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Amazon Announces Kindle 2, With Slew of New Features
Engadget is reporting that Amazon has announced the new Kindle 2 for release on February 24th at a price point of $359. Thinner than an iPhone and coming standard with "Read-to-me" text-to-speech capability, the new device also has seven times more storage, faster page turning, a 16-level e-ink display, longer battery life, and a new five-way joystick. Looks like life just got a lot more interesting for fans of the original device. Engadget also has live coverage from the Kindle 2 press conference.
Cripes, after reading the post, the only thing missing was the soundtrack from the Six-Million Dollar Man...
Better, stronger, faster than ever before...
Oh, c'mon, what do you mean you've never heard of The Six-Million dollar man? Steve Austin, you know the pilot who...shit, nevermind.
Damn, I'm getting old.
The problem isn't the cost of the reader. The problem is the cost of the books. Recently, the cost of an ebook for the Kindle has been comparable to the cover price for a hardback copy. Even after the paperback has long been on the market. We should be looking at a lower cost, due to manufacturing and supply savings, but, instead, we have to pay a fortune.
Convince me not to.
DRM. Your books now have a limited lifetime (probably measured in years, not decades, let alone centuries) and cannot be passed on to anyone else. When the Kindle service disappears, which can happen at any time, say goodbye to your books.
I was considering buying one of these once the new version came out. One of the media release photos, meant to show the slimness of the device, has the Kindle leaning up next to a copy of pop-sociologist Malcolm Gladwell's new book, "The Outliers."
A few days ago, I was invited to the Union League in Philadelphia to see Mr. Gladwell speak to a group of roughly 550 local leaders, CEOs, etc. We were all provided with a "free" (in quotes because there was an entrance fee on all tickets, so the book was paid for by that cost) copy of his latest book and breakfast, and then afterward Mr. Gladwell did a Q&A session followed by a book signing.
It was the collaboration at the event, with people scribbling notes in the margins of the book, discussing certain paragraphs, and having the author sign each copy, that made me relish having the hardback with me. (Even if I do find his work a bit trite at times.)
In the end, I've opted not to buy this gadget, because ultimately, it's just not as satisfying or lasting as having a book. I have books given to me by my grandparents that they had as teenagers, what do you think the odds are that a Kindle or the formats it supports will last even two decades? I'm going to stick to my dead trees, thank you.
"Information Received. The Device Software will provide Amazon with data about your Device and its interaction with the Service (such as available memory, up-time, log files and signal strength) and information related to the content on your Device and your use of it (such as automatic bookmarking of the last page read and content deletions from the Device). Annotations, bookmarks, notes, highlights, or similar markings you make in your Device are backed up through the Service. Information we receive is subject to the Amazon.com Privacy Notice."
Exactly, and moreover, as someone whose personal library (easily several thousand books, 'bout half of which I've read) came mostly from USED bookstores, specialty dealers, random online sources, yard sales, etc., the idea that I don't have an option of buying used/wholesale/opportunistically-on-sale is pretty much a deal-killer for me.
Verbogeny is one of the pleasurettes of a creatific thinkerizer. (Peter da Silva)
Most consumers will not pay a barely discounted or not at all discounted price on a heavily DRMed good that's limited to a single device (be it iPod or Kindle) that could have the plug pulled at any time. Many DVDs now come with "Digital copies" with iPod and Windows compatibility, and they're selling like hotcakes. It's easier and it makes sense.
Want to spur consumers to use eBooks?
-Consider DRM-free books with the name embedded. The geeks will get it out, but for the majority of people, they'll buy their own books and not share.
-If you are going to use DRM, make it worth the hassle by making the book much cheaper. In essence, when I buy a DRMed eBook, I'm buying a license that can be revoked at any time to read the text. Why should I pay $18 for an eBook when it's from a $20 hardcover? Especially without distribution or even physical costs.
-If Amazon sold Kindle "codes" in the books to apply the book to your Kindle, you get the pride of owning a book (that can't ever be turned off) and the convenience of a Kindle copy too. And newspapers, if they don't want to go the way of the dodo, should include Kindle access for print subscribers. I get the WSJ and they want me to pay TWICE to get it on a Kindle. Even if I got a Kindle I wouldn't pay twice.
At $360, with a nonremovable battery (thinness is good, but I'd prefer being able to pop in a spare) and expensive (for the format) content, I can't bite. I've wanted to get an eBook reader for years, but this isn't ready yet.
DRM!
You can't share anything folks. NOTHING. The books are not yours!
That's the point of DRM-encumbered digital media. They want to kill the second-hand market. If they can keep people from selling their books/music or loaning them to other people, then they get to sell that a few more copies.
DRM is 100% the deal killer (for ebooks) for me.
I don't mind iTunes (though I've only bought maybe 30 or 40 songs) since I can burn the songs to CD and I have them for as long as Apples is around or my CD doesn't degrade, whichever is longer. And I've bought some TV episodes for my daughter to watch on my iPhone--same deal: it's not a huge loss to me if I can't see Backyardigans for some reason :-)
But my affinity for books is such that I just cannot accept losing access to ones that I've paid for based on the service going under. It might not be rational, but I just don't have the same feeling about music.
I'll buy eBooks from Baen based on the fact that I can download text/HTML versions that I can keep even if their bookstore goes under. But I'm not buying DRM eBook content and I'm not subsidizing Amazon's DRM efforts by buying their reader.
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Which is why I strip the DRM off my kindle books, and archive them as an EPub. I do the same with .LIT books I buy. It's a simple procedure, and should be cake for anyone with enough skills to use a linux box :)
But seriously, with the crappy paper they print paperbacks on, their lifespans are only measured in maybe decades. I had to convert my Eddings series to EBook because the paper versions I bought in the late 80's are now crumbling and falling apart.
EBooks I can move from device to device, and storage medium to storage medium for as long as I care to.
Having an e-ink screen and text-to-speech on the same device is an odd match. If you want to read, read. If you want to listen, get an audio book for your mp3 player. Spare yourself the synthetic voice. Unless you enjoy imagining Stephen Hawking is in your car reading to you.
This might good for my copy of "A Brief History of Time"...
I have a 1.0 Kindle.
This is what I gather. Yes, it's a proprietary format, but
according to Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?ie=UTF8&nodeId=200140600
(no I'm not going to hyperlink it)
they will convert personal documents you email to them.
They will email it back and you can download it to your Kindle or get
it over their Whispernet (aka cel phone tranmissions) for a small fee.
The do say PDFs are tricky to convert and might retain their original formatting
which will cause viewing problems.
The Kindle 1.0 beefs I had:
Page buttons placed to almost automatically get in the way when holding the device (Fixed in 2.0)
Page transitions slow (Fixed in 2.0)
Picture and diagram handling in books. (Possibly fixed in 2.0)
Color screen (not fixed in 2.0) I know it's going
to take a couple years for electronic ink to catch up with normal screen displays.
Why is a color screen an issue for text? Highlighting and diagram distinction for starters.
I work at a university. I looked at the Kindle as an inexpensive way for students to get most (or all)
their textbooks digitally. The $349 is nothing compared to the cash amounts students are bilked every year.
Amazon's Kindle content management hangs onto a copy for another download if necessary due to Kindle loss etc.
Although without color it makes most graphic examples in scientific texts impossible to read.
For straight text the Kindle is still the strongest Ebook reader out there for text. Plus Wireless download, basic internet surfing, audiobooks, mp3 player. OK, you get this all with a laptop, tablet, or now notebook, but not in
such a compact form.
If you can find anything better good on ya mate. Otherwise, I'll hang onto my 1.0 for awhile and upgrade
as time moves on.
I'm probably not playing to the crowd here, but in this case DRM whiners can either go home or hack around it.
For all my beefs the Kindle's still a nice reader.
Good God, your
post looks
like an e.
e cummings poem.