The Amazon Kindle has landed. CEO Jeff Bezos on Monday unveiled the 10-ounce, $400 Kindle e-book reader at a packed Manhattan media event.
The 7.5-by-5-inch device can store up to 200 books and utilizes the EVDO cellular network to connect wirelessly to Amazon's bookstore. It has 180MB of available storage, with the option to buy a SD memory card for additional storage.
Aesthetically, it's more Etch-a-Sketch than iPhone. I thought the preliminary photos that were leaked last year might have been a jumping-off point for snazzier designs to come, but the Kindle unveiled today was still the bland, off-white device we've already seen.
I understand the theory behind eschewing an eyesight-killing LED screen in favor of the black-and-white E Ink technology, but it remains to be seen whether consumers will fork over $400 for a gadget that lacks an "ooh, shiny!!" factor.
The viewing screen from E Ink has 600-by-800-pixel resolution at 167 pixels per inch and 4-level gray scale, according to Amazon.
The EVDO network precludes the need for a PC connection, according to Bezos. "We didn't think that was a very good solution," he said. "Instead of shopping on your PC, you shop directly from the device."
You will need a PC hookup, however, to access audiobooks, which can be transferred to the Kindle via the included USB cable.
The Kindle does not require a data-plan subscription, but users will have to open up their wallets to purchase books or access available newspaper, magazine, and blog content. Prices vary from $14.99 a month for newspapers down to 99 cents per month for blog content.
Kindle includes access to a built-in dictionary and Wikipedia entries. Users can also receive e-mailed Word documents and pictures via a customized Kindle e-mail address for 10 cents per document.
Get the rest of this story on PCMag.com.
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November 19, 2007 4:08 PM
Snore.....At $400 get a used laptop. Jeez
November 21, 2007 11:21 AM
$400?! I'd seriously consider this if the price was more in the $150 range. I can get an Asus eee PC for $400. I can read books on my Palm TX, and do lots of other things too.
There is the convenience factor, but if I'm travelling, and I think I'll have time to read books, I'll either bring a couple PBs along or load the books onto my TX, since I'll have that with me anyway. Screen may not be as big, but I don't have to fork out $400 either.
November 21, 2007 11:48 AM
Good Idea, lousy execution. Its not attractive, it black and white, and is way to expensive.
They should have used the give it away, and make it up on the literature mentallity. It would have made more sense. Now you have an item, with a premium price that you are not terribly sure will work for you.
They did a good job thinking through the technology, but the business model is flawed for a product like this. If they had sold the 1.0 version of this product with a much lower price point and gotten it into peoples hands, then they could have charged more for the 2.0 whiz bang version when it came out.
November 21, 2007 2:01 PM
Can you surf the web on this thing?
K
November 21, 2007 2:56 PM
No, you cannot surf the web on it.
Nor can you view PDFs--you have to convert them to mobi format to view them. But that only works on unecrypted PDFs; if you purchase PDF books like I do--tech books--most are encrypted.
Too bad. When I first saw it I thought, 'Finally, something to shrink my library.' Then I read the specs. I would have paid 400 for it if it: i) surfed the web, ii) opened all text content--not just ones amazon wants you to open, iii) had wifi too--so it could be networked w/ other devices wirelessly.
Amazon is trying to imitate Apple's iTunes model. Unfortunately, they also didn't get any decent designers to work on the presentation!
November 21, 2007 6:49 PM
Jeff, please try to get some good designers next time.
Kindle is ugly .... and expensive