Comments on: The Future of Books : The Amazon Kindle

By: Juan

Juan — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 06:04:08 +0000

The concept of having all the books you want in the size of a single book seems good, but the thing about this device that I don’t like is the fact that you can’t know for sure (without having a printed copy of the book you bought online) is if the device will/won’t have some sort of built-in capality of modifying, or blocking “censored” books on-the-fly without the users knowledge/consent. This capality if present will surelly make the device (since this stuff is supposed to totally replace old printed books) do the functions of the “ministry of truth” (novel 1984 by george orwell).

By: HSO

HSO — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 06:50:04 +0000

Not bothered at all with the screen, but only having the video to go by, I have to wonder how comfortable it is to use. The page turning buttons are massive, running down along the sides of the unit. Those buttons seem to have a long (or deep) throw, so perhaps accidental page turning won’t occur if the unit is held by its sides. (The guy in the video holds the bottom edge of the Kindle when using it.) Hard to say. Moreover, there doesn’t seem to be any good place to rest your thumbs — you get about three-quarters of an inch just above the miniature keyboard. That assumes you hold it as shown.

But the Kindle looks like it’s trying too hard. Why does everything these days have to do 50 different things? Can it not just do one thing really well? I actually love reading e-books on my Palm, with it’s tiny, tiny screen, because I don’t need to carry around heavy books. And I’ve been gagging for a decent, lightweight, book-sized reader for years. Yet the Kindle (daft name, by the way — let’s light thing on fire) doesn’t appeal. It’s ugly (white plastic? gah! how much dirt is that going to show after a week or two of use?), and the interface looks fiddly — scroll up to the line you want crap. And what do I need a keyboard for when I’m reading a book? Does every one of my gadgets need wi-fi and internet access and a keyboard?

Furthermore, the e-books are too expensive considering the it costs next to nothing to produce to an e-book these days. Amazon obviously needs to cover the cost of their Whispernet™ tech, on-line storage, and delivery scheme. Still, they’re selling the kindle for $400. Sorry, but it costs less to get a PDA, which gives users more value for their money (despite my earlier comment about wanting things that do just one thing very well).

As for the points made above regarding not be able to share digital files, yeah, I agree. It’s legal to give away printed material, or resell it, or even let someone borrow it (same with CDs, DVDs, videos, kitchen appliances, pets, what have you). For some paranoid reason, no one is allowed to do that with most digital content. It’s a big pile of bollocks, and perhaps is the Kindle. But I can’t say for sure without getting my hands on one.

By: Bruno Alexandre

Bruno Alexandre — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 23:13:37 +0000

have a look at what Bernie Campbell said about the Kindle in relation with the iphone:

URL: http://apple.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/11/20/1559255&from=rss

By: Kiltak

Kiltak — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 20:48:36 +0000

Good point. I have to admit that passing a book around to friends is one of the most interesting point of buying them in the first place…

By: Big Brother is Watching

Big Brother is Watching — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 20:43:33 +0000

I like to share and borrow books.

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

By: Kiltak

Kiltak — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 14:59:43 +0000

Well, books are on average $9.99… and the device connects via EVDO for free, so you have access to all titles, all the time. This could be nice for people on the road..

By: Brian Boyko

Brian Boyko — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 14:51:20 +0000

Not to put too fine a point on it; but why would someone pay hundreds of dollars for a device that does nothing but read $20 books?

By: Kiltak

Kiltak — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 14:32:38 +0000

Hmm, I’m not sure If I like the fact that the Kindle is in black and white… and having to read on a grey-ish background doesn’t sound very pleasing to me.

Anyone else feels like expressing their thoughts on Amazon’s “e-reader”?