Amazon Kindle

So I just bounced over to Amazon to see when the release date for SSBB was for the Wii and found this on the front page.  Evidently it's basically just a screen that lets you read books, newspapers or whatever, but it's connected instead of to wireless networks to the cell phone networks so anywhere you get cell phone signal you can get signal on this thing.  They say you can buy books, newspapers or whatever you feel like instantly from the "online" shop and then have them delivered right to your unit.

So what do people think of this?  I'm currently mentally filing it under "neat, but ultimately useless."  I don't think it'll catch on, especially not with a $400 price point.  Most people who want to read stuff on the go will do so on their cell phones or laptops.  For the same price you can get an Asus Eee PC which has the added functionality of a web browser, chat program and open office in addition to being able to read e-books.  Maybe if they built in more functionality it'll become viable, but for now I'm not holding my breath.

Edit to Add:  Just read this bit on the screen:


Sounds a bit interesting, but again not overly exciting.  It's really doesn't sound plausible to have an actual "ink" display so I assume they're just dumbing it down and using familiar terms for the 40+ crowd so they won't be as afraid of it and try to pitchfork it.

I honestly don't like reading anything long on a screen.  I prefer books. 

The price is a bit steep, yes. Although you need to figure in the charges for using the cell phone network, which don't directly come out of your pocket, but are probably somehow figured into the cost of the device unless Amazon absorbs them as a loss leader.

I don't want to read stuff on something like a cell phone display, and I don't want to carry a laptop everywhere. The lack of web access is certainly a downside, but on the other hand WLAN eats up a lot of energy, thus shortening battery life which is otherwise measured in weeks for devices with e-ink displays. Case in point, another e-book reader with a slightly larger e-ink display (and a much higher price), the iRex iLiad, has WLAN and a battery life of 10-15 hours.

More functionality will likely come, as the trend seems ever stronger towards converged devices. There's already a device, AFAIK in the prototype stage, which combines a cell phone with a roll-up e-ink display, thus squeezing the eye-friendly, larger screen into a smaller form factor.

Me? I generally don't like converged devices. I don't have a PDA. I don't carry a laptop with me everywhere. I only have a cell phone because my employer pays for it and I need it for customer support in out-of-office hours. But I like to read a lot. Having to lug a handful of books around for a week-long business trip gets really old really fast, though, and a dedicated e-book reader with its ability to carry anywhere from dozens to thousands of books in a convenient package and to allow me to read this stuff anywhere there is light (while not having to worry about having packed the right wall plug adapter because the battery will last and last and last) is just the thing I need.

As a result, I recently bought a Hanlin eReader v3, which has the same screen but lacks the sell-your-first-born-to-Amazon tie ins of the Kindle. For some of the musings leading up to it, read this thread. I have a few quibbles with its software, but am otherwise quite happy with it.

In the same vein, most of the people who have actually bought a Kindle seem to be really quite happy with it. The naysayers usually fall into one or more of several groups: people who have never seen or used the Kindle in real life, "Luddites" who want to hold an actual piece of paper to read from, technical types who are critical of the way that Amazon still pretty much owns the device even after having sold it to you for quite a bit of money and who want the thing to be more openly accessible, people outside the US, where all of the convenience functionality that comes from the cell phone network access isn't available, or people who prefer converged devices.


Pixie has already dug up the Wikipedia link, so I'll skip the explanation and simply say that e-ink does look markedly different from a CRT or LCD screen. Much better, in fact, especially in brighter conditions. LCDs with their backlighting are nice for darker rooms, but even if the objective is to read in the bed room while not disturbing the spouse, there are clip-on lights to help you.

It'll go down in price as the technology becomes easier to produce.   Great for students, I would think, if you can have all of your books right there on one unit.  I want one, but there are other large electronics purchases that are slated first...  new ipod to replace the one we lost in January, Ogre's plasma t.v. and xbox360... digital camera to replace the one DoomTater gave a bath.

<sighs>  Oh well.


Also, Weber kicks ass... 

I find the screens on cell phones and pda's to be annoyingly small. I'd love to own a Kindle or something like it, other than the price. (and not too keen on being tied to one retailer sort of thing)

Like Gudy, I read a lot. I'd really like to get that new novel that is only out in hardcover, and be able to read it on the train or at the bus stop. But I don't, because that hardcover is large and unwieldy and annoying. Instead I wait for the paperback. Also, if I'm not careful I can run out of book, and that sucks.

I'd really like to carry multiple volumes around with me, and to be able to get new ones whenever I want. But I'd also like to not get the headaches and that eyeballs falling out sensation that reading too much text on a screen gives me.

Did it say anywhere how many units they had for the first run?  Reading up on the e-ink screen it actually does sound pretty neat.  The high start-up cost and proprietary nature of it still kind of turn me off a bit, but having one of these for each worker in a lab with a full index of the lab's SOPs would be awesome.  Also, if they were able to incorporate a touch screen in with it it would be great for reading PDFs and marking them up or even having a true e-notebook.

I imagine we'll be seeing all that come out within the next generation and it's going to be freakin' awesome.

Whip's dad has one.  We'll see how it goes with him.

I made my book kindle-accessible.

It would be nice if they'd donate some ti libraries; I'd be more likely to get one if I could play with one for a bit first.