Comments on: Amazon Kindle Arrives!

By: MHAithaca

MHAithaca — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 19:31:07 +0000

Do they charge 10 cents to convert each spam that arrives at your unique Kindle e-mail address?

I do think $400 is too high a price point to make this an easy try for most who’d be willing to go the ebook route. I like that they’re incorporating the EVDO data delivery costs, but if this product flops, does the thing become a $400 brick?

And I’m with Brent. “Sir, please turn off your book for takeoff” is going to be a real wake-up call for early adopters who think they don’t need to carry a book any more.

By: Dave Zatz

Dave Zatz — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 18:09:05 +0000

Keith, I agree this initial price point will be too high for most folks. I figure they’re offsetting the EVDO and dev costs. Same with the $1 per blog – that’s probably paying Sprint to use their EVDO network. It does seem weird since we’re all used to “free” content, but I wouldn’t mind pay $5 or $10 a month for a few blogs on the device… since I just spent $4.53 on my grande eggnog frap at Starbucks. Though I need to be able to somehow email myself newsworthy blog entries from the Kindle. I wonder if the Eee PC is a better deal – use WiFi and/or sync blog and newspaper websites for offline reading. And do other stuff too.

By: Keith Shepard

Keith Shepard — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 17:50:36 +0000

“Wireless delivery of blogs costs as little as $0.99 each per month…”

Hmmmm….I don’t know. I realize that I pay to access this blog when I pay my Comcast bill, but to pay again through the Kindle. Hmmm…if I buy one, I’ll pass on blog reading for now.

Well, the device is ugly and it’s WAY (way) over-priced, but its capabilities are interesting. I’ll wait for a possible price drop or “Kindle 2.0″ to hit.

By: Brent

Brent — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 16:42:40 +0000

I intrigued by the concept and love the idea of the EVDO service.

Still, I’m wondering how successful any e-book format will be until it is as portable and cheap (at least closer in price) to buying a book or magazine.

I always take a book and/or magazine with me on a plane trip – during takeoff I have to turn off all electronic devices

I pick up a book or magazine. I can slip a magazine or paper in my carry-on easily – not quite as easy with an electronic device.

My laptop carry-on backpack already holds so many electronic devices, cords and chargers that I look like a walking radioshack sales rep so i’m looking for ways to combine devices (like phone, ipod, camera) in one – not add a new device.

Still, this eBook Reader has some potential. I’ll be interested to see how many they sell.

By: Dave Zatz

Dave Zatz — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 15:36:47 +0000

Interesting factoid: Sony’s second gen eBook Reader has 8 levels of grey, Kindle has 4. Does it matter?

By: Dave Zatz

Dave Zatz — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 14:53:41 +0000

Just got the official email. Here’s some more pricing details:

Monthly Kindle newspaper subscriptions are $5.99 to $14.99 per month, and Kindle magazines are $1.25 to $3.49 per month. All magazines and newspapers include a free two-week trial. Wireless delivery of blogs costs as little as $0.99 each per month and also includes a free two-week trial.

Customers and their contacts can e-mail Word documents and pictures directly to their unique and customizable Kindle e-mail address for $0.10 each. Kindle supports wireless delivery of unprotected Microsoft� Word, HTML, TXT, JPEG, GIF, PNG, and BMP files.

By: Dave Zatz

Dave Zatz — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 14:40:03 +0000

Jeremy Toeman's blogged some of the challenges Kindle faces, including a steep price for unproven technology amongst the mass market. Unfortunately, I think he's right that the market may not quite be ready for this. But hopefully prices will drop (speeding adoption) and we'll see Whispernet land on other devices. He's also right that moving a million units in year one is probably crazy talk. This isn't the iPhone or even Blu-ray. However - magazines, blogs, and newspapers plus personal documents will make this more of an everyday device.