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Um, this is pretty cool

John Cougar Lunchbucket Nov 20 2007 07:08 AM

[url]http://tinyurl.com/37wwtu[/url]

soupcan Nov 20 2007 07:26 AM

Wow. That is the future I suppose. As amazing a product as that seems to be, I'm thinking that by this time next year there will be competitors with products that are smaller, slimmer have color screens (didn't look like the Kindle had one) and possibly less expensive. I remember shortly before my grandfather died in 1992 at age 85, he was saying that he was ready to go because the world of 1992 was not one he was familiar with anymore. I can only imagine what the world will be like when I'm 85.

seawolf17 Nov 20 2007 07:53 AM

At least you know Julio Franco will still be playing baseball.

sharpie Nov 20 2007 08:19 AM

Sony introduced an ebook reader about a year ago that is $100 cheaper and thought of by those who've used them as the better device.

soupcan Nov 20 2007 08:31 AM

Boy, that year flew by.

sharpie Nov 20 2007 08:45 AM

Thing is, reading is free -- unlike music or video which requires a device. Ebooks and the like have been around for a while now and sales are still pitiful next to print books. They've caught on only for textbooks and the like (apparently if you go to dental school they are required). Almost all books published these days are available as ebooks and you can get downloads of newspapers and the like but is that so much better than carrying your book or newspaper while on the train? One argument that has some validity is that you could load up your ebook reader for your three-week vacation rather than lugging around several books but I remain skeptical that this market will develop until and unless an e-reader costs something like $20 rather than $300.

Edgy DC Nov 20 2007 08:58 AM

I remain skepical that I'll ever get a three-week vacation.

RealityChuck Nov 20 2007 09:10 AM

The issue with eBooks is that they are old technology in a new box. Compare sales for eBook readers with iPods. The number of people who read for pleasure is falling, being replaced with video and other media. Much as I hate to say it, the market for books -- electronic or otherwise -- is contracting and aging.

metsmarathon Nov 20 2007 09:17 AM

ideally, it should be the size of a paperback, but slimmer, no? the kindle just looks somewhat unwieldy. also rather ugly. and either the price point has to drop, or that outpouring of cash has to get you some nifty features to really make it worth it. maybe an iphone-like touch screen and/or stylus interface... if an ebook could also play music and/or video, i think it would find its market share to increase. the video side would make for far trickier display technology - optimizing it both for comfortable text reading and quality video - but should be doable in a $300 dollar product.

sharpie Nov 20 2007 09:51 AM

Here's a review from a publishing newsletter: The coverage, analysis and opinions will continue for a while, but after a day of actual Kindling I thought I'd file one more report. A couple of important biases going in: I already read tens of thousands of words a day electronically, mostly via computer, and I've always been a dedicated reading device skeptic. Amazon means it when they say they designed this primarily as a device for long-form reading. The small number of magazines, newspapers and blogs currently available is a fun conceptual twist, but it's not the essence of the device--particularly as you realize it lets you read the articles in newspapers and magazines, which is different from reading a newspaper or magazine itself, whether online or in print. The "experimental" web browser is neither good enough nor fast enough to be used for significant browsing and while you can read web-based e-mail, replying is cumbersome, even with all the awkward space given to the keyboard, and this is still a black-and-white device. (Or rather, if you've experienced electronic ink, a black-and-grey device. For middle-aging eyes, the contrast and brightness is low, there remains low-level screen glare, and you need to use it in relatively bright light. One day true electronic ink and paper will be amazing, but that day remains far off.) In other words, it's not a Kindleberrypod, even though it has multiple functions built in. It's an e-reader. As a device, in basic function, form and features, there is nothing transformational here. Amazon isn't a consumer products company, and it shows. There's a big difference between consumer products genius and retailing genius. Amazon is a retailing innovator, and that's the strength of this device--it is a e-book retailing improvement. The Kindle device and store work together better than any pairing so far: Title availability is much better (though still just the beginning); title pricing is much better; and the ease of use and delivery is high. Like the best devices, you turn it on and it works right away, without need a manual or a training course. As promised, it's fun and easy to go to the Kindle store and grab chapter excerpts and full books quickly--you can load the device up with plenty to read. That's better, but still far from ideal. Browsing to find available titles you want to read is still harder, and slower, than using Amazon through a computer. The reading experience will surely be an individual one; I'm happily working my way through TREE OF SMOKE, and I'll take it to the doctor's office with my shortly. But I can't see buying one, at almost any price, and certainly not at the current price. There will surely be some market among gadget adopters, very heavy readers who can leverage the pricing over time to make the device pay for itself, and specialized readers (book reviewers and industry professionals). But it's hard to see how this changes the game, particularly with so many obstacles yet to overcome. (In early voting, thirty-eight percent of reviewers at Amazon's site based on initial reactions give the idea one star; 19 percent give it five stars).

Edgy DC Nov 20 2007 10:11 AM

When I was young, part of the appeal of record collecting was amassing milk-crates full of LPS to intimidate suite-mates when you got to college. Young people gradually have gotten over that. Will adults similarly get past the penis-based allure of bookbuying, to produce walls of book-cases to intimidate guests before the tangible representation of your intellect?

metirish Nov 20 2007 10:20 AM

I rather have the book, I tried the audio book thing on the iPod and didn't like it and although this is different it's still not like a book obviously.

HahnSolo Nov 20 2007 10:20 AM

Is that what displaying titles on your bookcase is for? Then I better take down Nails, My Life in Tights (the Burt Ward story), and any number of Uncle John's Bathroom Readers.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Nov 20 2007 10:21 AM

I think kids accumulate friend in myspoace today, or something like that.

Edgy DC Nov 20 2007 10:24 AM

="HahnSolo"]Is that what displaying titles on your bookcase is for? Then I better take down Nails, My Life in Tights (the Burt Ward story), and any number of Uncle John's Bathroom Readers. Damn. I think I just lost the title of the Most Homoerotic Library in the Pool.