Amazon Kindle - ebooks & readers v "traditional"

[juanmgonzalez]

I found my wife's xmas present - 1 minute away from ordering the Sony Reader last night but decided not to at the last minute:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...pf_rd_i=507846


Product Overview

* Revolutionary electronic-paper display provides a sharp, high-resolution screen that looks and reads like real paper.
* Simple to use: no computer, no cables, no syncing.
* Wireless connectivity enables you to shop the Kindle Store directly from your Kindle—whether you’re in the back of a taxi, at the airport, or in bed.
* Buy a book and it is auto-delivered wirelessly in less than one minute.
* More than 88,000 books available, including 100 of 112 current New York Times® Best Sellers.
* New York Times® Best Sellers and all New Releases $9.99, unless marked otherwise.
* Free book samples. Download and read first chapters for free before you decide to buy.
* Top U.S. newspapers including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post; top magazines including TIME, Atlantic Monthly, and Forbes—all auto-delivered wirelessly.
* Top international newspapers from France, Germany, and Ireland; Le Monde, Frankfurter Allgemeine, and The Irish Times.
* More than 250 top blogs from the worlds of business, technology, sports, entertainment, and politics, including BoingBoing, Slashdot, TechCrunch, ESPN's Bill Simmons, The Onion, Michelle Malkin, and The Huffington Post.
* Lighter and thinner than a typical paperback; weighs only 10.3 ounces.
* Holds over 200 titles.
* Long battery life. Leave wireless on and recharge approximately every other day. Turn wireless off and read for a week or more before recharging. Fully recharges in 2 hours.
* Unlike WiFi, Kindle utilizes the same high-speed data network (EVDO) as advanced cell phones—so you never have to locate a hotspot.
* No monthly wireless bills, service plans, or commitments—we take care of the wireless delivery so you can simply click, buy, and read.
* Includes free wireless access to the planet's most exhaustive and up-to-date encyclopedia—Wikipedia.org.
* Email your Word documents and pictures (.JPG, .GIF, .BMP, .PNG) to Kindle for easy on-the-go viewing.

[Groucho]

Looks pretty cool. But I want to read some customer reviews before I'd consider spending $$$ on this thing.

[juanmgonzalez]

Originally Posted by Groucho

Looks pretty cool. But I want to read some customer reviews before I'd consider spending $$$ on this thing.

True - I hated the fact on buying another Sony product and we buy so much from Amazon already. Our closet is looking like the Library of Congress with all of her books in there that we buy from Amazon.

I'm usually an early adopter on technology like this...

[Goldberg74]

Pretty sweet idea.

I'd like to test it out before committing that much money to it.

[Tracer Bullet]

I don't see the need for it. Any ebook reader has really tough competition, with a killer UI and experience- the book. If all I'm getting out the deal is the ability to carry 200 books around with me, I'll pass.

[Flay]

You know what this would be badass for?

College textbooks.

[Tommy Ceez]

Originally Posted by Flay

You know what this would be badass for?

College textbooks.

I tend to really treat my paperbacks well and then never re-use them, but I highlight and bang the shit out of my textbooks

Im really flip flopping on this thing

No one I ever lend a book to actually reads them, and thier starting to take up alot of spots on the shelf....this could be a big plus for me....only problem, selling it through amazon makes it hard to get a HANDS ON

[John Slider]

Originally Posted by Tommy Ceez

I tend to really treat my paperbacks well and then never re-use them, but I highlight and bang the shit out of my textbooks

Im really flip flopping on this thing

No one I ever lend a book to actually reads them, and thier starting to take up alot of spots on the shelf....this could be a big plus for me....only problem, selling it through amazon makes it hard to get a HANDS ON

I didn't bother to read the features/watch the video, but a highlighting feature would be badass on this thing.

[Drop]

Seems really great, but the price is limiting. I am anticipating its (cheaper) successors a lot though. This is what will become of books it just makes sense.

You can d/l books directly to it, you can get subscriptions to international papers, it doesn't need a computer at all, and there's even a web browser. The only big drawback is the black and white nature of it.

I would love this if just for traveling (which I do enough for this to be a problem), I always take 5-10 books with me, no matter how long the vacation, because I never know exactly what I want to read. This would save a lot of space, and be so much more convenient.

[Tommy Ceez]

Originally Posted by Drop

Seems really great, but the price is limiting. I am anticipating its (cheaper) successors a lot though. This is what will become of books it just makes sense.

You can d/l books directly to it, you can get subscriptions to international papers, it doesn't need a computer at all, and there's even a web browser. The only big drawback is the black and white nature of it.

I would love this if just for traveling (which I do enough for this to be a problem), I always take 5-10 books with me, no matter how long the vacation, because I never know exactly what I want to read. This would save a lot of space, and be so much more convenient.

But would you use this on the beach/pool?

[Buckleyesque]

1. I think the price on this will fall drastically in the coming months. There is no way they can sustain the $400 pricetag without making it a losing proposition

2. MOST people will NOT go for this. Its a hard sell. Real Books are one of the few artifacts that have survived through centuries - I don't think the Kindle is meant to replace them, but even I, who am not that conservative about technology, think that theres something un-charming about this device.

3. It looks very outdated and clunky from whatever pictures Amazon has put up on the website. Like something in a doctors' lab that he uses for medical transcription.

4. While I agree that carrying many books around on one device SOUNDS nice, is there really a need for it? Other than if you're getting an education and have college textbooks on it. I cant read more than one book at a time, and prefer seeing an already read book on my shelf rather than knowing its on my hard drive.

5. While I think there may be some sort of market for this, considering that this is the launch edition, its already tiring to think of the V1.1 and V3.2s that we're going to be seeing (haven't we learnt anything from Apple?).

Just a few thoughts...

[DJLinus]

to all of Buckleyesque's points.

This looks like a nifty gadget, but my eyeballs spend way too much time staring at a screen (computer, TV) as it is. There's just something about holding a book, amassing a "library"...

I'm not saying that I will never get one of these. I'm just not in a rush to buy one anytime soon at the current price. I've come along on online newspapers, though (I still prefer the old school paper version, but...free is free).

[RayChuang]

Interesting idea, but too expensive.

What may drive e-book reader sales is the possibility that Apple's iPhone is almost there for an e-book reader. Increase the size slightly, put in a better quality display, and buy e-books through iTunes; the device could act as an e-book reader in addition to full iPhone functionality.

[WallyOPD]

I'd consider picking one of these up at about half the price. A few questions I didn't see answered on the main product page (though I may have missed them). What happens when you reach capacity on the device? Is there any way to transfer books to your computer and then load them back on later? What happens to all of the books you've purchased if you break/lose your device and need to get a new one?

[Tracer Bullet]

Originally Posted by RayChuang

What may drive e-book reader sales is the possibility that Apple's iPhone is almost there for an e-book reader. Increase the size slightly, put in a better quality display, and buy e-books through iTunes; the device could act as an e-book reader in addition to full iPhone functionality.

It'll never happen. People will not abandon books for a backlit LCD screen. It's simply too hard on the eyes. That's why the Sony ebook reader and the Kindle both use eink.

[Tracer Bullet]

Originally Posted by WallyOPD

I'd consider picking one of these up at about half the price. A few questions I didn't see answered on the main product page (though I may have missed them). What happens when you reach capacity on the device? Is there any way to transfer books to your computer and then load them back on later? What happens to all of the books you've purchased if you break/lose your device and need to get a new one?

From what I understand you can store books on an SD card.

[Drop]

Originally Posted by Tommy Ceez

But would you use this on the beach/pool?

Most definitely.

I think this will replace books someday, the e-ink technology is not like looking at a screen at all, it's very similar to looking at piece of paper.

I think the device is the perfect size, about the size of your average book, any smaller and I wouldn't want it. I like the size of a page, not the size of an ipod touch screen.

If you run out of space, you can transfer them to a computer or delete them and download them whenever you please. Your purchases are all stored online, so should you lose it or upgrade to a better model you don't have to rebuy everything, just redownload it.

[Groucho]

Originally Posted by Flay

You know what this would be badass for?

College textbooks.

I heard an interview with the Amazon CEO on NPR yesterday, and they mentioned highlighting as a feature.

I could see this catching on with the college textbook industry. After all, their bread and butter is forcing people to buy new books each year at outrageous prices. This way they can offer a "discount" that keeps their profit margin intact, and still forces people to buy the new editions.

[Tracer Bullet]

Originally Posted by Drop

I think this will replace books someday, the e-ink technology is not like looking at a screen at all, it's very similar to looking at piece of paper.

So I'm going to spend $400 for a device that is "very similiar" to reading off paper? Why? Unless I'm in college and have to lug around heavy textbooks, what advantage am I getting?

[Groucho]

Originally Posted by Tracer Bullet

So I'm going to spend $400 for a device that is "very similiar" to reading off paper? Why? Unless I'm in college and have to lug around heavy textbooks, what advantage am I getting?

1. Up to 200 books on one device.

2. Daily newspapers

3. Done with your book? The ability to order a new one right from the device.

[gcbrowni]

I can speak with respect to the Sony Reader (I think the Kindle is a POS)


I can read a trash paperback in less than 1 day, so on a multi-day excursion the ability to hold more than 1 book is nice. In addition, the availability of multiple book son the device makes it realistic to haul around a large number of short stories.

In addition, the electronic delivery of the books makes things very nice. The ability to go from 'I want this' to readying it is very short. No driving to the bookstore, or hoping that the bookstore has it, or waiting for the bookstore to order it.

Finally, it has reduced the clutter in my library a great deal. I can now store my books on my hard drive (properly backed up, of course) and no longer have overflowing shelves of books and piles scattered everywhere. My Analog/Asimov magazine subscriptions are great on my Reader.

The Kindle has problems. It looks terrible, it's has DRM out the wazoo, and you have to mail amazon to convert books, and wait awhile until the book is available.

E-ink is awesome; it's nothing like using an LCD.

I'm reading MUCH more in the last year thanks to my Reader.

[Drop]

Tracer Bullet, this device is obviously not for everyone yet. 400 dollars is a big hurdle.

Personally, I don't really have the room for anymore books. I previously stated when I travel I take 5 - 10 books with me (even if it's just for a weekend), because I never know exactly what I'm in the mood for. This takes more space than I would like.

When I am at home I have to dig through my shelf to find the books I want, and don't find some because they're misplaced.

But I really dislike reading books on a computer screen, I just can't get into them, so I'm not just going to d/l them, and certainly will not waste my paper and ink printing them. The e-ink screens are a huge improvement for reading.

Kindle also offers web surfing, direct downloads of 88,000 books (ranging from 1.99 to 9.99), plus subscriptions to U.S. and international newspapers and magazines (auto-delivered), Wikipedia access, a dictionary, and it's all in one small device, where I can hold 200 titles, and there's no service plans.

It's about convenience. That's all it is, that's all technology is, for some people Kindle isn't, for others it is. I fall into the latter category, but I will not be an early adopter, it needs to drop in price first. But in the future I will own a device like this, and even further than that, many people will.

[RayChuang]

Originally Posted by Tracer Bullet

It'll never happen. People will not abandon books for a backlit LCD screen. It's simply too hard on the eyes. That's why the Sony ebook reader and the Kindle both use eink.

I understand your concerns, but if you look at the display for the current iPod nano, it has very high pixel density for its display size, with surprisingly clear and readable text. Expand that pixel density to a full-screen device a tad larger than the iPhone (technologically possible within the next 2-3 years), and that makes it a very nice e-book reader.

[The Bus]

Originally Posted by RayChuang

Interesting idea, but too expensive.

What may drive e-book reader sales is the possibility that Apple's iPhone is almost there for an e-book reader. Increase the size slightly, put in a better quality display, and buy e-books through iTunes; the device could act as an e-book reader in addition to full iPhone functionality.

Do you read regular books that are the size of the iPhone?

[gcbrowni]

I've seen several reviews of the Kindle that suggested that the iPhone or iPod would be a better reader. Those fanboys are smoking crack. Ages ago I used to read on a Palm, but it was NOT enjoyable at all, and the iPhone and iPod are going to be the same way. The new e-ink devices are much better than the LCD-based micro-sized devices.