E-ink feels peaceful to me. The Kindle doesn’t feel like a computer. It feels — not to the touch but to the eyes and mind — like a crudely-typeset and slightly smudgily-printed paper book. That’s a good thing. Battery life is un-computer-like as well: Amazon measures e-ink Kindle battery life in months, and they’re not joking. It’s a surprise when the Kindle actually needs a charge. I was a doubter until I owned one, but now I’m convinced that e-ink readers have tremendous value even in the post-iPad world.
Gruber nails it on this one. E-ink really does feel “peaceful” when you’re reading it. When I take my iPad or my phone outside to sit and read, I feel like it’s a device of anticipation, giddily awaiting the next moment that I’m going to launch an app, send a tweet, or take a picture.
But when I sit down with my Kindle it really feels like all it wants to do is sit lazily all day and turn a few pages. I’m not even sure if Amazon knew what they were on to when they picked up E-ink for their reader. Maybe it’s really the E-ink guys that deserve all the praise.
Regardless, if I’m going to sit down to just read these days, you can bet I’m going to grab the Kindle to do it. E-ink really does seem to have a place in the world; I hope it doesn’t go away any time soon.