Amazon Kindle Review (Blog)

[Steve Pavlina]

Use this thread to discuss the following entry from Steve Pavlina's blog:

Amazon Kindle Review

[Angela]

I love my kin...dle I love my kin...dle (that's the song I sing.) It's my fave-rave toy in the whole world. And I've got the old one, with the funky page-turning buttons -- that is the one bunky thing about it.

[James81]

Great review. I've been toying with the idea of buying one of these for a while now, but wasn't sure if it was worth it. I've been getting mixed reviews about it, but hearing your in depth review has convinced me that perhaps it's time for me to bite the bullet and buy one of these things.

[ericabiz]

I bought one recently (used Kindle 2) and I really like it! I keep telling people I feel we're at that stage of Kindles where we were when DVD players were $800 and no one saw the point of using them over a VCR.

Once Kindles break the $200 price point and, inevitably, the $100 price point, print books will really be on their way out. By then there will be some interesting competition from Sony and others, as well.

I really do like the e-ink display. It's nothing like a traditional laptop or desktop display. I hope that eventually more monitors can be optimized for reading in some way -- I love to read on my Kindle, but don't like reading on my computer (despite having a nearly brand-new 24" IPS flat panel.)

-Erica

[ericabiz]

Originally Posted by James81

Great review. I've been toying with the idea of buying one of these for a while now, but wasn't sure if it was worth it. I've been getting mixed reviews about it, but hearing your in depth review has convinced me that perhaps it's time for me to bite the bullet and buy one of these things.

If this helps...when people ask me if they should buy one, I say "If you have no high-interest debt and $400 that you just want to blow, absolutely." It's more of a rich person's toy at this point. A great way to read books, but certainly not worth $360 (plus $10 per book) for average-in-debt-Joe.

If you are in the situation I described above, wait a year or two and save up for it. Put $30/month aside in a savings account and then buy it. By then the Kindle 3 will be out and hopefully even cheaper. This is a device totally NOT worth charging on a credit card.

-Erica

[Angela]

Originally Posted by ericabiz

A great way to read books, but certainly not worth $360 (plus $10 per book) for average-in-debt-Joe.

Depends on how many books Joe buys.

I figured out it would take 30 book purchases to recoup Kindle's purchase price, but it actually worked out better than that, because everything in the public domain can be downloaded for free. Jane Austen, F. Scott Fitgerald, a lot of authors I like to have handy in my "bookcase."

And don't forget, that includes all those last-minute airport purchases when Joe goes on vacation or on a business trip and needs something to read, and the hot new bestselling hardbacks that he can't wait for the paperback to come out -- the savings are even higher.

So even if he only reads two books a month, it can pay for itself in less than a year. Plus he saves all that space -- I think that is a concern for a lot of people -- especially when you move house!

There's a lot to be said for going on vacation and taking a virtually unlimited number of books with you, all tucked into your carry-on!

[cylon]

I love stuff like this. Only problem is I think we're abandoning our other senses like touch, and memory.

When you buy a book you enjoy and put it on the shelf, and then look at it it just conjures up a memory of where you were when you bought it, what the circumstances were. When you open it, you can smell the paper, the ink, see parts that you may have underlined. One of my favorite things about used bookstores are these personal artifacts that often get left in books. Handwritten notes in the margins, dried flowers for bookmarks, or a grocery store receipt from 30 years ago in a different state. All of this stuff is lost if we move towards a literally all digital world.

Of course, I have already made the transition from nerdy record and cd-collector to all mp3, and my iPod is usually attached to my head most of the day, but there is definitely something we lose when we get rid of the tactile experience. Also as a skilled graphic artist I wonder what the future of graphics and "publishing" will be. For example album artwork and linear notes are a dead art form now.

ST: TNG is a good example of where we're going. And while I love that "future", everything in that world is sterile and clean and there is no sense that real people live their lives in those environments.

But we're going that way no matter what, so might as well enjoy the ride.

[James81]

Originally Posted by ericabiz

If this helps...when people ask me if they should buy one, I say "If you have no high-interest debt and $400 that you just want to blow, absolutely." It's more of a rich person's toy at this point. A great way to read books, but certainly not worth $360 (plus $10 per book) for average-in-debt-Joe.

If you are in the situation I described above, wait a year or two and save up for it. Put $30/month aside in a savings account and then buy it. By then the Kindle 3 will be out and hopefully even cheaper. This is a device totally NOT worth charging on a credit card.

-Erica

I haven't had a credit card since 2005.

I won't buy it unless I pay cash for it.

I *might* consider, however, just looking for a good used Kindle 1 or holding out just a while longer until the new and improved Kindles come out and I can get the Kindle 2 used.

[lacinato]

I either speed-read (maybe photo-read? it's not linear for me), or write in my books. Maybe someday this will let me do both.

Whichever it is, word-by-word is not worth the effort unless it's poetry IMO.

[ydnab40]

Well. I'm slobbering over the Kindle. I am a gadget freak and I love books so what better way to get my fix of both?
Only one problem...It is not yet available in the uk!!! Come on Amazon give us some credit, we are just as tech savvy as the U.S.A so hurry up and release it over here!!
I'm seriously looking at the Sony e reader which is the only serious alternative available in the uk at this present moment in time.

So, hurry up and release it over here, Meanwhile I'm off to the local bookshop to wallow in the smell and feel of a good book!

[ferretkitty]

I got mine as a wedding present, and mostly use it to read works of fiction "published" by friends in online communities.

But I've recently been sucked into the wide world of blogs on personal development, budgeting, personal finance, and learning how to use my google reader. I don't think those events are related, but I could be wrong.

Anyway, I agree whole heartedly with Steve's comments about his Kindle 2. I love mine to itty bitty pieces. I also wanted to say that Steve, your book was the fifth thing I bought on my kindle, and one of the first I paid for (If you get books when they're at the top of the best-seller list, they're free; I also now have the Bible and the Koran to carry around with me, both of which were also free).

I probably wouldn't have bought it if it hadn't been available for my Kindle because I first read about it on a Saturday night, and where I normally would go to the library for books I've never read, the library isn't open on Sunday in the summer, and I wanted it NOW. So, there you go. Score one for the (kindle owning, kindle loving) good guys.

[carenkh]

Originally Posted by ericabiz

If this helps...when people ask me if they should buy one, I say "If you have no high-interest debt and $400 that you just want to blow, absolutely." It's more of a rich person's toy at this point. A great way to read books, but certainly not worth $360 (plus $10 per book) for average-in-debt-Joe.

I think it would be worth the $360 for the ability to search for phrases or words across several books at once - I love to quote people, and sometimes a certain phrase will stick with me after I've read a book. I've spent many an hour poring over books trying to find that *one* phrase... Or I could see what several authors had to say about X if I were researching something...

[Angela]

Oh, that's true, Caren! I've done searches through my entire library on Kindle -- very helpful!

The only thing it's not good for is big colorful photographs in my small-space decorating books -- ironically the most space-hogging thing in my apartment!

[Daffy Duck]

When I'm able to download books from the library and read them on my Kindle, it will be worth it to me.

[Angela]

Originally Posted by Daffy Duck

When I'm able to download books from the library and read them on my Kindle, it will be worth it to me.

Well, most anything written before 1923 you can already do that.

[Daffy Duck]

Most of the books I currently read are college textbooks (the only books I pay for), books about computer programming (many of which are available at my online college digital library, but not Kindle form), or new works of fiction (I still need to read Wicked...).

I remember reading that Kindle has the ability to read plain text files. I could always copy + paste the words into a text file and read them on Kindle that way -- but then I lose all the formatting and such.

[Angela]

Wouldn't it be great if textbooks were loaded on Kindles? Save students having to haul tons of books around. And they could look up words they don't recognize in the dictionary as they are reading! Make annotations and bookmarks, underlining and reminders -- it's already got that capability.

But they'll have to solve the graphics problem first, I guess. I predict that it won't be long before we can have full color photographs and illustrations on a kindle-like device.

[Daffy Duck]

I think that's the future, Angela. No more lugging around 20lbs. of textbooks. Think of all the paper that will be saved.

I used to work in a college bookstore, and one reason digital books aren't as popular as they could be is because of publishers. Even though some of them sell digital versions of books, they really don't want the technology to take off. They're afraid it will kill them. If people start distributing their own eBooks -- who needs a publisher?!

[Angela]

Uh-oh. Publishers as the next pharmaceutical industry!

It seems to me that self-publishing is a natural and fine progression, and big house publishers may very well go the way of travel agents and cartographers. (I used to be both! )

Some smart textbook company is going to catch on to that and make lots of money riding the waves of technology. But they'll have to be personally powerful people to stand up to the existing publishing industry. Whaddya think, Daffy, shall we start something?

[Angela]

From the L.A. Times today:

New York -- Except for e-books, sales are down throughout the publishing industry, and the numbers have looked even steeper for audio.

The Assn. of American Publishers has seen a 47% drop in audio revenue this year: Just 14 publishers reported, but they include Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins and virtually all the major New York firms.

[Daffy Duck]

Originally Posted by Angela

Whaddya think, Daffy, shall we start something?

You're the third person to suggest that with me, lol.

[Angela]

Originally Posted by Daffy Duck

You're the third person to suggest that with me, lol.

And I'm sure it's just like water off a ..... oh, never mind.

[Daffy Duck]

I don't feel any inner passion for getting into the eBook industry, but, there will be a great demand and a lot of profit for the person who is interested and capitalizes.

eBooks are the next future, and then eventually commercial eBooks will be replaced with Open Source Textbooks. Textbooks will be free.

[cylon]

Magazine design is my background. Nice to see your industry just fall apart completely.

With all this love of plain-text files on black and white screens, I wonder if people are even going to care about design? Maybe when the screens become full-color.

I go to Barnes & Noble and people still love to devour magazines, but they must not be buying them. Like they are toys, scan the article, put it back on the shelf, magazine goes out of business.

[Steve Pavlina]

Originally Posted by cylon

Magazine design is my background. Nice to see your industry just fall apart completely.

With all this love of plain-text files on black and white screens, I wonder if people are even going to care about design? Maybe when the screens become full-color.

I go to Barnes & Noble and people still love to devour magazines, but they must not be buying them. Like they are toys, scan the article, put it back on the shelf, magazine goes out of business.

I used to subscribe to a lot of magazines, especially tech ones, but I dropped them all because the content quality was usually much lower than what I could find online. Self-help mags tend to be especially fluff-ridden and overly sanitized. Online I can also search for what I want rather than hoping to find something relevant in a magazine.

[Xtal]

Hi Steve, I have a slight quibble with your review. Although you can't read Kindle books on other e-book readers, you can read them on the iPhone and iPod Touch. There is a free Amazon Kindle app that even lets you synch your iPhone/iPod reading with the Kindle, so you can pick up on one device where you left off with another (maybe for reading in bed with the lights off?). I don't have a Kindle, but I do use the Kindle app on my iPod Touch; it works pretty well.

[Steve Pavlina]

Originally Posted by Xtal

Hi Steve, I have a slight quibble with your review. Although you can't read Kindle books on other e-book readers, you can read them on the iPhone and iPod Touch. There is a free Amazon Kindle app that even lets you synch your iPhone/iPod reading with the Kindle, so you can pick up on one device where you left off with another (maybe for reading in bed with the lights off?). I don't have a Kindle, but I do use the Kindle app on my iPod Touch; it works pretty well.

Yup, I knew about that when I wrote the review, but I wouldn't want to read whole books on an iPhone or iPod. I'd rather carry a print book.

[Antarananda]

The Microsoft Vision 2019 video showcases (among other very cool interactive cloud computing technologies) the evolution of e-ink in the not so distant future. Awesome stuff.

[ericabiz]

Originally Posted by Angela

Depends on how many books Joe buys.

I suppose I'm of the opinion that the average in-debt Joe should be using the library instead of buying books!

Just not worth it, folks...being in debt is slavery!

-Erica

[ericabiz]

Originally Posted by James81

I haven't had a credit card since 2005.

I won't buy it unless I pay cash for it.

I *might* consider, however, just looking for a good used Kindle 1 or holding out just a while longer until the new and improved Kindles come out and I can get the Kindle 2 used.

Good for you! I pay off my credit card in full every month, and track my spending/budget. The only way to go!

So, I did find a used Kindle 2, and saved $52 over buying it new. That $52 includes the 8.75% (!!!) CA sales tax I would have had to pay on a new one.

I figure when the bigger one comes out, you may have a few real gadget freaks who upgrade to it and sell a used Kindle 2. I found mine on craigslist. Just make sure to use it and examine it carefully in a well-lighted space before you agree to purchase; mine has a stuck pixel that I didn't see until I brought it home. Not really bothersome, but I probably could have gotten another $10 off had I noticed it. (I love haggling.)

-Erica