Amazon's Jeff Bezos already built a better bookstore. Now he believes he can improve upon one of humankind's most divine creations: the book itself.
Comment: Newsweek seems so over for me. When couldn't you have guessed who was going to get an up arrow or a down? The George Will thing is a joke. You either fly privately or you're a victim. That's the loyal readership.
Comment: Sorry- I thought the first comment didn't get through, so I re did it.
Comment: This looks like it could really be the way of the the future for schools and universities. After years of watching 80-pound middle school children carrying 20+ pounds of textbooks, I have been looking forward to the digital textbook. I can see schools getting site licenses for textbooks, that could be loaded onto readers that are issued bo the school to each student. The reader would have to be very tough, able to withstand being dropped, or spilled on, but would not need a large memory- maybe only 20 books per semester. It would need a color screen for illustrations, and the reader should be able to add notes, and download quotes to a pc for papers and talks, but there should be some encoding to cite the original, to deter plagerizing. A backpack would only be needed to hold a laptop, the Kindle-textbook and lunch.
Comment: This has a great potential for schools and universities, where the sheer weight of textbooks is daunting. After daily watching 80-pound middle school children lifting backpacks loaded with 20+ pounds of stuff, I have been looking forward to the digital textbook. It will have to be very tough, able to be dropped, or spilled on, etc., and would not need such a large memory. If the schools paid for a site license for each text, and the books were loaded onto school-owned readers for the duration of a semester, it could save schools money, and make life easier for students. A color screen for illustrations, and the ability to add notes to the text is also a must. A cut and paste feature, that could download quotes to a PC for papers and lectures, possibly with some encoding that would credit the original and could not be circumnavigated would deter plagerizing. Other ebook readers and PDAs had screens that were too small. This might just work.
Comment: *** Kindle
Comment: *** Kindle
Comment: Kindle Sucks.
Comment: By far, the best thing about the Kindle is the promise of cheaper textbooks for students. A one-time purchase of the Kindle itself would be astronomically cheaper than the cost of even one freshman science textbook. And, unlike many college textbooks, students would have a purpose for the Kindle once they've graduated, and perhaps even encourage them to read for leisure. As a professor myself, I would much prefer to have the options for my students to buy e-books, instead of having them buy an expensive physical textbook that, let's face it, they would probably rarely use. And with so many college textbooks available on Amazon already, my one hope would be that the power of the Kindle would not go to Amazon's heads and with growing popularity start to charge a lot more money for each e-book.
Comment: I think the Kindle could definitely pave the way of the future for the publishing industry. Not only would they attract the younger generation who prefers to use technology to become informed, but they would also target those who have an interest to defend and sustain the environment. The E-Book does not use paper, nor will unsold copies of E-Books ever remain rotting in an old warehouse (http://www.flickr.com/photos/sweetjuniper/sets/72157603302647339/). The environmental advantages of the Kindle could not have come at a better time for Amazon, when the Western world is on a 'going green' kick, looking for any possible, minimally intrusive, way of reducing their waste on this planet.
Comment: I find it interesting that so many people jump to conclusions so quickly regarding a technology they have never even had their hands on. I agree that in the year 2008 reading a novel off a computer screen is not ideal. However, I am not going to bash the Kindle. Many of us are not environmentally friendly. Trees are being cut down by the minute. So many people do not recycle. When printing books is no longer an option we might actually have to turn to the Kindle in order to read. So I don't suggest people bash the Kindle too quickly.... because you just might not have a choice at some point in time.
Comment: "Day by day and almost minute by minute the past was brought up to date. In this way every prediction made by the Party could be shown by documentary evidence to have been correct; nor was any item of news, or any expression of opinion, which conflicted with the needs of the moment, ever allowed to remain on record. All history was a palimpsest, scraped clean and reinscribed exactly as often as was necessary."
Comment: The DRM in this device makes it perfect to bring about the new order described in Richard Stallman's essay "The Right to Read". (Google it)
Comment: The DRM in this device makes it perfect to bring about the new order described in Richard Stallman's essay "The Right to Read". (Google it)
Comment: The most natural market and benefit for the Kindle is the school textbook. From grade school to college teh books are horribly expensive because of their relatively low print runs. Because of the desire to give the purchaser a sense of value they can be very heavy: A 10 year old shouldn't have to have textbooks that weigh as much as him! Imagine a school buying a Kindle for every child and paying for it with the reduced cost of "books" that have no printing costs.
Comment: I'm 53 years old. My education and work experience is in IT. Yet, I avoid most high tech gadgets like the plague. I love my simple, low-tech life. But I also love to read. I love it! I think the Kindle is a wonderful invention and I look forward to buying my own. I question nostalgic comments like, "We're losing our books." To me, the words, not the binding, are the book. My obsession with reading has my book shelves overflowing, creating stacks of books all around the house. This is one technological advance that I will embrace.
Comment: I find something about this profoundly disturbing. While I submit to the growing popularity and function of the Internet in our everyday lives, I don't think I'm quite willing to give up books just yet. Reading something electronically is bad for your eyes and head and just seems, somehow, to devalue it. I like the look of a bookshelf in a room and the feel of a book in my hands. I like turning pages and wish for exciting stories to remain "page-turners," not be transformed into something with "click" in the name. A public library is open to anyone, regardless of socioeconomic status, but Kindle would be available only to those who have a computer connected to the Internet. I don't think it's a terrible idea or even one that shouldn't be pursued, I just think that if it truly does revolutionize the way people read books, we're all in trouble.
Comment: Even if the Kindle isn???t currently using advertising, it may very well become the platform to capitalize on a reader???s impulse purchase decisions and help save the struggling newspaper and print publishing industry.
The ???connected reading??? experience the Kindle enables will not only change the way people read, but also the way people use print media???any given publication becomes a living document, like the article says, with links to related opinions, multimedia and products. For more Kindle thoughts, see my blog: http://www.thecatalystcode.com/theconversation/blog/2007/12/05/will-kindle-ignite-a-catalytic-reaction-part-2/
Comment: It would seem that all is left is to pulverize a ton or so of old books into a fine dust to be puffed out a few times an hour from the ebook to give the reader the sense of reading a really good book. I don't think we need to go as far as housing ebooks in a flexible housing with the feel of the dried pulp of dead trees. But some may disagree.
Comment: The last step would seem to be to grind up a few tons of old books into a fine dust that can be loaded into an ebook with a mechanical device that ejects a few puffs an hour that fulfills our need to smell the accumulated dust of a book to really believe it is a book. Maybe we need to put the electronics in a spongy housing that feels like pulp from a dead tree as well--but I think most of us could live without that.
--Robert Beard
Author of Dr. Goodword's Word of the Day at alphaDictionary
Comment: As an reader and an author, I have mixed emotions about e-reading devices. I can't deny their inevitability--and yes, I'll use them myself--for some books. Other books are treausres, and the visceral experience, the smell and weight of the paper, the autographed copy, the sumptous cover art work is an exxperience, not just a function. Books are not an information-only entity. There is a quiet reverence that books offer those who appreciate it. Books are art.
~Carol D. O'Dell
Author of Mothering Mother
Comment: Has anyone thought about using the Kindle to display bilingual editions of books with two columns? I like to read works written in French presented with the original text on the left and English on the right or vice versa. I can read most of the French and quickly find a translation for something if I don't understand the original.
Comment: Yes, the Kindle device is designed to approximate the size and weight of a book, as if that little detail is going to close the deal for all of us print-addicted Luddites. And yes, it's pretty nifty that they developed screen technology for the Kindle that comes closer to imitating the visual texture of the printed page than anything ever seen before. And sure, it's pretty mind-boggling to realize that this device, linked wirelessly to Amazon's entire database of Kindle-d editions of books, could someday put every book ever written at your fingertips in searchable electronic form, even allowing authors to amend and update their manuscripts, adding new facts to non-fiction books or changing the endings of novels.
The Kindle has one insurmountable flaw, though. It's not a book.
Books are physical objects. Each has a distinctive appearance, texture, smell and heft in your hand. Each is unique, and permanent, and if it's really good, maybe even a permanent part of your home and your life. Almost every day working in my study I look up at my bookshelf and let my eyes wander across the spines of books I've read. Would it be fun to be able to search instantly for every time Robert Crais references a specific real-life location in Los Angeles in his Elvis Cole/Joe Pike novels? Sure. But I wouldn't give up my hardcover copy of The Watchman to be able to do it. And if he went back and changed the ending of the book, I would be outraged. I would feel cheated, and that the bond of trust between author and audience had been broken. Stories are stories, and their human imperfections are part of their essence.
For more about the Kindle, see my blog at http://theopenroad.blogspot.com
Comment: Yes, the Kindle device is designed to approximate the size and weight of a book, as if that little detail is going to close the deal for all of us print-addicted Luddites. And yes, it's pretty nifty that they developed screen technology for the Kindle that comes closer to imitating the visual texture of the printed page than anything ever seen before. And sure, it's pretty mind-boggling to realize that this device, linked wirelessly to Amazon's entire database of Kindle-d editions of books, could someday put every book ever written at your fingertips in searchable electronic form, even allowing authors to amend and update their manuscripts, adding new facts to non-fiction books or changing the endings of novels.
The Kindle has one insurmountable flaw, though. It's not a book.
Books are physical objects. Each has a distinctive appearance, texture, smell and heft in your hand. Each is unique, and permanent, and if it's really good, maybe even a permanent part of your home and your life. Almost every day working in my study I look up at my bookshelf and let my eyes wander across the spines of books I've read. Would it be fun to be able to search instantly for every time Robert Crais references a specific real-life location in Los Angeles in his Elvis Cole/Joe Pike novels? Sure. But I wouldn't give up my hardcover copy of The Watchman to be able to do it. And if he went back and changed the ending of the book, I would be outraged. I would feel cheated, and that the bond of trust between author and audience had been broken. Stories are stories, and their human imperfections are part of their essence.
For more about the Kindle, check my blog at http://theopenroad.blogspot.com
Comment: Posted By: literarygulag.com
Comment: The introduction of Kindle by Amazon.com is potentially a milestone. The publication of path-breaking fiction by the publishing conglomerates has all but died. What remains is genre drenched in love and family and politically correct multiculturalism that is sentimental or clever, though devoid of serious social and political engagement. By offering downloadable electronic books at $9.99 each, it is hoped that Amazon.com will publish fiction by new authors with distinctive voices who, once again, dare to write the Great American Novel and, in the process, reengage a nation of readers. If the Kindle is simply a dissemination of best sellers, nothing, not even Book 2.0, will rescue the novel. See my blog, http://www.literarygulag.com, about the causes responsible for the death of fiction, and what might be done to resuscitate it.
Comment: I have really had it with mainstream media's gadget obsession. Newsweek is no worse than other publications; but as a regular reader, I wish for a perspective on technology that will focus our society on the REAL science and engineering problems we face, and, in so doing, LEAD us to solve them, instead of pandering to a popular fascination with "cool new stuff." Our culture's greedy appetite for new electronic devices has become more like a video game addiction than a quest to improve quality of life. The Kindle already has millions of dollars of marketing clout behind it; do we really need Newsweek to shill for Jeff Bezos even more? Steven Levy makes a pathetic, long-winded attempt to explain why this toy matters, but it simply doesn't. It isn't going to improve access to any literature for people in the First World, and no one in the Third World is ever going to own one. Maybe some day eBooks will prove to be a better way to publish - taking all things into account - but that day will come on its own without ridiculous hype. A skilled science writer excites the reader with knowledge and enlightenment, not frenzied consumerism - and does so without piggybacking on Madison Avenue. Geez, I thought the Segway was a hammer in search of a nail!
Comment: This is an exciting era for the presentation and examination of ideas. A major problem to be overcome is the proprietary nature of some of the "movers". Jeff Bezos wants to shape the technology to serve the interests of his company. The possibility of a Microsoft-type monopoly in book distribution and delivery is high.
Comment: Levy completely fails to mention organizations like Gutenburg and others who are scanning public domain books in text format and offering them for free. I have been downloading and reading them on my Palm Tungsten for years.
Bezos should offer access to Gutenburg.org and other sites and view this service as a 'loss-leader' (though no loss of revenue is actually involved) to promote the use of the Kindle and entice people to pay for best sellers.
If he decides to take a similar position to that of the music industry and funnel public domain literature through proprietary files that he charges for, then I think the Kindle will eventually fail.
Comment: Uh... marbe it's just me, but did any one else realize Sony came out with the same exact thing (minus the Wi-FI type feature) almost 3 years ago?!? Plus Sony's only cost $280 compared to Amazon's $400. Yet everyone is making a big deal out of the Kindle. Just found that rather interesting.
Comment: Ebooks will not sucessful until the average screen will hold as many words as the average paperback. Also, it is irritating to pay about the same amount for an Ebook as for a paperback and then not be able to pass the book on to someone else - yes I assume you could pass it on with your reader but that is not really practical. It would be great not to have all the paper bgut until the price of the books come way down I don't think its going to catch on in great numbers. What about the most of the world that does not have our wealth to buy another electronic gadget or even a way to charge it?
Comment: this sounds wonderful. will audio books also be available in this format? so much available to so many--we take so much of what we have for granted. this will make knowledge so much easier to share.
Comment: Dismayed. Confusion. Loss. Wonder. In that order. Can my bubble bath book that has yellowing and expanded pages over the years from water absorption be replaced? What about all my cherished books that I have saved up till now from 6th grade? That I sometimes pull out and relive and savor the artichoke hearts of wisdom over and over. What about all those books I have my shelf...will this device be aesthetically pleasing as the covers...I don't know. Have my thoughts and opinions become ancient and outdated. Can you pull this thing out anywhere -- I mean -- anywhere, from beach to van?
Comment: My mom's eyes are failing and she needs "large print" editions of every book, newspaper and magazine. The hard print options are limited and expensive. There might be a strong market for this device (or others like it) if the font sizes can be sufficiently enlarged. I checked out the Sony version and it didn't quite do the job. I'm hoping this device works better for the visually impaired.
Comment: How cool is this!?! The first thing I thought of when I read this was college. I would have loved to have one of these devices rather than carry around huge, expensive text books. Just think of it, you could pay a set price for the Kinder (provided by the university at a volume discount price), then $10 for the most up to date text book available for the courses you are taking (rather than used books), AND you can use the search capability faster than an index. Maybe there will be a way to take notes while reading on the Kinder, have those notes or questions put into an email and send them to the professor. My daughter will be starting college in about 3 years. Hopefully, this will not only be available, but the price more reasonable. Very exciting!
Comment: How cool is this!?! The first thing I thought of when I read this was college. I would have loved to have one of these devices rather than carry around huge, expensive text books. Just think of it, you could pay a set price for the Kinder (provided by the university at a volume discount price), then $10 for the most up to date text book available for the courses you are taking (rather than used books), AND you can use the search capability faster than an index. Maybe there will be a way to take notes while reading on the Kinder, have those notes or questions put into an email and send them to the professor. My daughter will be starting college in about 3 years. Hopefully, this will not only be available, but the price more reasonable. Very exciting!
Comment: On page 58 of the print version of Newsweek, Nov 26, 2007, it says the cost of converting a book to an ebook is about $200.00. There is a GIANT addition to that dollar figure ranging from $800.00 set up to $8.00 per page and a GIANT minus as well ranging from $68.00 to $128.00 from www.smartsite.com.
Comment: I like skimming a book really fast...I also like reading the back of the book... The pictures on the cover or of the author are the best
Comment: I dont understand...I like looking at the books cover and the feeling of the book, wheres the fun in a cyber book
Comment: I Dont understand... I like Looking at book covers where is the fun in a cyber book...
Comment:
With the Kindle, you can???t print out a passage, e-mail it to a friend or copy it into a document, thus negating any advantages an e-book might have. You can???t lend a book to someone, or sell it after you???re finished. Your book is tied to your Kindle and its e-mail account. Good luck to you when Amazon or whatever data provider changes its business model or goes out of business. With DRM, the seller deliberately makes it difficult to read the with any other device. It is very unlikely that Amazon's DRM-laden Kindle books will still be readable in 10 years. And that goes for any DRM/specific technology-linked e-books.
Comment: The real story here isn't the Kindle as a specific device, especially given that the reviews have made it obvious that the current device will soon be replaced by a superior design. The bigger issue is what it means that publishers are now interested in providing electronic editions (beyond Star Trek and romance). The real opportunity to change the way we read has much more to do with business models than it does with a specific device or artifact. http://tome-reader.blogspot.com/2007/11/publishers-electronic-opportunities.html
Comment: Many people don't like the idea of electronic books because they have a strong attachment to the tactile feel of a paper book. I can understand that attachment, but I don't share it. For me, what makes a book magic is not the feeling of the book in my hands, but the feeling of the words in my mind.
Comment: I think that the jury will be out on this for quite a while. There are still tecnology issues with Kindle. For example, if you already have already purchased ebooks in pdf format they cannot be transferred over to the new reader. That eliminates thousands of electronically published books from your cyber-library. And while the new device seems better in terms of size and readability, I will still prefer a printed book after a long day staring at a computer monitor. To me, an electronic device will never ellicit the thrill of a page-turning novel or the option of tossing it down in disgust when an author disappoints.
I do see the advantages for developing countries - but won't we have to also provide electricity to recharge them? People all over the world are still reading by candlelight, firelight, and the occasional solar-powered flashlight.
We still have a ways to go before this can be dubbed the invention of the decade.
Comment: So many comments by so many people who have not even seen one. So many objections by people writing in the dark.
Expensive? Sure. But relatively speaking a hardcover at (say, for example) $25 now will be $10. Just twenty seven books, and this will have completely paid for itself. Any one who wouldn't read 30 books is not really a candidate for this market, anyway.
Not back lit? I've never seen a book that was, either.
Too few grey shades? How many does the typical best-seller have, anyway?
Won't last forever, like a book will? Actually, very few books (and I have hundreds...) will be around longer than this. A new color, a new model, a new design to come in the future? Okay sure, but the Kindle I just got will always do what it does today, too. No, I cannot gift copies, and I cannot sell my used eBooks, but I didn't pay but a fraction of the price. And, I can always read it, find a gift, and order a hardcopy to give.
Where I live, there are not bookstores, the last one having failed (it seems no one wanted to buy paper-printed books, any more anyway...) . I have to drive 50 minutes to actually stand in a bookstore, so online sources like Amazon and BN.com are about the only source. The prospect of instant delivery at a discount price is a real benefit to us. And the delivery of newspapers, especially the Wall Street Journal on time is a plus, immediately in the moring instead of end-of-day in the mail.
No, this new tool is not all things to all people, and will not replace all books any more than the Internet has replaced all other media. But those who predict its imminent death the week after it has been introduced and without even seeing one are going to be surprised at the staying power of this new implementation of the technologies.
Comment: So many comments by so many people who have not even seen one. So many objections by people writing in the dark.
Expensive? Sure. But relatively speaking a hardcover at (say, for example) $25 now will be $10. Just twenty seven books, and this will have completely paid for itself. Any one who wouldn't read 30 books is not really a candidate for this market, anyway.
Not back lit? I've never seen a book that was, either.
Too few grey shades? How many does the typical best-seller have, anyway?
Won't last forever, like a book will? Actually, very few books (and I have hundreds...) will be around longer than this. A new color, a new model, a new design to come in the future? Okay sure, but the Kindle I just got will always do what it does today, too. No, I cannot gift copies, and I cannot sell my used eBooks, but I didn't pay but a fraction of the price. And, I can always read it, find a gift, and order a hardcopy to give.
Where I live, there are not bookstores, the last one having failed (it seems no one wanted to buy paper-printed books, any more anyway...) . I have to drive 50 minutes to actually stand in a bookstore, so online sources like Amazon and BN.com are about the only source. The prospect of instant delivery at a discount price is a real benefit to us. And the delivery of newspapers, especially the Wall Street Journal on time is a plus, immediately in the moring instead of end-of-day in the mail.
No, this new tool is not all things to all people, and will not replace all books any more than the Internet has replaced all other media. But those who predict its imminent death the week after it has been introduced and without even seeing one are going to be surprised at the staying power of this new implementation of the technologies.
Comment: Imagine the impact this will have on developing world. Books are costly to print and costly to move. But this disruptive technology that will lower the cost of transporting the best books to the developing world. This also lowers the cost of books coming from the developing world.
Comment: Imagine the impact this will have on developing world. Books are costly to print and costly to move. But this disruptive technology that will lower the cost of transporting the best books to the developing world. This also lowers the cost of books coming from the developing world.
Comment: Imagine the impact this will have on developing world. Books are costly to print and costly to move. But this disruptive technology that will lower the cost of transporting the best books to the developing world. This also lowers the cost of books coming from the developing world.
Comment: This picture of Mr. Bezos could send the message to young people that reading books is for homosexuals .
Comment: People who have never grown up with books as children are probably not going to begin reading them on an electronic device like the Kindle. Books have become symbols of who we are. When I walk into someone's home and they have a library of books, I know right away what kind of person they are: intelligent, well-rounded and worldly. Vice versa for people who don't read.
As wonderful a space-saving and paper-saving product as the Kindle will be, I don't think it can ever replace the traditional book and its symbolism of our civility and humanity. Remember "Farenheit 451"?
Comment: Sorry, previous post got submitted before I was finished???
Two reasons I think this new product (and the previously introduced options) that enables one to purchase digital books is fantastic; 1) In these times of angst about global warming it presents a huge opportunity to contribute to reducing the negative impact on the environment of the actual production of the "book" as we now know it and 2) the fact that it will enable access to the written word (virtually anyway) for those for whom a local library or bookstore in their language of choice is only a dream. I realize that books have been available online for many years (I actually read an illustrated version of ???The Secret Garden??? to my 5 year old son back in 1989 off of our computer screen via Prodigy using a 1200 baud modem ??? probably a minute to load each page! and am also a member of Questia) ??? so think that the point of the article is not this particular product but merely the concept.
a local
Comment: Two reasons I think this new product (and the previously introduced options) that enables one to purchase digital books is fantastic; 1) In these times of angst about global warming it presents a huge opportunity to contribute to reducing the negative impact on the environment of the actual production of the "book" as we now know it and 2) the fact that it will enable access to the written word (virtually anyway) for those for whom a local
Comment: millions will not know what a book is if this didgital revolution takes place. Well, so what. Dummies can always get it on the web
Comment: Smells to me like another Segway! Can't believe Newsweek supplied a cover-story advertisement for Amazon just prior to Christmas. In spite of this it is doomed to go down in flames.
Comment: Smells like a Segway -- can't believe Newsweek supplied a cover-story advertisment for Amazon right before Christmas! Inspite of this, it is doomed to go down in flames.
Comment: I looked at the Kindle -- then went out and bought a Iliad from iRex.
http://www.irextechnologies.com/products/iliad
The Iliad has a bigger, better screen with more grey scale shades. It is more open and developer friendly and has less consumer lock-in. These things outweigh the Iliad's higher price tag for me.
I already have hundreds of programming reference manuals and technical specs for my work as HTML or PDF files. The Iliad will make it more convenient keeping them handy for meetings and travel.
Comment: Out book the book, eh. Well, Kindle, (or something else that will work around its proprietary wall), may survive the test of time, but children???s book sure ain???t going into this tekky rabbit hole. Children???s book will have to take a counter-intuitive, high-touch pathway into the future. Children???s books involve the adult and the child in a shared experience, a bond that can create book lovers and readers who love to read for pleasure generation after generation. At least in theory. The reality is that our stress-driven learning culture has associated books and reading with the crush of academic achievement, and a recent study shows that vast number of reading kids stop reading in their early teens. Perhaps Kindle will rekindle their love, but reading for pleasure is partly a good habit that requires quiet sitting and focused meditation; you have to already love reading to reach and pay for a Kindle. Children???s books will need an invention that expands and radiates the classical storybook reading experience that begins in very early childhood. Again, that would be a high-touch kind of cocktail that turns the storybook into a communication springboard for play and improvisation, something that would actually alter the meaning and use of the children???s storybook as we know it, something that would inject a whole new element into shared reading that could become an explosive and revolutionary leap for publishing. High tech is not always the answer. John Harrison showed us that when he invented a longitude clock using wood instead of popular metal for key elements to prevent rusting in the sea air. If anybody out there wants to pursue these thoughts, reach me @ papertalker using gmail.
Comment: Six months after Kindle emerges, there will be Kindle2 at half the price, half the size, flashy colors, etc. But it won't let you access any books you bought for the Kindle, will have a new opearting procedure. Aren't America's attics already clogged with unuseable electronic devices? The books I bought in college are as easy to read today as they were 30 years ago..
Comment: It was Stephenson, in "The ludenic theory of newsreading", an article published in Journalism Quarterly 41, 1964, who came up with the description of intense, absorptive reading as "ludic play". Nell quotes him. Trust me, I'm a librarian, and I have Nell's book right here. I love the questions Stephen Levy poses about reading and authorship in the future. We have a subscription service at the library so people can download e-books by inputting their library card number, but my computer screen isn't "comfortable" so I'd really like to try the Kindle.
Comment: The new Kindle is a great invention for those who like to read on the go and may not have the time or means to go to an actual bookstore and buy a hard copy of a book. The problem, however, comes in when the software becomes outdated and the electronic book needs to be updated because of glitches and the like. While the book may attract the younger generation because of it's technologically advanced features, technology is always subject to change and have something wrong with it. It is fallible, and books are not.
Comment: Ugly, overpriced, not backlit and too dependent on proprietary downloads. No thanks.
Comment: What happens in 5 years when the format changes or the license expires? My ancestors will still have my print books in a beautiful and delightful format 500 years from now.
Comment: what an amazing breakthrough in the evolution in reading materials! For five centuries we've seen "books" in almost their original form with few noticeable improvements. Tha paper-back pocket book allowed books for the masses at very low prices, but the book itself has changed very little. Longer and longer books have been faced with either increasing the number of pages or decreasing the text size - both to the distress of the reader.
It seems that no one has bothered to ask "what is wrong with the present format? - it's worked well for centuries, why change it?" As an "aging" reader and one who likes to read, one notices that books lack the readability that they once had - due to text size, the un-weildiness of the book itself, the problem with finding a well-lit comforable place to read and other issues. Books have also become rather expensive. Reading of any kind is just not as attractive as it once was - reading has become a chore. The thought of reading from a hand-held unit with selectable text size and clarity will bring back millions of former avid readers to enjoying books once again.
Thanks for the very stimulating and full-of-hope article/
Donald Bell
5918 Intervale Dr.
Riverside, CA, 92506
951 682 6964
Comment: The researcher, the pleasure reader, or even the avid coffee table book lover will tell you that the print copy of a book wil be difficult if not impossible to replace because of its tactile nature. By visual observation, we decide almost instantly a number of things. Are there enough pages/Is this short enough? Will the layout help me or hinder me? Can I use just a chapter of this book to suit my needs? Will this novel scratch my itch for a humorous/scary/romantic tale? The electronic venue does not allow for this complex evaluation of a work, so for many of us these new devices are pointless. The article itself points out the advanced nature of our "high-resolution scanning machines," but it doesn't begin to touch on how advanced our reasoning abilities are, how we take in information constantly and either file it or dismiss it as useless, all in the process of fulfilling our research need. Part of that process is looking through a print book, scanning the table of contents/index/pictures/paragraph headings, and evaluating the text for its tone, level of academia, use of vocabulary, etc. All of this is possible, I suppose, using one of these electronic devices, but how much longer will it take to do? And, I have to mention how Wikipedia, a collaborative research tool of sorts, is considered garbage by most universities and high schools since there is no authority. This idea that the electronic book will allow this sort of authorship will sway not the intelligent human being to buy one of these gadgets. Print books are put through rounds and rounds of quality checks in order to make sure that the credibility of every word is verified... if you're talking about allowing every Tom, Dick and Harry to put his opinion in, then you're talking about muddying the waters to the extent that nobody will want to touch the information because it would take weeks to verify the facts. Long live paper and read Fahrenheit 451 to see how frighteningly close our society is coming to the one illustrated by Ray Bradbury 50 years ago.
Comment: Right now if you have a regular 'dumb' cell phone you can download and read hundreds of 'classic' public domain and Creative Commons books for free from http://www.booksinmyphone.com . Free (libre) books for free (gratis). Not a feature full as Kindle and other readers, but hyper portable and just fine for reading a novel.
Comment: Kindle misses on one very important component of today's successful technology products: Design. Simply put, it does not appear to be a contemporary product nor a $400 product. There is a minimum design standard that must be met and this is not it. In the age of iPods and iPhones, companies must understand how to use design to enhance the product. Too many marketers focus on the features and not on design or user experience. What would be more successful? See my comments at http://www.greghinzmann.com/?p=231
Comment: Why would the Kindle not be back lit?
Comment: I am the founder of Bookyards, a free online library that has been on the web for the past 6 years. My comments and observations are too long to be put here. I invite all those who are interested to read my post on this topic at my blog
http://bookyards.blogspot.com/2007/11/future-of-reading-why-amazons-kindle.html
Comment: I am the founder of Bookyards, a free online library that has been on the web for the past 6 years. My comments and observations are too long to be put here. I invite all those who are interested to read my post on this topic at my blog
http://bookyards.blogspot.com/2007/11/future-of-reading-why-amazons-kindle.html
Comment: NEWSWEEK'S COMMENTS ARE BROKEN.
Dear Newsweek web staff - you may notice that there are many double entries from the same commenter saying the same thing. That is because they took the time to carefully write out a comment, hit submit, and were fooled by your web site into thinking that it didn't "take"...
Comment: What is needed here is a more clearly articulated business model that promises a reasonable revenue stream by appealing to a large group of potential early adapters. From a market development perspective, it seems to me that daily newspapers and periodicals subscription services are the way to get Kindle-type devices popularized by catering to a broad-based group of established users. Books, even paperback textbooks, become a part of a ???collection??? for most people (even if only on the nightstand or coffee table) but there are many things we read that are almost instant throwaways (transient information) except for perhaps an article or two or a cartoon. Newspapers and magazines top the list of popular transient information providers. Digital technology is perfect for this???easy portability, instant wireless downloads, instant deletes, easy to copy portions (fair use!), instant search (the best feature of digital information) etc., the list goes on. Plus few people want to highlight or make notes in the margins of newspaper or magazine articles, which is not the case with textbooks. A Kindle-type device is perfect for all of this.
The newspaper industry is looking for a new digital business model to help support their Fourth Estate activities and here it is. Like cell phones, they could offer a free, basic Kindle-type device with a two-year paid subscription, combined with revenue sharing as additional subscriptions are purchased that are compatible with the device (the initial seller would become a de facto subscription service provider, like iTunes for the iPod, imagine iTimes for the NY Times but selling subscriptions to other newspapers and periodicals.) Long-term, as we saw with PCs, familiarity with Kindle-type devices would help expand demand for and acceptance of other things such as textbooks, novellas, etc., which would become more popular in digital format but would probably never disappear altogether. I certainly hope not???without coffee table books where would I set my coffee cup?
One other point; digital books and newspapers are much more profitable than hard copy on a per-copy basis, so there is a huge incentive here for publishers to sell digital information one copy at a time. Plus, subscriptions are renewed whereas textbooks are purchased once in a lifetime. Which would you rather sell? A hard copy textbook or a digital subscription?
Comment: go to: YOUJBOOK.COM
to see a more portable model with twenty titles, including color, music, images, on the internet and iPhone Wi-fi ready. Bezos' KINDLE is ten years behind the curve regarding convergence, transportability, and content. Why yet another device when one has a laptop and the iPhone is comprehensive and gorgeous?
J.A. Stone PhD London Founder, javaribook.com
Foun
J.A. Stone PhD (London)
Founder
javaribook.com
Comment: i prefer my iPod touch!
Comment: Is it just me or is that thing one hell of an ugly thing to walk around with?
Comment: Yawn. These come and go. And whether they lose money for years (as Amazon did) or take off, Bezos still gets obscene salary as he litters the planet with yet another piece of toxic plastic and chips doomed to te landfills of tomorrow. Try to make a n honest profit if your company must take into account the true cost of your waste in the price... good luck. "Kindling" is more like it.
Comment: I am an avid reader, and that is an understatement. I simply love books. I'm not seeing here what I like about reading, though. I underline, scribble... and sometimes spill things on my books. All these things create a conversation between me and whoever I lend the book to (or more often between me and my future self). Seeing the trail of tears in a dear book is one of the best experiences of my life... somehow that doesn't seem possible with this device. That said,,, I see the value of the device for reference purposes... for doctors and such that need quick references. But as for me, I'll stick to my sticky pages.
Comment: Nothing new here. Ourcompany, Academic Consulting has a far superior reader, a more comprehensive system, all designed to bring eBooks to the K-12 school grades. We have been in business since 2001. The publishers won't release their content for electronic reader use because they are afraid it will be replicated illegally, just like recorded music on swap sites. The schools want our system, but will not place orders without the content. Good luck Jeff. You will need it. It sounds easy until you find that all of the content you want is beyond your reach. And if you can get the content, use our system. It is way better than yours. Ours is in color with bookmarks and superior graphics and zooming. Rich Davidson and Harvey Somach, 847-940-4848.
Comment: Nothing new here. Ourcompany, Academic Consulting has a far superior reader, a more comprehensive system, all designed to bring eBooks to the K-12 school grades. We have been in business since 2001. The publishers won't release their content for electronic reader use because they are afraid it will be replicated illegally, just like recorded music on swap sites. The schools want our system, but will not place orders without the content. Good luck Jeff. You will need it. It sounds easy until you find that all of the content you want is beyond your reach. And if you can get the content, use our system. It is way better than yours. Ours is in color with bookmarks and superior graphics and zooming. Rich Davidson and Harvey Somach, 847-940-4848.
Comment: What happens when Kindle breaks? All devices made by human beings eventually die too. Does your Kindle ebook follow you or is it tethered to a single proprietary device? Since you can not share your ebook, will loaning your Kindle to a friend to read a book you bought piracy? Will that be a crime?
Comment: As an avid reader and internet user, I'm very excited by Bezos' new invention. The static idea we know as a book is due for an overhaul, and this looks more exciting than the past attempts at digitization. No question that I will buy more books at 9.99 than I do now, especially if I just have to click to get them. The book companies are not understanding just how disruptive this technology is. I'll probably read several times as much with this technology because the price is low enough that I can buy every book I want instead of choosing which ones fit my budget this month. Ten bucks is just a couple of fast food meals, easily sacrificed for a new book! This will definitely be my next electronic purchase, instead of a new phone or video pod, as soon as I can afford the initial cost of purchase.
Comment: As one of those internet users who reads avidly, usually a couple of books per month, I'm excited by the possibilities of Bezos' invention. The former static idea of a book is due for an update, and all those kids who think," if it isn't digital it doesn't matter," may just be enticed to look at something like this. I can't afford it right now, but It'll definitely be my next electronic purchase, ahead of a new cell phone or video pod!
Comment: The notion that the "electronic" and "digital" creates community is an interesting one. Yes, I appreciate the on-line communities that exist and social networking pieces, but books lend themselves to a-- and sometimes even provoke ---conversations. Conversations that lead to insight, heated debate, empathy and a host of other outcomes. With reading already being such a solitary activity, is it a "good thing" to make it more so? If KINDLE can increase the numbers of books read . . . and maybe even discussed . . . that's a contribution. Let's just make sure the writers who create don't get lost in the ecomomic shuffle!
Comment: It is an interesting notion to suggest that more e-World and digital will create more community. An on-line community perhaps -- but the human interaction and conversation about what a book evokes and prompts is so powerful. If KINDLE can drive more books being read and more conversations (on-line and in person), that is a good thing. That is progress. Books are already such a solitary activity --- let's create reall community with them!!
Comment: Ibelieve
Comment: The idea of published works being constantly edited, annotated, refuted and updated sounds like a recipe for abuse and historical revisionism. I wonder, ultimately, who will control this process? \
Perhaps those who control what gets edited, will be those same people who control the current mainstream media, academia, and publishing, and are constantly working to supress ideas they don't want discussed?
Will politically incorrect (yet valid) concepts be sanitized? Will there be fascist/zionist editors, subtly shaping the narrative, a' la Wikipedia? Who goes down the memory hole and what stays?
Comment: The Kindle reader seems great, but I'd rather wait for the next round of revisions and clones (hopefully within the next year). Right now, I'd rather get an Eee PC than this thing. It's a full computer for the same price and about the same size as a hardcover book.
Comment: I live in a 250 sq. ft. studio, no furniture nor even a car to call my own. My only regret has been the thousands of books that I've bought and given up in my life. I'm so ready to see this device (but can't afford it now). I'm also an educational researcher and am wondering about being able to access academic journals and to save and mark up articles...looking for more info.
Janet
thebestisyet@
Comment: I run several online literary sites and I agree with the article that physical books within the next 30 years are going the way of the LP and 8-track. Teen-agers are increasingly comfortable reading online and they demand more than just a one-way reading experience. They now expect a continuous dialog with the author, the opportunity to become involved in the creation of the story, and the opportunity to share the reading experience with others. I don't know if the Kindle will succeeed or if the market is ready for it yet, but changes are coming to the book-world. Just look at all of the kids on Faceook, Myspace, Booksie, etc. to see a preview of it.
Sol Nasisi
www.Booksie.com
www.TheNextBigWriter.com
Comment: I've been looking excitedly at e-readers ever since I heard about the Sony Reader. I think the idea is wonderful. However, I just cant bring myself to switch. There is just something so comforting about holding a book. Also - just a guess here lol - they aren't waterproof, and I would so miss reading in the tub. The cost of them is usually prohibitive as well. $299.00 - $399.00 for the device and then $9.99 for each book.
With it being sold through Amazon.com - is there any stores taht will have it on display so that we may see it and try it before we buy it?
Comment: Kindle page is up right now on Amazon.com, along with personal letter from Bezos. There's a good summary here: http://www.pollsb.com/polls/poll/3872/amazon-launces-own-e-book-the-kindle
Comment: People laughed at the first iPod too. Apple may not be first mover in this field- but, assuredly they will. The main issue with this device is that it can't do video- and more people watch TV than read books these days.
Give Apple a year- and there will be a tablet iPod Touch- that will do much more.
Comment: Aside from not wanting yet another single-purpose device to haul around, this thing is circa 1985 fugly. Maybe it comes with a dot matrix printer.
Comment: What is this, circa 1985? The Kindle is so ugly, the missing Tandy logo is implied.
Comment: Why should books in the public domain cost, anyway? Not one mention of Project Gutenberg in the article. Tens of thousands of volunteers have worked to make it what it is ??? free???and now to make these freely-available texts readable on a Kindle (in txt or html formats they are readable at present by most digital devices), we???d have to pay?
Comment: The killer feature that I would like to see in a reader (and pre-requisite to my purchasing one) is having the ability to toggle from 'Read Text' mode to 'Books on tape' mode. Having the ability to slap on some headphones, mow the grass and continue to absorb my book via audio would be the ultimate. It wouldn't be difficult to implement as Macs (and maybe PCs too, dunno) have been doing it for years.
Comment: The main killer feature I would like to see built into a reader ( a pre-requisite for me to buy one ) is having the ability to switch to 'books on tape mode'. If I could easily toggle from 'read text' mode to having a voice read to me while I mow the lawn with headphones on, it would be the ultimate tool I need to absorb books at full tilt.
Comment: Books are popular because when you acquire them it becomes a part of you - a vessel of ideas, stories and memories. you clutch them as if the books themselves hold the information but that is actually jut a representation of what is now in your head. Whereas tech, somehow is equated with instantaneous gratification and so instantaneous dissolution-prone to edit and constant evolution. It is psych more than anything, I guess.
Whw
Comment: As a beta tester of this product, I can say that it's functionality, and its promise, goes far beyond any other reader out there. And there is no comparing to a PDA. This is far more readable than a PDA. I've read this for hours on end, without headaches, or my eyes tiring. The features it has are absolutely amazing, and well worth the price (which is bound to come down in time).
Comment: You really can't compare to other readers until you try it. As a beta tester of the Kindle, I know. The readability is far better than that of an LCD, and the functionality is thus far way beyond any other reader out there.
Comment: There are many devices available that serve well for ebook reading, including PDAs like the HP iPAQ 211 and 111, the Palm T/X. Plus these can be easily held in one hand and are backlit, and have color touch screens. They also double as contacts managers, have email, internet and the Office suite. They also read several formats so you're not caught with only the options of a single proprietary format. Amazon, as Don't Tread On Me pointed out on this page, has "laid off" its ebook customers before when the business model was not right for them. I'm glad they're supporting ebooks, but the device that will turn the tide once and for all will be $99 and DRM will change. RIght now, if you want service and selection on ebooks, plus many different formats and good prices, BooksOnBoard and Fictionwise seem to be the ones to watch. Plus they're small enough that they do not want to lose a single customer. They strive to take care of customers. Amazon did not mind deleting the ebook shelves of tens of thousands of customers because they figured they could buy others with their war chest. (Amazon did a similar thing again two months ago when they shut down Mobipocket's servers for ten days and no one could get to their books.) Too bad if you're the mouse run over by the elephant, eh? BooksOnBoard, FW and some of the other small ones would NOT deliberately lose a singel good customer., let alone tens of thousands....
Comment: While I appreciate this development; I fear that the author misses one point: the Kindle's infrastructure--while interwoven with the internet--is a private community that Amazon creates. I hope that this does not Balkanize further the internet...
Comment: Can't Apple destroy Amazon's e-book model by offering e-book downloads thru iTunes? The e-Books could be viewable on computers, iPods, and the iPhone and not require specialized and expensive equipment. Is this part of Steve Jobs' Master Plan? If not, it should be: http://fishtrain.com/2007/08/15/steve-jobs-master-plan/
Comment: Couldn't Apple destroy Amazon's e-Book model by offering e-Book downloads from iTunes that are viewable on the computer, iPod, and iPhone? The cost would be low and you don't need any special equipment. Do you think this is part of Steve Jobs' Master Plan? If not, it should be: http://fishtrain.com/2007/08/15/steve-jobs-master-plan/
Comment: mobile connections are some times unavailable or expensive - is the " kindle " accessible via a usb connection
Comment: I agree with the pricing and other issues raised here and elsewhere but I think another another important issue is often ignored in this debate: There's little, if any, value in simply porting the paper product to an e-device. Where e-content can shine is when it truly takes advantage of being digital. A printed book is a static, albeit effective, product. An e-device opens things up to a much more dynamic experience. Let's tap into that and create some really exciting products!
Btw, sure, you *can* read on an iPhone, but would you really *want* to, especially for hours and hours at a time?! If so you can bet optometrists everywhere will cheer all the extra business, new glasses, contacts, etc., they'll sell as we straining our eyes like never before!
Joe Wikert
Publishing 2020 Blog
www.joewikert.com
Comment: I agree with the pricing and other issues raised here and elsewhere but I think another another important issue is often ignored in this debate: There's little, if any, value in simply porting the paper product to an e-device. Where e-content can shine is when it truly takes advantage of being digital. A printed book is a static, albeit effective, product. An e-device opens things up to a much more dynamic experience. Let's tap into that and create some really exciting products!
Btw, sure, you *can* read on an iPhone, but would you really *want* to, especially for hours and hours at a time?! If so you can bet optometrists everywhere will cheer all the extra business, new glasses, contacts, etc., they'll sell as we straining our eyes like never before!
Joe Wikert
Publishing 2020 Blog
www.joewikert.com
Comment: What your article didn't mention is that Amazon has the unique position in the ebook merchant industry of being the one ebook merchant that chose to rip off every single one of their existing ebook customers by changing their policy to no longer allow access to the ebooks their customers bought. By no longer allowing customers to download their ebooks customers like myself that paid $75 or more for reference works on matters such as Bose Einstein Condensates suddenly discovered that when they upgraded their laptops they could no longer read those ebooks since Amazon wouldn't let me download the ebook onto my new laptop. Your author also didn't point out that the ability to resell ebooks protects you from those expensive turkey's you purchase. Ever bought a hard back for $22 and found by page 100 it turned into a snoozer for you? Well with ebooks you're stuck with that expensive snoozer. How long will the ebook reader last? An important question with the content bound to the device. Let's say you buy 40 ebooks for your device. Since you had to fork over $400 up front for the device, over the life of the device each ebook cost an additional $10 per ebook. So how good a deal are those $9.95 New York Times Best Sellers then??? What about trade paper backs? $8 each with a usual Amazon discount of 30% they generally sell for $5, only your Amazon ebook device each one of those is going to cost you more like $15 each when you factor in the cost of the device. What's that you say? You'll buy 80? Oh OK, that $5 trade paper back will only cost you $10, still more than the list price! Gemstar had the right idea with their ebook reader device. You paid the upfront cost for the device and over the next couple of years they gave you back the cost of the device $20 per month as store credits to buy content. If Amazon wants to revolutionize the ebook business they need to begin by examining the economics. I for one don't feel like payi
