Following the launch of Amazon's
third-generation Kindle, company CEO Jeff Bezos sat down to discuss the e-reader business with
USA Today. We'd recommend giving the whole piece a look-see if you just can't get enough
Kindle in your life, but a few choice quotes caught our attention. For starters, Bezos predicted that Kindle e-book sales will "surpass paperback sales sometime in the next 9 to 12 months," and that "sometime after that, we'll surpass the combination of paperback and
hardcover." Considering that the Kindle platform is but 33 months old, and that books are just
a wee bit older, that's pretty impressive. In a separate sit-down with
Pocket-lint, Steve Kessel -- Amazon's senior vice president of Worldwide Digital Media -- teased us all with regard to a color version of the company's famed e-reader. 'Course, we've known that Bezos and Company
aren't too hopeful about such a thing in the near-term, but we've yet to actually hear the company confess to having specific color alternatives in the lab. If you'll recall, we found Qualcomm's
Mirasol demonstration
worthy of laud back at CES, and according to Kessel, "that's in the lab." We're also told that a slew of other color options are always in testing, though, so we're doing our darnedest to not get those hopes too high. It ain't working, but still...
posted July 29th 2010 9:50AM
@ZombiePete
Yeah, no. Paper books aren't going anywhere anytime soon. CDs (hell, records) are still around, even though many people have moved on to MP3 players. Some people just don't understand technology, others prefer the feel of real books.
There's no way any government would subsidize these at all, except maybe for schools. They're getting cheaper already. The Kindle was $400 when it came out. Now you can get a significantly better model for $150. It's daft to think that they won't get even cheaper.
Paper mills are the worst polluters of any industry in the country. Have you ever been near a paper mill? The smell is horrendous.
I'm pissed the new wifi only version only comes in black. Ereaders are probably the only piece of tech that doesn't look good it black.
@iName
You might not like how the device looks in black, but black is definitely a better color with the displays currently available. It helps you perceive more contrast on the screen. Plus, it won't go all nasty yellow like white electronics are prone to doing.
@iName I am surprised they ever sold a white model in the first place. When they brag about their contrast levels what they are bragging about is how white the background is compared to the black text. No e-readers have a screen with a white background. They are more of a muddy off-white, similar to newsprint (paper that newspapers are printed on). Better ones are closer to that of a paperback, but few even approach the whiteness of a hardcover.
Having a white bezel only makes the background seem more of a muddy off-white, having a darker plastic bezel make it far less noticeable and makes the screen seem superior.
@metafor
I have two Kindle II devices. We bought them when Woot! had them on sale. They do exactly the same thing as the first Kindle, which many people have, and do the exact same thing as the current model. They display books.
I have no reason to replace either of these devices. They both work perfectly, have plenty of space left, and do exactly what we need them to do.
By the way, we have 150+ books on both of them.
Lots of places to buy books.
Not so many places to buy ebooks.
Amazon's statistics are a fascinating trend but don't reflect the entire book industry.
@Pingles
There are a ton of places to buy ebooks, and a lot of great library systems that support eReaders.
@MsCG1 Don't most libraries that have ebooks use the ePub format...which the Kindle doesn't support?
I won't buy one until its refresh rate is on par with lcd. I don't like waiting for pages to show up when I flip through a book.
E versions of novels are great, but some of these companies should really be focusing on college text books. That market is incredibly huge, populated with early adopters, and with a potential business model that absolutely makes sense (billable real-time updates, live links, etc.
@paul34 You can't really spin that. Anyone that is a heavy book reader should be using a eletronic device to read their books.
The reason is two fold. You take out the high cost of books (someone reading a book a week effectively erases the cost for the Kindle/Nook real quick), and you save trees.
To argue that "most" paper trees are raised on farms is pretty bogus. "Most" does not equal all. I'm no tree hugger, but when you can easily protect the environment I'm all for that.
Ya ya ya... I know... Not everyone can afford a e-book reader, but if you can you would be hard pressed to convince me there is any reason to keep buying traditional books with no pictures in them.
Does this thing come with a RF/bluetooth remote?
I can imagine being sprawled out under the covers on a cold winter day and not wanting to raise my hand to touch the damn thing every 60 seconds to turn the page.
@Yakuza Fighter
A. Books have the same "problem"
B. Turn up the heat or wear gloves. Jeez.
@angelusp So I am assuming that your anti-tree cuttting stance is base don an environmental goal and not just because you feel sorry for the trees.
If so keep in mind that trees are actually farmed nowadays. Trees that are cut were planted in nice little rows just to be grown and made into paper. These trees do wonders for converting Carbon Dioxide to Oxygen, and then sequestering the Carbon in a nice solid form. So for those that feel that keeping CO2 out of the atmosphere, there is little better than planting a tree, letting it grow, cutting it down and then using the wood permanently for either lumber or paper (if you just let it die in nature, it decays and releases CO2).
So instead of thinking of books as tree killers, think of them as carbon sequesters that were grown on a farm. No need to feel guilty.
I would love to see the unintended consequence of ebook ubiquity be the return of facial and toilet tissue to their proper sizes.
@ManWithHat @dreamwriter
ok, do you guys realize that a paper, if properly stored, can last hundreds-thousands of years, be read, and then decoded if you have examples of the writing? If you find a CD in thousands of years, you not only have to find a CD drive, you have to have the software and the programs to run and open the file. Then you get the text, which hopefully you can display, and then finally, you have a chance to decode it with examples of the writing. As long as the data isn't corrupted that is...a scratched or damaged HD is near useless and difficult to recover, while damaged paper or stone can still be visually read.
Almost anything that is actually archived is currently done in physical format. Film and paper last a lot longer and are more universal than digital means. Thats slowly changing though.
Guys i think one or two of you misunderstoond what my former post was about. Kindle is a fantastic device, there is no doubt about it. It does for what it is build in a great way.
I was talking about the plattform from a software developers point of view and the progress that amazon is making with it.
The unicode support in this plattform is also still laking. Thats why for example in japan hardly any publisher has books for it.
If you want to read before sleeping in bed and you want to read the "online version" of a newspaper, then the Kindle must be able to handle it IMHO, but that is just my *wish*.
All i wanted to say in my post, was that i have the feeling that the plattform (software+hardware) is not getting the required attention it would deserve from amazon.
I'm still a bit disappointed that Amazon didn't support ePub this time around, AGAIN. ePub is the standard now, and you won't be finding AZW or Mobi at your public library. You might find PDF, but everyone is supporting ePub.
I'll stick with my Nook until Amazon gets it together and supports ePub.
such a Meerkat Machete Massacre... just re-framing the fact that kindle is a popular ebook format but remember best selling books have sales in the hundreds of million copies. Hundreds of Million... the best selling kindle author to date 1,000,000 copies. Best selling print author 4 billion copies.. they have a long long way to go.
@angelusp My family owns 1,000+ acres of timberland in the SE USA. Timber is planted (by hand, not in rows like the timber companies do) and grows 10 years before there is a thinning cut. Then there is a full cut after another 10 years or so. Even then only marketable trees are cut. Streamside management zones are left undisturbed. That's 10 years a pop of absolutely unmolested habitat for animals. Best forestry practices are used.
If there is no market for timber, the land will be cleared of trees and crops grown with a 100% loss of habitat. Owning land is expensive -- you have to pay tax on it every year. I can't afford to set up a private nature preserve.
@angelusp This is an easy argument. Listen, toxins are bad for the environment, I get it. However, humans are greedy. Toxins are the current problem however, if you look at the big picture, cutting down trees will result in more oxygen lose, and people. I'm more worried about not being able to breathe than what I am breathing. Human body is an adaptive fighter; If it's punches aren't working it changes to a kicking style.
Also! I want to say something else; What a book is printed on doesn't fucking matter. You're not reading the book because of the paper. You're reading the book for the words. The story. Sure, you might not be use to the kindle just yet but that doesn't mean you can't get use to it. Because in the end it is the words you're reading not the paper itself.
@WilliamNighthawk
Before saying what you said in your post, please consult an ecological authority. Running out of oxygen? Seriously? You must be trolling or you're very ignorant. I recommend taking biology/botany 101 or read up on photosynthesis (both light and dark cycles) and cellular respiration. When you're done, come back and apologize.
Trees actually contribute very little in the way of oxygen to the atmosphere. Believe it or not, but trees actually consume more oxygen as they age and put out more CO2 as a result.
@angelusp
Agreed!Why not use the technology to create/read books in a paperless. E-readers are perfect solution for that!
Kindle with Mirasol display tech and I'm sold right away. Just as long as it will also work with ePub and PDF files and have non-ugly industrial design.
Here's hoping...
Hmm...nice to see little iterative changes, but I'm probably not going to buy one until it can display books competently, even if it is cheap.
Why is it that the kindle edition of books are more expensive than the paperback version? Sure, the kindle edition is cheaper than the most expensive version of the book you can find, but more expensive than just about any other version. This doesn't make sense to me. I'd love to have a kindle, but why would I pay $11 for the kindle version when the paperback is available for $4?
@Rick James It was made in jest neither as a troll or ignorance. Though I admit to not knowing I figured it would be amusing to over [what is a word that goes here: Estimating [N] Emphasizing [Y] Speaking [;p] ] the amount of work trees do.
However, I still believe that my second non-joking part speaks for itself. Why are people arguing over what the story is printed on, it doesn't matter as long as you enjoy the story.
This also proves a third thing: You guys take things far to seriously.
@Rick James Also, thank you for the reads :] I always love interesting subjects and to learn something new.
What I'm looking for.
* standard, popular file format (no single vendor/ single store lock-in whatsoever)
* colour displays
* removable storage & battery
* no major issues with the device or store(s) or availability of books
* good PDF support
Single-vendor format/ DRM lock-in would mean sky-high prices once they reach a critical mass of users simply 'cause competition is locked out and they can get away with it.
I'm surprised more people are not concerned about it. Stiff competition is critical to the success of this type of device and the books available for them, just like bookstores compete for your dollar on the books they sell.
I run a small printing company, Is it wrong that I own 2 of these things :p Some of the tech involved in the color department is unbelievably complicated, I hope they can nail it down, but I don't expect anything in the dear future. Not that I'm complaining, I'm happily putting myself out of business with black and white Kindle.