I don't have a Kindle yet, but based on the demo video and reading Amazon's web page here are a few of my reactions and guesses:
- The fee for getting "free" Internet content like blogs and the NY Times is meant to cover two things: the cost of wireless delivery via EVDO, and the cost of converting the NY Times to the Kindle page size. I think basically you're paying for convenience.
- If publishers haven't signed exclusivity deals, it's likely that the ebooks they're making available in Kindle format via Amazon will also show up in Mobipocket format elsewhere. Once Amazon makes publishers create e-books, the publishers will want to sell them everywhere, which will be good news for other e-reader users in general.
- A quick price comparison: Amazon and Mobipocket offer the same selection of books by Neal Stephenson. However, the Kindle books run $1-$4 cheaper than Mobipocket.
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Originally Posted by mdibella
I'm not sure why they insisted in putting that large keyboard on it. Yes, I know there are features that use the keyboard, but I for one carry an EBook reader in order to read ebooks. My Sony reader is nicely sized for that purpose. I am concerned that the keyboard will interfere with comfortable reading.
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I think the keyboard is there to make it really easy to get new books. IMHO it's a lot better than the iLiad's on-screen keyboard, which is slow and hard to use. I think you'll be surprised by how totally slick the Kindle is. I agree the form factor could be sleeker, though.
- I think that the fast-response side selection bar (watch the video to see it) is brilliant, as it makes the UI experience quick and easy. Combined with the keyboard and EVDO content delivery, it makes the Kindle a vast improvement in usability over any other reader.
- Formats and USB: From this page, you CAN download from Amazon and upload from your computer using a USB cable. In addition to Kindle format, the Kindle will open .mobi, .prc, and .txt files, as well as mp3 and Audible (aa) files.
- My big question: will the Kindle at some point support PDF files?
I think the Kindle will be the first killer app of e-books. They've worked around every limitation of e-ink and made it really easy to use. iRex and Sony are going to have to step up fast to match this. As a devoted iLiad owner, I have to say that the Kindle blows it out of the water for convenience and ease of use. Everything iLiad owners have wanted for a while (dictionary, bookmarking, etc.) the Kindle does out of the box.
Very nice work by Amazon. They can fix the form factor in version 2 next year.
