At Techmeme there is a small amount of buzz about the new Kindle 2.5 upgrade. It’s revealing to see how the Press interpret the upcoming upgrade.
The titles of the articles talking about Kindle 2.5 tell a story -
Kindle Software Update Adds Twitter, PDF Zoom, Sharper Fonts
Kindle jumps onto social network bandwagon with Twitter and Facebook updates
Kindle firmware 2.5 imminent: Twitter/Facebook Integration, ebook Collections, more
Amazon goes social with new Kindle update
Kindle Update adds Facebook and Twitter Interaction, Password …
Amazon Kindle gets Facebook and Twitter updates
The articlesthemselves reveal even more.
The Press fixate on what they think are important features
Kindle owners are ecstatic about folders and yet most of the articles only mention Folders in passing. One article even manages to avoid mentioning Folders completely.
It was the first line item and it’s the most crucial addition – How can you miss it?
Only a few talk about sharper fonts and better readability. Similarly, the improvement in PDF support is only mentioned in passing. It’s as if the Press can’t wait to talk about what they feel is the only real improvement.
The Press is fixated on the Facebook and Twitter updates feature because that’s what they understand.
Basically, none of the bloggers took the time to figure out what the update means to readers and people who own the device. They just wrote it from their own perspective.
Wired finds it hard to accept Kindle’s improving
Gadget Lab at Wired writes -
Amazon has updated the Kindle’s software to v2.5 and added both useful and questionable new features …
The new features fall into two categories: social, and not-stupid.
These seem to spoil the very reason I use the Kindle to read: lack of distraction. When I read on my iPod I’m all, like, ADD?
Wired manage to take a very good Kindle 2.5 upgrade and make it seem bad.
Perfect Example of the Press not understanding eReaders or readers
Not a single writer made the effort to see what the upgrade is like – Yet they pass judgement on it.
This is Charlie Sorrel’s defence for criticizing the upgrade without even taking a look at it -
I can’t test anything yet, as the Lady has made off with my Kindle today …
I’ll bring you a full report as soon as I have the update in my hands
So you mean to tell us you wrote off the Kindle 2.5 upgrade without even taking a look at it? That you have no idea of how the features work and what the social features are like and yet you classified the social features as distracting and the other features as not-stupid.
Wow.
We have 6 articles about the Kindle 2.5 upgrade and not a single one of them has actually tried it out. 6 articles written by people who haven’t taken the 5 seconds needed to adjust their perspective and look at things through the eyes of a reader or an eReader owner.
This sort of crucification of the Kindle and of eReaders has been happening since 2007. Some things never change.
Filed under: eBook Reader Devices Tagged: | bias, non-readers criticizing ereaders
Come on now fellows, don’t you know that this is the true test of a politicitian, to be able to talk forever about something about you know absolutely nothing about but you have to sound like you are an absolute authority and you know everything about it and you cannot believe that the rest of us are so stupid that we haven’t figured it out yet. Of course they can tell us dummies the simple answer and after an hour or two of saying absolutely nothing that makes any sense or has anything to do with the original problem they will have given you the simple answer to the problem. If you can make any sense out of what I just said, HOORAY FOR YOU, you can now run for public office.