Quote:
Originally Posted by harryE123
I am sorry but this is marketing speak. "The activity of reading" and "the people themselves". I won't go into "people themselves" because this is imho a vapid comment.
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Vapid?
You don't think the reading can be a social activity?
Amazon has talked of implementing reading circles within their Walled garden; what do you think would happen if they did? A Facebook/XBL-like system where you can draw up a list of friends witth Kindles and see what they are reading and get highlights, commentary and quotes straight in the Kindle?
The activity of reading is more than locking yourself in a room to read; tis a lonely person who doesn't have friends to discuss their books with.
More importantly, the point about Kindle that annoys so many is that they're focused on the full reading activity; from *buying* to analyzing and commenting, after the fact.
Kindle is not a reader alone, it is a reading *environment*.
(That is what the reader apps for PC, Mac, smartphone, etc are all about.)
And Amazon has made it clear they are more interested in evolving the environment than the device.
Us hobbyists may be interested in the nuts-n-bolts of the hardware but so far the people are voting with their wallets for Amazon's approach.
Note that Overdrive is doing reader apps to extend their library ebook program, instead of relying on deals with hardware vendors. Note that B&N has done both. And even vaunted Sony, the darling of the hardware-only fans is doing apps.
Like it or not, the industry is following Amazon's lead in evolving the reading environment instead of the hardware.