Comments on: Can the Kindle Do For eBooks What iPods Have Done For Music?

By: Jerry

Jerry — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 23:15:15 +0000

I really do appreciate what the Kindle brings to the table, just as I appreciate the fact that you can store so much music on an ipod, but for me, I prefer “dead tree” books, and still listen to much of my music on vinyl. It is an aesthetic choice, nothing beats the feel or smell of an old book, and I loooove the imperfections that records have, making each album unique.

I do not own an iPod, though I should get one for excercising and the like, and I have no problems with the idea behind a Kindle, I think it is cool, but I would die happily under a stack of books.

My .02 cents.

By: Alison Barclay

Alison Barclay — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 13:29:41 +0000

I believe that with eReader for iPhone and iPod touch, it might turn out to be the iPhone that does for eBooks what iPods have done for digital music. I haven’t read an ebook for quite a while as my most recent phones have had smaller screens than my old Palm OS and Windows Mobile PDAs, but reading a book on my iPod touch is really nice and hopefully this will introduce a whole bunch of new people to the experience!

By: abhi

abhi — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 12:33:17 +0000

hi josh - please let me know if this is the wrong place to post this -
i run an amazon kindle blog theKindle.wordpress.com and viewership has been climbing steadily and I’m actually launching a social network for kindle owners and book lovers.
We’re in pre-Alpha right now with the Alpha Release on 21st July (we’ll also be moving to a more book friendly url).
Would appreciate it if you could join and give some feedback.
More details at http://thekindle.wordpress.com/2008/07/12/social-network-for-kindle-owners-and-book-lovers/ including ‘3 Free Kindles in the first 3 months’ promotion and other information.

By: Jmartens

Jmartens — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 04:46:32 +0000

yes, the Kindle will do for eBooks what the iPod did for digital music.

Jobs may be correct that ‘lots of people don’t like to read’ but I’d guess that number is smaller than the amount of people that don’t like to listen to purchased music.

In other words…i’d say more people read books than listen to purchased music! I’m one…

By: Josh Bancroft

Josh Bancroft — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 23:49:37 +0000

@asiriusgeek - Multifunction devices, like a Tablet PC or the little Eee PC get lots of comparisons to the Kindle, but here’s where I think they fall down: The Electronic Ink screen on the Kindle is WAY higher contrast and DPI - text is much, much crisper. Plus the screen is not backlit, it has no other real processing duties, no hard drive, etc, and the screen requires no power to maintain an image, so battery life on the Kindle is measured in days, not hours like Tablet PCs and netbooks. Plus the Kindle is a LOT smaller and lighter than those other options. Add on top of that the fact that you can only access Amazon’s library of Kindle books from a Kindle, and to me, the Kindle is a clear winner for reading purposes (and believe me, I’ve used everything from a Tablet PC to a desktop to a PDA to a phone for reading ebooks).

@Brent - this WOULD make a good discussion on the podcast. Brian is out this week and next, though, and then I’m at OSCON. Want to be a guest on the show with me? Seriously, what are you doing on Friday? Got a few minutes to chat?

By: Brent Logan

Brent Logan — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 16:30:05 +0000

This is a great topic! You need to continue the discussion on your next podcast.

I think that digital music media have driven down the price consumers are willing to pay for music (to the point that many are just stealing the music). Imaginative artists continue to make money by offering their music as “donation ware” (pay what it’s worth to you) or using their recorded music as a marketing throwaway to get audiences to their live performances, where they make their real money.

I see some of the same forces at work with digital book media. People seem less willing to pay for bits as they are for atoms. As a result, e-books are priced less than physical books. Are books as likely to be pirated? And if they are, will they actually decrease the number sold? Authors don’t have the fallback of live performances to make their money like musicians do.

By: asiriusgeek

asiriusgeek — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 15:26:57 +0000

I find the Kindle attractive in some ways, but keep coming back to thinking I would prefer a more multifunction device. I’m reluctant to have to carry around yet one more piece of equipment. If my Tablet PC were a bit smaller (or I could afford the smaller Fujitsu), that would make more sense. I wish the licensing would get easier around this. I would love to see Ebooks become a lot more widespread/available, so I guess I’m rooting for that possibility more than this particular device.

By: Kindleville

Kindleville — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 +0000

Gadget Review: Amazon’s Kindle - Jul 13, 2008 Flash Review: Amazon Kindle - Jul 13, 2008Comment on Can the Kindle Do For eBooks What iPods Have Done For … - Jul 13, 2008 Comment on Kindle is fun but sucks for scholars by Blog Kindle … - Jul 13, 2008 Interesting items about using a Kindle in a Borders Bookstore - Jul 13, 2008