Can the print screen be adjusted for old eyes to be able to read?

I agree that Apple didn’t “invent” the genre – just was first with something cool, popular & reasonably priced. As in all marketing successes, sometimes the key is being first to market…

Re: buying a kindle – it’s not for everybody. I’d be the first to agree with that, but as is the case with cool tech stuff, there ARE lots of people who will buy this or something similar.

If “just” 1 in 10 people WOULD buy (in time), Amazon will have a KILLER success on their hands. It’s just a matter of time really – it may take a few years to build up momentum, but I still think it (or a future derivative of it) will become the ipod of ebooks.

@Simone,

Yeh, the environmental impact that a product like this could have will be significant, over time. While I don’t see paper books disappearing anytime soon, it could definitely have an impact on newspapers & magazines in particular.

Once the big media firms start offering it as an option (think major newspaper publisher, for example), it will really have an impact there.

@Lex,

From what I read, the screen quality IS good. And yes, obviously publishers will have to start reformatting their content to fit the screen dimensions, but as you (and I) know, that really is very easy, since all print layout is done on computers these days anyway.

i guess you could say the same about books, but it just doesnt feel right to me to read an ebook on the train.

i dont see myself buying a kindle, i dont feel the need to read e-books on the go. although if you did read ebooks this would be perfect for you.

what about that microsoft giant touch screen product? has anyone seen any of those?

The whole thing sounds great and I imagine it would be super cheap to get these books and things considering, as you mentioned, there are no actual printing or shipping costs etc.

Can you imagine what this can do for the environment if we aren’t chopping down trees to make books?

I think Amazon have done well to hold off releasing this product for 3 years while they got it right. When they launch it has to be a big success or they won’t get another chance (imagine if Apple had released a dud instead of the first Ipod … they would have gone nowhere).

In the future, I hope they add WiFi ability and a browser that is open to any website – this would make it a handy platform for light browsing … think of leaving your Kindle on the coffee table within easy reach if you want to quickly check the weather or a sports score or find a recipe.

I think a handy feature is:
“In addition, a copy of every book you purchase is backed up online in Your Media Library in case you ever need to download it again. This allows you to make room for new titles on your device, knowing that Amazon is storing your personal library, which can always be re-downloaded wirelessly. If you are out of wireless coverage, such as traveling overseas, you can download books to your computer from Your Media Library and transfer via USB to your Kindle. Think of it as a bookshelf in your attic—even though you don’t see it, you know your books are there.”

Cheers,
Peter

My first concern about a device like this is how readable is the screen?

Somehow physical books, even with their small fonts, seem more readable than reading the same thing on a laptop screen. Maybe being able to hold it in your hands like a book may change this.

Possibly depends on how heavy it is.

Newspapers would need to reformat their content to make it readable on a device like this as well. Reading PDFs of newspapers and magazines is usually a pain, because you have to scroll the screen left/right/up/down all the time, and you tend to lose the flow of what you are reading.

It will be interesting to hear some real-life reports of how usable these things really are…

Lex

Reminds me what apple did with the ipod.

They created a playback device and used the popularity of this to dominate the sale and distribution of music.