Wired.com Top Ten Gadgets of 2007

[Nate the great]

The Kindle is #10 of the Heartbreaking Gadgets. Here is what they said:

It doesn't seem quite right to call Amazon's electronic-book tablet a letdown, as our expectations were tempered from the start. But the retailer not only managed to validate most of our original concerns but add a few new ones. You probably know the rap sheet by now: No native PDF support. Costs as much as a low-end laptop. "Klugey" keyboard. Clumsy, extortionate e-mail conversion process for adding your own files. And the web browser? Crippled. But what really kills us? You have to pay to read a blog on this thing.

http://www.wired.com/gadgets/gadgetr...=1&slideView=3

It is also #7 of the Top Ten Best Gadgets.

Given the choice of Sony style or the ugly, poke-your-eye-out lines of Amazon's new e-reader, the one with free internet wins. Though its primary functionality is designed to funnel you into spending money at the Kindle store and is hampered by nickel-and-dime fees, skip to the web browser, and the unit shines. The e-ink display is, as ever, fabulous.

http://www.wired.com/gadgets/gadgetr...=4&slideView=2

Schizophrenic, much?

[allen.gotwald]

Nate,
I don't know much about the Kindle. I own the Sony 505. When I shopped for a device the only itema I wanted were a good, clear reader with access to books. I have a great MP3 player and I read the news on my laptop and/or desktop with lightning fast wireless. Is it too much to ask that a device designed to be a reader be just that; a reader! The 505 is without a doubt my #1 purchase of the year. Maybe I'm just easy to please. I have enought material right now to spend the next 2 years reading without break. The display is clean, crisp and clear. The charge lasts a couple weeks. Maybe folks were expecting the Kindle to toast poptarts on top of everything else I don't need a reader to do.

[JSWolf]

So what would Wired have to say if the wifi for the Kindle was no longer free as we expect it to someday not be free?

[tsgreer]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

So what would Wired have to say if the wifi for the Kindle was no longer free as we expect it to someday not be free?

Wired may say that the Kindle's dictionary function, six font sizes, font justification specs, title look-up, text search functions and clock option outshine the Sony Reader functions but make it a close second to the Cybook Gen3 readers.

But that is counting on the Wired writers actually using the technology that they review--but having the same troubles that Rolling Stone magazine does, the editors are usually way more out of touch (and age range) than it's customers...

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

So what would Wired have to say if the wifi for the Kindle was no longer free as we expect it to someday not be free?

Oh, I'm sure it would be #7 on their best of the year and #4 on their worst of the year lists...

[dugbug]

Strange review. THey seem to punish it for features it has that sony lacks. Then compare it to a laptop? Hello?

-d

[Hadrien]

Wired loved the PRS-505. Overall, they seem to really enjoy dedicated readers.

It's nice to see the Kindle (or any dedicated reader) in a top 10 list for gadgets. They're not punishing the device with a #10 in the heartbreaking list, it's just that they expected much more from this device than what Amazon delivered. It didn't meet their expectations, but still believe that it's a great device.

[Alisa]

Originally Posted by allen.gotwald

I have a great MP3 player and I read the news on my laptop and/or desktop with lightning fast wireless. Is it too much to ask that a device designed to be a reader be just that; a reader!

The Kindle is primarily a reader. I don't use it for websurfing aside from the Wikipedia search. I use it to read books. The EVDO access to me is merely a convenient added tool that integrates with my reading. I can get a new book right when I think of it or highlight something I'm curious about and get my answer without really interrupting my reading. Yes, I can hook up to my computer and download stuff pretty easily or look up something but it's also nice when you're sitting in the airport or on the train or wherever and you want a new book to be able to have it so easily. Heck, I just like the fact that after I'm done reading a sample, I can have the whole book literally in seconds and just keep on going.

I get the impression oftentimes people hear about the Internet access and imagine some sort of complex gadget. I don't think that was the intention. It seems to me Amazon is looking to offer instantly gratifying, boneheadedly simple, impulse-buy-facilitating access to their store. I would've been happy without the EVDO. I was really mostly interested in the book and dictionary search functions. However, having the Kindle and experiencing having the book or the answer I want NOW ( butt still in comfy chair, teacup still in hand ) I have to say it's pretty darn nifty.

[pitcher23]

Originally Posted by Alisa

It seems to me Amazon is looking to offer instantly gratifying, boneheadedly simple, impulse-buy-facilitating access to their store.

That is exactly what they were doing. Gadget lovers don't mind a more complicated device, provided that convenience isn't sacrificed, but the average person wants a simple device. Right now Amazon has the easiest way out of any e-book device of purchasing content and putting it on the reader.

I also don't understand all the complaints about the battery. Anyone who owns a Kindle knows about the off switch for the EVDO. I turn it on when I purchase a book and turn it off when reading it. When off I find the battery life on par with my Sony PRS-500.

[tsgreer]

Originally Posted by Alisa

The Kindle is primarily a reader. I don't use it for websurfing aside from the Wikipedia search. I use it to read books. The EVDO access to me is merely a convenient added tool that integrates with my reading. I can get a new book right when I think of it or highlight something I'm curious about and get my answer without really interrupting my reading. Yes, I can hook up to my computer and download stuff pretty easily or look up something but it's also nice when you're sitting in the airport or on the train or wherever and you want a new book to be able to have it so easily. Heck, I just like the fact that after I'm done reading a sample, I can have the whole book literally in seconds and just keep on going.

I get the impression oftentimes people hear about the Internet access and imagine some sort of complex gadget. I don't think that was the intention. It seems to me Amazon is looking to offer instantly gratifying, boneheadedly simple, impulse-buy-facilitating access to their store. I would've been happy without the EVDO. I was really mostly interested in the book and dictionary search functions. However, having the Kindle and experiencing having the book or the answer I want NOW ( butt still in comfy chair, teacup still in hand ) I have to say it's pretty darn nifty.

Very well said. I totally agree. It's convenient to have the wireless, but it isn't the only thing that makes the Kindle a good e-book reader. It sure does help a lot on the rare times that I do want to use it. Wikipedia, or a book title.

And in my opinion, what Feedbooks did with their downloadable links directory thingy--that was just amazing. I read a DRM-free book by an author, and he has links embedded in the book to download more books by same author. Thirty seconds later, I am reading another book by that same author. Quick and painless and I don't even have to sit up. Awesome.

I think Feedbooks' use of the Kindle technology is an example of just how innovative this device really is and I wish more people who reviewed the Kindle would try out this feature.

[spanky]

When I think about the Kindle I think of how great and awful it is. I'd love to own but would have to drive 30 minutes to get content. I've been heartbroken since I broke my ebookwise reader because it was cheap, fun and you could use it in the dark.

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by spanky

When I think about the Kindle I think of how great and awful it is. I'd love to own but would have to drive 30 minutes to get content. I've been heartbroken since I broke my ebookwise reader because it was cheap, fun and you could use it in the dark.

Did you contact ETI or eBookwise about getting it fixed?

Dale

[Alisa]

Originally Posted by spanky

When I think about the Kindle I think of how great and awful it is. I'd love to own but would have to drive 30 minutes to get content.

If you don't have EVDO access, you can still get books the same way you do with all the other readers: download the file to your computer and load it to the reader via USB.

[Hadrien]

Originally Posted by tsgreer

Very well said. I totally agree. It's convenient to have the wireless, but it isn't the only thing that makes the Kindle a good e-book reader. It sure does help a lot on the rare times that I do want to use it. Wikipedia, or a book title.

And in my opinion, what Feedbooks did with their downloadable links directory thingy--that was just amazing. I read a DRM-free book by an author, and he has links embedded in the book to download more books by same author. Thirty seconds later, I am reading another book by that same author. Quick and painless and I don't even have to sit up. Awesome.

I think Feedbooks' use of the Kindle technology is an example of just how innovative this device really is and I wish more people who reviewed the Kindle would try out this feature.

Glad that you like this feature tsgreer. Keep in mind that this is strictly the beginning for Feedbooks on the Kindle. We'll soon provide a mobile website for the device, then an easy way (similar to the download guide) to get RSS feeds or customized newspapers on the Kindle.

I'll also work on a tutorial about these features, I'm sure that a lot of non-techies would be interested about these kind of things.

[tsgreer]

Originally Posted by Hadrien

Glad that you like this feature tsgreer. Keep in mind that this is strictly the beginning for Feedbooks on the Kindle. We'll soon provide a mobile website for the device, then an easy way (similar to the download guide) to get RSS feeds or customized newspapers on the Kindle.

I'll also work on a tutorial about these features, I'm sure that a lot of non-techies would be interested about these kind of things.

That would be awesome. If the customized newspapers thing works out, feedbooks will be the place to go for Kindle owners...