Amazon Kindle: ID work

“Temporarily out of stock…Due to heavy customer demand…Please ORDER KINDLE NOW to reserve your place in line.”

I saw this on their site.

Who believes this?
Are they trying to create demand?

($399.00 :laughing:)

I know a few people who’ve ordered one and have had to wait…

The customer is always…er…sometimes…no…never right. That’s it.

A couple new things to add to the thread. The first is new ebook reader from iRex. It doesn’t feature a wireless library like the Kindle, but is pretty nice looking & huge (10" screen).

Second thing is an IP thing. I heard about this on the radio the other day: the Baen Free Library http://www.baen.com/library/. Baen is a science fiction publisher of physical books. A while ago, in lieu of trying to sue people or create an iTunes of books, they started posting some of their collection for free on the web. The owner says they have seen no influence on sales negative or positive.

New one guys: Barnes and Noble

That B&N one seems more in the zone for me personally… I wish the logo on the back was smaller… but I like the object.

I really like the potential for the interface on the B&N and their sales strategy.

Interface: It’s difficult to see in images, but the B&N has two screens. The large e-paper type for the text in B&W and a smaller full color touch screen below for the interface. I like this because it blows open all kinds of opportunities for development. The B&N, similar to the iPhone, might be able to run apps that would give end users and developers opportunities to find new uses for the device. At least, I hope so. In any case, it’s a lot better looking that 40 tiny buttons à la Kindle.

Strategy: One problem with the Kindle is price. Actually all of these things costs way too much. B&N wants to sell theirs at a loss (or at cost) and make up for it with book sales. Also, they say their ebooks will be sold at a considerable discount to the paper versions. It’s about time someone thought of the whole problem, not just the device.

Too true, but I never thought I would by an e-book and this B&N one has me thinking maybe I could get that… and I had no idea about the things you just mentioned. Consumer decisions are often made before knowing all the facts, and consumer’s research often times is just to validate and justify a decision that has already been made within the first 30 seconds on a subconscious level.

More info: http://ireaderreview.com/2009/10/14/kindle-vs-athena-barnes-noble-athena-ereader/

Also from the front page: Ammunition is rumoured to have done the design work.

Killer app? The possibility of sharing and lending books between B&N Athena owners. Now that would revolutionary!

Why isn’t every designer going crazy about this? This is the closest I’ve seen to a killer ebook. I’m jealous of people in the US for the first time in years!

Last time was when I realized that sour cream and onion Lays were widely available in the US and nearly impossible to find in Canada. At least that helps keep my gut in.

Kindle sales boost Amazon profits

just to reiterate, sales is not an indicator of good design. Though I’m happy for Amazon, as I’m a huge Amazon fan…

Bump for a new model. Kindle generation 3 or 4 now?

http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Wireless-Reading-Display-Graphite/dp/B002Y27P3M/ref=amb_link_353611822_2?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=gateway-center-column&pf_rd_r=0Y0KZE7ZJ9WGJ6Y7VPWC&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1271001842&pf_rd_i=507846

The price is dropping to $139.00US for a wi-fi only version. $189 for wi-fi plus 3G wirelss.

As for the ID, I like how this has evolved. I think Barnes & Nobles Nook still looks better, but this is finally getting thin and refined enough that I would consider buying one. Especially at these prices.

Funny, I was at the airport the other day and this guy was using an iPad, a random woman walked up to him

“Is that one of those iPads”
“yup”
“I just bought a kindle”
“OK”
“I wish I had an iPad so it could do more things…”
“uh-huh”

Then she schlepped away.

That said, the ID on this new one super nice

For strictly book reading, I really like the Kindle. I got to use one of my friends the other day, and it was really nice. I like the direction they are headed now (rather than the first gen.) but I suppose an iPad would do more (obviously)

Yo!: The new Kindle does a little more. They’ve added a web browser (but they call it a “development kit”, ie it’s crap).

I finally tried out an iPad. I was a little disappointed. It’s rather slow…maybe worse than my cheapo netbook. For playing with, it’s awesome. I’d hate to tap out a long email though. Also, my cheapo netbook has a handy stand built right in, perfect for perching up on the counter and watching a race while doing dinner.

Kindle at $140 is starting to look like a fun little gadget for reading. Also, I like that I can drop PDFs on it. Amazon also has a library of classics (ie, public domain) works for free. That would have been nice, since I just started Don Quixote.

Mr 914,

One thing that kept me away from the Kindle originally is that I had to reformat PDFs in order to read them. is this still true or can you now just put a PDF on a read it?

I think you still gotta do dumb stuff to get PDFs on.

The browser is not that crappy. It’s a webkit-based browser (like Safari), and from what I’ve heard, it renders pretty well.

I’m actually seriously considering a Kindle so I can get in the habit of reading again. I pack light and am still in college, so I refuse to buy more books than I need to. Plus, design books are like 50 lbs. each, so I’ve already got enough physical books.

Tim: Good question. I didn’t hear about that. This is all they say:

Enhanced PDF Reader – With dictionary lookup, notes, and highlights

Another thing that they mention is that the Kindle doesn’t heat up (the Nook or Sony don’t either) because of the e-ink display. How is the iPad for heat?

I just read on Style sight that the ipad is going to court for overheating when used outside or on a hot day (god forbid Texans/Floridians buy one).

Im also really considering buying one of these. However, the only books I read are non-fictional, design based (Donald Norman, Heath Bros, ect). Im sure several of the better known ones would for sure get published. How is their design section? I can quickly see the selection of design books taking a back seat to every fiction book on the planet.