[emellaich]

I'm amazed how much attention my Kindle2 is getting these days. I carry it everywhere since I read quite a bit.

Increasingly, over the last many months (I've had a K2 since they were released) people have asked me about my k2 because they were interested in buying one.

However, in the last month I've had people stop me and ask if it was an Ipad. When I say it is a Kindle, an electronic book from Amazon, they give me a blank stare and lose interest.

It's interesting to me because in my 'circles' I assume everyone goes to amazon.com frequently enough to have already known what a kindle is. Those of us here on MR would easily recognize the difference between a Kindle, a Nook, and a Sony Reader and would never mistake them for an iPad.

It does go to demonstrate the difference between a truly mass-market and a somewhat specialized one. Obviously, these folks have never seen an iPad if they can mistake it for a K2. However the iPad name/concept is something that has entered the consciousness of the greater world, while it seems that the Kindle is still limited in its scope. I know the Kindle is old news to those of us on this forum, but definitely not to the world as a whole.

Finally, at the risk of sounding elitist, I feel like I am beginning to see a 'type' in these iPad-curious folks. As I see them turned off by my 'book', my reaction is a bit funny. Perhaps its in indignation over the implicit rejection of my wonderful Kindle? Anyway, I can see that, of course, this is the type of person who wouldn't be caught dead actually reading a book and who wouldn't be around Amazon in any form.

MLH

p.s. Part of my amazement about their lack of exposure to the Kindle is that you can't visit Amazon without seeing the Kindle, and I can't imagine going long without visiting Amazon. Even if I'm not buying stuff there, I use it as research on customer ratings and prices for everything.