Re: Kindle: Amazon\'s new wireless reading device
 

I thought it was pretty clear that the advantage of digital books isn't in ease of reading, but rather in distribution. The whole goal of the new screen was to emulate books, not improve on them. I guess being able to carry bunches of books w/o the weight is nice, but the real power will be when Opera's book club can sell the actual book along with the recommendation.

Treating books as information instead of a physical product will change the book market dramatically.

Re: Kindle: Amazon\'s new wireless reading device
 

By the way, my brother was given a promo copy of the kindle, and I got to play with it over thanksgiving. It does seem clunky as hell. The interface just feels very 1980s, although the screen is really nice in light conditions that'd make a pda unreadable.

Re: Kindle: Amazon\'s new wireless reading device
 

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I thought it was pretty clear that the advantage of digital books isn't in ease of reading, but rather in distribution.

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i think that's a bad assumption. with digital books you gain the possibility control fonts and text size. there aren't binding issues or offset printing. if typos or errors are present, they can be corrected in a revision. upgrade pricing for new versions of technical books also becomes an option. so do alternate languages. you can perform word searches. highlights and page noting are virtual, and can be undone. as i already mentioned, holding the book open and dealing with weight or high page counts become non-issues. all that stuff is just off the top of my head.

so as long as the screen is at least as readable with no eye fatigue issues, i can see a ton of advantages. so much that if a one-off digital book were side-by-side with a print version, i would opt for the former if the prices were close and component waste wasn't an issue - even without revisions or upgrades. that hypothetical effectively ignores distribution.

Re: Kindle: Amazon\'s new wireless reading device
 

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By the way, my brother was given a promo copy of the kindle, and I got to play with it over thanksgiving. It does seem clunky as hell. The interface just feels very 1980s, although the screen is really nice in light conditions that'd make a pda unreadable.

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How does the resolution compare to printed text? Readable serif fonts?

Re: Kindle: Amazon\'s new wireless reading device
 

Yeah, reviews aren't being kind to the usability of it all. The design of the product makes accidental page switching the norm and it's hard to hold.

Re: Kindle: Amazon\'s new wireless reading device
 

Ill buy it as soon as the DRM is cracked. Paper books are the last frontier for piracy to conquer... [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

In all seriousness though, $10 is too much for a book when you don't get the physical object to put on your bookshelf. $5 is closer to what I'd pay.

Re: Kindle: Amazon\'s new wireless reading device
 

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Ill buy it as soon as the DRM is cracked. Paper books are the last frontier for piracy to conquer... [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

In all seriousness though, $10 is too much for a book when you don't get the physical object to put on your bookshelf. $5 is closer to what I'd pay.

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Sure you lose out on the having it on your bookshelf and the ability to keep it there on display or pass it along to a friend.

What you gain is that amazon stores a copy of it forever so that you don't have to worry about losing it. you can get the book from anywhere. sitting on a bus that is stuck and traffic and just finished a book? get another one instantly. plus its much more environmentally friendly and for those of us that don't have big space for libraries, you can store thousands on books easily.

right now i'm still not feeling the price or the design, but i think the idea is pretty awesome.

Re: Kindle: Amazon\'s new wireless reading device
 

This is a product with many improvable flaws being sold at first generation prices with an obscene legacy cost. Of course the idea for an ebook reader is awesome, it's been around the mid '90s. Only appreciate stuff that manage to implement all those good ideas thought up a long time ago well, like the Iphone.

Anyone who pays 10 dollars for a fiction book seeing what is happening with music is a sucker. Only worth it for people who read at very high volums IMO.

Re: Kindle: Amazon\'s new wireless reading device
 

It seems that no one has mentioned that because Amazon is the largest online book retailer, the Kindle does not have to make a profit on its own for it to be a smart move. Right now Amazon is probably hoping to develop its portal for selling ebooks and to push the technology for ebook readers. I read in some article that the supplier of the Kindle's eink tech already has a color display prototype. I imagine they are also developing higher res versions as well.

Re: Kindle: Amazon\'s new wireless reading device
 

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It seems like they could have made it a little more aesthetically pleasing. The design looks boxy and clunky. I know functionality should be king with this type of device, but I can't help feeling like I'm seeing one of those pictures of the first generation of cell-phones, or a big clunky 80's PC or something.

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this is what i thought too.