My Amazon Kindle review....finally!

[sparkchaser]

I quickly checked and found:

110 Medical References (lots of the "standard" texts")

A few hundred Engineering References (I see they have Standard Handbook for Electrical Engineers. Nice! But it's $137. Yikes!)

No National Electric Code but I expect the next version should be there.

Overall, looks like they have a good enough selection of technical references to make health workers, coders, and engineers happy.

The idea of getting newspapers on the Kindle does greatly interest me.

Perhaps I am warming to the idea of the Kindle?

[ewomack]

Over time I'm guessing that more and more publishers will go electronic because the cost savings are just too intense to ignore. Analogous to businesses migrating to the web, it seems inevitable. If this means more and more titles become available and publishing opens up to more "risky" ventures, that could provide a mini-renaissance for literature and reading in general. I hope that happens. Regardless, within the next 10 years, depending upon the price of paper and printing, we may no longer have a choice for traditional books without paying a hefty premium for them. The market giveth and the market taketh away.

In the meantime, $400 for a Kindle just makes my wallet ache.

[beer good]

Originally Posted by ewomack

Over time I'm guessing that more and more publishers will go electronic because the cost savings are just too intense to ignore. Analogous to businesses migrating to the web, it seems inevitable.

Maybe, but only if there's a market for it. If their customers don't want to buy the product, it doesn't matter how cheap it is to produce. And for it to be a complete medium shift - in other words, have e-books take over traditional books more or less completely, the way CDs did to LPs - we would have to be talking about a pretty large majority of the customers, not just 51% of them. Remember New Coke?

Then again, the big companies do have a way of getting us to go along with things, don't they?

[sparkchaser]

I wonder what the EULA says when you buy a book. Do you own the book for the lifetime of the product or do you own it as long as Amazon sells ebooks?

[Robert]

The product is good enough to be sold out.

Don't forget that that thing reads other document formats as well.

Borders store has a similar unit from sony for $300, but I gather it requires the internet to download books and (I'm guessing here) there appears to be more books available for Kindle.

You would get the $400 back sooner or later from the cost savings of ebooks over paper. If you only saved $5 per book then you break even at about 80 books.

[beer good]

Originally Posted by Robert

The product is good enough to be sold out.

And again I ask, has anyone seen any actual sales figures? As in, how many of the things have actually been sold? The latest Ferrari is usually sold out too; that doesn't mean everyone is interested in buying one.

You would get the $400 back sooner or later from the cost savings of ebooks over paper. If you only saved $5 per book then you break even at about 80 books.

The standard price seems to be about $10. In other words, the same you pay for a paperback. And of course, those $400 conveniently force you to buy from nobody but Amazon.

[Isabell]

Originally Posted by beer good

And of course, those $400 conveniently force you to buy from nobody but Amazon.

I believe, soon enough, you'll be able to download/buy books from other sources outside of Amazon. The Kindle accepts not only the format it designed, but mobipocket too.

There is a site that I downloaded free books from for my Kindle already. Probably about $200 worth of classics.

[sparkchaser]

That's good to know.

[Robert]

Originally Posted by beer good

And again I ask, has anyone seen any actual sales figures? As in, how many of the things have actually been sold? The latest Ferrari is usually sold out too; that doesn't mean everyone is interested in buying one.


The standard price seems to be about $10. In other words, the same you pay for a paperback. And of course, those $400 conveniently force you to buy from nobody but Amazon.

As far as I know, Amazon hasn't released the actual figures.

Prices do go down after time. The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett is now only $6.39.

Project Gutenberg offers free electronic copies of many classics.

The public library has electronic resources now as well.

[angerball]

Good review. The thing that puts me off most is the price. Also, I already have a Palm TX for reading ebooks. I own quite a few, but I've only actually read one on my TX. :o I didn't find it too bad, but I definitely prefer paper versions.

[The waveguide]

Originally Posted by Stewart

I would never buy one either. The only reason I would want one is if I was a professional in some capacity (programmer, doctor, lawyer, etc.) and wanted reference material to hand.

I am a professional (programmer, doctor, lawyer, etc.). When I need my literature, I open my laptop where I store many electronic articles / books and other necessay for my work literature.

And, because I am a professional, I NEVER buy a device with a DRM. Actually, I think that it is a pure consumer irresponsibility (even worse - it is IGNORANCE!!!) to completely give up over that DRM issue! People, what are you doing to yourself?!

(people might wonder that I anyway sell my soul to a satan if use Windows in my aforementioned laptop, known for its spies - ha- ha-ha, no, I am a Debian Linux user. It's spy-free! and FREE SOFTWARE as the SOFTWARE should be.)

The future of reading: a DRM critique <--- link to an article

[sparkchaser]

I'll agree DRM is the work of the devil. All DRM does is give crackers something to do.

[Wells83]

I got my Kindle today in the mail and am obsessed with it thus far. My parents sent it to me as a birthday gift (they are so wonderful) and I've been looking forward to it for months.

When I first posted in this thread in March, I was worried that I wouldn't be able to transition from an actual book to the Kindle but I read it all afternoon with no issues. It's definitely a lot more lightweight, which was one reason it appealed to me--easier to read in bed! It's obviously more portable as well--I have to have a book with me at all times, so this will spare some backache.

I do not at all plan on using my Kindle exclusively, but it's especially nice for traveling.

[Occlith]

The current price of the Kindle is listed at $359.00 with free shipping. For those who are interested, how low does the price have to be before you will buy?

[Isabell]

Originally Posted by Occlith

The current price of the Kindle is listed at $359.00 with free shipping. For those who are interested, how low does the price have to be before you will buy?

Sparky is waiting for his sugar mamma to buy him one