Letters to the Editor
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How Long Will Discounts Last?
Amazon may be offering discounts now, but will they last? One of my reader blogs has already reported that Amazon is discontinuing the discount for books originally sold as mass market paperbacks (i.e. genre fiction like romance, mystery, etc.) These books make up a big part of the reading market, even though they're not as prestigious as other books. I expect that discounts will start to disappear on other types of books as well, except perhaps for a few bestsellers.
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I saw the Sony device at Borders
Seemed dull, built for indoor use. Low contrast. Did not like the flashing when it flips a page. Light, feels solid, maybe too solid. Looks like better ergo and feel than this unit here. Ninjas could kill you frisbee style with it. Also I know I'd use it as a coaster and wreck it sooner or later.
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More than one use.
I have had mine for about 6 days and have used it to check the web for email, weather, stocks and news. Not an ideal browser but for free use in the park just fine.
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disappointed
I'm pretty disappointed with Amazon on this. I'm an Amazon fan, and would have hoped that such a forward thinking company would have come closer to the target than this. Charging me for content that's free on the web? Seriously? I'm actually insulted by that. I read over 50 books a year, plus thousands of blog posts, whitepapers, and weekly columns and would KILL to have a reader for all that content. But wait, not only would I have to subscribe to stuff I normally get for free - but I get charged $.10 an email for sending myself files and it doesn't even read PDF? Hahahahahahahaha
Think I'll wait for 2.0.
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sony reader
I love my Sony Reader. I never pay a cent for texts, because what I use it for is reading uncopyrighted long novels, turn of the 20th Century travel fiction, and other such oddities that I download from Gutenberg. It's a fiddle to figure out how to format the texts, easy once you do figure it out though, and for me this thing is a money and space saver, big time.
But I'm pretty odd, I suppose. Not everyone likes to hunker down with *The Golden Bowl.*
I'm also very nearsighted, so the low-contrast screen suits me fine and is easy on my eyes. I can make the print exactly the size and typeface I want, too.
And it's way prettier than the Kindle.
Right now I'm finishing up *The Origin of Species* and will shortly tackle *War and Peace.*
This is an inveterate reader's dream come true. No more moldy library books or fat paperbacks.
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Maybe if they gave them away, then you could too
I read alot of books every year, but I'm usually only into about 3 of them at anyone time - so I can in theory drag those about if I'd like most places on the globe without much effort.
And charging for web sites I can get on my iPhone in this day and age is a bit dumb.
But even worse than that are the terms of service, those Amazon kindleing book lovers promote with these words:
You may not sell, rent, lease, distribute, broadcast, sublicense or otherwise assign any rights to the Digital Content or any portion of it to any third party, and you may not remove any proprietary notices or labels on the Digital Content. In addition, you may not, and you will not encourage, assist or authorize any other person to, bypass, modify, defeat or circumvent security features that protect the Digital Content. Amazon, Kindle Terms of Service, 2007
http://www.boingboing.net/2007/11/20/amazon-kindle-the-we.html
But feel free to loan your kindle out to your friend while they read the book you were so crazy about last week.
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thoughts
While I agree that paying for free websites and email is a bit tacky, I don't think that it's fair to complain about the expense of the device itself. ($10 for a new hardcover is a steal: most new paperbacks are $14).
The ipod retailed for 300-$400, and songs are $.99 each, or $10-$15 per album. And people are lining up to shell out another $600 for the iphone.
Plus, there are all those trees that get to remain trees. And all the extra space left in your house. (I and my husband are both avid readers. Our books number in the few thousands. And while we freely lend books, we have a hard time getting rid of books: what if we want to read it again in a few years? Bookshelves are a prominent feature in ourr home. And still the books get piled on end tales, counters and nightstands).
I haven't heard much about the Kindle's durability. Can it survie a coffee spill? Getting dropped on the floor? Tumbling around in a backpack? Were I to invest in one, I'd expect it to take a beating. I wonder if a cover (like for cellphones) could be useful. But I'm no designer.
I am disappointed to hear that pictures are so grainy. I hope that can be corrected in later incarnations.
I think devices like this would be perfect for college students, who currently spend $90 per textbook. They can sometimes sell the texts back for pennies on the dollar, but only if the edition is still current. Kindle lets you make "notes" and "highlights" on the text you download. And you can get updated versions of the same text (very convenient for grad students, TAs and profs). Students could carry their entire semester's worth of reading in a paperback-sized device. And the limited interface of the Kindle prevents students from IMing and surfing Myspace in class.
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EBooks are too pricey to catch on
Sorry, NOT buying that $8 or $9 or $10 for an eBook is a steal. As a REALLY voracious reader (with an older eBook device), I can't afford my own reading habits. No Barnes & Noble or Borders to buy new books for me--when I can easily read 1-2/day, it's just too pricey. My books come from used bookstores for $2 or less. Libraries are too slow & never have what I want when I want it.
When a real paperback book goes for $7.99 to about $14.00, and eBooks need NO paper, NO shipping, NO ink--we're really just talking about the intellectual property of the book itself and the editing. Why should eBooks sell for $6-10, then? IMHO, if they cost $2-3, the whole eBook thing would finally take off. For now, we're still left with the innovators and haven't even made it to early adopters. I don't think Amazon's new toy is going to change that.