Video: Are you ready for the bookPod?
posted at 5:43 pm on November 20, 2007 by Allahpundit
Here’s Bezos’s letter. They’re pitching it as a book-reader’s dream but aside from the huge amounts of shelf space you’ll save, is that really the attraction? The iPod works because songs last four minutes; books take hours, in which case who cares how many of them you can carry with you during a commute? You only need one. Paper’s as good as pixels.
The real draw of this device has nothing to do with books. Bigger than an iPhone or a blackberry but thinner and more elegant than a laptop, it’s ideal for portable Web surfing. Does it have that capability? Dear reader, it does. Click the image to watch.
Update: Hold the phone. You have to pay to read blogs?
Blowback
Note from Hot Air management: This section is for comments from Hot Air's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that Hot Air management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment just because we let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with our terms of use may lose their posting privilege.
Trackbacks/Pings
Trackback URL
Comments
I like it!
BJ* on November 20, 2007 at 5:46 PM
From the link:
Props to MM!
peski on November 20, 2007 at 5:48 PM
it’s black and white though. wait a year or so for color.
lorien1973 on November 20, 2007 at 5:50 PM
So wait. It’s $400 and then each book costs another $10 unless more. Soooooooo, how many books could I buy with that money?
thomashton on November 20, 2007 at 5:53 PM
Reminds me of something I saw on Star Trek once.
bnelson44 on November 20, 2007 at 5:53 PM
Great use of existing technology, but could they have made it more ugly if they had tried? The iPod was a fashion item as much as a technology, after all. For $400, I expect to get something that doesn’t look like it was designed in the 80s.
calbear on November 20, 2007 at 5:58 PM
I am anxious to see how it sells this Christmas.
Excuse me, generic winter holiday season.
Bob's Kid on November 20, 2007 at 5:58 PM
They tried this a few years ago and it flopped. Readers like to turn pages and dog ear corners. But, we should always hope for success for people, so, good luck.
Tony737 on November 20, 2007 at 5:59 PM
I hear you. Two words – Public Library.
AP, add this to your wish list. Maybe you stand a better chance of getting this instead of an iPhone from MM because it stands a better chance of broadening your horizons. Unless, of course if all you read is Goosebumps, well….
RMCS_USN on November 20, 2007 at 6:00 PM
Yeah I saw it on Charlie Rose last night. Horrible thing. I’m with Kirk. Gimme my spectacles and a good book….the hell with that eye surgery and computer speak.
Limerick on November 20, 2007 at 6:00 PM
Very cool, but after a little poking around I see a couple of drawbacks:
No PDF support (vast majority of existing e-books are PDF).
US only (other than just reading) – EVDO is a US only Verizon standard.
Why not just use a tablet PC, or a PDA if you have good eyes? I think this is the way of the future, but this incarnation is a little heavy on the revenue enhancements.
peski on November 20, 2007 at 6:01 PM
I read a lot in bed. Reading on my Treo is best, because I can do it in a dark room and not disturb my wife. Will I be able to do that with this “new” surface? Much as it appeals (I frequently have 3 or 4 books going at once), needing a book light might be a deal breaker.
Longhorn Six on November 20, 2007 at 6:01 PM
This is a prototype of a new class of PC.
Once they add a few features like GPS, bluetooth, camera, phone, etc. it will be great.
TheSitRep on November 20, 2007 at 6:02 PM
Eh, most of the new books out are on usenet anyway. Not that I download any of them, er…
robblefarian on November 20, 2007 at 6:03 PM
You’re right, kind of reminds me of that $400 Sharp calculator a friend of mine bought in the ’70′s – add, subtract, multiply, divide, 6″ x 6″, with a 5 pound power adapter.
peski on November 20, 2007 at 6:04 PM
Hmmm. I am a gadget person. I have 3 PCs running on my desktop with 6 monitors. I have a laptop, a UMPC, 2 ipods, 1 zune and 2 Cell Phones.
Yet, I still buy and read books.
Why?
1) You can’t use any electronic device while an airplane takes off or lands.
2) I use my selection of books (Including All of Ann Coulter’s bestsellers) as a decoration in the living room of my house.
I do not see this device being useful in either capacity. In all other applications, any of my other devices will be more usefull.
For under a $100 and a significant discount on book prices, I *might* consider it. Taking the current cost of the device and software into account, it is not a good deal.
Microsoft Reader works on all of my PCs and my Cell Phones already.
JayHaw Phrenzie on November 20, 2007 at 6:07 PM
I also have a PSP and a portable DVD player. :)
JayHaw Phrenzie on November 20, 2007 at 6:07 PM
$10 books? Yeah right. So King and Rowling are gonna settle for 40% of $10 instead of 40% of $35……some incarnation of this thing might eventually take hold but the price of books isn’t gonna change. They are going to go up.
Limerick on November 20, 2007 at 6:08 PM
Almost forgot, my 3d application for books involves reading in the bathroom…
Maybe a toilet mounted special edition. Hmmmm…
JayHaw Phrenzie on November 20, 2007 at 6:10 PM
Also there are two ways to lose my library….fire and flood. I can think of a millon places to misplace this thing, not to mention drive failure and Joe Smash-n-grab.
Limerick on November 20, 2007 at 6:11 PM
From the size of the book bags the kids carry these days, it will defiantly improve posture and back problems.
But then again how will the schools and book companies make all that money on new book sales by changing the book just a bit and demanding the kids have the latest revision. Not that I’m cynical or anything. The price of $400 plus the price of the books answered my stupidity.abinitioadinfinitum on November 20, 2007 at 6:12 PM
These ebook readers come and go. Nothing in this version is new. It’s all old. And it’ll not be supported in a year or so. So its $400 down the drain. Just being realistic.
lorien1973 on November 20, 2007 at 6:16 PM
Haven’t you heard, Conservatives don’t read books
Kini on November 20, 2007 at 6:18 PM
At least this will stop the confusion between the Koran and Charmain./sarc
abinitioadinfinitum on November 20, 2007 at 6:19 PM
Because you don’t want to lug around all those books as you’re fleeing the Cylons.
Jim Treacher on November 20, 2007 at 6:20 PM
this is the coolest technology ever out of 2003!
what is the point of having EVDO access if you cannot check email and can’t browse web other than wikipedia? retarded and overpriced.
wordwarp on November 20, 2007 at 6:23 PM
I have an old milk carton filled with cellphones, pagers, and PDAs. One thing I have learned is that all this fancy stuff eventually is on a table at a yard sale.
Kindle is too expensive at $400. I like the fact you can access blogs via a cell network but will it work outside the US. Speaking of blogs, I like MM but I am not paying a monthly subscription fee for her or any other blog. Cheaper books would be nice. Let’s see what they charge in a year.
Bill C on November 20, 2007 at 6:28 PM
This could be really useful for college students. They spend a fortune on books. If the textbooks could be sold at a deeply discounted rate that would more than make up for the cost of the reader in one year. I read a lot and would be tempted to get something like this if the cost were about half and it weren’t tied to Amazon. I would like to get my hands on one just to see how good the ergonomics are.
One real drawback I noted is that you have to email your docs to Amazon for them to convert to the format used on the reader. I would never do this because of the loss of privacy. I’d have to have a converter that runs on my PC and use the memory card or USB interface to transfer the file to the reader.
I don’t think this particular reader will catch on, but sooner or later something like this will. The fact that the battery lasts for 30 hours (vs. a few hours for a notebook PC) makes it more useful for reading and such.
It looks like the web browsing is limited to content Amazon provides, so that is another huge negative.
Snidely Whiplash on November 20, 2007 at 6:34 PM
Oof, that’s ugly.
kate q on November 20, 2007 at 6:35 PM
I’m surprised amazon doesn’t sell it for $100 and raise the price of content a little bit. It’d make it easier to absorb, and in the long run, I’m sure they’d make more off it. It’s how all the game systems work these days.
lorien1973 on November 20, 2007 at 6:35 PM
Exactly.
baldilocks on November 20, 2007 at 6:37 PM
Not open source.
The site does not list the specifications clearly.
You want me to pay for blog access because…?
Most of my recreational reading for the last six years has been done on my old iPaq PDA. The screen is bright, the memory size is scalable and replaceable. I control the media. It has a calculator…and an Excel spreadsheet for that matter. I’ve already paid for it.
I really need to see the product before I dismiss the image quality, but I think this is going to go away in three years unless the content gets free. It has too much Amazon in it.
Patrick_Lasswell on November 20, 2007 at 6:39 PM
PDF problem? No problem…
http://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/A2Z81QTXUJ0WIW/ref=cm_cr_dp_pdp
Kokonut on November 20, 2007 at 6:41 PM
Don’t like it. Looking at a digital device long enough makes my eyes hurt. I still prefer hardbacks and paperbacks.
mram on November 20, 2007 at 6:48 PM
Even after all the carping, I still like it! But I’m rich so I don’t complain about how much anything costs :)
BJ* on November 20, 2007 at 6:55 PM
And that’s why the shelf space is never an issue. Books are also decorative, showing others who you are and possibly how intelligent you are.
I got my degree in literature. I’m pretty sure the note included with my diploma mentioned orders to build a small library in my home.
Esthier on November 20, 2007 at 7:00 PM
If you can’t watch porn on it, what’s the point?
yo on November 20, 2007 at 7:09 PM
Out of the mouths of pervs…ewww!
Patrick_Lasswell on November 20, 2007 at 7:15 PM
I first read the name as Kindling, as a homage to Fahrenheit 451.
Sebastian on November 20, 2007 at 7:16 PM
Used to read books on my PDAs. They were smaller than a paperback and held hundreds of books. Pretty handy, even if reading a small screen was a little unnatural…. Plus it would play music, videos, access internet, and do other things (acceptably if not really well) for well under $400.
Even used to buy and download a few e-books from Amazon every couple of months, until they quit carrying them and sent you to another website that I didn’t particularly care for.
Also downloaded hundreds of free ‘public domain’ books from a couple of other sites.
My Cowon Personal Media player will also let you read books (although, admittedly, you have to convert them from the more common formats with their included software) as well as sore thousands of videos and tunes… All for less than $250
Then I bought a Samsung Q1 that is a little bit bigger than a paperback but smaller than a hardback. Yet it will pretty much do everything that a mid-range laptop or desktop computer will do. These UMPCs are really falling in price, so, that alone makes it senseless to buy this new gadget.
I predict that this incarnation of an e-book reader will be just about as big a success as every other one that has been attempted before.
LegendHasIt on November 20, 2007 at 7:17 PM
I think this kind of thing will really take off when OLEDs and other ultra-thin, ultra-flexible display technologies become practical.
JayHaw, imagine reading a book on a 50 inch screen painted on your bathroom wall!
viking999 on November 20, 2007 at 7:34 PM
Yeah, it cost too much, it doesn’t have very many bells or whistles, it looks like a cross between an Etch a Sketch and an old calculator, and the DRM’s are gonna lock you in to this machine, but don’t count Jeff Bezos out. Amazon has always been able to change when the market demanded it and I think Kindle will have to change as well.
d1carter on November 20, 2007 at 7:46 PM
From John Gruber’s Daring Fireball
(emphasis added is mine)
Don’t like it much to begin with. But this kind of kills that whole free EVDO network thing…
DakRoland on November 20, 2007 at 7:47 PM
But can it play a dvd movie?
Wasn’t this ebook idea tried a few years ago…and it never sold well? And it kinda defeats the purpose of showing off that hefty, hard-read book title and cover to strangers..they won’t know what you’re reading.
JetBoy on November 20, 2007 at 7:53 PM
Proprietary, closed, restricted, locked… Just some of the wonderful words that I would used to describe the Kindle. Yuck!
greggish on November 20, 2007 at 8:00 PM
Erm, no it doesn’t. You get to pay to read a small subset of blogs. $1.99 per month, per blog. Oh, and you get Wikipedia.
The technology is cool. But the “rent-a-blog” approach sucks and DRM-laden overpriced underfeatured books are a bomb. Why the hell would I pay $10.00 for a book that I can’t lend to a friend, and that could be made obsolete overnight? John Gruber had a cool idea: get a free electronic “Kindle” format ebook for every physical book you buy (or have ever bought) on Amazon. Or just open it up and give people the books in a format they know will have longevity, and allow third party content in.
If iPods could only play music bought from iTunes, it would have been a commercial failure.
Mark Jaquith on November 20, 2007 at 8:06 PM
That’s the whole appeal here. It’s more like looking at a newspaper than at an iPhone. Unfortunately, that doesn’t make for good ad copy, sort of like “It’s got a great user interface!” didn’t when the iPod first came out. But it’s what caused the iPod to be a hit. If they got the other parts right, the newspaper-like-ness might would be what would make this a hit. If.
calbear on November 20, 2007 at 8:56 PM
What he said. All print media is going this way. In a much better form factor (yeah this is ugly – think your entire newspaper as one page) / open system (to address sharing media).
If ipods were only locked to itunes – you would’ve hacked it. ;)
erik on November 20, 2007 at 9:26 PM
The idea has merit and I like the “electronic paper” (stupid name) screen that lets you read in daylight, but I have a few suggestions to make it better.
1) Drop the download-a-book-anywhere system for a standard WiFi connection and let it surf the net; set up an iTunes like site for downloading. (Hot Spots are everywhere these days and the tradeoff could drop the price significantly)
2) Color, color, color!
3) Replace all the rollers and depressible switches with an iPod style touch system to increase durability (I would break this thing in a heartbeat!)
4) Give it the ability for audio playback and mp3/mp4 download capability
5) Two words: open source
The technology for these changes is not only extant, but so readily available that you could probably drop the price on the damn thing by at least $100 (although with iPod functionality they could better justify a $400 price tag). Right now, it’s priced way too high for your average reader (especially with the I- could- break- that- thing- by- sneezing- on- it issue). If you made the price of the books slightly higher (say a flat rate of $9.99 for anything over 100 pages), you could drop it even more. It’s a great idea and one who’s time has come, but this is the wrong vehicle for it.
Militant Bibliophile on November 20, 2007 at 9:29 PM
This would be great for schools. Kids would actually want to read for once.
SoulGlo on November 20, 2007 at 9:51 PM
Nice idea, but again, silly execution. Following this announcement, I’m sure a better product offering what we really want will be around the corner soon enough.
Oh, and $1.99 /blog? Are they effin’ nutz? Rather than illustrate how poorly conceived that revenue idea is, I’ll just ask two questions:
one – Did MM and these other bloggers sign individual agreements with Amazon to supply content for their new gizmo?
two – regardless of the answer to the above, does Amazon understand the copyright and fair use implications of using a blog feed containing the excerpted copyright protected works of others who are not receiving any revenue from that $1.99/month stream?
Can you say, pay me to supply tips for and post comments on your blog? I knew that you could.
No offense MM/Allah/et all, we do luv ya – just have a look at what this move would imply. But to know my posts here, my tips sent to Allah, and my support for BushMcChimpyMcHalliburton indirectly puts cash into the pocket of Amazon? I don’t think that’s gonna happen…
(yes, I know we’ve got blogads that do exactly the same, but we know they’re there, and we can choose whether or not to shop via that link)
So? I this something our favorite bloggers have signed on to already? Or is Amazon about to be served with the Mother of All class actions?
notta_dhimmi on November 20, 2007 at 10:01 PM
Yeah, the iCorder, right?
James on November 20, 2007 at 11:09 PM
When that technology comes out, I will do all 4 walls and the floor and ceiling in my spare bedroom.
HOLODECK, anyone?
:)))
JayHaw Phrenzie on November 20, 2007 at 11:21 PM
I’ll tell you what I’m ready for. Some cheap scotch and hot hookers.
km on November 21, 2007 at 1:03 AM
Too expensive. $400 plus the subscription cost of periodicals and the individual cost to download books makes it very overpriced as far as I am concerned.
I already have a Palm PDA. Plucker book reading software is free. There are lots of books available for free via Project Gutenberg that are in plucker format. Plucker can also convert any digitized text for viewing on a PDA. My PDA also has Adobe Acrobat which means that document converted to .pdf can be viewed as well.
The sole advantage of the Amazon appliance is the wireless anywhere capability for downloading. I need a wi-fi hot spot, it just needs cellular coverage.
Bezos had a good idea. It’s just too expensive right now.
georgej on November 21, 2007 at 6:54 AM