KINDLE: AMAZON’S NEW WIRELESS READING DEVICE
Shipping today is the brand-spanking-new e-book reader ‘Kindle’ from Amazon: predicted by some to grow the electronic-print media industry in the same way the proliferation of Apple’s iPod has done for music and portable audio/video. Amazon hopes it can achieve this by integrating unique hardware with a special online service, ala iTunes Store + iPod.
Central to this integration is the device’s built-in internet access and a special section of Amazon’s online store dedicated to digital publications. Instead of using short-range Wi-Fi, the Kindle taps into US mobile carrier Sprint’s much larger 3G mobile network and uses this primarily to load its content on to the device: although it has an SD card slot and a USB cable, Amazon expects most users to download their reading material online, regardless of where they may be.
Titled ‘Whispernet’, the Amazon’s internet access (via Sprint) is completely free to use: owners are only charged for what they buy, not for the bandwidth used. Costs range from USD$1.49 per month for popular magazines such as Time to USD$10 for a typical book and USD$14.99 for a subscription to an international paper such as Frankfurter Allgemeine.
The price entry point of USD$399 may be a large barrier for a consumer stampede of iPod proportions and historical trends don’t look so favourable: ten years ago Apple tried (and failed spectacularly) to launch their e-book reader ‘Apple Newton’.
Will the integrated e-book store service make the difference?
Further Reading: Official Amazon Kindle Site
2 Comments
Anderson said: (on November 22nd, 2007 at 9:07 am)
Damn! I had that idea when I was 11. Oh well, it’s about time I guess.
Alice said: (on November 22nd, 2007 at 9:51 am)
The potential success of Kindle has been questioned in a review I just found on PSFK…..
“There’s been a lot of buzz about it but we’re far from convinced on this one. Here’s ten reasons why we think Kindle is going to have a hard time making an impact:
* It tries to charge $9.99 for digital content which as we know is going to be a difficult business to be in. You can charge for live content, fine – a book is live content, you hold it and turn its pages and experience it live, a ebook reader is not live content, just a window.
* Appalling design. No, let’s just say it’s horrible.
* Nausea. Have you ever tired to read a screen in a taxi or train?
* Not Open Sourced. Another device that can’t be hacked, modified or made my own. A critical issue.
* Doesn’t access Google Docs or 37 Signals. Does the target market really use Word that much these days?
* Once you have an iPhone or any phone with podcasts and audiobooks, do you really need an e-book for being on the go? What sort of evolution does this represent?
* $399
* Even less control for the user: Amazon’s selection of RSSes not yours. And: Top international newspapers from France, Germany, and Ireland; Le Monde, Frankfurter Allgemeine, and The Irish Times. Is that it?
* It’s Black & White!
* It’s got a keyboard!!
* Another thing that uses electricity. What was wrong with books and sunlight?
And bonus:
* You’re going to look a right wally taking that out on the 7.45am Brighton to London.”