Amazon.com Introduces the Kindle

By Michael Santo
Executive Editor, RealTechNews

E-books have pretty much flopped until now, but this morning Amazon.com introduced the Kindle, a device they hope does for e-books what the iPod did for MP3 players.

The Kindle weighs about 10 oz. and can hold up to 200 titles. Size-wise it’s 7.5″ x 5.3″ x 0.7″ — as you can see, smaller than a folded-up newspaper. Cost: not cheap, at $399, but despite the fact that it uses cellular technology (EVDO) to deliver the titles to you, there are no monthly or wireless fees.

Of course, you still have to pay for the books, right? According to the Kindle’s sales page (yes, you can buy it right now), New York Times Best Sellers and all New Releases are $9.99, unless marked otherwise. Yes, the ubiquitous “unless marked otherwise.” You can also get book samples delivered for free.

Nicely, you can even have newspapers or magazines delivered to your Kindle, automatically upon publication. This includes titles such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, TIME, Atlantic Monthly, and Forbes. Monthly Kindle newspaper subscriptions are $5.99 to $14.99 per month, while magazines are $1.25 to $3.49 per month. All magazines and newspapers include a free two-week trial.

You can also get info from top blogs delivered to it, and even email documents to your Kindle.

According to their sales page, the Kindle will only need recharging once every two days. Let’s be honest; based on the normal accuracy of most manufacturers’ battery life estimates, it’s likely this is optimistic.

Where do you buy all this stuff? Is it scattered around the site? Nope, if you go to the Kindle sales page I linked above, you can find all the different items you’d want on a tabbed bar near the top of the page, with items like Kindle Books, Kindle Newspapers, Kindle Magazines, etc.

But how is it to read? According to an emailed press release,

Kindle uses a high-resolution display technology called electronic paper that provides a sharp black and white screen that is as easy to read as printed paper. The screen works using ink, just like books and newspapers, but displays the ink particles electronically.

I’ll believe it when I see it. Speaking of seeing it, since they kindly emailed that press release to me — hey, Amazon.com, if you’re reading this, I wouldn’t mind one to review!

In that same press release, Jeff Bezos, Founder and CEO of Amazon.com said,

“We’ve been working on Kindle for more than three years. Our top design objective was for Kindle to disappear in your hands — to get out of the way—so you can enjoy your reading. We also wanted to go beyond the physical book. Kindle is wireless, so whether you’re lying in bed or riding a train, you can think of a book, and have it in less than 60 seconds. No computer is needed — you do your shopping directly from the device. We’re excited to make Kindle available today.”

We Say: My take? I am actually excited … somewhat. I mean, it sounds great, but I have a few nits to pick. I see a problem with EVDO use, since that’s limited to CDMA networks; go to Europe, say, and you’re not going to be downloading any books. It would have been nice for Amazon to include a wi-fi option as well.

Software updates? I assume that’s a given. Also, it’s only black and white only; it would be nice if it could be color, but I’m sure that would add cost.

I also see the same problem I have always seen with expensive e-book devices. While this is nice, especially the ability to download periodicals automatically, I’m still concerned about not leaving it behind on say the subway or something. I don’t care so much if I leave a paperback, but this thing?

Finally, as I usually say: don’t be an early adopter. As always with something newly introduced, once it hits people’s hands you can assume there will be bugs found — probably more than you would expect.