Having read the other review on mouthshut on PI, I decided to put in my mind to write a review of my own instead of commenting on it.
I have a had a KINDLE for a while and have been reading quite a lot since I acquired it. But then when I saw this Indian version, I couldn’t resist pre-ordering it and after a few hiccups, the gadget finally landed in my hands a couple of days ago.
My first impression: Looks clutter-free yet cheap.
Having used ipod and Kindle, I kind of felt, these guys should have gone for a better back panel than the kind they have given, But then again, if I need to change the battery, unlike Kindle, I don’t need to rush to the official service store, which probably would be a million miles away from where I stay; instead I can simply remove the battery panel and get a new pack installed with the help of my friendly neighborhood computer service centre.
Locating the buttons on the side is a better idea though not the best one; the face of the reader allows you to focus on reading and not be distracted by the keypad of a kindle. The Kindle’s keypad of course allows one to type and search.
Now Pi doesn’t have wifi or text to speech, two features that are more or less redundant for an avid reader whose sole purpose of buying the e-book reader is to READ!!! Moreover the processors used in the Kindle aren’t exactly lightning fast and I have had problems of hanging and rebooting quite a few times.
Pi is lightweight and is a pleasure reading even while waiting for your bus. But don’t get too engrossed and miss the bus!!! A book cover like the one that you can buy with Kindle could have been a welcome add on but then I am sure the Pi guys would put in some brains next time around.
As for the cons, these people were terrible communicators: They didn’t bother to inform me that the courier service they used was unable to deliver my package and had returned it back. Only when I called up did they coolly inform me that it has been sent by speed post. NO e mail communication. The other big thing is the stupid 3 mm yes 3 mm earphone jack!!!how stupid that can be?
TO SUM UP: All e book readers, reviews of which I have read, and Kindle and Pi are still in the evolutionary stage and within a couple of more years would have transformed into a commonplace gadget. My hope is that, this will revive the reading habit that has been dwindling a lot in our country since trained skilled labour generating professional institutions hit our country like a tsunami.