Amazon Kindle E-Book Reader gets official

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: Pliablemoose
Heh, I love it, you know a product is going to tank when an entire forum of early adopters say it's a piece of crap.

I think it's a joke, and Bezos is on crack.

They'll sell a few, but I can's see them taking off.

If I had to read e-books, I'd buy an iPhone or a tablet PC.

There's an idea, Amazon should have come up with a folding tablet PC that opened like a book and had pages on both sides, functioned as a cell phone/PC/PDA/GPS.

You still don't get it - the entire point of an E-Reader is the E-Ink screen. I have an iPhone and a laptop and they both stink for reading on for long periods of time because of the backlight. The Kindle is an amazing device for what it does, but I do think it requires some additional ergonomics work. I'm used to holding it now but it's definitely not the way I would prefer to holdl it. Now, if they could make an actual Tablet PC with an E-Ink screen, that would be something really neat. The OLPC is pretty close but it uses a different technology, not to mention it looks like a Disney toy.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: eos

Originally posted by: Kaido

Originally posted by: Pabster
The battery issue has to do with EVDO. Sony's eBook readers don't do that, and any wireless technology is a battery buster.

I think it looks ugly as hell, but I'd like to try it out nonetheless.

Looks like there's a button to turn off EV-DO; 30 hours with Wireless on, a week of reading with wireless off.

Exactly correct. Plus, a spare battery is only another $20.

You can check for Sprint coverage in your area.

Hot dang! Then it's obviously not an iPod for Books because the battery would cost $80 and not be user replaceable

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo

Originally posted by: AgaBoogaBoo
If they sell text books on it for college students, I can guarantee that this thing will take off like none other.

there are already torrents of textbooks..
i mean scans/pdfs etc, not specific to kindle
the absurd way textbooks are priced and sold...they should be pirated.

McGraw-Hill already said they are offering electronic textbooks at a 55% discount, which is cheaper than if I bought the books and returned them for a small cash refund at the end of the semester. Plus the Kindle has a built-in search, which would make looking stuff up a lot easier since you're not limited to just the words they chose to put in the glossary. I'm game!

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: Argo
I used one today. Some thoughts

1) The design actually looks quite a bit better in real life. Pictures make it look like your grandma's calculator. When held in hand it looks a lot more sexy.
2) The screen quality is amazing. You can read it just fine in direct sunlight and in dark areas - basically the quality is exactly the same as a book.
3) Despite all the claims, I wouldn't even consider using it for internet browsing.

All in all, I think this is just the first step, I'll suspect the second generation of these devices will be a lot more useful.

Honestly I've had it for a day and I haven't even bothered using the Internet feature. I have an iPhone if I want mobile Internet access. The only thing I can see myself using the mobile Internet feature for is to read pre-formatted blogs and other news-type articles for free since I'll never ever pay for a blog subscription.

 

[Kaido]

Well, after much deliberation I've decided to return it. I've used it quite a bit for the past 24 hours and almost everything is great. My biggest problem is simply the ergonomics and design. It's a pain to hold! I keep hitting the oversized buttons when I pick it up, shift positions, etc. It's just a tad too hard to use for my tastes. With that said, everything else is fantastic. I will anxiously be awaiting version 2.0. If you can get used to holding it, then it's great. I suppose I could, but I can see myself getting frustrated with it in the future so I'm just going to return it for now. I really hope that Amazon listens to their customers about the design and makes the appropriate changes because I would really love to get one in the future that didn't require thinking about how to hold it properly.

 

[ppdes]

You may have to wait a while, the one review I read raved about the convenient buttons...

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: ppdes
You may have to wait a while, the one review I read raved about the convenient buttons...

Yes, they are super convenient. Except when you want to hold it by the sides.

 

[Kaido]

FujiXerox shows off color e-ink display with writing capabilities

The Kindle was "almost" perfect - it just needs a physical redesign to make it easier to hold. With color and writing capabilities, these things will sell like hotcakes. I'm sure it will be a few years before that happens though!

 

[Kaido]

New Kindle released, updated the OP.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00154JDAI

 

[thomsbrain]

The whole POINT of e-ink is that you don't need backlighting, which is extremely tiring on the eyes. Even the first Kindle is as easy to read as a newspaper, which is a good thing.

They've made it so thin and light and they've improved those horrible buttons on the first version. The only problem is the price. Get it under $100 and I'll buy one in a heartbeat.

 

[Baked]

Originally posted by: thomsbrain
The only problem is the price. Get it under $100 and I'll buy one in a heartbeat.

Right... and I would buy a couple Ferraris if they're under $10K too. :roll:

 

[Deeko]

Originally posted by: thomsbrain
The whole POINT of e-ink is that you don't need backlighting, which is extremely tiring on the eyes. Even the first Kindle is as easy to read as a newspaper, which is a good thing.

They've made it so thin and light and they've improved those horrible buttons on the first version. The only problem is the price. Get it under $100 and I'll buy one in a heartbeat.

Under $100 for a device that includes unlimited EVDO access? That seems unlikely.

 

[RichardE]

WTB Canada support

 

[DaveSimmons]

The price really should have dropped to $299 or less, $359 is just too high for me and I bought a PS3 at $600.

It might be a good deal if you buy a -lot- of the $10 NY Times bestsellers (vs. $20+ hardcover), or get a couple of half-price newspaper subscriptions (NY Times?), or if you're in college and there are some good discounts on textbooks.

I can see frequent travellers loving it though: carry it instead of a stack of books, and download new books away from home.

 

[pontifex]

i don't understand these things. why wouldn't you rather have a laptop or one of those netbooks evem, especially for $360

 

[Deeko]

Originally posted by: pontifex
i don't understand these things. why wouldn't you rather have a laptop or one of those netbooks evem, especially for $360

The point is that e-ink is significantly easier on the eyes than an LCD screen, so the Kindle is better for long, sustained reading.

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: Deeko

Originally posted by: pontifex
i don't understand these things. why wouldn't you rather have a laptop or one of those netbooks evem, especially for $360

The point is that e-ink is significantly easier on the eyes than an LCD screen, so the Kindle is better for long, sustained reading.

but at that price tag and lugging around yet another device? sorry, but its fucking retarded.

 

[Deeko]

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: Deeko

Originally posted by: pontifex
i don't understand these things. why wouldn't you rather have a laptop or one of those netbooks evem, especially for $360

The point is that e-ink is significantly easier on the eyes than an LCD screen, so the Kindle is better for long, sustained reading.

but at that price tag and lugging around yet another device? sorry, but its fucking retarded.

"lugging around"?

Have you compared the size of the Kindle vs the size of a book? Its thinner than an iPhone! It considerably LESSENS what you have to "lug around".

The price tag is that it is because of the EVDO plan. You aren't going to get lifetime unlimited data access for free, it just ain't gonna happen. Maybe they should release a Kindle-lite that uses wifi instead for a lower price tag - but considering what the Kindle offers, the price tag is justified.

 

[nageov3t]

I love my kindle... it'll never pay for itself, but it saves a ton of room in my apartment. I go through books pretty quickly and hate throwing them out in case I want to reread them someday.

not to mention the convenience of not having to take multiple books with me when going on vacation or on the road.

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: Deeko

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: Deeko

Originally posted by: pontifex
i don't understand these things. why wouldn't you rather have a laptop or one of those netbooks evem, especially for $360

The point is that e-ink is significantly easier on the eyes than an LCD screen, so the Kindle is better for long, sustained reading.

but at that price tag and lugging around yet another device? sorry, but its fucking retarded.

"lugging around"?

Have you compared the size of the Kindle vs the size of a book? Its thinner than an iPhone! It considerably LESSENS what you have to "lug around".

The price tag is that it is because of the EVDO plan. You aren't going to get lifetime unlimited data access for free, it just ain't gonna happen. Maybe they should release a Kindle-lite that uses wifi instead for a lower price tag - but considering what the Kindle offers, the price tag is justified.

well to me, it's a worthless, expensive piece of junk that i will never own.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: thomsbrain
The whole POINT of e-ink is that you don't need backlighting, which is extremely tiring on the eyes. Even the first Kindle is as easy to read as a newspaper, which is a good thing.

The point I'm trying to make here is, why not improve on the standard? I can't read my books in the dark. Now I have an E-Ink screen and - surprise - I still can't read my books in the dark! I bought a Kindle 1.0 when they first came out, and it seems like such an obvious thing to leave out...I mean, it's 2009, why not add a light switch? lol. I was thinking something like on a dSLR's grayscale screen...my Nikon D70s has a grayscale screen similar to E-Ink (well, closer to the calculator screens, forget what those are called, LCD as well?), and it has a button you can push that activates a light so that you can read it in the dark and at night. VERY handy. So we have these great E-Ink screens...but you still can't read in the dark.

Just strikes me as a tad silly

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: loki8481
I love my kindle... it'll never pay for itself, but it saves a ton of room in my apartment. I go through books pretty quickly and hate throwing them out in case I want to reread them someday.

not to mention the convenience of not having to take multiple books with me when going on vacation or on the road.

To me, that is the entire definition of the device in one word: convenience. You have your movies on your Xbox, your music on your iPod, your photos on your computer...now you have your books on a Kindle. My living room is so clean all the time, it's not even funny

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: Deeko

Originally posted by: pontifex
i don't understand these things. why wouldn't you rather have a laptop or one of those netbooks evem, especially for $360

The point is that e-ink is significantly easier on the eyes than an LCD screen, so the Kindle is better for long, sustained reading.

but at that price tag and lugging around yet another device? sorry, but its retarded.

Like Deeko said, the entire point is the E-Ink screen. It's like reading on paper, vs. on a computer screen. Much easier on your eyes. If you're a big reader and are willing to pay for the convenience of it, then it's a fabulous device. But you have 28,000 posts on Anandtech, which says you're a computer guy, which probably means that you get most of your news from Engadget, Gizmodo, etc. - you do your reading online, so this device may not make that much sense for your particular situation.

If I could "lug" one of these around (it's thinner than a pencil) instead of my 8" of textbooks I have to take 4 days a week, I'd do it in a heartbeat!

 

[blurredvision]

I would LOVE to have a Kindle 2. I really need to start reading more anyway. But $359 is way too expensive. I could probably talk myself into it at $250, though.

 

[ShotgunSteven]

Originally posted by: loki8481
I love my kindle... it'll never pay for itself, but it saves a ton of room in my apartment. I go through books pretty quickly and hate throwing them out in case I want to reread them someday.

not to mention the convenience of not having to take multiple books with me when going on vacation or on the road.

Throw them out? Why not donate them to a literacy program, the Salvation Army, Good Will, or take them to a used book store? What kind of moron throws a book out after reading it?