aug 11
2008

Kindling

Noticing that sales are up, some people are saying that the Kindle might actually end up being a big deal after all. Up next: The Segway.

5 comments

I've noticed the Kindle is very hot with the older folks. My mother and father each bought one, many of their friends bought it, and several of the older people I work with bought it. Easier for them to read, good choices, and easy to use.
It makes sense.

posted by Ironic at 7:18 PM on August 11, 2008

If they could just make it fold-in-halfable so it could fit in a pocket, it would have more of a draw for many people, I think. But I also think that it would need to take over PIM functions if it was always going to be with you. At at that point it really needs to be a phone, txter, browser, and a camera. So maybe the easier way to do this would be to start from the smartphone direction and work on expandable screens using some of that flexible LED tech they've been fiddling with for a while. I just know I wouldn't carry a Kindle around. So it would live at home. And in that case it might as well be a regular book (though I like not having to store books or haul them around when moving)

posted by Eric at 7:35 PM on August 11, 2008

Did I miss something?

When my father was alive he was the most frugal person I've ever met. I mean, clearly a guy who never buys books, because there's a library, isn't in the target market.

But my notion of "older folks" is that they're very price sensitive.

The dealbreaker for me, with Kindle, was that when I checked costs, it cost more to buy an eBook than a paperback. I assumed that was because they thought the searching features, etc. were valuable, but surely those wouldn't be valuable features to people reading for pleasure.

I had come to the conclusion that Kindle had value, if any, for students or researchers or writers. But Joe Everyday? No, not without a price difference (or a value-adding bundle).

posted by dbs at 8:31 AM on August 12, 2008

Anyone else have qualms from a design perspective? I admit I'm not a good candidate for this device, because I'd much rather read an actual physical book. However, the thing looks like a cheesy version of an Apple IIc or Commodore 64.

posted by SpellsGood at 9:01 AM on August 12, 2008

actually, i have seen more segways recently, but then i live pretty close to berkeley.
i would like to see the numbers on segways not owned by security companies. every security guard in vegas has one.

posted by kittyholmes at 3:23 PM on August 12, 2008




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