Amazon Kindle -- A Year Later?

Danjo Olivaw wrote:

Wow, that's really cool. Maybe I should stop telling them to Kindle things since I don't have a Kindle, yet.

No, you should tell them to Kindle everything.

I have a shipping notice. UPS should have it here Wednesday.

Same here. Pleasant surprise to have in my email this morning.

JC wrote:

Same here. Pleasant surprise to have in my email this morning.

Same here. Mine shipped.

Mine too!

Mine too. I'm excited! So is my storage room. Sigh. What to do with all the old books...? (That question predates the Kindle buy, but still...)

I'm thinking of getting a Kindle 2 for my brother on his birthday (around June) since he gets on a plane for twelve hours every week. It seems the supply issues have cleared up...? That's very cool if so, makes it an almost sure thing.

I wonder if Kindle 2 supports non-Latin-1 codepages and fonts?

Robear wrote:

Mine too. I'm excited! So is my storage room. Sigh. What to do with all the old books...? (That question predates the Kindle buy, but still...)

This brings up a topic that's been on my mind...I'll start one for it, so people can accuse me of duplicating existing topics...:)

Here's what they need to do to make me STRONGLY consider buying a Kindle 2.

1. BEST CASE SCENARIO: When I buy an eBook from Amazon, I should have the option to go back later, pay the difference, and get the hard copy.

2. SECOND CHOICE: When I buy a book in a store/from Amazon, I should get a code to log on to Amazon and download the eBook version.

3. Some games, even something as simple as being able to get the NYT Crossword automatically downloaded, would be awesome.

Any and all of these things would move me from NOT to HIGHLY likely to buy one of these sexy little things.

Warlock wrote:

2. SECOND CHOICE: When I buy a book in a store/from Amazon, I should get a code to log on to Amazon and download the eBook version.

Can't tell you how strongly I agree with this. It's especially annoying when after a purchase Amazon gives you the "Start reading your book now! Download it for only $3.99" spiel.

Yeah, I sort of don't get it either. I mean, it would be NICE, sure. I like free as much as the next guy. But do you expect to get a CD when you buy an album from iTunes? Sure, you can rip MP3s off your CDs, but you could also OCR your own copy of a book, if you cared to. Clearly someone does, given how many scanned books are clogging up torrent sites already.

It's a bit like saying "When I get a CD, I should also get a coupon to get it on Vinyl" or "I bought the EP, I should get a discount on the album."

As for games -- I agree, a crossword would be cool. Screen's way to slow for much else.

Yeah, but those guys are not handcuffed by corporate practices, legal agreements and the like that publishers have.

Except your analogy reverses the thought. The digital product is just so many organized bits, but this argument has been made ad nauseum. My only point is that you're paying (generally) more for the physical product. It's nice for them to provide a token instacopy that effectively costs them nothing. I've never bought anything from iTunes but I have however bought CDsdirectly from indie artists and been given a link to download the MP3 copy to have while I wait for the physical media. Same thing with a lot of self-produced online products that I've purchased: I get a link for a PDF while I wait for the physical copy to be shipped.

Show off.

The packaging is pretty well thought out, even down to the custom sized shipping box it comes in. While it's heavier than I expected, it feels really good in my hands. And damn, WhisperNet is slow in my area.

Kurrelgyre wrote:

The packaging is pretty well thought out, even down to the custom sized shipping box it comes in. While it's heavier than I expected, it feels really good in my hands. And damn, WhisperNet is slow in my area.

You just obliged yourself to write up a review for us!

Sources say that mine is in the state and within 150 miles from home.

Amazon now has Kindle 2's status as [color=Green]In Stock[/color], with immediate delivery.

So... TEMPTING!!

rabbit wrote:

Yeah, I sort of don't get it either. I mean, it would be NICE, sure. I like free as much as the next guy. But do you expect to get a CD when you buy an album from iTunes? Sure, you can rip MP3s off your CDs, but you could also OCR your own copy of a book, if you cared to. Clearly someone does, given how many scanned books are clogging up torrent sites already.

It's a bit like saying "When I get a CD, I should also get a coupon to get it on Vinyl" or "I bought the EP, I should get a discount on the album."

As for games -- I agree, a crossword would be cool. Screen's way to slow for much else.

If there was a way for me to plug my book into my computer and have a PDF made, I would probably agree with you.

The difference here is that in one case, we're talking about what is effectively different ways to distribute digital media (since it is so easy to make an mp3 version of a CD). Either I pay a little more for the hard copy and get album artwork, lyrics, etc. (and still retain the ability to make mp3 quality digital tracks OR BETTER if I'm that type of OGG-loving dude) or I download and get the tracks instantly (and get the ability to get piecemeal songs instead of a whole album.

Your analogy works in theory, but when you consider ease-of-transfer and that sort of thing, it falls apart.

Does Kindle have a backlight feature for reading in the dark?

SpyNavy wrote:

Does Kindle have a backlight feature for reading in the dark?

No.

Thanks - I figured that after seeing a clip on reading light. Right now that makes it a no go for me. I read in some of the posts on Amazon that they may have an optional backlight in a model later this year. At that point I may roll with one - contemplating picking one up for my mother who is a voracious reader.

Quick impressions from 15 minutes with it:

1. Oh wow, that print on the screen, telling me to plug in the Kindle, isn't on the plastic wrap. It looks just like those fake screens printed on the plastic that you see on electronics in the store. But it's not fake; the plastic is transparent, and the print is on the screen.
2. The print is very clear; it does look a lot like paper.
3. The screen is a little bit too small; it should be about an inch wider, and enough taller to keep the form factor. As is, it's not quite as big as most paperbacks in terms of viewable area per page, but it's quite a lot larger in terms of total form factor. More screen, with less border, would be a very good thing.
4. Page flips are faster than turning a page in a book; perfectly acceptable.
5. It leaves a tiny smudge behind from the prior page when you screen flip. When the text is ending up in the same place, this isn't very noticeable, but when going back to, say, the main menu, with a lot of empty space, the smudging is visible. A second screen flip to the same thing clears it, but this is a problem, and I'm likely to contact Amazon about it. The fact that a second flip clears it means that, most likely, this is firmware-fixable. I think they're trying to flip a little too fast.
6. The skinny form factor is a little uncomfortable to hold. It's not terribly heavy as a unit, but it's so thin that there's a pretty high amount of pressure on the hand that's holding it. I think I might have preferred the older, fatter Kindle, but with the new screen. I think it might suit my hands better. I'll need more time with it to be sure.

SpyNavy: you can't backlight e-ink. It's a bunch of magnetized balls with different gray scales floating in a matrix; they're rotated magnetically. They're opaque, so at best you can get a sidelight, which is probably better than nothing, but much inferior to a regular light.

Amazon conveniently also sells the Mighty Bright XtraFlex2 LED Light. It works great, and is also compatible with dead tree books.

I actually don't want it to be backlit--that's part of the appeal. My eyes get tired from staring at backlit screens all day long. And not just when I'm reading GWJ. Not having a backlight means it's only using power to rotate the ink or power the 3G radio, so it lasts for days at a time and/or thousands of page flips.

Now if I could just disable the freaky "screen-saver" images it shows when it sleeps. I swear Emily Dickenson was staring into the depths of my deep dark soul.

Next up: GWJ delivered as a Kindle book!

Deadron wrote:

Next up: GWJ delivered as a Kindle book!

That would ROCK!

My new Kindle should be here today.

LiquidMantis wrote:
Warlock wrote:

2. SECOND CHOICE: When I buy a book in a store/from Amazon, I should get a code to log on to Amazon and download the eBook version.

Can't tell you how strongly I agree with this. It's especially annoying when after a purchase Amazon gives you the "Start reading your book now! Download it for only $3.99" spiel.

Wait, so I can buy a hard copy and get the Kindle edition for $3.99? Or does it depend on the title? I'd buy a lot more hard copies if this were true, if only to have the option.