Amazon Kindle - Electronic Reading Device
 

Was exploring around Kurzweilai.net , and yet another one of his predictions is coming true with remarkable accuracy in regards to time. It's not cheap or widely used yet, but I think it will be before the decade is over.

The TL;DR version from Newsweek

6 minute introductory video from Amazon

Read some of the 650 reviews posted on Amazon in the past 4 days, and the reviews are all over the place, but I guess that's to be expected when most of the people reviewing don't have the product yet.

Here are what some of the reviews were saying:

Pros: discounts on book, display that's very easy on the eyes, very portable, very comfortable, smooth easy to use features, large memory, purchases automatically backed up online in case something happens to your kindle, access to books, blogs and magazines,

Cons: $400, will probably be obsolete in 5 years and the format won't be transferable to your new device, the service does not work everywhere that cell phones work, not fully compatible with other products (PDA's perhaps?), limited number of books (around 70,000ish right now, more coming), very limited number of magazines (so far), some products (all?) are only available without pictures

I don't have one, but it seems like a great introduction to an up and coming technology that IMO will basically completely replace books (except for their appeal as artifacts).

Re: Amazon Kindle - Electronic Reading Device
 

This seems fantastic to me. While I dont see myself paying 400 dollars for a first-gen Kindle, what is more exciting to me is to envision all of the possibilities that this type of technology has to offer. As voice-recognition and AI language software gets better and better, we'll no longer need to pay people to narrate books. Instead of holding a book-sized Kindle I can hold an iPod sized "Spark" that will instantly download and read my books to me, all for a fraction of the cost. Combine this with Tablet PC technology and all of my lecture materials for all my classes can be placed on my Kindle, where I can write in notes, highlight and underline things, and basically instead of carrying around a hundred pounds worth of notes and syllabus and textbooks, my entire coursework can fit on this little paperback sized thing.

Combine the iPhone and the Kindle and I've got nearly my entire life all on this single, user-friendly device. New advances in wireless battery charging and remote power means my Kindle never runs out of juice.

Its honestly really exciting.

Re: Amazon Kindle - Electronic Reading Device
 

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Combine the iPhone and the Kindle and I've got nearly my entire life all on this single, user-friendly device.

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Yup, that's basically what we're going to see. Also include credit card, driver's license etc. in that list of "things in 1". Also some health stuff like blood pressure monitor. Palm pilots were only the beginning.

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Its honestly really exciting.

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Yeah, I think so too. Really looking forward to having all my documents with me everywhere I go.

Re: Amazon Kindle - Electronic Reading Device
 

I will definitely buy something like this when the price drops. However - is it just me, or is staring into a direct light source for hours each day, a strain on my eyes? It seems like reading a book, that uses reflective light, as opposed to a direct light source, is more relaxing. My prejudices won’t detract from the value of something like the Kindle, but still, I can’t help but think, that books won’t become obsolete just yet.

Re: Amazon Kindle - Electronic Reading Device
 

they have some differnet way of showing the print, i dont think it is like looking at a computer screen

Re: Amazon Kindle - Electronic Reading Device
 

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they have some differnet way of showing the print, i dont think it is like looking at a computer screen



[/ QUOTE ] That's actually what I was wondering. Thanks for the info.

Re: Amazon Kindle - Electronic Reading Device
 

Can you explain what this is and what it has to do with the Nerd Rapture/Kurzweil?

Does the thing read books for you and summarize the information? I don't understand. All I got was that it was basically an iPod that displayed PDFs

Re: Amazon Kindle - Electronic Reading Device
 

Remote power I think is the most interesting part. It's really hard to send juice through airwaves but it is possible. For a while I was trying to figure out how to make a USB thingy which had one end in the computer and one end on your USB device and so every USB device could be wireless. I did a lot of looking into sending power wirelessly and it's possible but it's really at the early stages. I also realized I know nothing about electrical engineering, but that's a whole other story.

Re: Amazon Kindle - Electronic Reading Device
 

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they have some differnet way of showing the print, i dont think it is like looking at a computer screen

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It uses epaper, it looks just like normal paper, no own light source, so you need to use a lamp to read it in the dark. Reading this is in no way more tiring than reading a normal book.

Re: Amazon Kindle - Electronic Reading Device
 

Pretty nice gimmick. Not sure how well this is going to compete with devices who have full internet operability though.