[Web4lib] Amazon's Kindle e-book reader

[Pons, Lisa (ponslm)]

 Well said!

> -----Original Message-----
> From: web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org 
> [mailto:web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of Larry Campbell
> Sent: Tuesday, November 20, 2007 4:30 PM
> To: Andrew Mutch
> Cc: web4lib at webjunction.org
> Subject: Re: [Web4lib] Amazon's Kindle e-book reader
> 
> 
> 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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