GADGETS

Can It Kindle the Imagination?

We read the fine print on Amazon's new gadget.

By Steven Levy | NEWSWEEK

Nov 26, 2007 Issue

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Posted By: apetra @ 12/13/2007 11:50:00 AM

Comment: I've accumulated an 850 page library from Project Gutenberg, at least 250 of which are on any serious "Great Books" or "Must Read in Your Lifetime" list. I've rebuilt and exceeded my personal collection (give away years ago during a move) of classical literature, poetry, philosophy and original historical sources. And I have already pulled down first chapters of about 50 books available for the Kindle using its free "try before you buy" sample system. I've held the Kindle, and I placed my hand *underneath it* to cradle it, like I would a book, I didn't grab it from both edges squeezing hard and hold it up to face level (sheesh). A few accidental page turns? OK, well I have severe arm and wrist pain from repetitive stress, and the huge buttons are a dream -- turning pages on the Sony book reader is physically painful by contrast. I plan to leave the wireless off much of the time, or to suspend the unit (easy two-key combination), which extends battery life with active use to over a week.
Posted By: Mandrake9 @ 12/13/2007 11:24:10 AM

Comment: I think the cliche he's groping for is "voracious," not "voluminous" reader. And surely he's wrong in any case. The voracious reader -- more than five books a week -- is not buying them at ten bucks a pop, unless he or she is very well off and a spendthrift even then. You can buy anywhere from one to four hundred good used books for the price of an empty Kindle, perhaps a year's worth of reading, many of which can be traded back in, and that's what real readers will be more tempted to do. The Kindle hoopla seems a little baffling when you consider that the device fails to address the two disadvantages that have doomed all previous gizmos of its kind: expense and inconvenience. At least, that's how it looks to those of us who are a) actually voluminous, i.e., fat enough to be able to carry fairly hefty paperbacks in our pockets, or b) who long since learned how get a dozen free classics from Project Gutenberg into the Palm PDA we can also fit into a pocket. (And once you have more than two or three books on your person, the ability to get more wirelessly instead of at home doesn't seem worth whatever large percentage of the Kindle's price it represents.) Those who think they can't get used to reading a book on a Palm probably haven't tried very hard, or are using the wrong document reader -- but I can readily believe that the latest digital ink technology is far better. That's the only selling point I can see, though, except to the person with small or no pockets, for whom a regular book is perhaps as inconvenient as a Kindle. (Perhaps. The kindle may be smaller than some trade paperbacks, but it has to be a heckuva lot more breakable.) So far, I just don't get it. I can believe that the gimmick-happy will have to own them, but I don't see the appeal to the average big reader.
Posted By: BMJMiller @ 12/13/2007 10:50:19 AM

Comment: Sorry for the double post--I had to get an account to post, and I thought it had erased my first post.
Posted By: BMJMiller @ 12/13/2007 10:49:11 AM

Comment: Copy protection may be the deal breaker for me. I've already been burned by that with Microsoft Reader. Having gone though a few generations of laptops, desktops, and phones/PDAs, I've exceeded the six-device limit. Now I own several Reader format books that I cannot read, because I cannot activate a new device. Microsoft has not answered my requests for help. Meanwhile, none of my paper books require a password.
Posted By: BMJMiller @ 12/13/2007 10:46:30 AM

Comment: Copy protection may be the deal breaker for me. I've already been burned by that with Microsoft Reader--having gone through a few generations of laptops, desktops, and phones, I now have a number of books in Reader format that I cannot read, because I've reached my limit of devices. Microsoft has ignored my requests for help. None of my low-tech books require a password or activation to read.
Posted By: granoli @ 11/24/2007 3:16:59 AM

Comment: It looks wonderful - my only question: can I read it in my bathtub without getting electrocuted?
Posted By: granoli @ 11/24/2007 3:16:13 AM

Comment: It all sounds wonderful - my only question: can I read Kindle in the bathtub?
Posted By: GlowHawk @ 11/21/2007 4:48:48 PM

Comment: While the article waxed on about the cultural change that eBooks might bring, I believe they have missed the point about hand held devices. In fact I really wonder if the writer understand what you can do now. I have an "old" Palm Tungsten T which I use as an eBook reader. I simple go to places like "Fictionwise" and download a novel or story. Yes, it is not current best sellar. I'm sure Amazon will lock up those titles, but I can get want I need to have to read on the plane or anywhere. When I'm not using it as a eBook reader, I can hook up my keyboard and type Word docuemnts or Excel via software. The point is that something like the iPhone, Palm or other PDA devices could easily do what Kindle is supposed to and provide other very useful fucntions. Kindle is brick and I'm betting it will go the way of the Newton and other proprietary single purpose boxes.
- Posted By: wobbly librarian @ 12/12/2007 23:19:49
  
  Comment: I'm with you! I use an IPAQ Pocket PC (4 years old) and have quite a collection of classics (freely downloadable from a few sites, as well as scores that I've purchased from Fictionwise. It is wireless so I can check my e-mail from a WAP network, and does all the other things that I had originally purchased it to do (the calendaring and outlook functions). Giant step backwards to go for one unit that only handles books.....
Posted By: Paul Story @ 11/21/2007 7:22:07 AM

Comment: Despite its looks, I would buy this if I could (I'm in the UK so, for now, can't). Amazon has pulled a stroke of genius in pioneering the launch of a personal vending machine which is on hand to guide your wallet to the book store in moments of emotional madness. We've all been there - on reading a gushing review, a rave from a friend or, Heaven forbid, a command from Oprah.
Now, to Sony, Phillips, Bookeen, Seiko and anyone else hoping for a slice of the pie - wake up, the rest of the world awaits. RRaise your game

Now
Posted By: Paul Story @ 11/21/2007 7:20:09 AM

Comment: Despite its looks, I would buy this if I could (I'm in the UK so, for now, can't). Amazon has pulled a stroke of genius in pioneering the launch of a personal vending machine which is on hand to guide your wallet to the book store in moments of emotional madness. We've all been there - on reading a gushing review, a rave from a friend or, Heaven forbid, a command from Oprah.
Now, to Sony, Phillips, Bookeen, Seiko and anyone else hoping for a slice of the pie - wake up, the rest of the world awaits. RRaise your game

Now
Posted By: billin @ 11/20/2007 9:37:26 AM

Comment: A very interesting beginning. I'd almost say that we shouldn't be too harsh because it's a version 1 product, but, as pointed out in the article, this is hardly the first such device of its kind. As an engineer, I shouldn't be taken aback by the design, but did they have to make it look so utterly ungraceful? It honestly looks like Hollywood's concept of "high tech" from the 80's with its odd angles and questionable button placements (volume buttons on the bottom edge??). And did it really need a physical keyboard taking up space? I imagine most people just want to read and not annotate, though an on-screen keyboard would suffice for most who do want to take notes (perhaps separate "Reader" and "Academic" models in the future?). That aside, I think the real revolution with this device is not the device itself but the business model and delivery mechanism - downloading books easily over a national wireless network without having to pay access charges is sheer genius and the Kindle's real shot at making a splash. The fanboy in me keeps hoping Apple will get their hands on the concept and take off with it, but I expect that will never happen. Apple's focus is on multimedia, which doesn't work on a low-power e-ink display. Oh well. Go, Amazon, go! Prove the business model works and then come out with a more polished version 2 - I'll be waiting!