Kindle Review – Kindle Fire Review, Kindle 4 Review

We come across some very interesting differences as we contrast the Nintendo DSi and the Kindle 2′s approaches to sharing and community.

How the DSi is approaching sharing etc.

In both TV commercials, and videos at their online store the DSi is shown as being a shared experience – either multiple people are sharing a DSi or each has their own and they’re interacting  each other. 

1. Take a look at the UK ad – . 
2. And take a look at the video on this page for the Mixed Messages game.  

Basically Nintendo’s runaway success with the Wii has had a lot to do with making the Wii easily accessible, family friendly, and positioning it as a shared experience -

1. Wii Sports, Mario Kart, etc. are totally collaborative, shared experiences. 
2. I’ve seen people cluster around the Wii at House Parties and one of my friends even plays Wii tennis on first dates.
3. As opposed to Xbox360 and PS3 which are focused on hard core gamers and a male audience, the Wii is accessible to casual gamers, women, and even kids.  

Now, Nintendo is taking the same approach with the DSi.

How Kindle 2 is approaching sharing etc.

Amazon has, consciously or unconsciously, chosen to limit the Kindle and Kindle 2′s social aspects.

This limits the impact Kindle could have. Yes, K1 and K2 are revolutionizing the publishing industry. However, by letting people participate more, Amazon could make it a faster revolution and one that people are vested in.

Here are a few features that Amazon ought to consider -

1. An in-built social network. We already have a huge collection of people who share a love in books. Letting these people interact and form friendships would be really cool.
2. Using the GPS to allow Kindle and Kindle 2 owners to find nearby Kindle owners.  
3. Adding space in the Amazon Cloud for each user so they can share their Kindle screenshots, images, profiles, etc. with other readers.
4. Kindle Book Clubs and Groups based around individual books. Letting users add reviews is good. However, letting them talk to other readers 1 on 1 about the book is better.
5. 3rd party app store that would let developers come up with games, etc. that encourage sharing between people.  For example, an application that uses WhisperNet to let random Kindle owners play scrabble or chess with each other.
6. Letting a Kindle owner share a longer sample of a book he’s bought with another Kindle owner. Or, if the almighty publishers allow it, transfer all rights of the book to another owner.
7. Using WhisperNet to let Kindle Owners message each other. It’d be really useful in multiple Kindle families.
8. Comprehensive Kindle Sales Rankings and User recommendations. An instant view of the books being bought and recommended.
9. Let users upload their book purchases, etc. to twitter and Facebook. It would, of course, be opt-in. BTW, twitter gets recognized by the word checker and not facebook.

While the actual act of reading a book is a solitary act, books themselves are a sharing of ideas. Letting people connect with each other, and spread ideas freely and easily makes for some great possibilities.

Amazon is already doing two huge things -

1. Accelerating the change from physical books to electronic books.  
2. Allowing absolutely anyone to become a published author.

Perhaps it is excessive to ask them to pull off a third big change i.e. make reading books a more social and shareable experience and create a huge thriving community for kindle owners.

However, the pay-off would be well worth it - Amazon would have a huge social network where all the users have good intent i.e. they gladly pay for content.

The single biggest feature Kindle 3 or Kindle 4 could have is community.

Filed under: thoughts Tagged: | dsi vs kindle 2, nintendo dsi