Does anyone use a Kindle?

I love books--large surprise. But I'd happily go to a Kindle if I could get the books I tend to read. Amazingly, one can neither find Hegel's Encyclopedia nor any Eugene Sue novels listed as available. In due time, I do suppose I'll be reading on it, though. As someone who remembers Jean-Luc Picard and Data reading various forms of 19th century fiction on a device that looked suspiciously Kindle-ish, I always suspected that that is where I'd be going.
 
Love it or hate the Kindle may be the savior to the newspaper industry and possibly the record industry. Record industry you say? Yes, it will bring back liner notes and probably much more.
 
I'm not JasonA but you can subscribe to the Times, for example, on the Kindle. Presumably the argument is people will pay more for Kindle subs than the Times would get with web ads.
 
I am Jeff Grossman and I don't see why the subscription bucks means that it's still a good idea to issue paper. (By the way, I am playing Devil's Advocate here, but there is a persuasive case to be made that physical newspapers have taken a mortal wound from 'net connectivity.)
 
I am still nJA and I think that the Times and Amazon are banking on is some sort of subscription income from device owners. Paper is going fast (goodbye, P-I!) and payment for newspapers over the internet does not seem viable. For whatever reason (and I have not bought one, despite our similar names) Kindle owners seem willing to pay for content.

I personally believe the Kindle is very much a short-term proposition and laptops of different sizes will replace it and most people will not pay for written content.
 
The Kindle will do for the newspaper industry what the iTunes music store has done for the record industry, namely make micro payments viable. Look beyond the Kindle as a proprietary device, it, like the iphone, is not about making phone calls or reading books, it is a data delivery device.

Do you or do you know anyone who buys anything from Amazon, iTunes? If they gave the Kindle away for free, would you buy a newspaper/magazine subscription? Amazon or Google will probably end up giving away Kindle like devices just so that they can sell to you and/or steer advertising your way.

The Kindle is going to be like the iphone, an end to end user experience.
 
I have phys-objs sent to me via Amazon but I don't do micropay.

This article suggests that micropay won't work for text because there is plenty of competition. I take that to mean that I can read tons o' free blogs on a browser, I don't need a special-purpose reading device.
 
Eh. Kindles are clumsy and awkward and poorly designed, they are a long long way from the user-friendliness of IPods or IPhones. Books need fear nothing, at least as long as Apple stays away.
 
Books need fear nothing, at least as long as Apple stays away.
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Fat chance of that. iPhone OS 3.0 is going to put an end to that. As reported in the NYTimes today:

"The new software will also give developers new ways to make money on the device, allowing them to sell monthly subscriptions, new levels in a game or items in an online store without asking users to leave the application. So for example a seller of electronic books on the iPhone can sell digital texts right within its application, instead of directing iPhone users to their Web sites."

Watch for the iPone app for Kindle coming to you soon.
 
I'm very happy with the device. You have to hack about with it and change the fonts, but otherwise it is very nice.

I'm not arguing against books or the tactile feel of paper. The Kindle is a good personal choice for someone like me who is always on the go.
 
I was at the Philharmonic the other day and I was watching the violinists turning the pages of the musical score. Seems like a one-touch Kindle-like device would be easier for them.
 
originally posted by Chris Coad:
Eh. Kindles are clumsy and awkward and poorly designed
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Chris, I ordered a Kindle but basically came to the same conclusion as you. I sent it back.

I have ordered the Sony PRS 505 which gets better reviews.

. . . . . Pete
 
Peter:

Let me know what you think of the PRS 505.

I found the Kindle 2 groovy if you change the base font. Doing so involved searching through various shadowy web sites for geeks. The problem is the supplied font doesn't show well on the Kindle. The available replacement fonts completely change the experience.

Poultry-1.jpg
 
originally posted by Joe Dressner: Peter: Let me know what you think of the PRS 505.
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Joe, Will do!

I was warned off the Sony PRS 700 (the newest edition). The reviews on the Sony PRS 505 are very favorable with the one caveat that book selection through Sony is not as broad as through Amazon with the Kindle.

Of course, there are a lot of free books at other sites.

. . . . Pete
 
originally posted by Joe Dressner:
Four Weeks with Kindle 2I'm very happy with the device. You have to hack about with it and change the fonts, but otherwise it is very nice.

I'm not arguing against books or the tactile feel of paper. The Kindle is a good personal choice for someone like me who is always on the go.
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When will you start doing celebrity endorsements?
 
originally posted by Ian Fitzsimmons:
originally posted by Joe Dressner:
Four Weeks with Kindle 2I'm very happy with the device. You have to hack about with it and change the fonts, but otherwise it is very nice.

I'm not arguing against books or the tactile feel of paper. The Kindle is a good personal choice for someone like me who is always on the go.
Click to expand...

When will you start doing celebrity endorsements?
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I'll be suspicious when Joe begins promoting The Wall Street Journal as one of his top five newspapers.
 
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