Amazon Kindle

[robert1325]

I am using the cybook. It's nice.

[Edwood]

Looks like Amazon is making a mistake by trying to make a profit off of the hardware sales as well.

My prediction, is that they will pull an "iPhone" and drop the price of their Kindle in less than 6 months when sales are crappy. In fact I'll bet they'll drop the price by the next quarter. And they won't offer a store credit like Apple did.

Early adopt this fugly thing? No thanks.

[marvin]

I kinda like it. Then again, I did buy the PRS-500 on it's release, so I figure I'm the target audience for this sort of thing.

I hate the fact that there isn't a standard DRM eBook format that's inter-operable between devices though. I already have about 20 books on Sony and moving to Amazon's Kindle would stop me from accessing them without rebuying.

I think it is a mistake to buy one of these things and use it for internet browsing, it is meant to read books, and that is what it does well. I also think it is a mistake to buy something that looks like a bird crapped it out.

Not sure it's really intended for net browsing. More for push content like newspapers, blogs, etc. $10/month for WSJ delivered straight to my EBook? $2/month for magazines? Not bad at all.

Admittedly, content is kinda sparse on that end.

[Dusty Chalk]

I hate the fact that there isn't a standard DRM eBook format that's inter-operable between devices though.

Yeah, there is -- it's called a laptop.

[CD44hi]

Interesting concept, but at that introductory price, dunno what they are thinking.

I regularly use a nokia internet tablet as book reader. Not EVDO capable, but I can hook it up to my treo 650 via BT on the road and it's wifi at home or hotspots. So I think I'll stick to this.

[marvin]

Yeah, there is -- it's called a laptop.

Because a 5 lbs device with 3 hours battery life is a replacement for 1/2 lb device with ~ 30-40 hours of battery life. Nope. Not seeing it. In any case, a laptop is not an inter-operable file format...

[Dusty Chalk]

No, it's not a format -- but it renders the necessity of multiple formats moot, dunnit? It's the eBook equivalent of a universal player, innit?

[micaela]

Ok -I just ordered it! It won't be here till Dec. 4th - but I'll let you know what I think.

[Uncle Erik]

I really like the idea of an e-book reader, but it's not quite practical yet.

For one, the success of the iPod and other DAPs depended a lot on consumers loading the devices with digital music they already owned. I've bought a few tracks off iTunes, but really prefer loading my own discs. I like them as a permanent, inviolable, backup and still spin them in a disc player in my rig. I've got a few thousand books, but there is no practical way of putting them on an e-book. I'd have to repurchase everything, which I will not do.

Second, the Kindle is wrapped in layers of DRM. I get the point, but the problem is that if the Kindle doesn't turn a profit, it'll be killed. That will, most likely, make everything you've ever bought for it unreadable. They'll kill the newspaper, magazine, et al. subscriptions and then you'll be stuck with a $400 brick.

I dont mind greyscale displays, though. I still keep a NeXT Cube alive and don't mind the greyscale at all, I find it soothing when you just need to concentrate on text.

[Edwood]

Second, the Kindle is wrapped in layers of DRM. I get the point, but the problem is that if the Kindle doesn't turn a profit, it'll be killed. That will, most likely, make everything you've ever bought for it unreadable. They'll kill the newspaper, magazine, et al. subscriptions and then you'll be stuck with a $400 brick.

Major reason, I won't even entertain the notion of getting the Kindle.

Well that and I already have a Pocket PC phone with unlimited internet access.

Oh, and did I mention that I don't really read a lot of books?

[philodox]

DRM, twice as thick as the competition, weighs more, has a useless keyboard, wireless is basically useless, looks like a bunch of birds shit it out. I can't understand why anyone would choose the Kindle over the Cybook Bookeen.

[JBLoudG20]

I like the fact that you can purchase content right on the device, and I LOVE the subscription feature. BUT no PDF just murders it for me, never mind how much I hate DRM.

[philodox]

I like the fact that you can purchase content right on the device.

Really!? You think you're going to be out somewhere with no access to a computer and just really NEED to buy a new book from amazon? I just don't see it. The subscription feature is cool, but it's not like you can't subscribe to e-Mags normally. All you'd need to do is setup a daily download or try and setup a simple synch to the device.

[JBLoudG20]

Really!? You think you're going to be out somewhere with no access to a computer and just really NEED to buy a new book from amazon? I just don't see it. The subscription feature is cool, but it's not like you can't subscribe to e-Mags normally. All you'd need to do is setup a daily download or try and setup a simple synch.

Yes, but I would prefer not to have to spend time at night updating my device for reading. That's just my laziness, though. Knowing how these thigns always are, it'll mean buying the book, converting, synching, checking it, finding out the convert messed up, convert again, new settings, etc.

I'd end up buying this for a commute, and I have found that during the week, I don't like fuckign with my electronics every night to make sure its ready for teh next day. I jsut don't want to worry about it.

[philodox]

I guess it is just different usage. I plan on taking advantage of all the free resources and loading the thing up. I don't expect I will spend much time daily updating it.

[hYdrociTy]

Ok -I just ordered it! It won't be here till Dec. 4th - but I'll let you know what I think.

Any impressions yet? I really want one- plus it's got free wiki access on the go!

[postjack]

OK, so the Kindle represents what is quintessentially wrong with digital players of any kind to me: the price of the media. $10 and up for a book that I can't even put on my shelf and admire after I've read it? Absolutely ridiculous. I was thinking the books would run between 2 and 4 bucks. I can get a MMPB for $7-8, why the hell would I buy a digital copy for $2-3 more? At least with iTunes (which of course I still don't use) the cost per album is slightly less then a hard copy CD.

[Smeggy]

The pricing structure and rights management shenanigans is retarded. I don't know who comes up with this shit but they really need to get a clue.

[riceboy]

Here is a good article that compares the Kindle and Kindle2 with pics:

Amazon Kindle 2 Vs. Kindle Original: We Compare - PC World

[n_maher]

Figured this might be news worthy.

Will Anybody Buy The New Large-Format Kindle? | GadgetLab

[aardvark baguette]

bleeech

[morphsci]

For some it may not be a bad idea. The one complaint I have about my Sony ereader is that it could stand to be a little larger as I use it mostly for scientific articles and text.

[Dreadhead]

Figured this might be news worthy.

Will Anybody Buy The New Large-Format Kindle? | GadgetLab

I hate articles that work with the premise that you have to make stuff cheap enough that people won't steal it. It pisses me off people who wouldn't think of walking into a cafeteria filling their plate and then running off with the food think that taking CDs/Books/Movies is perfectly fine because it's the content providers fault for charging for the work they put in.

[postjack]

I would love to have a large kindle for my textbooks, so long as the textbooks were at least half the price of their physical counterparts. this is not going to happen though.

I don't care about selling my books.

[malldian]

If I could buy a book and get the digital version for free I would probably be on the Kindle right away.