[Web4lib] Amazon's Kindle e-book reader

[Larry Campbell]

I haven't noticed those "equal amounts praise and criticism" in this 
thread, though it's not been entirely one-sided. It may well be, of 
course, that Amazon simply doesn't know what it's doing, hasn't 
researched its market or the history of similar devices, and doesn't 
know how to sell hardware. On the other hand, it may be that they do. 
Without doubt, they're taking a risk, however calculated.

Based on what I've read so far, in any case, the Kindle looks 
interesting,  primarily because of the wireless subscription aspect, 
which I haven't heard of in similar devices before. As I understand it, 
and contrary to one comment in this thread, the cost of the wireless 
access itself is borne by Amazon. Contrary to another comment, the price 
of the downloaded books themselves is (usually) substantially below 
print prices. And contrary to a third comment, the device will display 
html as well as other formats, besides the proprietary format used for 
the material Amazon sells. Since one of the chief appeals of these sorts 
of readers, to my mind, is that they make accessible the huge and 
steadily growing mass of freely available etext, on a device that's more 
manageable than a laptop and more readable than a 
Palm/Blackberry/cellphone, etc., that last aspect is critical. Add that 
to the ability to port around a substantial library, markup text and 
still leave it pristine, search across whole works or whole collections, 
among other advantages, and you can begin to see why people continue to 
be willing to take risks with these gadgets.

Larry Campbell
Librarian, Information Systems and Technology
UBC Library

Andrew Mutch wrote:

>Matt,
>
>In fairness, I would say that there's been equal amounts praise and criticism of the Kindle reader. Still, based on the feedback I've read so far from people who've actually used it, I would say it has some serious shortcomings. In some ways, Amazon Reader sounds like a step back from the previous readers which is quite a feat. You also have to remember that over their history, e-book promoters and sellers have overhyped and underdelivered on their products in a way that is hard to match in the technology world. Every one of them has been a commercial failure. So any new product coming forward promising to replace the book should be greeted with skepticism. It's unfortunate that Amazon hasn't managed to learn from the fate of past e-book readers (clunky interfaces, proprietary formats, over priced content) as their size might have allowed them to overcome the obstacles that other e-book producers have faced. But I feel safe in saying that the Kindle Reader is definitely not the "next new thing" and in a couple of years, you'll be able to get them for a steep discount at Amazon.
>
>Andrew Mutch
>Library Systems Technician
>Waterford Township Public Library
>Waterford, MI
>
>
>---- Original message ----
>  
>
>>Date: Tue, 20 Nov 2007 14:09:33 -0500 (EST)
>>From: "Matthew J. Simon" <msimon at desu.edu>  
>>Subject: Re: [Web4lib] Amazon's Kindle e-book reader  
>>To: web4lib at webjunction.org
>>
>>
>>
>>I am surprised by the negativity I have read about this promising new product.  I would hope that at a few people on this board actually try it out before damning it.  I travel frequently, on business and for pleasure.  And by the time I pack my laptop, my overnight bag, my yummy lunch or snack for the plane, remember my coat, keys, and envelope of boarding passes, hotel reservations, discount coupons for off-airport long term parking, etc., my choice of reading material has been severely limited by my capacity to shoulder weight. 
>>
>>The mewling about the initial cost  is pathetic and ill-informed about the diminishing price of maturing technologies.  If you want it, but think you can't afford it, amortize the expense over a two or a three year period.  And it will come out to a couple of bucks a week--or less than a Starbucks Grande.  And if you still think you can't hack it, wait a year or two and order it from J&R Electronics.  Or Amazon.  Or trade for the one owned by the kid down the block.  He or she will already have moved on to Wave II or III. 
>>
>>M. J. Simon 
>>    
>>
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