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What do you think of the Kindle?

kdiggity

kdiggity

New Member
I just saw this thing a couple days ago, and I must admit that if this thing can deliver on all it claims to be then this will be as big as the iPod was for music.

I you haven't seen the Kindle, then check it out at Amazon.com. Its on their main page.

It uses wireless broadband to shop for and download books from anywhere, not just hotspots. It uses the EVDO sprint network to do it and the books on the store are much cheaper that real book (under $10). It has the exact same paper like display as the Sony Reader

The main problem I see is lack of titles avaliable and the huge $400 price tag!:eek: But, both of those problems will impove with time, I think.

What do ya think? Has the book met its match?
 
Pogue has a mostly favorable view in the Times, yesterday I think.

Can you put paper markers or post-its on the pages so you can quickly go back?
 
No, in answer to your question.

Looking at it, it's far too fussy for when I simply want to sit down and read. The internet has a value for reading – forums like this, for instance, or news sources. But it is far from ideal when reading lengthy items. It's actually difficult to concentrate for great lengths of time reading solid stuff on screen – which is why most online versions of newspapers limit news stories to a length (it might be more for broadsheet publications, but everyone that I've ever worked for posted online copy with strict words counts for that reason).

From an entirely personal perspective, there's nothing about that kind of gadget that tempts me. I will, at some point in the future, get an iPhone so that I can have mobile internet access, but reading books on any sort of computer is just a no-no, in my opinion and professional experience, and I don't think that the portability of this will change that in any sort of major way.
 
It seems a bit pricey, for something that is just for reading books/newspapers. I'd rather use a Palm (or something similar), that has other functions as well. Also, it looks quite large - the size of a paperback. I'd prefer something smaller.
 
Ugly (it looks like it was made by Atari in 1982) and overpriced. It only accepts e-books of a certain format, which essentially means that you can only buy from the sources Amazon controls. You're expected to PAY to browse blogs and newspapers (in black and white), and you still need to lug around every other electronic gadget (phone, laptop, iPod, palm pilot, etc) that you did before. In short, it's a dud.

Plus, you can't swat flies with it.
 
It's too expensive and likely to be buggy, as it's new. I'm not adverse to an e-book reader, but I'll wait until prices come down and they have worked out the kinks.
 
The reviews on Amazon are overwhelmingly negative, but some of the reviewers admitted to never touching one. Still, kudos to Amazon for not obliterating the negatives.

After looking it over (online, I've never touched one either) I'm definitely not prepared to unload $400 to get one. But B+ for effort. It does look more appealing (I almost typed 'appalling' - quiet Freud!!) than other e-book readers I've seen recently.

With the reports that the younger generations have stopped reading books (what about the older generation? My father has never read a book in his life!), a cool, gizmo-like device that feels comfortable and makes people go "oooh!" might be just what that generation needs to get reading again. The problem: that generation already carries around loads of devices. They're weighted down with Blackberries, IPods, and laptops. Will they want to carry more? If it allows college students a reprieve from Herculean text books, then maybe. But I think an e-reader that interfaces with already popular devices has the best chance of making a huge market KABOOM!

I don't think Amazon has it yet, but they seem closer than anyone else.
 
From what I see in the Amazon reviews I still think it's a great device. I REALLY don't like the DRM or the proprietary e-book format. (I can get around that) But I will wait until the next generation and a price drop before I buy.
 
ewomack said:
With the reports that the younger generations have stopped reading books (what about the older generation? My father has never read a book in his life!), a cool, gizmo-like device that feels comfortable and makes people go "oooh!" might be just what that generation needs to get reading again.
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Maybe, but doesn't that assume that the "younger generation" (they've stopped reading books? Completely? Don't they go to school?) don't read books because they're on paper, rather than because books require hours and hours of concentration and a certain ability to understand the written word. That doesn't change just because you read it on a greyish digital screen rather than a printed page. I'm sure a couple will buy it (or be given one for Christmas) just because it's the latest thingamajig, but...

I liked this comment.
 
beer good said:
Maybe, but doesn't that assume that the "younger generation" (they've stopped reading books? Completely? Don't they go to school?) don't read books because they're on paper, rather than because books require hours and hours of concentration and a certain ability to understand the written word. That doesn't change just because you read it on a greyish digital screen rather than a printed page.
Click to expand...

Hear, hear. If the "younger generation" (or any other generation for that matter) do not read, it's not because there is anything inherently wrong, inconvenient or difficult about good old-fashioned books. I doubt very much that making it 'easier' to read will do much to address the problem - even assuming that e-books are actually 'easier' or 'more convenient' to read anyway!

And you can swat flies with a Kindle...it's just that it might not do it much good :D :D :D
 
I'd be willing to buy a reader if it was reasonably priced and it didn't use a proprietary format. For $400 just for the hardware I could buy 40 paperbacks. Then they want an additional $10 for each book you download. It just doesn't make sense to me.
 
VoodooPunk said:
I'd be willing to buy a reader if it was reasonably priced and it didn't use a proprietary format. For $400 just for the hardware I could buy 40 paperbacks. Then they want an additional $10 for each book you download. It just doesn't make sense to me.
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Hmmmm, maybe I can turn the price to my advantage...."Really, honey, these 40 paperbacks are the same price as a Kindle - and it doesn't even come with a book."

I don't think e-books will succeed until they a) multitask and b) do not use a proprietary format.
 
Occlith said:
Hardly. The much-too-high price, the drm issue, and that it needs a light source to read it in the dark (not back-lit), are just some of the reasons that the Kindle is yet another e-reader.
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I completely agree with the price and the DRM issues, but the back-lit screen is the reason that computer screens give you eye strain. These book readers are designed to simulate the printed page.

Besides, you don't read in the dark now. Why would you want to start?:D
 
kdiggity said:
Besides, you don't read in the dark now.
Click to expand...
Sez hu?

Unless a buyer is fairly sure that all the places they will read will be well lit, they should not buy a reader that requires a lit location or a book light (sold on Amazon as a accessory) to read it by.
 
Another good one:

It’s called Kindle and it’s described as a “wireless portable reading device,” where the screen is so realistic and glare-free, it’s almost like reading a book.

At $400, the Kindle is perfect for someone desperate to live out that book-reading adventure they could only fantasize about for years.

You know what else feels like real paper and doesn’t require cables or monthly bills? Fucking books.
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Plus, he has a really smart technical solution if you scroll down.
 
The thing that puzzles me about all these e-readers is this:

Take your average paperback book for example. The page size is typically about 7x5 inches (sorry all you metric fans - I'm English and old enough to know the old stuff!). On that 7x5 you get a page of text that is readable, and what's more you can see the whole printed page in one sweep. One of the curious things about the way the human eye scans text is that it often 'reads ahead', without you necessarily knowing it. But if you read text on a small computer screen - and let's be honest, all these e-readers have small screens - you have to scroll up and down to see the whole page. It just doesn't seem to, well, flow the way a book does.

I admit I can't speak from much experience - I don't own an e-reader, I've hardly used any of the devices that fall into that broad category. But I'm not a technophobe, I just see lots of 'new' technology that is, quite frankly, technology for technology's sake. A sort of "Why? Because we can" situation; make the product first then invent a market for it.
 
Occlith said:
Sez hu?

Unless a buyer is fairly sure that all the places they will read will be well lit,
Click to expand...


The only place that I read that's not well lit is my bedroom. But thats why I bought a lamp, and the lamp helps me read AND not bump into things! :D
 
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