Black Friday is a vicious "holiday." It's a wretched display of hyper-consumerism, and anyone--who isn't homeless--that spends the night outside of a big-box retailer deserves to choke on a wishbone. Saving a few bucks on a 42-inch LCD television is rad, but not if you risk giving passers a migraine. Thankfully, there's something called Amazon.
"Amazon? Like a jungle?" asked one homeless man we found near a Best Buy parking lot in Hialeah.
"Not quite, but very impressive, sir."
Yesterday, Amazon announced on Facebook that its second-generation Kindle would go on sale at 9 a.m. Pacific (noon for Miami) on November 26 for just $89 as part of a Black Friday deal. The catch is, the second-generation Kindle has been out since early 2009 and a third-generation, Wi-Fi-enabled Kindle was released a few months back. In other words, $89 will get you--or the person receiving it as a gift--an old product. But does the Kindle need any more upgrading?
We've been using a first generation Amazon e-reader for a while now, and can't find a reason to upgrade. Sure the contrast of the screen is crisper on a new version, and no we can't listen to MP3s on our Kindle, but so what? We didn't buy into the concept of Kindle as just another electronic device or watered-down replacement for our iPod. We were genuinely excited about its lack of high-tech features and simple-to-use interface. It's always felt like we're reading a thin book, not a computer.
And while other companies like Barnes and Noble, Sony, and Apple also have e-readers on the market, we think $89 is a tough price to beat. Furthermore, Amazon recommendations have yet to disappoint.
