5 Reasons to Buy Grandma a Kindle

By December 1, 2011

If you’re an entrepreneur chances are you are bootstrapping and living off of Velveeta this holiday season.

The holiday budget is thin this year and figuring out what to buy isn’t a fun process. Grandparents always seem to be the most difficult member of the family to shop for. Let’s face it: at this point they have every picture frame, scented candle, and “World’s Best Grandparent” t-shirt known to man.

This year think outside the box and get Grandma something she will enjoy, an Amazon Kindle.

Little known fact: 9 out of 10 Grandmas love this book.

They are affordable.

The Kindle comes in four different models: Kindle ($79) , Kindle Touch ($99),Kindle Touch 3G ($149) and Kindle Fire ($199). These price ranges give an entrepreneur practical pricing along with models that fit the tech skills of Grandma. Kindle books are generally sold for $9.99-$12.99, so why not pick up a copy of The Lean Startup so Grandma can build out the minimum viable product of that mobile knitting app she pitched to you at Thanksgiving dinner.

Grandma will love the Kindle Touch

They have the most bang for their buck.

Not only are Kindles affordable, but each model packs a bang for its buck in terms of functionality. With Kindle, Grandma gets the most intuitively designed e-reader on the market; Kindle Touch kicks it up a notch by applying the use of an interactive touch screen, making the reading experience more familiar to hardcover book lovers. The newly released Kindle Fire gives Grandma the power of a touchscreen tablet for half the price.

Grandma making the move to Facebook

The social reading experience.

The whole process of reading a book is transforming into a more social experience. Although its hard to be social in the context of personally reading, Kindle offers features that you wouldn’t find in a standard hardcover book. These features include posting to Facebook and noting popular highlights made by other users reading the same book. Grandma is making the move to the social web!

Oprah is 57 and she loves her Kindle.

Convenience.

What’s more convenient than having the power of a tablet and speed of instant book delivery in the palm of your hand? Grandma won’t need to power up the old 10 pound laptop (that you gave her when you got your Macbook Pro) to surf the web on the new Kindle Fire. And think of how much gas she will save by not driving to Barnes and Noble every time Oprah adds a new book to her book club. If the Kindle Fire isn’t her thing,Kindle and Kindle Touch models allow non-tech-savvy grandmas the convenience of a portable bookshelf and the instant book-purchasing power that the every Kindle has to offer.

You've gotta start somewhere right?

It’s a Start

Many grandparents struggle with new technology at first and are often hesitant to try something new. The Kindle is intuitive enough for users of all ages to understand within a few minutes. Perhaps when they notice how easy it is to use the Kindle they will be more open to try other forms of emerging technology. At least it’s not another candle.

 Feature Image Courtesy of Bitmethod