[Web4lib] Amazon's Kindle e-book reader

[Jesse Ephraim]

>I am surprised by the negativity I have read about this promising new product.

Much of that comes from disappointment in what the reader COULD have been, versus what it turned out to be.   I was excited to hear that it was coming out, but within a few minutes of reading the product description I could tell that it fell way too short of what it should offer.

>The mewling about the initial cost is pathetic and ill-informed 
>about the diminishing price of maturing technologies.

There's nothing pathetic about it - the thing is just way too expensive for what it delivers, even when you take the newness of it into account.  I would have no problem paying $400 if the device had decent features.  It is obvious from the sales info that it is severely lacking in many areas, though, which makes it worth much less to me.  If I read the sales literature on an exciting new car and found out that it would only run on proprietary gas sold on Tuesdays at Texaco stations, that would severely decrease the value of it for me, and I would not be willing to pay a premium price for it.

Given the up-front problems that are evident in the device information on Amazon's website (proprietary and heavy DRM, inability to read the most popular document formats without emailing them to Amazon, etc.), the features it does offer are not worth anywhere in the ballpark of $400 to me, even if the device runs well.

As for the diminishing price of maturing technologies, a 2/3 cut in price would STILL be too much for this device, just as the current price of Apple's iPhone is still too high.  There is a difference between paying extra for a brand new device and paying way too much extra for it.

>If you want it, but think you can't afford it

The question is not that I CAN'T afford it - it's whether it is worth the money or not.

>And if you still think you can't hack it, wait a year or two and order it 
>from J&R Electronics. Or Amazon. 

Alternatively, wait a few months and buy something comparable for a fraction of the cost, as other companies jump on the bandwagon and release new readers.


Jesse Ephraim

Youth Services Librarian
Southlake Public Library
1400 Main Street, Suite 130
Southlake, TX  76092
(817) 748-8248
jephraim at ci.southlake.tx.us