I had a chance today to play with the new Amazon Kindle. Pete, over in the bookstore, has purchased one and he's happy to show it off to anyone who stops by.
If you haven't heard of Kindle, it's the new e-book reader from Amazon. It includes free wireless connectivity (through Sprint's EVDO network) for purchasing and downloading e-books. Books typically cost $9.99, often less than what you would pay on Amazon for the same book.
I was surprised by how quickly I got used to reading with Kindle. The font was set rather large, so I did find I had to "turn" the page more often than I'd like. But that's adjustable - 6 font levels, with the smallest fitting most of a typical page on the screen.
A neat feature of the Kindle is that you can download a sample - usually the first chapter or two - of any book that's for sale on the device. Not only does this give you a way to really check out a book before buying, but it also gives you plenty of free reading.
Once a book is downloaded - and it's very quick - you can read offline. So if you're in an area without EVDO or if you're on an airplane, you can still read what's been downloaded. (You are able to turn wireless off for situations like using on an airplane, or to save battery life. Battery life is about a week of reading, with wireless off.)
The big appeal of this, to me, is for travel. When I'm heading off on a trip, I usually pick my reading material according to how much space I have for carrying it and not necessarily according to what I feel like reading right now. The Kindle is smaller than most books, paperback or hardcover, and can hold over 200 titles so it's perfect for travel.
At $400, it's still too pricey for me. But if it catches on it will get cheaper and better. I'll be keeping a close eye on the situation. I wonder how long before textbooks start becoming available this way?
Comments (3)
Speaking of catching on, did you notice Amazon is sold out of these gadgets. The 3d image of it makes me want to have one and I am not a big reader.
A few questions that come to mind...
1. Did Pete give you any indication that academic publishers were producing text in this format?
2. Does this thing do audio?
Posted by james | December 11, 2007 9:31 PM
Posted on December 11, 2007 21:31
I did notice that Amazon was sold out. That's very interesting - and promising.
I didn't talk to Pete about textbook availability. My guess is that it's all too new for that, but you never know.
I don't think it does audio. Rachel was with me, and she said that when it did audio and video as well as books she'd be ready to buy. I agree that one device is the way to go - so what I'd really like to see at this point is for the iPhone to do (print) books, not just audio books.
Posted by Susan | December 12, 2007 8:20 AM
Posted on December 12, 2007 08:20
Got to play with the Kindle for a couple of minutes today. I'm sold. But I think I will wait to see what the second generation Kindle has up its sleeve. I am with Rachel that one or two additional features will make it more attractive and useful.
I did notice that there is a USB and a headphone jack at the base of the Kindle, I wonder what that is about.
Posted by James | December 12, 2007 1:26 PM
Posted on December 12, 2007 13:26