- $259 Kindle 2 – My Kindle 2 Review based on 6 months of use.
- Kindle DX - Kindle DX Review including videos and pictures.
Filed under: reviews | Tagged: kindle 2, kindle dx | 9 Comments »
Filed under: reviews | Tagged: kindle 2, kindle dx | 9 Comments »
It’s almost two years for the Blog (and the Kindle) and there’s a lot to give thanks for -
Readers and People who link to the Blog
There’s no doubt in my mind about what the biggest opportunity for the blog is (and what is the most fun) – It’s being able to help a ton of people get what they want and make intelligent decisions.
Perhaps my focus should be on monetizing better – However, growing the blog and helping more people increases the value I get back anyways.
So that’s my focus for 2010 – To Grow the Blog 100 times and the amount of value the blog provides to each reader 10 times.
Kindle, Amazon, eReader companies
eReader companies have done the unthinkable – They’ve made reading and books hot again.
The Giants overseeing the Internet
Most of all – for being halfway to the point where the Kindle Review isn’t dependent on one source of traffic.
There is currently a type of censoring on this Blog that’s dictated by Google’s complete ownership of search i.e. Don’t write things that would get Google upset. Am just tired of that.
Which brings us to my 2nd aim for 2010 – To be like Twitter and Wikipedia and Craigslist i.e. the search engines need this blog more than the Kindle Review needs them.
People who read books and love them
It’d be a much poorer world without books and people who read books and care about them are saving us.
Authors, Publishers, Newspapers
It’s just strange – there’s no reason to have any kinship with Publishers and Newspapers – they obviously don’t see things as they really are. However, they love books and they might not be replaceable.
Algorithms and crowd-sourcing will not replicate the quality and polish of human publishing and human news editing.
Personal
Most of all – For being able to see reality as it really is.
For the promise of 2010 and Beyond
2010 is definitely going to be the year of the eReader. We are in the beginnings of a HUGE transformation in Publishing. It’s transforming every single aspect of reading and it’s awesome to have court side seats.
After all of you (readers) the thing that I’m most thankful for?
There’s finally hope for books and reading – What more could someone who loves people and books wish for?
Filed under: thoughts | Tagged: gratitude, kindle thanksgiving | Leave a Comment »
Mike Cane has the scoop on the Syntron Tablet that’s based on Android, has an 8.9″ screen and fits the description of reading tablet perfectly.
Take a look –
Things to Love about the Syntron Mirror Reading Tablet
The Syntron website is rather stark. It does disclose some interesting details -
Thoughts on the Mirror Tablet Reader
It took me quite by surprise -
There’s quite a stream of reading tablets and slates lined up for 2010.
Which leads to an interesting question -
Is 2010 going to be the year of the eReader or is 2010 going to be the year of the death of the eReader?
Filed under: kindle | 1 Comment »
Finally beginning to understand what people mean when they talk about the touch and feel of a physical book. Why people think the Kindle or Sony Reader cannot replace physical books.
It’s important for eReader companies to understand this and address it -
This post will talk about why the bond to paper books is so strong.
Years and years of holding and loving books
This is worth acknowledging before we get into the level of the senses.
Association of Books with Reading
Most of us have been reading for a long time -
This is definitely one element of people’s love for ‘real books’.
Familiarity and Liking
Books were reading and we are very familiar with reading in the form of physical books.
We liked books and are comfortable with books and it bothers us, and perhaps even scares us, that we might have to give them up.
The line between physical books and the reading experience
There is a line between loving the sensation of holding a book and associating the experience of reading with physical books.
We’re not quite sure where that line exists.
Basically, our love for books is split between -
Let’s investigate all the benefits a physical book provides.
What benefits does a Physical Book Provide?
The Book is a physical real object and we can hold it
One of the biggest benefits of a physical book is the solidness – it’s something you can hold and feel.
As opposed to an ebook, which is just invisible bits, a physical book is an object and an object we are used to holding and valuing.
The Senses and Layering of Sensory Experiences
Consider the senses that get activated by a book -
Plus they all get activated at the same time -
A Book’s Uniqueness and Character
Each physical book has -
And so many other things that make up its character and set it apart from every other book.
Yes, there are books that fail to do this. However, a lot of publishers and authors do set their physical books apart.
Where does that leave eReaders?
There are three parts to the equation -
While eReaders have done a good job of providing a good reading experience (good battery life, great screen, etc.) and of pushing benefits physical books can’t match (huge storage, portability, text to speech, etc.) they are completely missing one crucial fact -
That’s something that’s completely missing from eReaders.
Whether it’s on the Kindle or on the iPhone or on the Sony Reader Touch – ebooks just don’t pull you in the way physical books do.
Basically, every ebook has the same story behind it. They’re all clones – all with the touch and feel and smell of a 1-year-old Kindle 2.
Amazon need to fix this to pull in the 50% of people addicted to physical books.
Filed under: books | Tagged: kindle vs book, the love of books | 8 Comments »
Martyn Daniels at Brave New World talks about the various ‘exclusive’ and limited edition Sony Reader offerings in the UK -
Perhaps 8 is a bit much. However, Sony do have the right idea.
Readers want choice – they want something that suits them and can be personalized
Consider all the criteria on which people choose devices (beyond the functionality) -
Sony is providing a lot of options – the colors, the limited edition devices. It increases the chance readers find a version that uniquely suits them.
Beyond Choice, we want personalization and customization
After buying anything we personalize it -
The device becomes an extension of us.
We want to be able to customize it and personalize it and make sure that it fits.
Which brings us to eReaders
We have already lost all the benefits books had i.e.
What can eReaders do to give us back our signalling options?
Actually quite a lot. To be fair they are doing some of this already -
However there is a lot more that can be done -
There are a lot of other things that probably need more thinking or more evolution of eInk.
The big opportunities in personalization
Whatever companies comes up with -
Will make a killing.
If analysts are right and eReaders are a 20-30 million units a year business by 2013, some company is going to be selling a lot of eInk back-covers and premium leather cases.
Filed under: extensions | Tagged: eReader | Leave a Comment »
There is a lot of hue and cry amongst bloggers about how Mr. Murdoch is committing harakiri by talking about blocking Google.
Why then are Blogs trying to save newspapers?
Perhaps Blogs really care about newspapers and want to save them.
This is the rationale that will appeal most to people who believe that people are fundamentally good (no one has proven good or evil exists so how could we know).
Let’s say there’s a 75% chance that this is what it is – Blogs care deeply about newspapers and journalism and they want quality competition and that’s why they are so critical of Mr. Murdoch’s idea.
That still leaves 25%.
Perhaps Bloggers care more about arguing and railing against Mr. Murdoch than doing what’s best for them
This is possible too. Perhaps Blogs do want newspapers to die.
Let’s say there’s a 20% chance that this is what it is – Bloggers realize that newspapers dying is good for them and yet they want to have their cake and eat it too.
Which leaves us with just the 5% chance.
Could it be that blogs are wrong?
The current opinion has shifted from - ‘Mr. Murdoch’s plan could never work’ to ‘All the major newspapers would have to join’.
Could it be that it will shift even more.
Are we suddenly discovering that newspapers aren’t the worthless doddering dinosaurs we thought they were?
Suddenly newspapers are in demand. The same content that was worthless a few weeks ago suddenly has dual value -
The ugly duckling has turned into a swan.
Perhaps Bloggers aren’t wrong – just evil.
Perhaps the 5% chance isn’t that Bloggers are wrong. It’s that Bloggers don’t want to pay for the news content they get for free.
‘Information wants to be Free’ empowers people and allows for a ton of possibilities - It also lets you fool newspapers for a really, really long time.
Eventually though, you realize P. T. Barnum was right. You can’t fool all of the people all of the time.
Both in the US and in the UK newspapers are realizing their content isn’t worthless and advertising isn’t the answer. Amazon and Microsoft are providing newspapers a lifeline – Will newspapers be able to open their eyes and step away from the delusions that have plagued them to this point?
Filed under: publishing | Tagged: future of newspapers, hope for news | 1 Comment »