make you wet, yet enough to tickle you and the sweet thump-thumping of your bike, which begs for more throttle

Few years back when I bought my iPhone 4, I loved it for its ease of use, intuitive gestures and loads of Apps. It almost replaced my need to log-on to a computer. You could e-mail, send attachment, tweet, Facebook, all this with a very touch responsive screen

Earlier to this, I was using an HTC Windows 6.0 mobile OS. The difference between Windows & iOS was phenomenal. No other manufacturer or OS came close to the experience iPhone gave its users. I loved the experience so much that I couldn't imagine using any other 'clunky' phone. The attention to detail and the thoughtfulness embedded into iOS was awesome. I became an evangelist for Apple. I explained what people missed and some followed suite in buying an iPhone

With time, Google's focus on mobile increased; more and more of Google Apps were developed. It dawned on me that while I loved my iPhone, I strangely wasn't using any of Apple's Apps! My frequently used apps were Facebook, Twitter, Smartrun, Google, Google Plus, Google Maps (Extensively), Google Drive, Google Docs, Blogger!

As a user I was happy since iPhone & iOS integration was great and Google was filling my needs. I was a happy man

In the latter half of 2011, Apple launched iPhone 4S. They had improved the processor and added Siri. I was happy, I wasn't losing anything much - Nothing to motivate me to upgrade

In the latter half of 2012, Apple launched iPhone 5, well yes, a slightly longer display (one more row addition, huh!) & a better processor but my phone too was running the exact same software (iOS 6). I get almost everything what an iPhone 5 user was getting. Am I crazy to spend half a lakh on a new iPhone - Duh... NO, especially since we do not have contracts, unlike the US

Then came iOS 7, the much awaited new look, along with iPhone 5S. Should the upgrade be done now? I didn't think so, coz I still get to download iOS 7 and the cost is now three forth of a lakh! So I update to iOS 7, happy to see the new features, not so happy with the new look, but still satisfied because hey its an iPhone!

After iOS7, I start feeling the pinch, my iPhone has become less responsive & slow. Most of the recommended tweaks on the internet would make my "Smartphone" into a "Dumbphone"!

Now I start thinking, should I upgrade? Is there anything to motivate me to do so... buying a 5s is going to make me feel the same as my iPhone 4 - I've known the OS in & out - there is no newness or refreshing factor, the only difference that I would feel would be in my pocket

So I started looking around and stumbled on Nexus 5. The reason iPhone is great is due to the hardware and software integration and here was a phone from Google, made solely for Google Android by LG. No thick layers of customization from Samsung or HTC or LG, further my predominant usage is Google Apps suite and to top it the price is one-third of iPhone 5S!

I am not the only one switching from iOS to Android, many others are too. If Apple needs to keep their existing "older Customers", they would need to innovate rather than just do spec upgrades or lower their prices. The decision to move out of the ecosystem is easier now because unlike a few years back, there are other players who are equally good, if not better than Apple

I recently bought a Kindle Touch Lighted Cover for my Kindle Touch 3G. It can be directly bought from Amazon. This cover is ONLY for Kindle Touch and cannot be used for the older generation Kindles

Compared to the other covers, this cover is expensive, however since it is tailor made for Kindle Touch, the Kindle fits in snugly inside the cover. Apart from this, the cover has an inbuilt light that uses your kindles battery to power it
At the back of the kindle (bottom - see left fig) there are two battery contact points, these contact points connect with the back of the cover and powers the light. The light has been ingeniously built-in in the cover unlike the earlier clumsy covers for the previous generation Kindles

The leather is beautiful and overall it is a great improvement in terms of feel & look compared to the earlier generations


I would personally prefer using the Kindle without the cover. The cover adds in a few ounces of weight, which could feel heavier when you read for long hours. Although the form factor is good, I feel more comfortable holding the Kindle without the cover

Pros:
1. Has built in light which powers from Kindle's own battery. The light has also been ingeniously placed
2. Looks beautiful and can protect your Kindle
3. One can hold it similar to an actual book with two hands (or fold the cover back) and read
4. The best cover that is available at present

Cons:
1. Adds in additional weight and it is not as comfortable while reading, as without it
2. Removing the Kindle from the cover is not easy. Therefore once you place it in the cover, leave it there
3. The light although is placed ingeniously, feels a little flimsy. A sudden snap can break it
4. The front cover doesn't lock to its position (A magnet could have helped)
5. Expensive

Should you get it?
If you travel a lot or read in low light conditions, then go for it. If you read, just at home or office, I would suggest going for a sleeve, where you can store it in the sleeve and read after removing from the sleeve

Hope this helps

Being the lazy me, I was looking for some kind of a device which I can use to read books comfortably... I wanted a device which is not big nor heavy and which I can lie down and still easily hold

iPad 2 was on my cards but I felt it would be heavier if I was to hold it for a long period. I decided to wait it out till iPad 3, hoping it would be lighter, that was when I stumbled upon Amazon's Kindle

What attracted me to Kindle was its light weight, easy to carry and especially the e-Ink display. When one is in a profession like mine, where one is always staring at a monitor either at office or at home, you would want to avoid excessively straining your eyes

The reviews of the e-Ink display enamored me, especially since Kindle does not have a backlight, it is easy on the eyes and it gives the same feeling as reading a newspaper. I must admit, the free 3G was another feature that attracted me. So after research I decided to go for Kindle Touch 3G with Special Offers

The Basic Kindle version starts at $109. All the Kindle's version has inbuilt Wi-Fi capability. Amazon offers kindle with "With Special Offers" and "Without Special Offers". "With Special Offers" implies there would be an advertisement at the bottom of the home screen and also when the screen saver is on. However, not to worry, the adverts will not display when you are reading a book. The Kindle's with the special offers (advertisement) comes to you cheaper than the one without (Duh... pretty obvious!!!)

After research I decided to buy Kindle Touch 3G. As I was about to check-out in Amazon, I got an error message mentioning this version of Kindle cannot be shipped to India... what a bummer... I contacted their Customer Service through email, chat, etc but no one could help me. Amazon could only ship me the older generation of Kindle!

The best way to buy Kindle, is of course directly from US if someone can hand it over in person, else one has to pay heavy import duty if they are shipping to India. I Googled and came across many websites which promised delivery to India including e-bay, however I found only Grabmore to have priced it competitively and it was Cash On Delivery, so I decided to settle with Grabmore and I ordered for one (I'm satisfied with  Grabmore's service & updates on the shipment)

Overall I am happy with my purchase. The e-Ink display is beautiful and easy on the eyes. The device is not heavy and you can put in a lot of reading hours with it, without fatigue

Kindle Touch 3G Pro's
 + Easy on the eyes coz of e-Ink Display
 + Not too big nor too small. Just right and comfortable
 + You get discounts for kindle version books on Amazon, compared to paper backs. Sometimes as much as 60%. There are also lot of free kindle version books for download
 + Free 3G to browse Amazon website (if you opt for the 3G version - yes it works in India too)
 + The Touch interface makes navigation easier compared to the earlier Kindle versions
 + All the books that you buy are digitally stored in the cloud across all your devices and automatically synced to where you last left it off (the books also doesn't get old :P)
 + Good battery life (as there is no backlight)
 + One can highlight sentences, use the integrated dictionary, add note, view other's highlighted sentences and share passages to Twitter and Facebook
 + You have "Text to Speech" feature if the e-book supports it
 + You can transfer books from your computer to Kindle through a cable and also freely convert other formats to kindle format through Amazon

Kindle Touch 3G Con's
 - PDFs are not very well supported. However you can mail the PDF to "yourusername"@free.kindle.com and Amazon will freely convert PDF to the Kindle's native format. It does a decent job for most PDFs but some can be a disaster
 - For Indian Customers, the Excise duty of Indian Government is as high as around $15~$25, if you are shipping it to India
 - For some books it maybe wiser to buy cheaper Indian editions rather than online (unless you want to save trees)
 - Free 3G is only for browsing Amazon website (obviously!)
 - The GUI is very basic, nothing fancy. This is only an e-reader, don't expect it to be like iPad or any other tablets... its purely for reading purpose (though Amazon has given some experimental features such as music player, browser, etc but they are all basic)

Who should buy Kindle... Go ahead & buy, if  any of the below criteria matches
 + If you are an avid reader & need to get the latest books (and possible a huge load of free books)
 + You are a traveler who also love reading & want to travel light
 + If you want to save trees
 + You love technology & want to see how it feels to read in a e-reader with no LCD backlight
 + You have lots of money and feel like splurging