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Human Resource Information Systems The intention of this paper is to distinguish other companies who have faced similar humane resources issues in regards to info technology. Through benchmarking dissimilar companies we may learn how other companies have handled sure humane resources issues affiliated to info technology, data systems, new technology, and info security. An overall analysis has been finished using exploration on IBM Europe, Ameriprise Financial, Terasen Pipelines, Shaw’s Supermarkets, CS Stars LLC, IBM, WORKSource Inc., and Toshiba America Medical Systems, Inc. This paper also includes eight synopses of companies facing similar issue to those in the reading. New Technology With the altering world and continuous new engineering that is available, managing directors need to be conscious of the technology that will increase effectiveness in their company. Human resource info systems (HRIS) have more and more transformed since it was primary introduced at General Electric in the 1950s. HRIS has gone from a basic procedure to convert manual selective information keeping schemes into computerized systems, to the HRIS systems that are employed today. Human resource masters begun to see the possibleness of new apps for the computer. The idea was to integrate a great deal of of the dissimilar humane resource functions. The result was the third generation of the computerized HRIS, a feature-rich, broad-based, self-contained HRIS. The third generation took systems far beyond being mere selective information repositories and developed tools with which humane resource pros could do much more (Byars, 2004). Many companies have seen a need to transform the way Human Resource operations are performed in order to keep up with new engineering and increasing numbers of employees. Terasen Pipelines moved it is headquarters from Vancouver to Calgary to be closer to the oil and realized a major growth in employees. In the past recording keeping was done on paper and with spreadsheets. Mangers at Terasen realized that there was a need to change to a more computerized system and looked into dissimilar HRIS vendors. By making the move to a HRIS system, Terasen is competent to keep more precise records as well as better prepare for future growth. Another company that saw the gains of keeping up with new engineering science is WORKSource Inc. To meet the challenge of handling 100 new employees, WORKSource Inc. acquired Web-based engineering programs from GHG Corp. like electronic compensate stub, electronic timesheet software, time-off system, and humane resource info scheme (“Tips,” 2006). By adjusting these new programs, WORKSource was capable to reduce waste and cost. The Internet is an growingly standard way to recruit applicants, exploration technologies and carry out other necessary functions in business. Delivering humane resource services online (eHR) supports more effective collection, storage, distribution, and interchange of info (Friesen, 2003). An intranet is a type of network used by companies to share data to humans within the organization. An intranet connects people to persons and people to selective information and psychological result of perception learning and reasoning within the organization; it serves as an “information hub” for the entire organization. Most organizations set up intranets principally for employees, but they may extend to business collaborators and even clients with suitable security clearance (Byars & Rue, 2004). Applications of HRIS The efficacy of HRIS, the systems are competent to fabricate more effective and more quickly outcomes than may be done on paper. Some of the some apps of HRIS are: Clerical applications, applicant search expenditures, danger management, training management, training experiences, financial planning, turnover analysis, succession planning, flexible-benefits administration, compliance with government regulations, attendance reporting and analysis, humane resource planning, accident reporting and preventative action and strategic planning. With the a lot of dissimilar apps of HRIS, it is difficult to perceive how the programs gain companies without looking at companies that have already benefited from such programs. One such company is IBM. IBM has a paperless online enrollment plan for all of it is employees. Not only has the online enrollment saved the company 1.2 million per year on printing and mailing costs, the laborers take pleasure in working with the online plan. “Since we started out providing online enrollment, we’ve learned that workers want web access,” Donnelly [Senior Communications Specialist] says, so they may log on at home rather than through the company intranet. So the company has been working to put in place a web-based enrollment system that workers and retirees may access from anyplace (Huering, 2003). By utilizing the flexible-benefits application HRIS has to offer, IBM was capable to cut costs and give workers the freedom to discover their gains on their own time and pace. Another company that has taken vantage of HRIS apps is Shaw’s Supermarkets. In order for Shaw’s to better manage it is workforce, the company decisive it was time to centralize the HR operations. After looking at dissimilar options, Shaw’s decisive to utilise an Employee Self Service (ESS) system. The use of self-service apps brings about a positive circumstance for HR. ESS gives HR more time to focus on strategic issues, such as workforce management, succession planning, and compensation management, while at the same time bettering service to workers and managers, and ensuring that their data is accurate. With this solution, workers have online access to forms, training material, gains selective information and other payroll affiliated selective information (Koven, 2002). By giving workers access to their personal selective information and the capacity to update or modify their selective information as needed, HR was given more time to focus on other issues. Understanding the dissimilar apps HRIS has to offer will give companies the prospect to increase employee efficacy and reduce costs. Measuring the Effectiveness of HRIS The evaluation ought to determine whether or not the HRIS has performed up to it is expected values and if the HRIS is being applied to it is full vantage (Byars & Rue, 2004). One of the most significant challenges faced by public personnel executives today is measuring the performance of their humane resources data scheme (HRIS) In order to warrant the value-added contribution of the HRIS to achieving the organization’s mission (Hagood & Friedman, 2002). Implementing an HRIS program may seem a necessary stem for a company, but unless it will be an effective tool for HR operations, it will not aid increase efficacy and may hinder it instead. One company that enforced a HRIS system is Toshiba America Medical Systems, Inc. (TAMS). TAMS put all employee gains data online and produced an open enrollment option when TAMS changed healthcare providers. Almost without delay upon rolling out the UltiPro portal [new HRIS technology] to employees, TAMS started out seeing improvements, with an approximated 70% increase in open enrollment efficacy (Wojcik, 2004). By determining the efficacy of the new program, TAMS was capable to realize the gains of the new HRIS system. Security of HRIS The privacy of employee selective information has become a major issue in recent years. With identity theft getting a mutual problem, workers are getting more sensible in regards to who sees their personal information, and the security it is kept in. By making sure employee data that is held in the HRIS is applicable to the company and making sure there is fixed access (password protection) to such information, companies may make it is laborers more secure with the safety of their information. Whether electronic or paper, employee files is worthy of to be treated with great care. Establishing security and end-user privileges calls for a remainder of incorporating, HR policy, scheme psychological result of perception learning and reasoning and day-to-day operations (O’Connell, 1994). One company that faced a major security issue was CS Stars, LLC. CS Stars lost track of one of it is computers that contained personal selective information that included names, addresses and social security numbers of laborers compensation benefits. The larger problem was that CS Stars failed to notify the affected buyers and workers when it comes to the missing computer. Though the computer was retrieved and no info seemed to have been harmed, a good deal of laborers lost their sense of security with the company. New York’s Information Security Breach and Notification Law, effective in December 2005, requires businesses that maintain computerized selective information which includes private selective information to notify the proprietor of the info of any breach of the security of the system without delay following discovery, if the private selective information was, or is reasonably believed to have been, acquired by a person without valid authorization (Cadrain, 2007). Another company that experienced a breach in security is Ameriprise Financial. In late 2005, a computer that contained personal selective information on clients and laborers was stolen. Because a heap of of the workers at Ameriprise take their computers amidst work and home, the company determined there was a need to put more security into those computers. Ameriprise made sure all laborers had the new security suite installed on their computers. By responding quickly to the need for more security, Ameriprise made sure all data is being held secure. Making sure workers info is held as secure as possible there will be more trust in the company and the HR laborers working with that information. Conclusion IBM, Terasen Pipeline, CS Stars LCC, and Toshiba America Medical Systems, Inc. are good examples of companies facing issues similar to humane resources info engineering science and humane resources info systems. All of these companies recognise the importance of new technology, humane resources data systems, and info security. The remainder of this paper provides synopses of more companies facing humane resources issues, how the company responded to the issues, and the outcomes of the company’s responses. Companies Benchmarked IBM Europe The Situation: IBM is a international establishment providing research, software, hardware, IT consulting, business and management consulting, ring and financing. It employs around 340,000 people, speaking 165 languages all over 75 countries, and serving clients in 174 countries. In January 2007, IBM conventional a distinguished “new media” function within it is corporate communication department. IBM main goal is to educate, support, and publicize programs that apply social media. IBM Europe decisive to exaggerate internal communication by blogging guidelines. The acknowledgement was that blogging was already happening amidst IBMers, just in an unregulated way. In a similar way, institutionalizing a function to deal distinctively with new media is not a corporate move, or establishing from scratch. It’s a response to the issues already emergent in the company. Now that those technologies are here, persons are using them, they’re growing and there here to stay-we’re just going to put a great deal of structure around them so that we may try to optimize their use.” The users determine what technologies they want to use and how they want to use them. That main idea is that IBM understands that they ought to do not forget to respect the fact that social media are social. IBM had the need to connect it is 340,000 global workers more effectively. The Response: IBM’s aim around social media has now been officially formalized. From January 22 2007, the company traditionalisti a discerned “new media” function within it is corporate communicating department. “Its remit: To act as expert advisors inside and outside IBM on issues relating to blogs, wikis, RSS and other social media applications. The main idea is to educate, aid and publicize programs that utilize these tools. IBM has a history of being a t the forefront of technology based corporate communication. From the multimedia brainstorming “WorldJam” that made news headlines back in 2001 in which 50,000 laborers international joined a real time, online idea-sharing session regarding the company’s direction. IMB has always prepared itself to use breakthrough technologies to establish a two-way dialog with it is employees. The need for social media was necessary and could no longer wait. The Outcome: In the last few years IBM has been recognized as being the vanguard of social-media use: IBM was on of the introductory Fortune 500 companies to get behind collaborative wikis, published internal blogging guidelines as far back as 2003, and is now moving fast beyond RSS and podcasts into videocasting and “virtual world” technologies like Second Life. The intranet search facility extends to all areas of the site, including new media aspects. When an employee logs onto their portal an executes a key word search, the results they get back not only come from the main intranet pages, but include results from IBM forums, wikis, blogs and podcast/videocasts tags. IMB has an understanding that laborers are no longer staying in a company their entire lives. It’s just not like that any more. In Belgium for example over 50 percent of 2,300 laborers have been there less than five years. The company has come to the conclusion that with an growingly young and mobile workforce, the likelihood is that an employee population full of a younger generation, for whom these tools are portion and parcel of life, is not that far away. In years to come IBM will have to deal with employee base for which blogging is just the natural way to interact over a web platform. IBM has devised centralized platforms for most tools that fall under it is remit, which includes wikis. For Philippe Borremans, new media lead Europe for IBM, has the potential business apps of a wiki cover two wide benefits: Collaborating and noesis sharing. IBM has scored a great deal of remarkable successes on both fronts in the near 5000 wiki pages now up and running in the organization. The company has been a big pick-up in interest in podcasting over the last 18 months writing may seem such a technical skill, whereas humans feel they may talk more freely than they may write. One of the most systematically popular IBM podcasts, with over 20,000 downloads a week. Ameriprise Financial The Situation: The Department of Justice survey estimates that 3.6 million U.S. households were victims of identity theft in 2004. Trafficking in personal date goes beyond U.S. borders: the New York Times reports that stolen financial selective information is ofttimes disseminated amidst players of online retail boards, and the buyers are often located in Russia, Ukraine, and the Middle East. One reason clients are concerned with regards to info security is the widespread advertizing generated by breaches at financial services firm. In late December 2205, an Ameriprise Financial employee’s laptop that contained unencrypted info on approximately 230,000 clients and advisors was stolen from a car. Other financial services firm, including Citigroup and Bank of America, also recognise large-scale client data losses in 2005. President of NCS, Rita Dew, a compliance consulting firm in Delray Beach, Florida, says that the Securities and Exchange Commission requires investment advisors to have policies and procedures that address the administrative, technical, and physical safeguards related to client records and information. The Response: Ameriprise Financial had to fight back and had to utilise “layers of protection.” It is essential for laborers who their primary business computer, and workers steadily transport the computer amidst home, office, and meeting sites. The vulnerability of this arrangement and the need for a safety software program is much needed. The Outcome: Employees who are transporting lab tops ought to install the Steganos Security Suite on their computer. This software allows workers to manufacture an encrypted virtual drive on the laptop that serves as selective information storage safe. Employees stores all client related data and tax preparation software database on the encrypted drive, which workers has set up with one gigabyte of storage space. The best thing is that when an employee turns off the computer the selective information is stored “safe”, the software mechanically encrypts the virtual drive’s data. The software also generates encrypted backup files, which laborers store on CDs in a fireproof safe. This must keep the info secure if any employee’s laptop is stolen or if the drive is got rid of from the laptop. Other financial advisors are relying on encryption both in and out of the office. Other programs that are being applied to protect client’s selective information are RAID Level 1 system to store data on the drives that are encrypted with WinMagic’s SecureDocs software. Encryption ensures that any person who steals the computer will be utterly unable to read the data, even by connecting it to another computer as a “slave drive. This has given a great deal of financial advisors the biggest peace of mind. Terasen Pipelines The Situation: Terasen Pipelines is a subsidiary of Terasen Inc. located in Vancouver, Canada and is located in assorted provinces and U.S. states. In 2001 the company changed it is headquarters to Calgary to be closer to the oil. With the big move, the company went through a growth spurt. With the company in a great deal of dissimilar locatings and the growing numbers of employees, the HR section saw a need to find a new scheme to keep more precise records. The Response: In the past Terasen had kept records on paper and with spreadsheets and with the growth of the company, this scheme does not work as well as in the past. In order to pay for future growth, Terasen started out to look into HRIS companies to help with the HR operations. After researching dissimilar companies, Hewitt’s application service provider model with eCyborg was found to be the right fit. The Outcome: Although there was difficultness adjusting to a new way of recordkeeping, Terasen was capable to find a scheme that will help support the current and future growth of the company. Fortunately, a lot of of the HR staff had experience working with an HRIS and were capable to help their colleagues imagine new processes, as aided by a system. One theme many times voiced all around this routine was: “You guys don’t recognise how hard we’re working when we may make it so much posing no difficulty with a scheme that could do a lot of this for us. You don’t always have to run to the cabinet for the employee file just to get basic information. It may all be at your fingertips.” (Vu, 2005). In order to support Terasen ease the HR burden of implementing a new HR system, the management of Terasen was convinced to look for a vendor to help apply and maintain a HRIS system. This scheme has helped Terasen better prepare for current and future growth. Shaw’s Supermarkets The Situation: Shaw’s Supermarkets is the second biggest supermarket chain in New England. With a workforce of 30,000 located at 180 stores allround six states, Shaw’s HR staff is responsible for managing employees’ personal data. Their employee mix includes approximately 70 percent part-time employees, consisting of students, senior citizens, second-job part-timers, and career part-timers. One third of the workforce is made up of union associates, and Shaw’s staff oversees the company’s involvement with three unions and six discerned contracts (Koven, 2002). In order to help manage the workforce, the HR staff became mesmerized in centralizing it is HR operations. The Response: In order to centralize HR operations Shaw’s decisive to apply an ESS (employee self-service) solution. The use of self-service apps gives rise to a positive circumstance for HR. ESS gives HR more time to focus on strategic issues, such as workforce management, succession planning, and compensation management, while at the same time bettering service to workers and managers, and ensuring that their info is accurate. With this solution, laborers have online access to forms, training material, gains info and other payroll affiliated information. The Outcome: Shaw’s has had positive feedback since implementing the ESS solution. “The reaction from our laborers has been exceedingly positive,” Penney, VP of Compensation and Benefits, says. “We even had a significant increase in our medical coverage costs, and it was closely a non-issue because the online enrollment featured the plan choices, the employee cost, and the company subsidy. An employee self-service application makes it very easy for them to comprehend their contributions and coverage options. I received various e-mails from laborers saying this was a outstanding modify and how easy ESS was, which the case is not oftentimes when workers are selecting their gain options.” (Koven, 2002). By giving the laborers more access to their info they are competent to see the gain selections available to them. Employees are likewise competent to update their info online, which helps reduce the paperwork of the past. Shaw’s has also seen betterment in productivity because laborers are updating data at home, not for the duration of work hours. CS Stars, LLC The Situation: The Response: The owner of the lost data, which had been in the custody of CS STARS, was the New York Special Funds Conservation Committee, an establishment that helps in providing workers’ comp gains underneath the state’s workers’ comp law. On May 9, 2006, a CS STARS employee noticed that a computer was missing that held personal information, including the names, addresses, and Social Security numbers of recipients of workers’ compensation benefits. But CS Stars waited until June 29, 2006, to notify Special Funds and the FBI of the security breach. Because the FBI declared that observe to buyers might impede it is investigation, CS STARS waited until July 8, 2006, to send notices to the 540,000 New Yorkers affected by the breach. On July 25, 2006, the FBI determined an employee, of a cleaning contractor, had stolen the computer, and the missing computer was located and recovered. In addition, the FBI found that the data on the missing computer had not been improperly accessed. The Outcome: New York’s Information Security Breach and Notification Law, effective in December 2005, requires businesses that maintain computerized data which includes private info to notify the owner of the info of any breach of the security of the scheme without delay following discovery, if the private selective information was, or is somewhat believed to have been, acquired by a person without valid authorization. The law affects not only businesses in their dealings with their customers, but employers in their role as custodians of employees’ personal data. (Cadrain) Without admitting to any violation of law, CS STARS consorted to comply with the law and make sure that proper notifications will be made in the event of any future breach. The company likewise consorted to apply more broad exercises relating to the security of private information. CS STARS will compensate the Attorney General’s office $60,000 for costs affiliated to this investigation. (Cadrain) IBM The Situation: IBM’s paperless online enrollment system, introduced in 1999, has proved to be a winner for both the company’s 135,000 active U.S. laborers and the company, according to Cathleen Donnelly, senior communications specialist at company headquarters in Armonk, N.Y. The company saves $1.2 million per year on printing and mailing costs alone, Donnelly says, and the employees’ may take vantage of a assortment of technologies to learn when it comes to issues, exploration program data and access decision aid tools from their desktop computers. (Heuring, 2002) The Response: One of those tools, a personal medical cost estimator, enables laborers to calculate potential out-of-pocket health care expenditures beneath each of the plan choices available to them, Donnelly says. Employees log in personally and are greeted by name and with crucial data with regards to their gains enrollment, such as the deadlines and when changes take effect. They mechanically get access to health plans that are available to them, and the calculator lets them compare approximated gain amounts for each plan. “Employees may select the health care services they suppose to use in a queer year, estimate expected frequency of use, and calculate potential costs underneath each plan option,” Donnelly says. “The feedback that we’ve received from workers tells us that this tool has actually helped them to make a comparison amid plans based on how they consume medical services.” The calculator shows both IBM’s costs and the employee’s. (Heuring, 2002) The Outcome: “Since we started out supplying online enrollment, we’ve learned that workers want web access,” Donnelly says, so they may log on at home rather than through the company intranet. So the company has been working to put in place a web-based enrollment system that laborers and retirees may access from anywhere. Employees may get summary data on the plans, drill down into very specific details and follow links to the health care suppliers for research. Donnelly says the system has received high marks for comfortableness because laborers may “get in and out quickly.” WORKSource Inc. The Situation: To meet the challenge of handling 100 new employees, WORKSource Inc. acquired Web-based engineering science programs from GHG Corp. like electronic paystub, electronic timesheet software, time-off system, and humane resource selective information scheme (“Tips,” 2006). These tools enabled CEO Judith Hahn to handling payroll procedures expeditiously and effectively. The Response: WORKSource has eight workforce centers, with approximately 108 employees, located allround a six-county region. Previously, payroll, benefits, and humane resources for those workers were processed and managed by a Professional Employer Organization. The company likewise has 52 administrative staff in it is headquarters office. When the contract with the PEO terminated on June 30, 2006, those 108 workers were without delay moved to the payroll of WORKSource, which meant Hahn’s workload more than doubled effective July 2006 (“Tips,” 2006). Hahn, in an consultation with PMR, said she relied on LEAN to help get a handle on what necessitated to change for her to manage the increased workload. Two years earlier, Hahn’s CEO had introduced her to LEAN, a Japanese management conception of eliminating wasteful steps and motion when completing processes. “I started out to read as much as possible with regards to LEAN and joined an HR LEAN focus group” (“Tips,” 2006). The Outcome: Mastering the conceptions of LEAN led Hahn to construct and utilise her own acronym of “REASON” to her department’s payroll and HR processes. Review the process: map payroll tasks from begin to finish. Eliminate waste: determine how to finish a payroll task most expeditiously without unnecessary steps. Analyze alternatives: exploration and valuate the applicability of new technology. Sell inventions to management: document the return on investment of each innovation. Open the lines of communication: commune openly—and often—with all stakeholders, including laborers and top management. Never grant negativity: make alter simple and fun. Give laborers a great deal of encouragement and time to learn (“Tips,” 2006). Judith Hahn was competent to utilize the right humane resource functions using info systems. Toshiba America Medical Systems Inc. The Situation: Lynda Morvik, conductor of gains and humane resources data systems at Tustin, California-based Toshiba America Medical Systems Inc. (TAMS), thought it would make sense to add a gains communicating factor to it. By having all the gain data online, the TAMS employee handbook would also be a living document, enabling Morvik to make changes when necessary. Such was the case halfway through the project, when TAMS changed health care plans from Aetna Inc. to United Health Group Inc (Wojcik, 2004). The Response: TAMS, an independent group company of Toshiba Corporation and a global leading provider of diagnostic medical imaging schemes and comprehensive medical solutions, such as CT, X-ray, ultrasound, nuclear medicine, MRI, and info systems, had been using a payroll service bureau and an in-house solution for HR that didn’t include easy-to-use consolidated reporting or an employee portal. After assessing UltiPro alongside assorted enterprise resource vendors, TAMS chosen Ultimate Software’s providing and went live in September 2002 after an on-time and on-budget implementation. Almost without delay upon rolling out the UltiPro portal to employees, TAMS begun seeing improvements, with an approximated 70% increase in open enrollment efficacy (Wojcik, 2004). The Outcome: In an venture to exaggerate the usage of the Web beyond the gains enrollment process, TAMS has posted a library of documents and forms on it is HR portal, including the gains handbook, which garnered a 2004 Apex Award for publication excellence. That same year, Business Insurance magazine likewise gave TAMS the Electronic Benefit Communication (EBC) award for outstanding accomplishment in communicating employee gains programs over the Web. To proceed elevating it is use of Ultimate Software’s HRMS/payroll solution, TAMS modified the UltiPro portal to meet the imaging company’s distinguishable needs (Wojcik, 2004). It was altogether integrated with various proprietary apps developed to address compensation and performance management issues so that TAMS laborers have a central emplacement for comprehensive workforce and payroll selective information from a Web browser that they may access with a single sign-on (Wojcik, 2004). References Byars, Lloyd L. & Rue, Leslie W. (2004). Human Resource Management, 7e. The McGraw-Hill Companies. http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1066464321&Fmt=4&clientld=2606&RQT=309 &VName=PQD.
7007 of 7119 people found the following review helpful. 1. Form-factor – Compared to the Kindle 3, this Kindle feels more compact, lighter and easier to hold. My hands wrap around this better than K3. Reading books for a few hours at a stretch will be easier on this device compared to the K3. It is the lightest such device I have used compared to all previous Kindles and other tablets. 2. Screen – I personally like the fact that there are no keys on the device and that keys come up on the screen when you need them. Delivers a better overall reading experience. However, navigating through the on-screen keyboard with the 5-way controller can be taxing if you need to do a lot of searching, and you might miss the full physical keyboard. I hardly search on the Kindle itself, I search for books on my laptop so this is a non-issue. 3. Price! – At $79, you can’t go wrong. Compared to buying paperback or hardcover editions, you will recover the cost of this in a matter of a few months because most Kindle content is priced cheaper than print editions (and you get it instantly, and can access it wherever you are). Not to mention all the free Kindle downloads available in the catalog. 4. Display – almost the same E-ink display at the K3. No glare no reflection. You can sit in bright sunlight and read it just like a book. Page turns seem a lot faster on this compared to the K3. Screen size of the Kindle 3, this new Kindle, and the Touch is exactly the same in size. 5. Wi-Fi – this can be a pro or a con (no 3G) depending on a user’s personal preference. If you travel often and would like to be able to download content anywhere without worrying about getting a wi-fi connection, you’re better off sticking with the K3 or waiting for the Touch/Fire. For me, 3G is not a major issue. 6. Text to Speech and Audiobooks – These two features are lacking in this device. I personally have never used these features on my K3. If you listen to audiobooks or TTS or music on your Kindle, again the K3/Touch/Fire might be better options. 7. Storage – this device can store 2GB which they claim is approximately 1400 books. For me, that’s a massive storage capacity and it will be years before I get close to that capacity. Again, if you download books occasionally and have a moderate Kindle downloaded content on your device, 2GB is plenty. Of course, think ahead and see how much you would expect to download in the coming 2 years (I am assuming the device will be outdated and replaced within this time-frame). 8. Battery life – too early to tell but Kindle battery life tends to be great. Specs state that the battery life of this device is 1 month compared to 2 months for the Touch or K3. 1 month is plenty (Android phones need to be charged every hour!). At least I know that if I’m going on a long flight, this device won’t need charging if I charge it up in advance. 9. Power adapter – this Kindle does not come with a power adapter, only a USB charging cable. You can either buy it separately for $8-10, or use your existing USB power adapter. Any USB adapter would work with the charging cable (previous Kindle versions, Apple’s portable devices, and most HTC phones, come with a standard USB power adapter that would work for this device). There are also plenty of $2-3 adapters available here if you search for USB chargers. Bottom line – the choice between this basic Kindle, the K3 Keyboard, the Touch, and the Fire is really a personal preference. This device itself is meant for the minimalist Kindle user who, like me, reads say a 2-3 books a month, wants a device comfortable to hold, and doesn’t need any fancy bells and whistles on the device. I guess it depends on what you use your Kindle for. If it’s just the basics, this is the perfect device to get. In my humble opinion, the choices: (i) If you have a DX or an old Kindle version, or if you don’t have a Kindle yet and are an average book-reader, this is definitely the one to get – baseline model that is affordable and is a pure e-reader. (ii) If you have Kindle 3 and don’t really need an upgrade, I recommend sticking with the K3, it’s a better device than this one in terms of features. If you do need to upgrade, the Touch is probably a better option because of all the additional features, at a small incremental cost. (iii) If you’re looking for the loaded full-on Amazon content experience with access to all the apps, streaming audio and video, and playing the “strangely therapeutic” Fruit Ninja, wait for the Fire! I sincerely hope this review helps you decide whether this Kindle is right for you. If you are still unable to make a decision, it may be worthwhile to wait for the Touch and Fire to be released, and see the reviews on those devices before making a final decision. 2749 of 2810 people found the following review helpful. There are a few things to know about this particular Kindle that can help you decide if it’s right for you… Here is a list of things to know about this Kindle. 1. You’ll be using an onscreen keyboard with the 5-Way Controller. This is not a problem for setting up WiFi and a little writing but if you are an avid note-taker or do a lot of writing with your Kindle, you might want to opt for the Kindle Keyboard. As for reading, and as a pure reading device. It is awesome… in fact, without the keyboard, audio, and other features I don’t need. This is actually the best one for someone like me who just wants to read. I’ve already successfully transferred my library, downloaded books over WiFi, and borrowed library books through the Overdrive Library eBooks System. My only small point of dissatisfaction is that there are so few good covers and accessories right now (though there ARE some available that look pretty good). All in all, I believe this is the BEST of all the Kindles currently available. Only consider others if you: Hope this helps someone make a good decision! (Brief update: I love this Kindle, but right now the scarcity of good, inexpensive covers for it is a little troubling. The Amazon made leather one with light won’t be available until November or so and there are currently no inexpensive ones to use in the interim. I’ll just have to use it gently for a month or so.) Update on cases: Checking the specifications for the Kindle, Nook Touch, and Kobo: It looks like the Kobo is about exactly the same size and the Nook Touch is slightly longer. If you need a case but can’t find one that you like yet, it may be worth a little hunting to see if a nook or kobo case or cover might fit the bill. 940 of 990 people found the following review helpful. If you are a little perplexed with all the various Kindle models and are wondering if this Is the Kindle for you, here are a few questions for you to consider… 1. Do you need text to speech capability or have the desire to listen to mp3′s on your Kindle? If you can live without that, then proceed. This Kindle does not have a speaker thus is not capable of text to speech or playing sounds of any kind including mp3′s. 2. Is color important to you? This is not a color Kindle, it is gray-scale. If you are mostly wanting to read books then this will work for you exceedingly well. The e-ink screen is gorgeous, sharp and provides the ability to change font size, font face and line spacing. It even displays photos quite nicely, but in gray-scale. And you can even zoom in on images. 3. Is a physical keyboard a necessity for you? If you like to make notes and annotations while reading, you may want to look at another model Kindle that has a physical keyboard. Although this Kindle has a screen-based keyboard, it is tedious to type more than a few words or URL’s. It works very well for minimal typing but it’s not for you if you need more than that. 4. Is compact size important for you? Then this is the one to get. It’s thin, light and diminutive in size. Slips easily into a purse, pocket or inside pocket. It is so light which makes holding and reading with one hand for longer periods of time very easy. 5. Do you want to be able to occasionally use a web browser to access a web site? Well surprise surprise, you can do that on this Kindle. It’s an “experimental” feature but it works quite well. It’s been experimental for years, so I’m not quite sure why it’s still labeled experimental. But in any case you can visit websites, save bookmarks and it works. I also own the original Kindle with the SD card slot. Compared to the original Kindle, this new one is svelte. Thinner, lighter and notably, the e-ink on this new Kindle is vastly improved. In low interior lighting with gray overcast lighting outside, I’m able to easily read the Kindle. It is amazing how the screen almost glows, as if it were backlit. Of course it is not backlit and in fact will not work in the dark. But if you have a small reading light, that solves that problem. Otherwise in most other situations you will pleased with the excellent sharpness and clarity of the Kindle text. Page “turning” was very snappy to me especially when compared to my old Kindle. The black page flash that occurs on every page turn on the old Kindle does not occur nearly as frequently with the new Kindle. It now occurs after every 5 page turns. The fact that there is no physical keyboard means that this Kindle is absolutely the easiest to carry Kindle ever. Fits nicely in the hand and the slightly grippy surface makes you feel secure in holding it… it will not easily slip out of your hand. Setup was a breeze. The Kindle immediately identified my Wi-Fi network and as soon as I entered my password using the onscreen keyboard, I was good to go. Signal strength indicated very high on the Kindle and I did not notice any degradation in signal no matter how I handled it. As concerns the onscreen keyboard, it was easy and intuitive to use. I don’t expect to have to use it very often and for me I’d rather have no physical keyboard because that makes the Kindle smaller and easier to pack and go. You still get the typical Kindle tools, such as Highlighting, Notes, Annotations, Public Notes and a few others. You can upload PDF and TXT files and view them. You can easily transfer prior Kindle purchases to your new Kindle. You have the ability to create “collections” Once you’ve created a collection, you add items to it and this is a great way to organize many books. I have not had this model long enough to comment on battery life, but I’m sure that based on my previous Kindle and the specifications that it will excel. I believe that reading 1/2 hour a day will let you go a month before needing a charge if Wi-Fi is off. That’s pretty awesome. It is charged via the included USB cable and that can be from your computer or via an AC to USB power adapter, or in-car power port USB adapter. And don’t worry that the memory has decreased in this Kindle. There is still more than enough memory to hold well over 1000 books. And you archive books too which means they are just a click and a few seconds away from being downloaded back to your Kindle from the Amazon Cloud. Regarding the ads… they are not objectionable. In fact (don’t tell this to the advertisers) I didn’t even notice that there was an advertisement on the home screen until I deliberately looked for it. It takes up just a small portion of the bottom of the screen and is no taller than an inch in height. I don’t know for sure whether all ads are the same size but the one I’m looking at is very unobtrusive. The screensaver ads are full page and don’t bother me at all. And of course, you may just end up getting a good deal on something. I LIKE the ads. Just today I got a couple from an ad that saves me $5 on a $10 Amazon purchase in addition to my choice of a selected list of Mystery/Thriller books for only $1. Love the deals! I think Amazon has another winner on its hands with this ad-supported Kindle. You just can’t beat it for reading and I’m so glad I got it. If you have any questions please leave a comment and I’ll do my best to answer them. UPDATE: 10/16/2011 – I had the opportunity to compare the display of my new Kindle with that of a friends who had a Kindle with keyboard. I’m not sure how old his is, but his display actually had a somewhat lighter colored background which made the legibility slightly better in my opinion. I was quite happy with the clarity, sharpness and contrast of my new Kindle until I compared with him. Now I’m a little conflicted. It’s still great, don’t get me wrong, But it’s not an improvement necessarily over the previous generation as far as I can tell. It’s also possible that there are variations in the e-ink display depending on the luck of the draw. I may question Amazon about this and will report back here if I do. I’d still get this in a heartbeat, but just wanted to let you know about the contrast issue. UPDATE: 10/17/2011 – There is a new firmware update for the Kindle that addresses the page refresh issue. The new version is 4.0.1 If installed, you will see an additional option in the Settings panel on page 3 called “Page Refresh.” This allows you to have the Kindle refresh the page at each page turn (the screen flashes black briefly.) Otherwise the Kindle will not refresh the page until after each 5 page turns. UPDATE: 10/19/2011 – I called Amazon Kindle Support to discuss the screen darkness issue I mentioned above. They said they’d send a replacement which I’ve just received. I’m happy to say that the screen background is in fact -slightly- lighter in color on the new Kindle I just received. I’m happy and probably would have still been happy had I not replaced it. But at least I am psychologically satisfied now. The difference in background color was extremely subtle so I wouldn’t worry at all about it if you are happy with your newly purchased $79 Kindle. However there do seem to be some circulating that are more obviously darker and if yours is one of those, then contact Amazon. UPDATE: 12/6/2011 – Wow, the way these specials offers are going, this Kindle is going to end up being free. I just got another $10 Amazon gift card for $5 the other day. Plus a free Audible Audiobook and 50% off a Kindle cover. Loving the special offers. |
Fantastic device – pick your Kindle!