2 but could not justify paying $400 (with case) for an electronic gizmo I had never even tried, even though I could afford it.

 I found a used one for $125 and feel very fortunate, its a great device that changes the way one reads, similar to the way a Tivo affects watching TV or an MP3 player changes the way we listen to music.

K1 vs K2? While I wouldn't mind higher rez photos, it is basically a reading device, and I don't see much improvement on the K2. I really like the scroll bar on K1, not sure if navigating on K2 would be as good. Text to speech? I don't drive much, which would be the best use for it - though audiobooks would be the way to go anyway. I feel lucky that I bought K1 at just the right time.

Edit: When the color, hi-rez touchscreen with built in sidelight K3 or K4 comes out, I may be tempted to upgrade, but for now the K1 will do nicely.

[thejackylking #884]

Nice review! I enjoy reading different opinions. I have a K 2 but I loved my Klassic also. For me the text to speech is something I have really enjoyed, I could never listen to an entire book but it is perfect for my 45 hour commute every morning and evening. I think the Kindle whether it is the Klassic or K 2 is a sweet device and the best purchase I've ever made. It provides me with hours of enjoyment everyday. I very rarely watch TV anymore.

That's got to be the longest daily commute ever.  How do you stand it?

[Linda Cannon-Mott]

That's got to be the longest daily commute ever.  How do you stand it?

ROTFL  45 minutes, I meant 45 minutes!!   

[Anne]

ROTFL  45 minutes, I meant 45 minutes!!   

Linda LOL

[Sandpiper]

ROTFL  45 minutes, I meant 45 minutes!!   

?

Your original post, you typed "hours" and meant "minutes".  Your second post, you typed "minutes" and meant "hours".

[Linda Cannon-Mott]

?

Your original post, you typed "hours" and meant "minutes".  Your second post, you typed "minutes" and meant "hours".

My daily commute is 45 minutes in the morning and 45 minutes in the afternoon. Not 45 hours. 

[CS]

I agree with this review 100%. I had a mental wishlist of things I'd want to see in the K2, and none of them were added. Furthermore, with several things being downgraded (no SD support, no replaceable battery) and the vaunted text-to-speech now caught in red tape hell (publishers can disable it for certain books), K2 just isn't worth it for people who already have K1 IMO. 

[Angela]

My daily commute is 45 minutes in the morning and 45 minutes in the afternoon. Not 45 hours. 

LOL... I was beginning to wonder when I read your first post!!


Great review!! I too felt a slight desire to have a K2, but am so happy with my K1 that I had no good reason to change. I will be a K1 owner until it has to be replaced and then I will get whatever version is available.

[kevindorsey]

The memory card on the K1 is money in the bank.

[julietw]

Great post! Very informative, and the kind of thing I like to read before buying. Had an old Rocket Reader and loved it to madness, but it's dead now. Am so hoping that this Kindle thing really catches fire and takes off. Besides the convenience and economy, well, the trees are our friends.

So does it only power itself by battery? Can it not draw power from the wall? Sorry, to ask dumb question, but I'm just learning about this device.

Is it heavy? The Rocket had an oomph to it, like a smallish hardcover book. That was kind of nice, actually.

thanks for your post--
JW

I just wanted to share how I have come full circle (back to the K1) after several agonizing weeks of trying to decide whether or not to switch to K2.  After careful consideration, photo inspections and reading tons of posts... I absolutely LOVE my K1 (Estelle) and will be keeping her until one of us expires.  This is not a financial decision.

Like many people, I was initially allured by K2's sleek, slim, "sexy" design.  I love gadgets and the cooler, the better.  No doubt about it, K2 is very pretty!  K1 is more utilitarian looking.. it's kind of like the Honda Element.  Not so pretty to look at, but very practical and useful.  I personally even dislike the asymmetrical design.  However, these are things that I love about my K1 and that have ultimately won me over for good.

1.  The screen contrast and background color are brighter/better for READING.  I have inspected many side-by-sides (many of them here) and K2 background is clearly a shade or 2 of gray darker.  This would have been the thing I made this decision on.  I was hoping and thinking that K2 would be even BRIGHTER than K1 and I would have switched in a heartbeat... it is not, it's darker. 

2.  Although I could have lived w/o it and it's almost a non-issue for me, the SD card slot makes my life easier as I keep mp3's of music on there and photos. 

3.  When the battery "buys the farm" I can go out and buy another for ~$20

4.  For reading, it does everything it's supposed to do and does it well.  Period.

5.  I can customize my own screensavers as seen in this thread: http://www.kindleboards.com/index.php/topic,4591.0.html

There are a few things where K2 has an advantage over K1.  IMO, they are:

1.  I just looks nicer.  It's sooooo pretty and cool looking!

2.  Text to speech - I would never and I mean NEVER use this option but that's just me.  Now it's not guaranteed for every book and authors will decide the fate of this feature on a case by case basis.  But I get this is an awesome feature for some (if not most) people.  I especially feel good about something that enhances the quality of life for those with disabilities and for that, this feature is truly awesome.   

3.  The pictures display FAR better with the 16 shades of gray - I personally only use Kindle to read books and books only so this is a non-issue for me.

4.  Faster page turns - I haven't noticed that K1 was "slow" by any means.  It's just fine, in fact. 

Sooo.... I finally got clear that my attraction to K2 was simply based on looks and looks only.  K2 is like the pretty girl in HS who everybody wants to be with but then there's also this homely girl that has a great personality. 

This is not to offend anyone who chose and/or ordered K2.  This is simply MY OPINION.  Newcomers who never had K1 will never know the difference and LOVE their K2's!!!  Those that chose to upgrade to K2 for your own reasons, I wish you nothing but happiness with it.  It's a wonderful thing!!!   

[rho]

My daily commute is 45 minutes in the morning and 45 minutes in the afternoon. Not 45 hours. 

there are just days it feels like 45 hours right??   

[KindleKay (aka #1652)]

I am so happy to see this thread!  As much as I love gadgits and gizmos, when I saw the upgrades to K2, I just didn't see the "need" other than the sleekness to K2....(I do like that!)  Text to speech is cool, but, honestly, I would never use it and it is certainly not worth $359 to upgrade!

I am in the boat waiting for folders/organization capability for Kindle.  IF that upgrade is announced for K2 only and not available for K1, off I go to buy.....    (Although WHY would a folder upgrade not be available for K1?  I think that won't happen)

Anyway, thanks for sharing.  I am not as crazy as I thought about my feeling for the pretty K2.  At least, I am in good company with non-crazies!! 

[LuckyRainbow]

There is only one thing I have seen so far about K2 that I would like to have on K1 is the ability to highlight a single word for the dictionary function and to have it pop up at the bottom of the screen. No navigating away from the text to look up a word.

But this is not enough of an incentive to get me to switch. Although, I do like the other new feature that some people are reporting of chapter dots in the progress bar. Still even with that it is still not enough for a switch.

[Meemo]

I agree - the K2 looks spiffy but there aren't any new features compelling enough for me to make the switch.  I'm stickin' with Pearl as long as she'll stick with me.  (My daughter and husband agree, although DH thinks K2 looks cool like Capt Picard's tablet thingy on Star Trek, and DD thinks her Kindle is going to end up looking like one of the old 90's giant cell phones.  )

[Newbie Girl]

ROTFL  45 minutes, I meant 45 minutes!!   

From someone who lives 7 minutes from work, 3 minutes from Wall-Mart, and 60 second from church (the most important places I go), I would guess that 45 minutes SEEMS like 45 hours.....LOL

[raccemup]

So does it only power itself by battery? Can it not draw power from the wall? Sorry, to ask dumb question, but I'm just learning about this device.

Is it heavy? The Rocket had an oomph to it, like a smallish hardcover book. That was kind of nice, actually.

thanks for your post--
JW

I believe you can have it plugged in and use it while powering.  I never actually tried it though because that would make me attached to a wall. lol  However, they do make car chargers for Kindle so if you travel, that would come in handy.  FYI, without the wifi on, I can go about 1-2 weeks without charging it.  The wifi is a real battery drainer.  I only use it to download purchases but I do the actual shopping on amazon from my PC.  It's much faster to search and read reviews and I'm very impatient.

It's not heavy at all, but it feels like a regular book to me... minus the hand cramps from holding it open.  I just hold it with one hand or plop it in my lap or on the armchair or a dog's back.  Perfect!