Amazon's new wireless reading device, "Kindle"...anybody seen it?

Amazon Kindle

Anybody got one? What say you all?

Mr. Engel thinks this is a total ripoff, but when I watched the promo video, I just sat there going, "OMG! OMG! OMG!"

I'd love to have my entire library on a little thing no bigger than a paperback and be able to wirelessly purchase a book and get it instantly, but Mr. Engel thinks it's an outrage that Amazon would charge $10 for an electronic book. Then again, I still pay for my music downloads and buy actual DVDs rather than stealing them via bittorrent, so maybe I'm just a sucker. :shrug:

As an author, I could also self-publish my books on Kindle, and make 65% of the profit right up front. As much as I generally loathe the idea of self publishing, this thing really tempts me. Am I just big doofus?

:dunce:

Just like I like live music and my iPod. :shrug:

I've played with one, and am getting one soon.

I think it's very nice, and overcomes many of the problems with e-book readers in the past.

The display is beautiful - really like reading ink on paper.

I'm having increasing trouble reading from my laptop these days. Granted, my company gave me the cheapest laptop they could get their hands on, but as an editor by trade and a writer by compulsion (and a DU addict!), I'm starting to fear for my eyesight. I could see this technology being used in many ways by those of us who depend on the visual interface with an electronic device for our livelihood and obsessions.

(Imagine reading DU on that puppy!)

I know I'm a weirdo, but watching the demo actually made me hot. ;)

I suppose that I'll always be an anachronism. I =like= to go to bookstores and see what's new, or what's new stock at a used book store, or to spend a day at all of the local record stores, happily carrying home a batch of interesting items... Hunter/Gatherer mindset?

Warning: mp3 has made music disposable. Do we want books to go the same route?

to the $10.00 mark anyway.

If I knew that much more money were going into the author's hands, I wouldn't likely have a problem with this inflation. I'm not working right now, and I can't drop dollars on books like I'd once done (two to four a week). If this caused the book seller's market to shift immediately from book makers to the authors, so that the authors would more fully profit, then I'd support it enthusiastically. There would have to be the same setup for editors, etc. but the music business have not yet made this leap from record companies and overpriced hardware media versus artist who can support themselves through direct contact with their fans. They still need money to record, mix, master, etc...

I'm not even touching upon the "entitlement" mindset of those who don't pay for music...do we want books to become disposable as well?

I've read the article and dislike the idea of books as fluid. An author should be happy with what they've produced. There is a tiny potential for people to become lazy if they can endlessly edit their work. This has become a problem in the field of digital music editing. It takes away from the "in the moment" immediacy of creativity...

Something doesn't feel right about this. I'm just raising a flag.

I want to say so much, btu have only a little time. Briefly, I am interested in how you equalize music and books - I would say that there are far fewer middlemen between an author and his/her audience and a musician and her/his audience, and also that market expectations are different between a product (sorry to use such language) that provides at most two hours of interaction (an album) and one that provides days of interaction (a book).

I am very interested in your assertion that music has become disposable, and I need to think on that more before I can make an intelligent reply.

I do have to say, though, that I don't entirely agree with your assertion that once an author is done with a book (I assume you mean a trade fiction novel, but please correct me if that's wrong) that s/he should be finished with it. Whitman wrote only one book during his lifetime, Leaves of Grass, yet he published many editions of it throughout his life. Maybe that was his only way of expressing that book? Maybe if he had a different medium of diffusion available to him (being able to make a living as a storyteller/recitator; pulp magazines; or broadsides are a few ideas that pop to mind) he would have written his poetry differently? Who knows...?

Just ubiquitous copies of it are. The music is still there.

I LOVE going to bookstores. I love touching books, smelling them; I'm a total freak about books. I see this as an adjunct to my addiction. If I could read whatever I wanted wherever I was...? I don't know, it just gets me all tingly. :D

It began with, sadly enough, the birth of recording, then with the birth of music broadcasting. It's become easier and easier to have with you, in greater and greater quantities. For free, if you don't care about the artists.

If you want something and have to do it yourself in order to have it, it teaches reverence. If you can figuratively pluck it from a tree, it's entirely different. And there might be, repeat -might- be, less empetus to live a life making a living at music.

The business of music is in great flux right now; who knows how it will turn out. I do not wish this tumult upon authors.

ouch.

:hide:

are they burning books now :D

But this is definitely food for thought. Thanks for the link. :)

Edited to add: "Once upon a tim???" Who the heck is Tim, and how did he get in my subject line?

without taking into account what was being left behind, and in some cases, lost.

I work with technology for a living, but from what I've seen, just because you can, does NOT mean that you should.

Mine is the ebookwise 1150 - ebookwise.com and/or fictionwise.com for additional information. Haven't done any research on the Kindle yet, but it has definitely been a hot topic on the e-reader forums I visit. The one I use allows both proprietary and open source use, and I use it for both book purchases - also in the $10 range - and loading personal content. I can convert anything in .txt, .doc or html for use in my reader.PDF can also be converted, but it's a 2-step process. The type I use has been around for awhile (early adopter, here) and there's lots of free content available. Some of it is through the Gutenberg project - thousands of published works in the public domain. I'm a voracious reader, and probably have about 1200 "paper" books, and easily have another 500 in electronic formats. Best thing about an e-reader is the ability to carry vast quantities of reading material at all times. Mine will hold about 150 books at one time. Can't carry all those paper things around with me! Used to be a lifesaver when I commuted into Manhattan on MetroNorth every day. Now, I use it on business trips and for every-day reading. The only thing mine won't do is the wireless downloads - would definitely be a nice feature. Mine connects either via on-board modem or internet connected computer and USB cable.

As a concept - love it to pieces! Also, one of the best conversation starters I've ever seen. "What IS that thing?"!!

edited for dumb typo...

I am a book FREAK. Of all my physical possessions my books are what means the most to me. The feel, the smell, the door into imagination and knowledge. I would never want to see my beloved books disappear but this thing...imagine how much more reading you'd be able to do! You could take this with you and you'd always have something to read. That's a heady thought. Not to replace books but as an adjunct? Hell yes I'd love one!

They will not catch on until 2 things happen. First is the need for an E-book reader with decent features (and there is debate about just what constitutes "decent features" I know, Wifi vs. cellular connectivity, search functions, downloading, battery life, back lighting, e-ink etc...)that falls at or below the 100 dollar price point.

Secondly someone has to come up with a way to solve/ manage the file format/DRM problem. When you by an MP3 player whether it's made by Apple or Creative or Sansa or whoever it will play any non DRM MP3 you load into it but E-readers are different. There are numerous devices for reading them. So there are numerous often proprietary file formats that qualify as "E-books".

Franklin <.FUB>
Hiebook <.KML>
Isilo <-IS.PDB>
Microsoft <.LIT>
Mobipocket <.PRC>
Palm Doc <.PDB>
Rocket <.RB>
eBookwise-1150 <.IMP>
REB 1200/GEB 2150 <.IMP>

and .lrf for Sony's reader,another format for your phone, .pdf, RTF, html etc... No one reading device or software (that I have found) will read them all. So if you go with Kindle (or any of them at this point) then you are stuck with Amazon (or whoever) unless and until they are kind enough to expand it's capabilities and if the device really flops then who knows how long it will even be supported? (It wouldn't be the first failure in the E-book market!)

Just my two cents.

:)


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