Amazon Kindle (ebook thingy)

but when i fall asleep reading and the book inevitably falls off/behind the bed, i would be pretty mad if that book cost $200

I'd love to get one but the $400 is pretty steep.

I thought last night about all the Library of America editions I could line a shelf with using the same $400.

I'd rather add another $100 and get every Dalkey Archive book ever.

only possible appeal of this (or any equivalent) is not having to lift boxes and boxes of books when moving
I'm paying my movers way less than this costs.

http://diveintomark.org/archives/2007/11/19/the-future-of-reading

Oh, I guess you only get 100 books from them for that price nowadays.

i would miss different-sized books and cover art and the like

It's interesting - my co-worker and I both worked at ReplayTV together back at the beginning of the PVR, and he pointed out how similar the two products are in some ways:

Both products are/were not available in retail stores, so nobody could really try them out before buying.

Both products were greeted with similar "why would I need this?" reactions from many people. For ReplayTV, he remembered how people said stuff like "I already HAVE a VCR that I never use - why would I want this thing?"

And on the good side, most people who used ReplayTV (or TiVo, or other PVR) for a while couldn't imagine life without one after using it.

Time will tell if the Kindle has a similar effect on customers (and, to be fair, ReplayTV did not end up being very successful, although the PVR has become almost ubiquitous), but it faces some of the same challenges.

schwantz, did you work at lab126 in the a9 office on hamilton? i was there for a while. congrats on the launch.

so every book ever is available for this thing ?

I'm still a bit underawed by the grey lcd looking screen, is it even back lit?

this is a pda with less functionality

it looks nasty, and it sounds like a disaster from the planning 'how do we DRM it' PoV

I don't think the reaction has been so much "why would I need this" but "I'd like this, but not a DRM-crippled $10-a-pop no-hyphenating 1980s-looking one". Sorry to rag on yr work though, congrats on shipping.

Kindle Availability
Due to heavy customer demand, Kindle is temporarily sold out. Because we ship Kindles on a first-come, first-served basis, please ORDER NOW to reserve your place in line. See availability messaging above for estimated in-stock date.

ORDER NOW ORDER NOW ORDER NOW ORDER NOW ORDER NOW ORDER NOW ORDER NOW ORDER NOW ORDER NOW ORDER NOW ORDER NOW ORDER NOW ORDER NOW ORDER NOW ORDER NOW ORDER NOW ORDER NOW ORDER NOW ORDER NOW ORDER NOW ORDER NOW ORDER NOW ORDER NOW ORDER NOW ORDER NOW ORDER NOW ORDER NOW ORDER NOW

(much as i like Caecila)

Caecilia

I'm still a bit underawed by the grey lcd looking screen, is it even back lit?

It's electronic paper! No backlight necessary.

(regardless of the look and functionality of the rest of the device I think that's a huge UI win)

Anyone who compares to the iPod is a retard.

When iPods came out, you could immediately fill them with content you'd already purchased or stolen. With Kindle, I have to...re-buy all my books if I want to read them on the kindle? That's a massive barrier to entry given the cost of a Kindle.

The Kindle is beyond ugly. I want something more cuddly to take to bed or the shitter when I read. And I want color. If having paper-like display screens is so great, then why don't we have them on our computers?

I'm waiting for tablet Mac.

If having paper-like display screens is so great, then why don't we have them on our computers?

New technology, black and white only... so far. But it'll happen.

i'd quite like to see this screen to see how it's different.. is it just thinner?

I've seen a Motorola F3, and it did make me go "woah!". I thought it was a fake at first, the screen looked just like some paper or card that someone had drawn on. That only has a 7-segment type display, don't know what the resolution on the Kindle is like.

the e-paper on the kindle will be fine. i've seen other hardware with the same and it's nice. will be good for novels and a lot of straight text books. the stuff around it (hardware feel, 'product model') on the kindle seems like a giant fail though.

ledge, that was my phone up until about a week ago. It was pretty groovy, although text messaging got to be a pain.

One last shill post: Computerworld article

Can I just say that the frickin' name is possibly the goofiest thing about this?

otm. I keep thiking there is something related to this guy
http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/F/htmlF/fugitivethe/fugitiveIMAGE/fugitivethe.jpg

Or these two, although it's even more of a stretch:
http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/4/48/250px-KendallsGtHits.jpg

Would you use twigs or newspaper as kindle to light a bunch of these on fire?

"Kindle! We'll Turn Paper Books Into Kindling"

I think the wii has shown a goofy name is fine

So why no landscape mode for the screen? FAIL

http://db.tidbits.com/article/9329

http://blog.seattletimes.nwsource.com/techtracks/archives/2007/11/the_kindle_a_reviewers_first_impressions_1.html

Congrats to Schwantz on a big launch and a great concept, but based on photos & early reviews I'm leaning towards "Omar Little OTM." As much as I'd love an iPod for Books, not sure this is my thing.

But I'll definitely check back around 5th/6th Gen. Look where it got Apple.

Http/1.1 Service Unavailable

still sucks then

Congrats to Schwantz on a big launch and a great concept

spot the deliberate mistake(s)

I have actually seen three of these on the train. they look like medical apparati for the visually impaired.

Congrats to Schwantz on a big launch and a great concept

spot the deliberate mistake(s)

-- DG, Friday, 6 June 2008 19:06 (Yesterday) Link

Spot the continuing-to-troll douche.

Medical apparatopotamuses.

Congrats to Schwantz on a big launch and a great concept
spot the deliberate mistake(s)

The capitalization of the "s" at the start of his name?

"This is the future of book reading. It will be everywhere." Michael Lewis, author of Moneyball and Liar's Poker.
"This is the future of book reading. It will be everywhere." Michael Lewis, author of Moneyball and Liar's Poker.
"This is the future of book reading. It will be everywhere." Michael Lewis, author of Moneyball and Liar's Poker.
"This is the future of book reading. It will be everywhere." Michael Lewis, author of Moneyball and Liar's Poker.
"This is the future of book reading. It will be everywhere." Michael Lewis, author of Moneyball and Liar's Poker.
"This is the future of book reading. It will be everywhere." Michael Lewis, author of Moneyball and Liar's Poker.
"This is the future of book reading. It will be everywhere." Michael Lewis, author of Moneyball and Liar's Poker.
"This is the future of book reading. It will be everywhere." Michael Lewis, author of Moneyball and Liar's Poker.
"This is the future of book reading. It will be everywhere." Michael Lewis, author of Moneyball and Liar's Poker.
"This is the future of book reading. It will be everywhere." Michael Lewis, author of Moneyball and Liar's Poker.
"This is the future of book reading. It will be everywhere." Michael Lewis, author of Moneyball and Liar's Poker.
"This is the future of book reading. It will be everywhere." Michael Lewis, author of Moneyball and Liar's Poker.
"This is the future of book reading. It will be everywhere." Michael Lewis, author of Moneyball and Liar's Poker.
"This is the future of book reading. It will be everywhere." Michael Lewis, author of Moneyball and Liar's Poker.
"This is the future of book reading. It will be everywhere." Michael Lewis, author of Moneyball and Liar's Poker.
"This is the future of book reading. It will be everywhere." Michael Lewis, author of Moneyball and Liar's Poker.
"This is the future of book reading. It will be everywhere." Michael Lewis, author of Moneyball and Liar's Poker.
"This is the future of book reading. It will be everywhere." Michael Lewis, author of Moneyball and Liar's Poker.
"This is the future of book reading. It will be everywhere." Michael Lewis, author of Moneyball and Liar's Poker.
"This is the future of book reading. It will be everywhere." Michael Lewis, author of Moneyball and Liar's Poker.

...

there's a thing in this month's esquire about how totally awesome and revolutionary the kindle is

if they add wireless connectivity to other users they make it the zune for the aspie bookworm set!

i think you'd be better off comparing this to a segway or something if you really want to take it down a notch!!!!!!!! do it

both are bulky as fuck

i know the kindle kind of needs to be but damn

it does contian every book.

It's just so much easier to kindle in bed

I bought one of these and it’s made it much easier to read a paper book in bed or in other low-lit places - they’re terrific. Kindle use has gone down considerably. Almost every book light I’ve ever bought has been a piece of crap, but these are really, really good.

https://glocusent.com/products/glocusent-bookmark-style-best-book-reading-light

Great for bedtime reading with kids too