Video: The sort of obligatory “Amazon releases Kindle 2″ clip
posted at 4:20 pm on February 9, 2009 by Allahpundit
Share on Facebook | printer-friendly
Thinner than an iPhone, seven times the memory of the original Kindle, and a display crisp enough to show photos on: No wonder PopSci says it rocks. Undeterred by our vanishing revenue stream and The One’s warnings of imminent economic collapse, I’m weighing the pros and cons. Con: It costs upwards of 400 bucks. Pro: I’m overdue for a new gadget to gather dust on the shelf next to the Xbox and Wii that I never have time to play. Con: Most of my reading is periodicals, not books. Pro: Picture me at a Starbucks in Manhattan, nursing a mocha frap and looking thoughtful while I use the text-to-speech function to listen to “The Audacity of Hope.” Beta male no more.
Click the image and scroll down to watch the video. Exit question: Any commenters care to make a recommendation either way? Anecdotally, I’ve found that people who own these things love them with an ardor surpassed only by the iPhone itself. Is there any compelling reason to get it, though, except for the amount of space it saves? (Yeah, Kindle books are cheaper than paperbacks, but that’s offset — and then some — by the device’s purchase price.) Also, how are they for reading newspapers? The iPhone’s screen is unpleasantly small, but I can read the Times for free. Which, on the Kindle, I can’t.
You must be logged in to post a comment.
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
Comment pages: « Previous 1 2
They should be making money on the books not the device. If they made it under 100 bucks and kept a record of your books then the thing would be darn near disposable and they wouldn’t be able to make enough of them. At a 100 buck a lot of parents and grand parents would get them as gifts just to entice the kids into reading. It could also be used or required at school and it would cut a lot of fat out of the whole publishing and distribution of school books not to mention the possibility of nearly instant updates and corrections.
jmarcure on February 9, 2009 at 5:52 PM
Meh. An electronic index card & Sharpie.
BHO Jonestown on February 9, 2009 at 5:52 PM
Oh, and I downloaded a bunch of Project Gutenberg free books (does any read William Dean Howells anymore?), which look nice enough on the Kindle that it’s a pleasure to read them.
TMA on February 9, 2009 at 5:53 PM
They can’t make enough of them now.
Jim Treacher on February 9, 2009 at 5:54 PM
I think it looks really cool and our daughter is fixing on graduating from Cornell University this May. I’d love to get her this, as she loves to read, but her heart is set on something like this, and I can’t afford both. Decisions, decisions …
wytammic on February 9, 2009 at 5:57 PM
they do! so if you do damage it, you can redownload everything on a new one. Or you can move a bunch of stuff off of it and later redownload it.
doesn’t help with the price, though.
TMA on February 9, 2009 at 5:58 PM
.
I guess the costis so cheap because of Obama Stimulus Subsidy
Kevin in Southern Illinois on February 9, 2009 at 6:05 PM
But count me out. I have shelves of books – fiction, non-
Ah another collector! I too refuse to part with a book once I’ve bought it.Inherited a large part of my Dad’s library when he left us.Keep them all!
Kevin in Southern Illinois on February 9, 2009 at 6:14 PM
Ah, 9 days since the last newspaper was delivered, and I haven’t missed it nyet!
kirkill on February 9, 2009 at 6:26 PM
and I don’t think Kim Peek will like it, he reads a left page with his left eye at the same time he reads the right page with his right eye.
kirkill on February 9, 2009 at 6:29 PM
$360 and it’s not even in color? Paleeez…
Vigilante on February 9, 2009 at 7:00 PM
Surviving the KY snow storm?
Kevin in Southern Illinois on February 9, 2009 at 7:03 PM
I have one. I love it. This sounds like hyperbole but it really has changed the way I read, in that I read more and I read more current things.
For instance, Freddoso’s book about Obama? I probably wouldn’t have bought the hardcover, but $10 and 30 seconds later and I had it on Kindle.
Second…I have a subscription to HotAir and I can read the blog wherever I go.
The screen is awesome, the memory is ample (although the second version doesn’t have a SD card slot…) and it does what it’s designed to do and does it VERY well.
It’s a win.
JohnTant on February 9, 2009 at 8:12 PM
Hmmm….and this is HA newsworthy? Charlie over at LGF reported the same thing. And I noticed similarities between the two. Anti-Palin and a thing for intelligent design. How about report about the ability to watch TV through a contact len instead 10 years from now? And read tons of e-books and e-mags with having to hold it up with one hand all the time. At least by then a 10 year 2.0 Kindle will achieve the same status as how cool the iMac was back then. Nothing but worthless hype.
http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2009/02/contact-lens-co.html
Kokonut on February 9, 2009 at 9:31 PM
My kids got me a Kindle because I am a bookaholic. I could not get to my computer because of my books. My grandson would come in and change them all around just to bug grandpa. I like the Kindle; I can use it almost anywhere and the battery lasts for 14 – 16 hours in use and days on standby. I put a memory card in it and can store thousands more of books that I will never get a chance to read in this lifetime.. Now, I just read the special ads that Amazon has been sending to me. There are very few worthwhile enhancements in the Kindle 2. A normal person doesn’t need any of them except for those demented few that think a potential that will never be used is sexy and will impress like minds if they talk about it. Buying the Kindle 2 for the so-called enhancements is like throwing away your lexus for a model that has an extra cup holder that you will never use.
Old Country Boy on February 9, 2009 at 9:31 PM
How can we picture you if we don’t know what you look like?
keep the change on February 9, 2009 at 9:56 PM
that would make it worth 400 bucks, easy.
eh on February 9, 2009 at 10:06 PM
Beta male extraordinaire!
nukemhill on February 10, 2009 at 1:09 AM
My personal library is 600+ books, all except the reference material has been read. That isn’t including the 2500+ books my parents own in their library.
I love books.
Tim Burton on February 10, 2009 at 1:29 AM
Never tried the kindle, but I have the Sony PRS-505 ereader and love it. I currently have about 100 different books stored on the reader and its only half full. It doesn’t seem to work well for reference materials as the search system isn’t all that great, but for novels/fiction I have found that I actually prefer reading from the Sony than from hardcopy. My only major complaint with the Sony is their crappy store/synch software.
Ganryu on February 10, 2009 at 6:52 AM
Never fear. By the end of the year the NYT will offer a free one with a two yr subscription.
Fuquay Steve on February 10, 2009 at 6:56 AM
It’s funny that you say that, because I was thinking the same thing but wasn’t sure how to phrase it. You don’t lose focus “turning the page” or anything? And can you read it lying down?
Tanya on February 10, 2009 at 11:37 AM
Ah, forgot the post was from yesterday…
Tanya on February 10, 2009 at 11:39 AM
Ah…another useless piece of crap (like TV on contacts)that will come in SO HANDY when Obama “changes” our economy back to LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE.
Say…..can you read the LITTLE HOUSE series on that paperweight…’cuz I bet there will be a LOT of folks who are going to need to know how to butcher a hog, chop wood, and generally be miserable living in the New Third World.
seejanemom on February 10, 2009 at 1:23 PM
Comment pages: « Previous 1 2