Actuarial Post - Issue 3 - (Page 18)

18 amazon kindle You’ve packed seven pageturners in preparation for the family holiday. You remind yourself on arrival at the airport ‘Just don’t go near the Bookstands’, after all there are so many interesting things to do after checking in. You decide that maybe a look at what Mr Smiths has to offer would while away a few minutes after all ‘Aha, the latest Faulks, and an oddly titled tome ‘Miss Peregrine’s School for Peculiar Children’ Both hit the basket. 20 minutes later you have several new additions for your holiday reading and the problem of portage. Your now decidedly bored small child looks suspiciously up at you as you enquire whether there is any room in her Peppa Pig backpack, a frown and a firm shake of her head along with the statement that a certain bear just has to have the entire space to himself leaves you with the holiday tradition of stuffing the books into every available space in your hand luggage. As you pack and re-pack you glance enviously at the serene passenger opposite as he unfolds a neat paperback sized electronic reader and proceeds to smirk infuriatingly at you over the top. JULY 2011 ACTUARIAL POST Review of the Now there are two camps, how can you compare a real book with one of THOSE and then there are people such as myself that have recently become a convert. Why. Read on for an overview that may suggest it may be a worthwhile purchase and allow bears to travel in small backpacks without a hardback shoved up its threadbare nose. When playing with the new Kindle a few things jump out at you. First, it’s all screen since the frame around the device is much smaller (actually 21 percent) than its predecessor. It’s also light—a critical point for those of us that haven’t found any way to truly consolidate our devices. And the pages turn quickly. Is that enough to warrant a purchase? It is at Amazon’s price of £111 and if you want a 3G version it’s £152. Overall, the new Kindle swung me back on to the side of ereaders in this never-ending debate about multifunction (think iPad) vs. mostly single function devices (e-readers). The latest Kindle (in white and graphite) is a handy extra gadget to carry around. For me, the e-reader vs. iPad de- bate doesn’t necessarily apply since it’s not a level playing field. Price alone dictates that. There will be iPad/Kindle households depending on the family. The good… • One hand reading is really easy. The 3G/Wi-Fi version of the latest kindle checks in at 8.7 ounces. It seemed as light as my phone, I compared a few weights. The first Motorola Droid weighs 6 and a bit ounces. Droid X weighs 5.44 ounces. The iPhone 4 weighs 4.8 ounces. Overall, the latest Kindle is 15 percent lighter than its previous version, but feels less since the body around the 6-inch screen is smaller. • The navigation. In the end, I was hoping that the latest Kindle would have a touch screen. Russ Grandinetti, vice president for Kindle content, said page turns would be slower with touch because of the way light interacts with the screen and the E-ink to get to the touch layer. However, Amazon has improved on the latest Kindle. The buttons on the side of the device are solely for turning pages. The home and toggle buttons are now below on

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Actuarial Post - Issue 3

Actuarial Post - Issue 3
Contents
News
A Day in the Life of ...Gareth Haslip Solvency II Expert
Group Structure: The Next Focus
Review of the Amazon Kindle
Luddite
Mentioned in Dispatches
Talent Shortages Offer New Career Opportunities
Recruitment

Actuarial Post - Issue 3