Amazon Kindle delayed until end 2007?

[NatCh]

Originally Posted by bowerbird

ok, sounds like you're humans.

So ... this was some sort of elaborate Turing test, then?

And you think you can't be funny!

[rjnagle]

Hi, Bowerbird,

I didn't mean very much by that speculation on page 1 of the thread. I honestly have no idea what is going on (I was expecting a kindle in 2006--boy was I wrong). We know exactly what people on mobileread know, probably less.

As for "disinformation," I simply meant that i believed that Amazon.com was selectively leaking news that the device "was coming" and at the same time keeping quiet about whether it even exists. I am growing sick and tired of it. I think a kindle device does/did exist, but the fact they aren't showing it off at trade shows sends the signal that it's not anywhere ready for prime time. The leak to Brad Stone seems intended to counter that impression.

You know it really is hilarious how even the slightest bit of ebook news seems enormously interesting to mobileread/teleread readers and how unimportant it seems to the rest of the world.

Speaking of conspiracy theories, I think the universe is conspiring to deprive me of my Cybook 3; damn, why didn't I order it Sunday night when I had the chance?

[igorsk]

Originally Posted by Alisa

Honestly, I don't need one for this poster. I find the formatting so annoying to read I just end up skipping the posts. I read a couple of lines and just figure why bother?

Same here. I just thought I would save on screen space by not seeing the posts at all Thanks to TadW for showing the option!

[CCDMan]

It sure would be nice to know what is gonna happen or at least what the specs and price will be. I have at least two friends that want e-readers but are waiting for more information on the Kindle before deciding.

As others have said and these friends are an example of, if Amazon does not have these out for XMas, these buddies will probably wind up with Sonys. And once they have the Sonys, it will be much harder for Amazon to sell them anything, reader or content.

So if Amazon does not get off the pot in time, they will lose not just reader sales but years of content sales from folks that bought or got Sonys for Xmas instead. They surely know this.

[vivaldirules]

Originally Posted by CCDMan

So if Amazon does not get off the pot in time, they will lose not just reader sales but years of content sales from folks that bought or got Sonys for Xmas instead. They surely know this.

I'm sure they do, too, but I don't think it's as if they risk losing millions of sales to those who are flocking to the Sony. This is still very much a fringe market. When people see me in public with my Reader, it seems to be absolutely new to all of them. They've never even heard of the thing. So I think Amazon has plenty of time to improve their device and build content. I certainly don't want them to release something that's poorly designed that will hurt the near-term future of these devices. And in the meantime, the best thing that we owners can do is to show off the devices we have to help drum up interest.

[bowerbird]

you shoulda told your friends to stop waiting a long, long time ago.
this is why it's dangerous to tell people "something is coming" when
you have no certainty if it is _really_ coming: it delays their action...

if they were ready to buy the sony months ago, they _should_ have.
the overall world of electronic-books would have benefitted from it...

-bowerbird

[HarryT]

There will always be people who will wait for the "next generation" of machines which somehow always seem to be elusively hovering just over the horizon. I remember there was a post a while ago on this forum from someone who said that he'd been waiting for 10 years to buy an eBook reader. I replied that I'd been enjoying reading eBooks for all that time (actually double that - my first "eBook Reader" was a Psion 2 in about 1985). "Carpe Diem" is the appropriate expression, I think. Make the most of what's here now - you only get one life to enjoy.

[bowerbird]

harry said:
> There will always be people who will wait for the "next generation" of machines

yes, but it sounds like ccdman's friends are not that type, since -- if the kindle
doesn't come in by christmas, which, let's face it, probably ain't gonna happen --
they'll end up with sony machines...

-bowerbird

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by bowerbird

if the kindle
doesn't come in by christmas, which, let's face it, probably ain't gonna happen --
they'll end up with sony machines...

-bowerbird

Fair enough then. We are blessed with a number of nice machines to choose from these days - Sony Reader, iRex iLiad, Bookeen CyBook, etc - not to mention all the PDAs and Smartphones which can be used for reading.

[CCDMan]

you shoulda told your friends to stop waiting a long, long time ago.
this is why it's dangerous to tell people "something is coming" when
you have no certainty if it is _really_ coming: it delays their action...

Actually, I don't "tell" my friends to do anything. They are smart enough to make their own decisions (if they weren't, they would not be my friends). What I "told" them was to read this forum and make up their minds. They did that and decided to wait.

[bowerbird]

you shouldn't have told them to read this forum. :+)

they were led to believe -- based on the unfounded
"speculation" here -- they should wait for the kindle.

which proves that even people who are smart
enough to be your friends can do stupid things. ;+)

-bowerbird

[DrMoze]

*sigh* Thanks for the heads-up on the "ignore" option. Didn't think I'd need it on this forum, but after reading this thread I paid it a visit.

And I too think the Kindle proto shown in the OP is ugly. The white plastic and large button layout looks kind of cheezy imo.

If Amazon has the manufacturing facilities lined up, I still think they could try to hit the market for the holiday season this year. It would be a nice "latest thing" gift option for bookworm friends from a familiar brand name in books.

Just mho, in case anyone wants to flame me.

[Alexander Turcic]

OK, time to stress a few points:

1. MobileRead is dedicated to discussing e-book readers and trends in e-books;
2. Various leaks (through the FDA, through Amazon's webstore, and through various publishers) have acknowledged the existence of the Kindle reader;
3. This particular forum section is all about the Kindle reader;
4. Rumors and speculations is what makes life interesting.

We don't force anybody to believe what we say. Au contraire: we love to hear different opinions. And I believe that this community is doing a great job in bringing different perspectives together - always in a civil manner!

bowerbird, I kindly ask you not to make presumptions about what other people think, or about their motives for visiting our site. In fact, it's very rude when you imply that we or other forum members lead people to believe in unfounded speculations. It's our hobby to talk about e-book readers (see point 1 above), whether it's a reader we got in our hands or a reader that's just been mentioned in the NYTimes. You are free to disagree, but please let's get on and focus on the primary subject of this discussion, the Kindle Reader.

[bowerbird]

alexander, i _am_ discussing the kindle reader. and _my_ opinion
-- because i am entitled to have an opinion, like every else, right? --
is that _no_one_ should wait for it, because _my_speculation_ is that
it's not gonna come for a while. a long while. maybe a very long while.

and my further speculation is that once it _does_ come, it will have
one or more "gotchas" -- like, say, its rumored $300+ pricetag -- that
might severely compromise its impact on the world of e-books at large.

and i believe i have said, right here, that _i_ believe that amazon _is_
working on a reader-machine. indeed, if i remember right what i said,
it was that _i_ believe that they'd be very stupid _not_ to be doing that.

but we don't have to question its "existence" to repeat the _fact_ that
amazon has consistently declined to say _absolutely_anything_ about
the kindle, except for "we don't comment on rumors and speculation"...

and we don't have to question its "existence" to repeat the _fact_ that
neither you nor i nor _anyone_else_ can purchase a kindle _today_...

and i certainly would _hope_ (and expect) these factual observations
are not considered "rude", or hostile in _any_ manner, because they
are simply and exactly as i described them -- factual observations...

not that i would want the _facts_ to spoil anyone's fun. i _like_ fun.

if people want to "speculate", that's fine. speculate your life away.
you have my express permission.

i, in turn, will _continue_ to focus on the primary subject of this discussion,
the kindle reader. which no one here, to my knowledge, has ever even seen.

but, of course, i don't force anybody to believe what i say. believe what you want.

-bowerbird

[mocelet]

But bowerbird, there might be a reason to wait for it, it is rumoured to have features that no other reader has...

It might not be $300, it might be on a cell phone like plan - $100 + $20 a month for a minimum of a year. That is different from all other devices, but it might still be too expensive for what it is.

It almost certainly has some sort of cell based wireless access, be it EVDO or GSM data. This is different from all other devices, but it might only access Amazon's own online bookstore and be next to pointless.

It may be available in Europe. Until last week, the only other device officially available in Europe is the iLiad, which costs significantly more than the Kindle is rumoured to. The Gen3 modifies this point, but this is a recent development.

However, yes, these are all rumours, speculation and guesswork. But we (the MobileRead community) enjoy this. It is like gambling without risking any money. In the end, some of our guesses will be right, and most will be wrong. People who dug up correct information get kudos, and the rest of us get a giggle.

I quite fancy an eink based reader, my wife has an iLiad and I would love to buy one for myself, but I choose to spend my £400 on other toys (scuba diving right now - perhaps I should wait for a waterproof and pressure capable e-ink reader with stylus so I can write notes while diving ). A Kindle might be exactly what I want for a more affordable price, I have my phone to read on right now, so I don't need to buy a reader immediately, so I choose to wait.