My brother-in-law got an Amazon Kindle for Christmas. He really likes it. I'd never seen one until he showed it to me, and it's an amazing machine. Yet I don't think I would use one. Though the display was very clear, I still found it slightly off-putting to read, versus the printed page. I really am a troglodyte about that sort of thing, which is why I still subscribe to the newspaper, even though I get a lot of my news online.
I was surprised to see that you can subscribe to newspapers over the Kindle. Mike doesn't do that (he's an on-dead-tree guy too), so I couldn't see what a Kindled newspaper looks like. I tried to imagine it, and I just couldn't. I'd have difficulty with the dimensions of the thing, though I suppose in the same way people quickly got used to watching TV on iPods, that might be something I could accomodate myself too. Anyway, I was thinking that something Kindle-like could be the next phase of newspapering.
Jack Shafer writes today on those themes. He talks about the limitations of Kindle as a newspaper delivery device, but says that there ought to be a way to improve the Kindle model, both in terms of the device's capabilities and in how newspapers could be electronically formatted for that sort of delivery. Interesting stuff.
Anybody here have a Kindle? What do you think? Would you pay money to read a newspaper delivered to you by Kindle? Is there any format in which you would pay money to read a newspaper electronically?
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"Maybe the real test for e-books will be if (once a standard e-book reader format is adopted) you will be able to "check out" e-books for free from the library -- i.e., download the file from the library onto your reader. The file can be set to delete itself once the "due date" is reached, unless you renew it. Of course, that would pretty much eliminate the ability of libraries to collect fines for overdue books."
This is already happening with the Sony reader ( which is a major competitor of the Kindle). The Sony reader is able to read the format that most public libraries use for ebooks called Overdrive. So with the Sony you can check out an ebook from the public library and read it and the book expires after 2 or 3 weeks.
Plus the Sony reads more formats than the Kindle and has a much nicer form factor or look.
The issue I have with the Kindle is all the extra stuff, so I'm perhaps opposite of some of the people here.
I want a piece of epaper that I can stick an SD card in, or hook USB to, put in some preformatted text, and flip between pages and it saving my place. That is it, that is all I want it to do, and that is all I want to pay for.
I don't want a 'Whispernet' cell phone connection, I don't want wifi, I don't care if I have to purchase things on my computer and transfer them over in a single specific format, I don't want a built-in mp3 player. I don't care if the display is slow, I don't need an extra LCD display for menus, because the point of the device is to read books, and the only 'menuing' I will be doing is picking another book from the books on the device.
No, I want essentially an electronic picture frame, but with eink and forward, back, and index buttons. But no one seems to be making any low-end, and more importantly, cheap, ereaders. The eink displays are only about 70 dollars, but they feel compelled to make 300 dollar devices instead of 85 dollar devices.
I don't see much difference between a Kindle-delivered newspaper and what I can get on the internet, frankly. If it's mobility people are looking for, I'm not sure how big the Kindle device is, but guessing it's bigger than your standard internet-connected cell phone. Seems it would be kind of clunky to lug around. And why would you use this thing in the comfort of your own home to read your newspaper, assuming you have access to the internet on your home computer?
I much prefer to crack open a fresh, actual, newspaper . . .
Everyone wants to be aware that what's going on in the world. I'm also excited to know the latest and fresh news. We have many sources to get the updated news as internet, T.V, and radio. We use source among them which is more suitable as our profession. I get my mostly news online. But I must give my few minutes in morning to read the newspaper. I often see that they delivered the kindle news to create interest of the people. I'm also surprised to see that you can subscribe to newspapers over the kindle.
Steven
by owner
If there was a large format of the Kindle, I could sit at the breakfast table, drinking my coffee with the e-newspaper in front of me (like I do today with the paper). I can't see doing that with the Kindle -- too small. Same thing with magazines. Wired magazine is relaxing and interesting to read, sitting on my "easy chair." Booting up my laptop and viewing online is somewhat of an inconveinece. Give me a large Kindle to enjoy my quality of life (at home).
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