Philippe Starck calls the Kindle "a little sad"

Quite a few people have weighed in on the Kindle's retro style, and we're sure the lot of them felt a little vindicated when superstar designer Philippe Starck straight-up called the device's design "almost modern" and "a little sad." Speaking at the LeWeb 3 conference in Paris, Starck said he'd have put the minimum amount of plastic around the screen, but that it looked like Amazon's designers weren't "courageous" enough to take that step. He also harshed on the ridiculously easy-to-press page buttons, saying that the physical interface just "wasn't well done." All excellent points, we have to say -- although you'd think that a guy rocking shoulder pads like that would be down with the Kindle's totally-80s effects.

[mike @ Dec 12th 2007 2:36PM]

your mom's a little sad

[iii @ Dec 12th 2007 2:45PM]

the guy made more money in a year than you ever will in a lifetime,

thats a little sad.

[mike @ Dec 12th 2007 3:22PM]

@iii

and yet somehow the very thought of someone making more money than me doesn't drive me to suicide

you're a little sad

[ScOObyDoo @ Dec 12th 2007 2:38PM]

This guy has no right to claim what is ugly and what is not. Anyone that has seen Starck crap knows he is king of ugly shit. Anyone that disagrees should Google "Microsoft Starck mouse" to see what I mean.

[Rob @ Dec 12th 2007 2:43PM]

Oh wow, you're right. That's some fugly looking mofo.

[Jason @ Dec 12th 2007 2:48PM]

Yeah, and have you ever tried to make orange juice with that squeezer he's oh-so-famous for?

Junk.

[Andy S. @ Dec 12th 2007 3:03PM]

Wow.

It looks like a robot's vagina.

[Tim @ Dec 12th 2007 3:11PM]

that mouse looks like a robot vagina

[mmh @ Dec 12th 2007 3:21PM]

I can't believe I'm agreeing, but truly... it's a robot vagina.

[Paul @ Dec 12th 2007 3:28PM]

The starck mouse is not that bad, Engadget says so:
http://www.engadget.com/2004/08/31/first-look-at-the-philippe-starck-designed-microsoft-optical/

[Matthew Hilario @ Dec 12th 2007 5:14PM]

the igina.

[Trace The Hedgehog @ Dec 12th 2007 10:39PM]

yup, a robot's vagina..

[petey @ Dec 13th 2007 12:45AM]

from past comments, it seemed to me like most engadget readers were looking forward to the introduction of the robot vagina. it's finally here, and this is how you greet it? i have to say i'm a little disappointed.

[Zak @ Dec 13th 2007 2:31AM]

What about that motorbike he designed for Aprilia.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1293/534460919_945af435a7_o.jpg

Yeah...That was a superb and beautiful design! Thats why they sold about 2 and he hasn't been allowed near a motorbike design studio since.

[Allan @ Dec 12th 2007 2:44PM]

Whether the guy knows design stuff or not... I kind of agree with him. There's just been something about the Kindle's look and design that just doesn't sit with me as being well thought out...

[Rob @ Dec 12th 2007 2:46PM]

The price.

[ed @ Dec 12th 2007 3:27PM]

Do you own one? Or even seen one in real life?

I agree on the buttons, but once its inside the leather case - it becomes a non-issue.

And the only people complaining about price are those who simply cannot afford it. Clearly (since the price isn't dropping radically) people are willing to pay $400 for it. Unlike the iPhone, which Apple had to come back and fix prices because their device wasn't selling (after the initial rush).

[CraigJ @ Dec 12th 2007 3:44PM]

WTF does this have to do with the iPhone? I'm getting really tired of people working in negative (or positive for that matter) iPhone/Apple comments into unrelated threads. If you hate them (or love them) so much that you constantly feel the need to work them into any and all conversations I suggest professional help. We should update Godwin's law to add Apple

[caleb @ Dec 12th 2007 3:50PM]

It's not that people can't afford it, its that they don't see the value. One might say that they can't afford a $10 sheet of notebook paper. Its not that they don't have $10 of discretionary income. They just don't see the value in a $10 piece of paper.

[Allan @ Dec 12th 2007 4:06PM]

@ ed:

No, I don't have one (don't read enough to bother). But I understand what you're saying. Thing is that I don't feel like it should have to be in a leather case to be less awkwardly designed or less ugly. The device is just odd.

[superfresh @ Dec 12th 2007 4:27PM]

So, once I store my Kindle in the leather case, the buttons are no longer an issue?

Wow...

[ericisshort @ Dec 12th 2007 5:35PM]

I think CraigJ just compared Steve Jobs to Hitler.

[Johan S @ Dec 12th 2007 2:48PM]

There really is no reason why there is such a huge white plastic margin. Make the screen bigger. As for those saying text needs to have a margin -- there is already a margin .. within the display screen! The display should go all the way to the edge of the screen (at least up to the side tabs).

The kindle is ugly. The sone ebook reader looks better -- even though that too has a huge margin on the sides. I guess Apple is one of the few good designers of hardware since the iphone has no side margin to the display.

[L. M. Lloyd @ Dec 12th 2007 3:44PM]

I know practicality is considered quaint and charming traits of the past to anyone who would say "Apple is one of the few good designers of hardware," but if you have spent any time actually reading electronic books, you would quickly realize that wafer-thin, with a screen running right up to the edge, and no hard buttons is in fact an AWFUL design for an ebook reader. The fact is that it needs to be thick enough, and have large enough edges so you can hold it comfortably in one position for hours. I am not saying I think the Kindle is a particularly good design, but having actual buttons to turn the pages, and a little more bulk than just a screen isn't what makes it a bad design. Being ugly and having that ridiculous keyboard are what make it a bad design.

Try holding your iPhone in the same position while lying in bed for four hours, and then get back to us on what a wonderful design it would make for an ebook reader. Phones and PDAs make fine ebook readers of sitting on a train, or a quick read while waiting in line, but their design makes them pale in comparison to a book when you just want to spend a whole Sunday curled up reading. What ever device actually cracks the ebook market is going to be really comfortable to hold for long periods. I know I am just wasting my breath, because here on Engadget nothing matter but how cool you look in line at Starbucks with your new toy, but seriously, looking "slick" and being usable are not the same thing for every application.

[Johan S @ Dec 12th 2007 4:05PM]

I have spent hours with my iPhone reading stuff on the web. I also have a sony ebook reader that I used a little until it got old rather quickly.

How does having a massive side margin make it easier to handle than if the display was wider? By goodness look at the size of the Kindle's margins.. it's huge. Why not make the display wider? they could have made the "Page left/right" buttons much thinner and it would have been just as easy to page through. Also, there is plastic between those buttons and the display edge .. they could easily have got rid of that. The device is simply not convenient.

Normally I order gadgets just to play with but honestly ordered a Kindle already knowing it's going to be junk.

[L. M. Lloyd @ Dec 12th 2007 4:31PM]

Screens cost more than plastic. Aside from superfluous style, all running the screen to the edge of the device does is increase the price (and depending on display technology, battery consumption), if you know someone's thumb is going to be planted right in that spot. Seriously, you could make a huge screen that covers the entire front of the device, and then have all the display elements inset an inch from the edges, but then you have thrown away 4 inches of screen that the customer is paying for, for no practical purpose.

Once again, I am not saying that I think the Kindle is a particularly good example of an ebook reader, but I don't think its problems stem from not being enough like the iPhone. One of the comments made in the video that cracks me up is their criticism that the buttons are placed exactly where you naturally put your hand. One could make the same criticism of every game controller ever made. Perhaps a touchscreen is more pleasing to Starck's sense of style, and perhaps it would have garnered the device a few more points with reviewers who were more concerned with first impressions than long-term usability, but in reality, having page turning buttons right where it is most comfortable to hold the device is exactly what I want from an ebook reader. It means I am not going to have to change my grip or reach for buttons every few minutes as I read through pages.

Perhaps we use ebooks differently, but when I'm reading a book, I don't want to hunt for a button, or make a gesture on the screen, or see cool page turning animations, or have fancy kinetic scrolling that tracks the velocity of my finger. I just want the next page to show up the instant I finish the page I am reading, with as little delay as possible. Having a button right under my thumb, where I am holding the book, seems like a fabulous way to accomplish that goal. Sure, it might confuse a particularly dim-witted person who doesn't understand that they can just flip back a page if they didn't mean to turn the page yet. Sure, it might garner criticism from designers who think that how the device looks is more important than what it does, but really is there a single more important feature of an ebook reader than turning pages? Shouldn't that function be pretty much what the entire device is built around? I mean, all the searching, and online connectivity, are great, but if you are reading a book, you aren't going to get very far before you need to turn a page.

[Alex @ Dec 12th 2007 2:51PM]

I agree, if he's going to be dissing the look and feel of the kindle maybe first he should make his appearance a little sleeker as well. It'd be like if Richard Stallman was saying, "Yeah the Kindle is great and all, but it seems somewhat unkempt."

[Sam @ Dec 12th 2007 2:55PM]

I'm right there with you. I think the Kindle's design blows, but it's hard to take it from a homeless guy in old motorcycle jacket with shoulder pads. What is this, the 80s?

[John P. @ Dec 12th 2007 10:26PM]

don't forget the shiny leather pants with the giant beer gut overhang.

[Harkonian @ Dec 13th 2007 12:04PM]

I think almost all of us agree that the Kindle is _not_ a good looking device. But, I think its less-than-stellar looks would be a moot point if any book you could buy new on Amazon would also be available on the Kindle. At the end of the day it's about how much actual reading you can do and presently that isn't a whole lot.

[Homer J @ Dec 12th 2007 2:52PM]

I don't understand where this device fits. In a world where we are seeing consolidation of everything into one device (take the iPhone for example) who is going to carry around a Kindle. Right now I can read everything I want via my PDA, and see no need for a bulky single purpose device.

If publishers were to agree to an iPhone standard - something thats possible when you know you are designing for a single device, with a standard screen size, and a large population - I could see the Kindle's demize.

Good effort though. Hope Amazon didn't spend a bundle on development.....

[Insert Name Here @ Dec 12th 2007 3:28PM]

I think the point is that it uses electronic paper as a display as opposed to a back lit screen. Reading large amounts of text on a plain 'ol screen can be hard on your eyes after a while (I can't even imagine reading an entire book). People don't want all of their devices to have electronic paper screens a separate device was needed. They are way over priced, but I think it's a step in a cool direction.

[Neoprimal @ Dec 12th 2007 3:34PM]

You have to look at it from a different perspective. The device is meant to 'replace' in all aspects, novels, books, journals, etc. You buy this and technically, you never need to go buying hardcover or paperback stuff again (unless they're not available as ebooks that is).
While a PDA is a great multi-function device and you CAN read your ebook on there, it doesn't mean it's built FOR that purpose. PDAs and Cellphones are meant to be slipped into the pocket away from sight. They're meant to do several things with mobility being priority 1. Consider a TV - great for watching programs, not so great for listening to radio stations/music/anything really, right? For that you use your home entertainment system with 7 speakers and dolby processing. Same idea here.

An ebook reader is meant to feel like and give all the flexibility and more, of flipping through a book. Short version, it's got a way bigger screen and great resolution and tools at your fingertip meant for reading/writing - thus a larger form factor.

I don't think it's ugly per se, it's def. retro though. It just doesn't look or feel like it is/should be worth $400. Of course once you sort of understand the tech built into it, it all comes into clear view (it's like free cell phone service...to amazon 24/7 so boom! Me want book, me look it up on amazon, me buy book, me happy).
I'm no developer though, so who knows what the thing costs to make. If I had a shot at designing an ebook reader, I'd make it the same size, give it a sexy metal backing and have the margins be glossy and curvy, aka a longer, wider ipod touch/iphone looking thing.

[randy @ Dec 12th 2007 2:52PM]

WHY IS A MAN WEARING SHOULDER PADS?

[Dan @ Dec 12th 2007 3:06PM]

Got out of football practice a little late?

[Josh @ Dec 12th 2007 3:10PM]

His clothes were designed and made by his married sister, Dorothy Zbornack.

[randy @ Dec 12th 2007 8:57PM]

Earth to Philippe: Male shoulder pads are passé.

We are in the age of the unitard now:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2195/2086295710_ae295d28ff_o.jpg


SO hot right now, unitards.

[Blake Bowen @ Dec 12th 2007 2:56PM]

Those pads make him look like Quasimodo.

[Charles Nash @ Dec 12th 2007 3:12PM]

I had a Kindle and sent it back. It has a major design flaw, those large page turners are ridicules!

[giuliop @ Dec 12th 2007 8:15PM]

That's because he is.

[Steve @ Dec 12th 2007 3:06PM]

You spelled his name wrong, it is 'Philippe Starck' NOT 'Phillipe Starck'.

[Wolfticket @ Dec 12th 2007 3:26PM]

You mean "Philippe S+arck"?

BTW - Chuckle out loud at "a little sad" :)

[KAD @ Dec 12th 2007 3:27PM]

He is wearing a Dianese motorcycle jacket with CE approved armor. He probably rode his custom designed Aprilla to the event.

[Scott Fleming @ Dec 12th 2007 4:36PM]

Doubt he's THAT cool. Prolly slimed in on a Harley.

[Grant @ Dec 12th 2007 8:56PM]

so he rode it up to back stage and was in such a rush to get on stage he left the awkward looking jacket on?

lame.

[DH Wall @ Dec 13th 2007 10:37AM]

Amazon does not have a hardware reputation yet so I think they are fair game for a little jabbing.

If Kindle had an Apple logo on it, we would have seen something like at end of Jedi with fireworks celebrations and Ewoks dancing around.

[Charlie W @ Dec 12th 2007 3:32PM]

Coming from the designer of artistic, useless crap.

[Nate @ Dec 12th 2007 3:39PM]

Brett Favre wears glasses?

[lolec @ Dec 12th 2007 3:53PM]

if jonathan ive say its fugly everyone will be sucking his balls.

[tnkgrl @ Dec 12th 2007 3:50PM]

"It's almost modern"... Yep, that's pretty much how I feel, ie. it's ugly!