Kindle: crackling ignition of knowledge
posted in technology, web 2.0, libraries |- Newsweek: The Future of Reading by Steven Levy
- EndaGadget: Amazon Kindle: meet Amazon’s e-book reader
- The O’Reilly Radar: Steven Levy on Amazon’s Kindle
- Read/Write Web: Amazon sets e-book world alight with Kindle-Finally, time for read/write books
- ZDNet: Hands on with the Kindle this Ugly Duckling has Potential
Read/Write Web in particular, provides complete and concise coverage of Kindle’s release including an overview of Kindle along with discussion of issues (such as pricing and DRM) and the idea of books as a service.
A couple of highlights from Amazon’s Kindle Product overview:
- Revolutionary electronic-paper display provides a sharp, high-resolution screen that looks and reads like real paper.
- Simple to use: no computer, no cables, no syncing.
- Wireless connectivity enables you to shop the Kindle Store directly from your Kindle—whether you’re in the back of a taxi, at the airport, or in bed.
- Buy a book and it is auto-delivered wirelessly in less than one minute.
- More than 88,000 books available, including 100 of 112 current New York Times® Best Sellers.
In sum, the Kindle looks like a neat option for book aficionados. So if you haven’t filled out that Christmas list yet, and if you’ve been very, very good and someone loves you very, very much, you might consider adding the Kindle to your list.
I do not believe that the appearance of the Kindle will spell the death of hardcover and softcover books; there’s just something about having a real book in your hands and flipping the pages that’s here to stay. For times when you can’t or don’t want to get your hands on the paper version, the Kindle offers a neat alternative. And I’m all for having as many options as possible to get people reading. We all have our reading preferences (remember Ranganathan’s laws of library science?). Also, since the Kindle operates on wireless connectivity analogous to that which is ubiquitously provided by cell-phone carriers, the Kindle moves e-book attainment beyond wireless hotspots. Kindle owner’s really will have books at their fingertips.
