amazon kindle

This week Amazon announced the release of the Kindle 2; the improved ultra thin e-reader. At $359 it’s a hefty price to pay to see if giving up books, and newspapers for a device is even a way of life that will work for you. I got one of the first generation (for reasons I’ll get into below) Kindle’s last summer. I didn’t expect to like it as much as I do.

The new version has a couple of added features but for the most part it appears to behave exactly like the chunkier err model. Since some of you might be considering taking the leap; I wanted to offer up a little bit of what the experience has been like for me.

I want to look at it in terms of pros and cons. I’m starting with the cons as ultimately I think it’s a good device and want to spin the end positively.

CONS:
1) First and foremost price point. The cost of entry for this “device” has to come down before it will ever approach a mass audience (currently $359). The e-ink is beautiful, but in the end it’s grayscale printed words on a page (which curiously even the art director at Newsweek couldn't take, see illustration). For the price an iPhone packs a lot more punch for the money with color bells and whistles to boot. It just can’t compete at that price.

If you are a moderate consumer of books and newspapers you can build a model that has you recouping the cost, but it still may take a while. In addition to the Kindle 2 it’s rumored that Amazon is coming out with a large format “collegiate reader” this 8.5x11” screen could crack the text book market wide open.

Luckily Bezos has always been pretty good with sticking with something he thinks is a good idea until it really has a chance to catch on.

2) Bookmarks: they’re still a little awkward to use and there’s no way to remember where you were by looking at the side of the book to judge how far in you were. This goes double for remembering where you were on a given page by recalling if you were on the left or right hand side of the page. Bottom line is if you get lost, it's hard to find your place.

3) Books become generic text. Kind of like the loss of album covers. I’m beginning to draw no mental picture of books as physical objects with a face (aka cover). Without that ingraining it becomes harder for me to remember both the title and the author of the book.

I’m also noticing it promotes having a lot more half finished text. Before, as books came into my house/office, I would only let so many half read tomes lie about until I forced myself to finish a few up before adding to the clutter. With the kindle books take up no physical space. It’s way to easy to put something down and not notice it for a while.

PROS:

1) If you love to read and consume knowledge it is the most addictive thing ever invented. It allows you to explore your interests in as many dimension as you want at anytime, anyplace.

2) It makes newspapers relevant again. For years we’ve been hearing about the demise of the newspapers. Walter Isaacson, President and CEO of the Aspen Institute, was one of the NPR show over the weekend and then again Jon Stewart Monday night to discuss his Time Magazine cover story, "How to Save Your Newspaper."

I haven’t seen the article but I’m hoping there’s something in it about electronic versions. I pay a subscription fee for the New York Times. I like how the Kindle handles the text, I like it far more than the a internet browser version. It’s easy to consume and I don’t feel like a detritus making machine in the process. I’m hoping that distribution saving combined with the subscription fees help pay to keep reporters in the field. If a greater mass of people subscribed eventually local newspapers might benefit.

3) Look ma one hand! It’s really simple. I like that I can read any book with one hand. There are forward and back buttons on both sides of the device. You can hold it with either hand. Although, I recently figured out that the “previous” and the “back” buttons on the left and right sides respectively, don’t behave the same when in periodicals as opposed to books.

I can comfortably lie in bed and read. You can adjust the font size of any book. Regardless of the thickness or denseness of the book, no matter which side of the page I’m on, it's easy to read. I never want to put it down.

4) Less messy pop culture lying around. I read lot of “industry” books. Topical tomes that provide valuable information, but ones with a very limited shelf life. There are very few people you can hand these books on to once your done, due to the specificity of topic. They become garbage WAY to fast. The Kindle allows me a couple of adavantages:
        a. The books are cheaper
        b. I can download large samples before committing to buy. This is huge often by the time I’ve read    the intro premise and a couple of chapters all the relevant info is done coming. Ironically it only encourages me to purchase more because I’m always finding something that is “better”.
        c. Last year’s “who stole my cheese” isn’t stinking up my real book collection.

5) Highlights and notes. I like how it allows you to highlight passages and make notes to yourself. I especially like that you can see all of you notes and selections aggregated together. This comes in quite handy in doing research. I would like to see a service where you can share other peoples highlights and notations-- but that's another discussion

5) Things they sell as features I never use:
        a. Email. never.
        b. MP3 player. never.
        c. Now, Now their experimental answers anytime-- was fun, but now it’s gone.
        d. Wikipedia, I wouldn’t say I never use it. Wikipedia renders on the Kindle far better than most multimedia blogs. I use it from time to time, but a color browser is still my preferred mode.

In the end the thing you have to remember about the Kindle is, it’s a book. It’s one book, it’s all books, but it’s a book. It does that really well. I love my first generation model and was deeply saddened when the screen stopped working. Amazon had another one out to me the next day before the DT’s started setting in; another plus for Amazon and their customer service.

I’m sort of jealous of the new model, as I know I will inevitably begin to feel like Kirk surrounded by a gaggle of Pickard’s when the new one hits the street. But, I just got the replacement a couple of weeks ago, and other than now displaying pdf’s there’s just not enough compelling reason for upgrading other than for consuming’s sake alone.

Comments

[Victor]

RE>I’m also noticing it promotes having a lot more half finished text.

I've become entirely comfortable not finishing books, many aren't worth finishing these days. So to me the prospect of fewer half-read tomes around the house is a PRO :)

We would have liked to have one when TVL was an infant, as we spent hours holding him in one arm with one hand free and wanting to read. If we have another kid, I'll probably break down and get one.