Jul 16, 2008
Kindle 2.0 – Gathering dust from Oct 2008
An Amazon insider has apparently let slip that an updated version of Amazon’s Kindle will be in stores before the end of the year.
Maybe my headline is a little harsh, Amazon did deem v1.0 a success (despite not actually releasing any sales figures), but it hardly set the world alight.
The rumours state that they plan on making it bigger and producing the model in a range of “appealing” colours. But, this doesn’t detract from the fact that consumers will be asked to carry around another gadget when the ones they have already are getting very close to achieving the same thing.
The iPhone has a e-book reader and a number of classics available for under a pound. And many other books are available from third parties in PDF form which can be read on your iPhone.
The one advantage Amazon does have is its range of content available, but is that enough for us to part with close to £300!
My guess is that this rumour is exactly that, a rumour. I should imagine Amazon will extend its MP3 iphone app with an e-book version and do what it has done very well for nearly 15 years – sell books!
No, you don’t get it. “the ones they have already are getting very close to achieving the same thing”. The ones they have now are no where near close to the same experiance. If you’d try one you’d know. The Kindle has e-paper and a very long battery life. It is also well suited to reading and buying books. Given the current tech, having a reader AND a phone covers all the bases. Someday one device may do it all, but we are not there yet and that day is still years away. Affordability of such a device is farther away than that.
I admit I haven’t used one so won’t argue my point too strongly. I guess I’m going from the perspective who reads a book only occasionally.
I am sure if I was a “three books on the go at once” type of person I would find the Kindle useful. My argument against it is based on market size, I just don’t see it being as big a hit as Amazon hopes or thinks it should be.