Amazon’s Kindle may become the iPod for books. Search for a book on Kindle. Buy it and it’s delivered to your Kindle portable wireless reader in less than a minute. Bestsellers are $9.99 or less. Access 90,000 (and counting) books, US and international newspapers, magazines and blogs. Lightweight (10.3 ounces). E Ink reads like print. Pick your font size. Stores something like 200 books (my vacation book bag just got a lot lighter). Add an SD memory card to hold more. No wires. Battery lasts for days. No service plans or commitments. Kindle also has a web browser. Books are not dead. They’ve just been digitally re-Kindled. But will book lovers buy it? (Kindle sold out in just over 5 hours)
eBooks were supposed to replace paper books some years ago. Has the time finally come?
Price: $399
Further Reading
Amazon Kindle Review (PC World)
Amazon Kindle ebook Reader: Attacking the last Bastion of Analog (PC Magazine)
GottabeMobile, Part 1 and 2. (includes video)
Amazon Hopes to Kindle Revolution (ABC News)
15 Things I just Learned about the Amazon Kindle (BoingBoing)
Technorati Tags: amazon, kindle, blog, ebook reader
I think this is an amazing solution for a need that doesn’t exist. I read two to three books a year. That may sound like a small number, but something like 70% of the population never reads another book after they get out of school.
As an above average reader, it would take me a decade to pay that thing off compared to a plain old book.
Books may be a casualty of the internet. For me, that would be a shame. I prefer to feel a book, jump to different sections (I like anthologies) and turn the pages by hand. I also prefer to walk the aisles of libraries and old bookstores. It may not be the most efficient way to search but it is the best form of discovery. But I guess it’s a matter of personal taste and what you like to read, and how.
Kindle may offer some useful functions. I might store some reference books in there, maybe magazines. It also has a browser– so it’s not strictly a book depository. Will have to see how others have found it useful.
-jf
My first choice would always be to read a paper book. Barring that option, I’d much prefer to listen to a book on my iPod than read one on a digital device. Not only is it easier on the eyes but, while listening, I can do something else while I listen. Doesn’t Sony already offer a digital book reader?
Yes Sony has one.