Funny new commercial

[pendragginp]

I think people need to lighten up.

[LuBiB]

Originally Posted by Kris777

It reminds me Apple iPad eReader iBooks Demo vs. jetBook video:

[/QUOTE]

i remember this video! it was listed virtually the same day the ipad came out and everyone was talking about how great of an ereader it was.....ummmmm i tried it, its not, you cant read books on a backlit screen as your eyes start to hurt soooooooo bad!

[etienne66]

At least the more recent Kindle commercials show the screen and give you some idea of what you are getting. The previous set of commercials seemed to be making more of an artistic statement. Plus they should be making a big deal about the batter life, the ability to read anywhere you have light and how much it does look like the page of a book while being lighter than a lot of hardback books.

Personally, I like the Kindle and the ability to order and have books delivered directly to the reader without a computer involved.

I prefer the epub format because it supports more typography settings like being able to wrap text around a picture and multilevel table of contents. Epub has a way to go like standardized dictionary support and support for oriental languages. Mobipocket appears to be loosely based on epub so I don't know why they don't just embrace epub and wrap their own DRM around it like Apple has. No I don't really care to have a 3rd DRM for epub, but seeing as they won't just let it go at this point, I'll take what I can get.

I also like the ability to use a touchscreen to select word(s) on the screen to look up in the dictionary or to make notes with. I don't really draw, but this is a lot faster way to look up something up than using that 5 way cursor.

All that being said, I think the Kindle is excellent for those who just want to read books, don't care to look up words in the dictionary very often and read books with either no artwork or very little. Plus I have to admit I normally see better prices on Amazon for books that aren't under that abhorrent agency model.

Etienne66

[LDBoblo]

Originally Posted by LuBiB

i remember this video! it was listed virtually the same day the ipad came out and everyone was talking about how great of an ereader it was.....ummmmm i tried it, its not, I cant read books on a backlit screen as my eyes start to hurt soooooooo bad!

Fixed it for ya.

I feel sorry for you folks who can't read on a good backlit screen. You're really missing out.

[EricLandes]

Originally Posted by Maggie Leung

The Kindle connection is painfully slow. I tried it when I got my K2 about 20 months ago and never used it again. It's fine if you have nothing else, but that's a low bar.

I tried checking in for a flight and it didn't work at all. What a joke.

You can't take lessons learned from the K2 browsing experience and apply them to the K3. They completely redid the browser in the new software. It's now webkit-based, and MUCH more robust and faster. Plus, since the K3 uses a wifi connection if available, you're not limited to an overloaded AT&T 3G connection.

[jaxx6166]

I came to this thread late. That said, I love the commercial.

It's funny because it's true. I was out at the pool a while ago with my nook and my cellphone. It was around 2:00 in the hot florida sun. I got a phone call, couldn't see who it was that was calling me, nor could I find the touch sensors to unlock the phone to answer. The sun turned my phone into a black screen of nothing. I could still read on my nook though...I just couldn't switch books because I couldn't see the screen

Also had the same problem while trying to play a game on my iPad while waiting for my oil change. Damn sun.

[astra]

Amazing!
Well done Kindle.

[astra]

Originally Posted by mrscoach

And then Amazon shows her turning on her new lighted cover and saying "Great." Then his iPad flickers and dies "Oh, did your battery die already?"

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by etienne66

At least the more recent Kindle commercials show the screen and give you some idea of what you are getting. The previous set of commercials seemed to be making more of an artistic statement. Plus they should be making a big deal about the batter life, the ability to read anywhere you have light and how much it does look like the page of a book while being lighter than a lot of hardback books.

Not necessarily.
There are different (successful) approaches to advertising *campaigns*.
It all depends on who the target audience is and the intended effect. The Kindle ads until now have taken a soft-sell approach, nonintrussive and non-threatening; kinda like a butler waiting for your attention...
...to tell you the house is on fire.
The idea was to let people know there was such a thing as a Kindle and that it was used for reading. And that Amazon makes it. They were not intended to sell Kindle on the spot but rather to draw people to the website to investigate. And *there* you find out the techie details.

The new ad is in the same vein; it tells you you can use it to read outdoors when LCD screens are washed out and that it costs less than a pair of quality sunnglasses. How much less? What else does it do? Well, it says Amazon... Time to hit the web...

Same approach: these are not ginzu knife ads trying to sell you the product in 30 seconds--they're attention grabbers designed to steer traffic to the Kindle website. Which is, after all, the Kindle storefront.

Before people can buy into something, they have to know it exists. And ebook readers are new enough that many have heard of Kindle but have only vague notions of what it is, what it does, what it costs. Instead of a hard sell: "Pick up that phone right now!" they've been going soft and cuddly. And now a bit less soft with a bit more humor. They got *us* talking about the ad; if they get non-techies to even notice it, they're ahead of the game.

In a stream of loud, in-your-face ads about cars, tight-fitting jeans, and clueless beer guzzling jerks that all get tuned out instantly, a quiet poolside scene might actually draw more attention than a three ring circus. Think of it as counterprogramming.

I'm thinking those folks know what they're up to. How well it works, we'll know soon enough. (If you start hearing the catch-phrase all over, for example...)

[Graham]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

The new ad is in the same vein; it tells you you can use it to read outdoors when LCD screens are washed out and that it costs less than a pair of quality sunnglasses. How much less? What else does it do? Well, it says Amazon... Time to hit the web...

It also says that it's much lighter than a tablet. Note how she always holds her Kindle in one hand, while he uses two hands to hold the tablet.

Graham

[thymaster]

It also features a sexy looking woman using a Kindle to show that you don't have to be a nerd or tech savvy guy to own a Kindle.

[JeremyR]

I saw this a few days ago and was pretty much "meh" (though I didn't like the sunglasses comment, seemed to imply that $140 is a throwaway amount of money, which to me at least, it isn't. Not to a lot of people in this economy, it isn't)

But since then, experiencing my problems with the extremely slow page turns in direct sunlight, and Amazon CS not acknowledging the issue at all, well, I'm downright angry.

They base a whole advertising campaign around a feature that apparently doesn't work for a number of people, and what's worse, they can't be bothered to try to fix it for people who have the problem (at least not me).

[Maggie Leung]

Originally Posted by EricLandes

Plus, since the K3 uses a wifi connection if available, you're not limited to an overloaded AT&T 3G connection.

I'm not in the U.S. I'm overseas and paying about 20 bucks USD for unlimited data that's plenty quick. There's also loads of wi-fi here, should I need. iPads have wi-fi only, if you don't want to pay for a connection. Both of mine have wi-fi and 3G, though. Love the convenience.

I have my Kindle 2 U.S. here, but rarely use it. I don't wanna bother with USB to download books.

Love Amazon and Kindle books, though. English-language books are expensive here, and I can get 'em in Kindle form for about half-price vs. print versions.