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The promise: The Amazon Kindle -- an electronic book reader that uses a non-glare screen and can hold hundreds of books, newspapers, magazines, and blogs (which can be purchased and directly downloaded wirelessly from Amazon.com).
Why it's overrated: Well, for one thing, it's butt-ugly, and it's expensive (about $360), but the most annoying thing is that you have to pay for what would otherwise be free content from blogs. In addition, if you subscribe to a few magazines or newspaper, you'll find that the thing fills up in about a week (and deleting content could be easier or more automated than having to individually check everything you want to get rid of). Plus, we were expecting a boatload of magazines and newspapers to come on board, but right now the total number of available publications is still less than 50, so news and info-hounds may be left in the cold. Turning pages could be faster, and battery life could be longer.
Bottom line: Sony's new e-Reader is sexier, but still lacks the direct-to-device wireless purchasing option. The Kindle will please any avid reader who has a tendency to carry too many publications around, but everyone else should wait until e-Books evolve over the next few years.
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Comments
7
Subscribe to commentsHollyOct 7th 2008 6:56PM
Longer battery? The thing lasts forever if you turn the wireless off. I agree that if you're buying this for magazines, newspapers and blogs, you're better off carrying the real thing. But for books? It's great.
steveOct 7th 2008 7:46PM
dude slide your chair back from your typewriter and go have a shot.
FlinkOct 8th 2008 7:15AM
I want a e-ink ebook reader. I want one that lets me read pdf/txt, open format ebooks and isn't encumbered by DRM. And I don't want to spend more than $100 for it.
Make the money selling me books I want, not on hardware with _overpriced_ books. Let me shuffle my books around on disc or to a computer. As long as your ebook hardware it expensive, awkward, and annoying, you won't succeed.
As long as paper books are cheaper and easier to use than the ebook/reader combination, you are in "EPIC FAIL" mode.
spamtrap19990601Oct 11th 2008 7:38PM
This is going to sound straange but both are too big. We've been reading e-books for years on our Palm Pilots and find the screen size adequate while maintaining easy portability
Carol BOct 9th 2008 12:48PM
I love my Kindle. It is more than a gadget for those of us with special needs, such as arthritis in the hands. I even called Amazon to tell their marketing department that they are missing an entire market. The Kindle goes with me everywhere. I always have 2 to 3 books going at a time. I've also got a half gig of classical music on my card to make it easy to combine my two favorite past times -- good literature and good music.
As for battery life, Holly is right. Turn off the wifi and even heavy readers can go for a week or more without having to charge the Kindle.
As for price of books, the Kindle versions are definitely less expensive than book store prices for the latest best sellers. And older books are cheaper than paper backs.
Finally, the Kindle opens up the world of self publishing. Take a look at what is out there!
Carol
kendocubanoOct 9th 2008 4:28PM
I agree about the Kindle, Carol. It has been a paradigm changer for me. It's true that it is ugly, but I prefer reading on the Kindle, now, than on dead tree books. I don't use it for newspapers or magazines, and I have about 30 books on there, now. I love wireless dl, and the books are far cheaper than the hardcover books I have traditionally bought. It doesn't clutter my library, and there is no better way to transport multiple books for travel.
royal12304Dec 31st 2008 10:37AM
E-books are great! All you need is a PDA. I.ve been using PDA's for 5 or 6 years and love it. The biggest providers store all your books for you on a virtual bookshelf that you can access at any time to re-download your books. That way you don't have to waste all your memory with books that you've already read. And the prices of the books blow away Amazon or Barnes and Noble. You can even read them on your desktop PC or laptop. And the applications to read the books are free. Also, if your a member you can access their online lending libraries. Try fictionwise.com or e-reader.com.