The title of this post is actually the email signature of the Amazon Kindle support representative that I communicated with. I think I agree.

Here’s the story…

On my recent trip, my Kindle’s display went kaput. After some chest pain, and mild heart-attack, I called up Amazon Kindle support. Customer details, and a couple of questions later…

‘I’m sorry your Kindle isn’t working. I’m sending you a replacement Kindle via Priority International Courier to get it to you as soon as possible.’

Wow! In less than five minutes? Blood pressure returned to close to normal.

A replacement order was created with charges and immediately refunded. The charge for the order was $204.93 ($139 Kindle + Custom and import duties), and the refund was the same amount. Essentially, no charges to me. 

3 days later, in India, the replacement Kindle was received. A little dance happened. 

I now have to ship the conked-off Kindle back to a Kentucky warehouse within 30 days. Okay, will do. But Amazon wants me to do a small extra bit.

‘Please indicate the cost of shipping you paid with your return. We’ll use this amount to reimburse your return shipping costs.’ 

Holy schmoly! After I’ve shipped out the malfunctioning unit, I have to go to a provided link and claim refund of shipping costs back to Amazon. Blood pressure shoots up in glee!

If you’re floored by the awesome customer service, here’s the icing on the cake and choco-chip on my waffle… I bought the Kindle in US. At the time of purchase, I paid $139 only, and no Custom or import duties. Amazon chose to pay those for the replacement!

A few days back, around the Kindle 3 (not official version name, but third generation in releases) launch, I tweeted saying the Kindle is now tempting me, and I might just take a dive into the world of eBook readers, and add another gadget to my bag.

Surprisingly, several folks on my social networks advised me to go for iPad (with the Kindle app), which is ’obviously shinier and better.’

And then I wondered. Not just me being an Apple anti-fan, I still think this advice was wrong on many counts, probably swayed by Apple’s ‘magical’ hype.

Price: $139/$189 Kindle vs. $499 iPad
Whie I specified, I was intending to go for the Wi-fi Kindle, at $139, it is clearly a case of apples vs. oranges, or maybe even cashewnuts vs. oranges.

Battery Life: 3 weeks vs. 10 hours
Kindle’s battery life with wireless always on is a claimed 3 weeks. On a long trip, 10 hours is all you would read?

Reading experience:
There is a reason why no eBook reader in the market has a colored screen - LCD, LED, or any other display technology. iPad, or any other handheld device, does not offer the paper-like screen or the optimum contrast and sharp display to read indoors as well as in sunlight.

Thoughts? iPad is a great consumption device, but I prefer my Dell Mini notebook, which also allows me to do ‘real work’ and run regular Windows apps.

P.S. I did explore other eBook readers like Nook and Sony Reader, but they don’t work in India.

P.P.S. A couple of Indian eBook readers have also been launched - Infibeam’s Pi and Wink. No verdict on them, as yet.