The Internet is ablaze with viewpoints on the Kindle, the "wireless reading device" that Amazon.Com unveiled this week. Here is but a sample of the firestorm unleashed by just a little Kindle-ing...Let's Hope Kindle Is Only Chapter One
Electronic Books: If It Ain’t Broke . . .
Amazon's Kindle vs. Sony's Reader
Spindle the Kindle
The book is dead
Eight Opinions on Amazon’s Kindle E-Book Reader
The Amazon Kindle and paid content
Review: Amazon reader needs more juice
My 2 cents: I don't own a Kindle and have never held one in my hands, but in theory this is the kind of radical innovation that Masters of Printing Mechanisms like newspapers have given lip service to, but have thus far been too timid to try. The Kindle might be a black-and-white elephant, but at least it is a noble attempt to radically re-platform existing and emerging mediums. There are a variety of possibilities. I wonder if Amazon will allow all blogs to play?However, I'll probably wait for Kindle 2.0 so i can read the USA Today in color. I like the idea of a lightweight, portable, easy to read gizmo that can store my favorite books, magazines and newspapers. Plus, as it is wireless, newspaper updates could make the Kindle as current as wireless access is available and as competent Web masters are prevalent.
I have an open mind, but at this stage, from a distance, the Kindle seems to fail the intuitive test for anything other than the printed word. And the content choices seem too limited. Some augmentation for other wireless activities (maybe e-mail access or digital music feeds) might make the Kindle more versatile and inviting.
The irony of using a cool video platform on Amazon.Com to introduce the Kindle which cannot utilize video seems rather ironic. On the other hand, I do like the idea of e-ink...
More later,
Mark
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