Amazon releases Kindle, a new wireless electronic book reader
Image: Amazon
The blogosphere is buzzing about Amazon’s new Kindle device, a new kind of WiFi electronic book-reader. Instead of earlier eBook devices, its screen depicts reading material that looks like the printed page. Unlike Palm devices, there is no need to sync with a host computer. New material can be purchased and downloaded in under a minute, and many books cost around $10. The site claims that it is lighter in weight than many books.
To quote Amazon’s Kindle information page, here are some of the features:
- Revolutionary electronic-paper display provides a sharp, high-resolution screen that looks and reads like real paper.
- Simple to use: no computer, no cables, no syncing.
- Wireless connectivity enables you to shop the Kindle Store directly from your Kindle—whether you’re in the back of a taxi, at the airport, or in bed.
- Buy a book and it is auto-delivered wirelessly in less than one minute.
- More than 88,000 books available, including 100 of 112 current New York Times® Best Sellers.
- New York Times® Best Sellers and all New Releases $9.99, unless marked otherwise.
- Free book samples. Download and read first chapters for free before you decide to buy.
- Top U.S. newspapers including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post; top magazines including TIME, Atlantic Monthly, and Forbes—all auto-delivered wirelessly.
- Top international newspapers from France, Germany, and Ireland; Le Monde, Frankfurter Allgemeine, and The Irish Times.
- More than 250 top blogs from the worlds of business, technology, sports, entertainment, and politics, including BoingBoing, Slashdot, TechCrunch, ESPN’s Bill Simmons, The Onion, Michelle Malkin, and The Huffington Post.
- Lighter and thinner than a typical paperback; weighs only 10.3 ounces.
- Holds over 200 titles.
- Long battery life. Leave wireless on and recharge approximately every other day. Turn wireless off and read for a week or more before recharging. Fully recharges in 2 hours.
- Unlike WiFi, Kindle utilizes the same high-speed data network (EVDO) as advanced cell phones—so you never have to locate a hotspot.
- No monthly wireless bills, service plans, or commitments—we take care of the wireless delivery so you can simply click, buy, and read.
- Includes free wireless access to the planet’s most exhaustive and up-to-date encyclopedia—Wikipedia.org.
- Email your Word documents and pictures (.JPG, .GIF, .BMP, .PNG) to Kindle for easy on-the-go viewing.
It will be interesting to see if this $299 device takes off or goes the way of the Segway (cool idea, but not implemented on a large scale). Oh, and if you happen to read this and work for Amazon, I bet I’m not the only librarian who’d like a chance to take this device for a spin.
Join the Conversation
Has anyone seen this device? Anybody know if Kindle will be on display at Midwinter?
What makes a book a book? Does this device “count”?
December 5th, 2007 at 9:08 am
As much as I love digital gadgets, I just could never get used to curling up with one of these in my hands instead of a book.
December 5th, 2007 at 11:01 pm
Hi, Terrie! (Terrie and I were in grad school together!)
I was just sitting down to write my reply — which is that my gut instinct is that I wasn’t likely to curl up with it either — when I realized that I was curled up bed with my laptop. Maybe I need to give this curling-up-with-Kindle idea another chance … so c’mon, Amazon, how about sending us school library media specialists some to try out at school (or in our cozy beds)?
December 13th, 2009 at 10:04 pm
One of the reasons I love my Kindle so much is that it’s so easy to hold and read while I’m feeding my newborn. She ususally closes her eyes halfway through her bottle and starts to fall asleep. I can hold her bottle in one hand and my Kindle in the other with my thumb on the next page button. There is no sound to wake her up and mommy and baby can both relax together. I just wish I had one 4 years ago when my son was born!