Strange Reactions to Kindle - Page 2

mbovenka · 08-11-2010, 05:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Teyrnon

The strangest reaction I've gotten was when an old acquaintance paid me a visit. She saw it on the table, visibly recoiled from it. After she regained her composure she asked me if I'd let her smash the "evil toy." After that I decided it was time to get her out of my house.

That's odd for sure... Any idea what made her react that way? Reactions like 'but I like books too much' I can understand. I may not share the sentiment, but I get it. But this?

HappyMartin · 08-11-2010, 06:18 AM

Apart from one notable exception all the people that tell me they love books and would never buy a reader manage to read about 2 books a year.

patrickt · 08-11-2010, 08:15 AM

I know a few people, very few, who actually read books. I know one man who seems to collect writings by Noam Chomsky but I don't think he actually reads them.

So, the comments I get are from people who can read but rarely read.

"What did it cost?"
"Why not just buy the book?"
"Why not use an IPad?"
"But, you don't really get the book?"
But the real, unspoken question is, "But, but, why didn't you buy something for me with that money?"

Solicitous · 08-11-2010, 08:46 AM

I recall a conversation I had last year when I got my ereader, it went something like;

Them: What's that?
Me: Its an ereader.
Them: What does it do?
Me: It is an electronic book reader, you load ebooks and read them. Screen looks just like a normal book.
Them: Oh cool, how much did that cost?
Me: About $300.
Them: Can you do anything but read on it?
Me: Nope, purely for reading.
Them: Why would you spend $300 on something you can only read on, you could buy a book for $20.
Me: yep, and it would cost me $1000 for a bookcase to put it on!!

To me that is another great reason for an ereader, sure it costs money for the unit, but if you just bought paperbacks at some time in the future you'd need to buy a new bookcase (ereader works out cheaper and I'm not vain and feel the need to display my literacy collection to the world in the *hope* they think I am smart). Plus, I've run out of walls to put a bookcase against.

Latinandgreek · 08-11-2010, 09:14 AM

I was reading my Sony PRS-505 one day at a coffee shop, and a guy I knew (he was sitting a few tables away and I hadn't noticed him) came up to me and asked me why I was staring at the same page in my journal for over an hour! He was incredibly surprised when showed him the screen and couldn't believe how much it looked like paper.

foreverjuly · 08-11-2010, 09:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cosmo Spring

My favorite reaction is the few seconds of "wait, that's like, the screen?" befuddlement. No, I paid $379 to look at this one greyscale picture of Ralph Waldo Emerson. Yes, that's really the screen.

I've got to imagine that people reacted the same way to cars when they were first invented. So it's a carriage...WITH NO HORSE???? AHHH!! (Brain Explodes)

Quote:

Originally Posted by clintbradford

Can you cite for us any studies that tell me I am harming myself by doing this? Yes, it is mentioned all over the 'Net - but that doesn't necessarily make it true.

I was making a joke. I'm pretty sure you're not harming yourself or lawsuits would be bleeding Apple dry. At the very least, we'll all be living out our final days like Milton did, which would be pretty cool.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Teyrnon

The strangest reaction I've gotten was when an old acquaintance paid me a visit. She saw it on the table, visibly recoiled from it. After she regained her composure she asked me if I'd let her smash the "evil toy." After that I decided it was time to get her out of my house.

This is great! I guess she was an old acquaintance for a reason. You should've told her the spirits in it would escape if she broke it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by patrickt

"What did it cost?"
"Why not just buy the book?"
"Why not use an IPad?"
"But, you don't really get the book?"
But the real, unspoken question is, "But, but, why didn't you buy something for me with that money?"

You know too much. The vans are coming for you. You've got 5 minutes. GO!

TallMomof2 · 08-11-2010, 04:06 PM

I've never had anyone treat my Kindle like an evil device, most people are mildly amused that someone is actually reading.

Roy White · 08-11-2010, 04:21 PM

Smash the evil toy... LOL! The funny thing is, our Grandchildren will almost certainly be reading ebooks of some sort almost exclusively. I think they will look at books made of paper and ink the way we look at turntable record players, or typewriters, or 8 track tape players. A curious antique.

JoeC · 08-11-2010, 04:32 PM

I was out of town last weekend with my iPad and Kindle. On two occasions, while I was reading on the iPad, I had people come up to me and say... "Wow, is that a Kindle?". One time, when I was reading with the Kindle, someone did get it right and describe how they were saving up to get one.

foreverjuly · 08-11-2010, 07:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roy White

Smash the evil toy... LOL! The funny thing is, our Grandchildren will almost certainly be reading ebooks of some sort almost exclusively. I think they will look at books made of paper and ink the way we look at turntable record players, or typewriters, or 8 track tape players. A curious antique.

You're probably right. I just hope we still have trees then!

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeC

I was out of town last weekend with my iPad and Kindle. On two occasions, while I was reading on the iPad, I had people come up to me and say... "Wow, is that a Kindle?"

Haha. I don't think I could resist saying something like: "Why, yes it is! And I love it!"

catsittingstill · 08-11-2010, 08:03 PM

I've had someone ask me what it is, once or twice. I've had people recognize it and say they're thinking of getting one and ask me what I think of it and how it works. If they seem trustworthy I'll let them play with it for a few minutes to try it out. I got into a very enthusiastic conversation with a woman demonstrating the Nook at Barnes and Noble. She had one that she used for pleasure reading and textbooks, and I happened to have my Kindle with me and we exchanged e-books and tried things out, discussing sixty-to-the-dozen all kinds of e-book related stuff. (The Nook is really slow, BTW but I didn't tell her so because I didn't want to hurt her feelings--the little color screen is pretty, though.)

I think my in-laws are pretty puzzled by the whole e-book thing--they don't read much--, though when I say "books that weigh nothing and take no space" many people seem to get the point.

joblack · 08-11-2010, 08:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by foreverjuly

How do people react when they hear about your Kindle or see you using it? What do people do when they are suddenly confronted with the reality of ebooks?

Well, I don't mind if somebody rejects the idea. Think about the times where most of the people thought about the earth as a disc.

Don't spend to much time on it. They will change their minds sooner or later. And if not who cares?

joblack · 08-11-2010, 08:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbovenka

That's odd for sure... Any idea what made her react that way? Reactions like 'but I like books too much' I can understand. I may not share the sentiment, but I get it. But this?

Ten years ago I worked in a bank. We introduced online banking to the customers. There were the strangest reactions. One woman said: "I don't use the Internet - it's the work of the devil.'. Everybody who had customer contact for a while got those weirdos sooner or later ...

Alisa · 08-12-2010, 12:57 AM

The main reaction I got to buying my Kindle was the typical "it doesn't have a color screen and can't play video so why on earth would you spend $400 on it" spiel. I approached this with the acknowledgement that it makes absolutely no sense for the vast majority of people but, if you're like me and read ten books on your last week-long vacation, it makes sense for convenience alone if you can afford it. Of course, it ended up saving me money but that was entirely beside the point when I bought it. Not that I don't like to save money, but reading is one of those things that falls near the bottom of the cut list when I'm choosing economies. Of course, even at the time, the cost proposition beat buying a new book case.

Most of the people that put this to me rarely read novels. They read mainly periodicals and work documents. They, of course, would rather have a color tablet. Ultimately, so would I. However, my attitude is that the mass production of a suitable display technology which would be good for high-refresh applications and still meet my requirements for general reading is likely far enough away that it makes perfect sense to buy a device that will satisfy me for the near future. Seriously. If you are looking at five years out, that's not something that should affect your gadget buying decisions. That is an eon in tech years. Yet I had people thinking I was foolish for not waiting. Sometimes folks let the perfect be the enemy of the good. I look forward to the unicorn tablet. Until that time, I'd rather have separate devices that excel at what they do than a single device that would be mediocre to my tastes.

foreverjuly · 08-12-2010, 12:33 PM

That argument makes a lot of sense to me, Alisa. The benefits of having an easy-to-use device right now that I can always carry around with me is just too hard to put off. We can all speculate about what incredible things might be coming out later, but I'm living in the present. I want access to the great new books I can find in the kindle store and the immediacy of getting them when I want! That's what kindle's all about and why I'm happy to have one.

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08-11-2010, 06:18 AM	#17
HappyMartin Martin Kristiansen Posts: 1,546 Karma: 8480958 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Johannesburg Device: Kindle International Ipad 2	Apart from one notable exception all the people that tell me they love books and would never buy a reader manage to read about 2 books a year.

08-11-2010, 08:15 AM	#18
patrickt Wizard Posts: 1,221 Karma: 8381518 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Oaxaca, Mexico Device: Paperwhite 4 X 2	I know a few people, very few, who actually read books. I know one man who seems to collect writings by Noam Chomsky but I don't think he actually reads them. So, the comments I get are from people who can read but rarely read. "What did it cost?" "Why not just buy the book?" "Why not use an IPad?" "But, you don't really get the book?" But the real, unspoken question is, "But, but, why didn't you buy something for me with that money?"

08-11-2010, 08:46 AM	#19
Solicitous Wizard Posts: 1,434 Karma: 1525776 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: TAS, Australia Device: Astak Pocket Pro (Black), 2 x Kindle WiFi (Graphite), iPod Touch 4G	I recall a conversation I had last year when I got my ereader, it went something like; Them: What's that? Me: Its an ereader. Them: What does it do? Me: It is an electronic book reader, you load ebooks and read them. Screen looks just like a normal book. Them: Oh cool, how much did that cost? Me: About $300. Them: Can you do anything but read on it? Me: Nope, purely for reading. Them: Why would you spend $300 on something you can only read on, you could buy a book for $20. Me: yep, and it would cost me $1000 for a bookcase to put it on!! To me that is another great reason for an ereader, sure it costs money for the unit, but if you just bought paperbacks at some time in the future you'd need to buy a new bookcase (ereader works out cheaper and I'm not vain and feel the need to display my literacy collection to the world in the hope they think I am smart). Plus, I've run out of walls to put a bookcase against.

08-11-2010, 09:14 AM	#20
Latinandgreek Warrior Princess Posts: 5,038 Karma: 9724231 Join Date: Sep 2009 Device: PRS-505; PRS-350, PRS-T1, iPad, Aura HD	I was reading my Sony PRS-505 one day at a coffee shop, and a guy I knew (he was sitting a few tables away and I hadn't noticed him) came up to me and asked me why I was staring at the same page in my journal for over an hour! He was incredibly surprised when showed him the screen and couldn't believe how much it looked like paper.

08-11-2010, 04:06 PM	#22
TallMomof2 Kindlephilia Posts: 2,017 Karma: 1139255 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Snowpacolypse 2010 Device: Too many to count	I've never had anyone treat my Kindle like an evil device, most people are mildly amused that someone is actually reading.

08-11-2010, 04:21 PM	#23
Roy White Evangelist Posts: 482 Karma: 7696 Join Date: May 2007 Location: Turner, Oregon Device: Sony Reader	Smash the evil toy... LOL! The funny thing is, our Grandchildren will almost certainly be reading ebooks of some sort almost exclusively. I think they will look at books made of paper and ink the way we look at turntable record players, or typewriters, or 8 track tape players. A curious antique.

08-11-2010, 04:32 PM	#24
JoeC Addict Posts: 397 Karma: 2257942 Join Date: Aug 2007 Device: Kindle Oasis 2 and 3, Scribe, reMarkable Pro	I was out of town last weekend with my iPad and Kindle. On two occasions, while I was reading on the iPad, I had people come up to me and say... "Wow, is that a Kindle?". One time, when I was reading with the Kindle, someone did get it right and describe how they were saving up to get one.

08-11-2010, 08:03 PM	#26
catsittingstill Guru Posts: 643 Karma: 551634 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: Kindle 1.0.8, iPod Touch, Kindle Keyboard	I've had someone ask me what it is, once or twice. I've had people recognize it and say they're thinking of getting one and ask me what I think of it and how it works. If they seem trustworthy I'll let them play with it for a few minutes to try it out. I got into a very enthusiastic conversation with a woman demonstrating the Nook at Barnes and Noble. She had one that she used for pleasure reading and textbooks, and I happened to have my Kindle with me and we exchanged e-books and tried things out, discussing sixty-to-the-dozen all kinds of e-book related stuff. (The Nook is really slow, BTW but I didn't tell her so because I didn't want to hurt her feelings--the little color screen is pretty, though.) I think my in-laws are pretty puzzled by the whole e-book thing--they don't read much--, though when I say "books that weigh nothing and take no space" many people seem to get the point.

08-12-2010, 12:57 AM	#29
Alisa Gadget Geek Posts: 2,324 Karma: 22221 Join Date: Aug 2007 Device: Paperwhite, Kindle 3 (retired), Skindle 1.2 (retired)	The main reaction I got to buying my Kindle was the typical "it doesn't have a color screen and can't play video so why on earth would you spend $400 on it" spiel. I approached this with the acknowledgement that it makes absolutely no sense for the vast majority of people but, if you're like me and read ten books on your last week-long vacation, it makes sense for convenience alone if you can afford it. Of course, it ended up saving me money but that was entirely beside the point when I bought it. Not that I don't like to save money, but reading is one of those things that falls near the bottom of the cut list when I'm choosing economies. Of course, even at the time, the cost proposition beat buying a new book case. Most of the people that put this to me rarely read novels. They read mainly periodicals and work documents. They, of course, would rather have a color tablet. Ultimately, so would I. However, my attitude is that the mass production of a suitable display technology which would be good for high-refresh applications and still meet my requirements for general reading is likely far enough away that it makes perfect sense to buy a device that will satisfy me for the near future. Seriously. If you are looking at five years out, that's not something that should affect your gadget buying decisions. That is an eon in tech years. Yet I had people thinking I was foolish for not waiting. Sometimes folks let the perfect be the enemy of the good. I look forward to the unicorn tablet. Until that time, I'd rather have separate devices that excel at what they do than a single device that would be mediocre to my tastes.

08-12-2010, 12:33 PM	#30
foreverjuly Crank Up The Awesome! Posts: 315 Karma: 708054 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Japan Device: Kindle, Nook, iPhone	That argument makes a lot of sense to me, Alisa. The benefits of having an easy-to-use device right now that I can always carry around with me is just too hard to put off. We can all speculate about what incredible things might be coming out later, but I'm living in the present. I want access to the great new books I can find in the kindle store and the immediacy of getting them when I want! That's what kindle's all about and why I'm happy to have one.