None for me, thanks.

Offensive epithet aside, I agree with the first commenter that it's ugly. And while those dimensions are pretty small, the trapezoidal shape makes it look monstrous. Sony's Reader looks alot nicer; I wonder why it generated this kind of buzz when it was released last spring?

I love the idea of an e-reader, I don't read as much as I would like and the idea of having one of these with lots of books on it is very tempting and awesome.

However, I'll never buy one. Because I would have to buy the books I want to read. See, there's still this thing called the "library" which lets me take out books and read them for free. And while it's not perfect, they don't always have what I want or I have to wait until they do, that doesn't change the fact that they are free.

Maybe if they offered, say, a $10 a month charge with access to all books I might bite (similar to Napster or whatever) but nothing like that is in the cards right?

It's butt-ugly.

None for me, thanks.

Serious question. If it's meant to replace a book, why do you care that it's ugly? Isn't there a cliche about judging a book... (I"' not saying it is ugly; I'm just wondering why this seems to be an important thing for you guys).

I agree. I wish an e-reader would come out that isn't wed to one content provider. There is the technology available called tethered downloading, whereby you can "check out" a book from a virtual library and have access to that material for a set time. Then, when your time is up, you lose access to it. So the technology's out there; it's just not being widely implemented. And I doubt that Amazon would be cozy with the idea.

See, this is what happens when content distributors start building the hardware, too. You can't blame Amazon, but the buyers suffer.

I don't really, but other people might. Why do people buy iPods?

I was just commenting that I think it was a design flaw, because it looks more dated than it actually is. I mean, the thing looks like a Newton!

That said, if the Sony Reader and the Kindle had equal specs, I would go with the Sony Reader because it looks nicer.

Why shouldn't we care if it's butt-ugly?

As compared to an iPod or iPhone, for example?

Since it is ugly, it does not invite one to pick it up. It looks like something Steve Ballmer would come up with.

I won't buy one. I read lots of books.

Why didn't they get smart and hire the Apple design team to help create this "breakthrough product?"

I think it matters for psychological reasons. It isn't so much that the reader is "ugly," exactly, it's that it looks old. The design is reminiscent of a computer I would have used in grade school - an Apple IIe or something. With technology, we've come to expect advances to be paired with design overhauls, so everything new that comes out looks sleeker, smoother, more sophisticated than what came before. The package echoes the advances of the product as a whole.

When a product appears as primitive as this reader does, it's hard for us to believe that what's inside could be more sophisticated. In the case of tech products, we do judge the book by the cover - something that Amazon should have considered before they released this product. If it fails, I'm wagering it will be in no small part because people didn't like the way it looked. And if it succeeds, it will only be after it faces an uphill battle to convince people that the contents are better than the cover.

Another non-essential gadget, when the book is still a perfect piece of art. One of the authors suggests that she can now travel without having to buy a book in the airport bookstore, and then find later she doesn't like it. Well....same thing could happen with the kindle, except you have purchased something virtual. You cannot resell it and, unless I am mistaken, it is never yours to 'own'. Shame on all those authors touting this thing (although I am sure there were plenty who wouldn't promote it). Maybe the 'touters' books are good for just a 'one-time' read on an airplane, but a book's life does not have to begin and end with that read: you pass along to friends those that you love, or you resell them and get others, or you build a small (or large) library, or...Y'know, I can visit any book I want on my shelf, whenever I want, for free...not so with this device. Ridiculous. Nothing to do with the world of books, plenty to do with the world of amazon.

What happens to it at the beach in the sand and salt air and water? If you can't take it there, who needs it?

richforman

I love good book design - when you hold it in your hand and know that the publisher thought about more than the actual words on the page - that the cover stock, illustrations, font etc all say something about the book. You really miss that on an e-book.

And really, in the day of the ipod, how amazon can think it can get away with something that looks like it came out in the '80s is beyond me.

HOWEVER. If it weren't $400, I could totally see taking it on vacations/biz trips - I read very quickly and hate lugging around enough books to get me through the trip. My worst nightmare is being stuck on a plane with no more reading material! Plus the $9.99 is pretty good for a book if you're buying on a whim, as much as i love good design I'm also a cheapskate and try to only buy books I know I'm going to want to keep on my shelf for a long time, but with the e-book, I'd be much more likely to buy books I"m not too sure about if the price is right!