Literati VS. Kindle....NO CONTEST!!

Howdy, folks!

Hope you all had a good day today.  It got to a STEAMY 114 degrees here in Phoenix, so I did the smart thing and stayed inside!!  :0)

The other day, I was reading through my comments and saw one that had referred to my post when I got the e-reader called "Literati" by Sharper Image for Christmas.  I now have a BLESSED Kindle, so I thought I'd do a little post reviewing the two in case anyone is looking for a good e-reader.  I have had the pleasure (with the Kindle) and the horror (with the Literati) of using both.  Let me tell you, in short, DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THE LITERATI!!!!!

Yep, I feel THAT strongly about it.  I purchased it with my Christmas money because it was on sale for $79.99 at a department store online.  I thought, "Wow!  That's a great deal!"  If you are like me and pinching whatever pennies you have, you are looking for sales wherever you can find them.   So I ordered it (despite the reviews that dissed it from other people.  I figured everyone has their own experiences, both good and bad, with things) and when it came, the problems began.  At first, just minor ones that I thought I could live with.  The first problem was it wouldn't hook up to the wireless in the house, so I couldn't buy books from Kobo (the store it uses) from the device.  I could get the books with the computer and use the USB cord to sync them over to the Literati.   OK, no problem.  So I tried the device outside the house at a cafe that had free WI-FI.  The damn thing STILL wouldn't hook up.  I figured, well, as long as I can get the books on the device with the computer, it would work out OK.  And I really liked with how it had a back light, so I could read at night and not disturb my husband.  You can read my earlier posts on it (pictures included) by going to "Story Topics" to the right of my blog and clicking on "Literati" if you'd like.

Anyway, time goes on and I purchased about 10 books and had no problems with reading them on the Literati.  Then, came the second problem, which was a little harder to deal with.  The battery life on the thing is only about SIX hours.  So right when you get to the good part of your book, you have to stop and charge up!  You can still read while charging, but the power cord wasn't long enough to reach my outlet to the bed, where I do my reading.  Bummer!  I read a lot, so this problem was NOT good!  But what could I do?  I had already passed the return period, and they would just return another unit that would probably do the same thing.  So I put up with this until about a month ago when the third and final problem surfaced.  One I could NOT live with!   I went to turn the unit on and it was dead.  This was after I had fully charged it, too!  So I tried to turn the machine on by hooking it up to the power cord and the thing still wouldn't turn on.  I finally found out the power cord had a short in it and I had to practically jam the cord into the machine and hold it really, really tight in order for it to turn on.  JUNK!!!!!!  I was so mad, I threw the thing against the bed (I wanted to throw it against the wall, but didn't want to damage the wall!) and saved up for a Kindle.  I was lucky enough that Amazon had it on sale and I got free shipping, too.  I am in hog heaven with my Kindle.  It's lightweight, easy to read, the wireless works (imagine that!) and the books are even cheaper than what I was paying on the Literati.  The battery life for the Kindle is wonderful.  I've had it for over a month now and have had to charge it just once.  And that's with the reading that I do!!!  I can even play music on it and have it read to me!!   So I learned a BIG lesson......don't fall for cheap stuff.  Save for what you really want.....and I wanted a Kindle all along and should have gotten it a long time ago.  I did have a little difficulty getting the Literati books that I bought off the Literati, as it is incompatible with the Kindle format, but I downloaded a free program that helped me convert the files over so I didn't lose any money on the books I bought with the Literati.   Yeah!!!!  And my hubby is sooooo sweet....he got me a beautiful burgandy case with a light (that runs off the Kindle, so no batteries needed!) for my Kindle.  I took some pics.  You will notice that Mr. Jack had to be in one of them, too!!!  He is such a vain kitty!!!!

 Here is the Kindle screen, without the light

 

Mr. Jack watching over my precious Kindle!!

Here is a pic with the light wand extended.  Cool, huh?  Even Jack thought so!!  And he's hard to please...ha!

Hope this little review helps those that are e-reader shopping.  I love my Kindle!  I take it everywhere and imagine having your whole bookshelf in one little unit?  Whoever invented this gem I'm sure is pretty rich!!!  Wish it were me!  Ha!

Have a great night (or day) everyone!!!
Stay cool!
Hugs,