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Amazon's Kindle eBook Reader

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justice:
Yeah its great, and they've got most of the network and buying experience sorted which is the real dealmaker here.. However looking at the hardware and iTunes store I can't help but fear that Apple iReader will come along and hit it in the head with an multi-touch based reader blowing it out of the water. However, this is one of those 'the future is here' devices I can't wait to see widespread adoption and a multitude of devices like these working to common standards...

Lashiec:
God, an iReader... NO! >_<

Unless they don't go the iPhone route, unlikely anyway.

Edvard:
Ralf:
Reading your quote, I deduce it is the electronic paper stuff.
It reflects light like ordinary paper and uses no backlighting
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LCD's require a backlight. Even LCD watch displays depend on a reflective background to make the numbers visible.

Carol Haynes:
I was just reading an article that says it doesn't use a normal WiFi system but rather:

"Downloads are done via Amazon Whispernet, using the EVDO network"

See http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=7096&tag=nl.e539 for the article.

I don't know what EVDO is.

Having said that I can understand the idea of having computer manuals and other reference books in this format provided your investment is guaranteed protected - but (and it is a big BUT) the books will be locked to one device - what happens when it dies?

Also I have been stung with eBooks before - what happens when you buy an eBook and need to download it again? As far as I can tell this is supposed to be possible from Amazon but in the past I have been unable to redownload eBooks from Amazon because publishers have withdrawn them from the eBook market.

Given that the library size is limited is there a way to store books on other media (such as a computer hard disk)? It seems to suggest that it doesn't need to interface with computers at all - even to purchase and download books. Does this mean you are relying on Amazon to manage your library within your Amazon account and allow books to be grabbed from your library on the fly?

Finally would anyone choose to read a novel on this sort of device - there is no way I want to lie in bed with a glowing lump of plastic glaring at me instead of a comforting paperback that can happily drop on the floor without problems when I drop off to sleep!

mouser:
reviews are coming in (let's collect them on this thread):

Amazon Kindle eBook Review (Verdict: Confusing, Expensive...but Promising)
http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2007/11/19/amazon-kindle-ebook-1.html

It's just too damn expensive.

Worse, the $400 premium just to get the Kindle reader isn't the last fee you'll pay. I'm not talking about paying for eBooks from Amazon, which are priced typically at $10 or less, but for the additional fees tacked onto the data—the words—that are pushed down to the Kindle automatically. Subscribing to a blog via the Kindle service costs $2 a month. Newspapers run around $15 a month. All for information currently available for free via the web and RSS syndication, not from copyright violators, but straight from the publishers themselves. (Boing Boing is also available via Kindle's blog service. We are also available on the web.)

The reason, I suspect, for the nickel and diming from Amazon is the always-on EVDO connection. While some of the cost that must be paid to the wireless carrier are surely cooked into the initial price of the Kindle, the costs tacked on to content subscriptions are an attempt to recoup charges Amazon will incur from Sprint over the life of an active device.
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