If the Kindle 2 cost $199 or less, I could argue that it's a decent bargain for a dedicated eBook reader, but it's $359. For less than that, I can buy a netbook from Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo and others that can display eBooks, plus browse the Internet, get and send email, play videos and run applications such as Microsoft Office and OpenOffice, in a package under 3 pounds in weight. In other words, it can do the job of an eBook reader plus an entry-level notebook. So, why would I buy a Kindle 2?
If that doesn't convince you, consider the iPhone. You can buy it for $199, it has multiple eBook readers available for free or at a very low price, plus it allows to you make phone calls, get and send email, browse the Internet, and run thousands of other applications. It displays color, handles video and animation just fine, and fits in your pocket. So, why would I buy a Kindle 2?
Amazon and its defenders argue that the performance of the Kindle 2's display in bright sunlight and its battery life are both critical factors. They are, but they don't outweigh all of the other deficits of the Kindle 2 and similar eBook readers. If I'm not sitting on the beach, a backlit display will work better than the Kindle 2's reflective electrophoretic display. If I can charge the device at least once a day, the Kindle 2's multi-day battery life isn't necessary.
For these reasons, I think that the Kindle 2 will, like other hardware eBook readers, be bracketed between smartphones and netbooks--not functional enough to compete with either of them, and without sufficient unique features to justify carrying both a smartphone and Kindle 2, or both a Kindle 2 and a netbook.
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2 comments:
...talk about dumber than owlshit!...unlike iphones and laptops, Kindle pays for itself since downloaded books, newspapers, and magazines are only about half the price of printed ones...and read a book on an iphone????...I just have to assume you've never tried...yes, Kindle isn't in color so comic books don't look their best...but Kindle wasn't designed for comic book fanatics -- it was designed for READERS...towards that end it is a very well designed tool.
Hmm, "dumber than owlshit"? Let's see what happens a year from now, but for now...publishers are fighting tooth and nail to get Amazon to raise the price of its eBooks. In essence, Amazon is subsidizing the price of the Kindle, which is already at least $100 too high, by keeping the price of eBooks artificially low. Apple was unable to resist its suppliers' demands that it raise the price of its content, and Amazon will eventually find its position untenable--either raise the price of the Kindle 2, or raise the price of content.
As for all my other comments, I stand behind them. If the primary reason to buy a Kindle is to get cheap content, and the cheap content either goes away or there are other ways to get it (and let's not forget that Amazon itself has committed to making Kindle-format content available on other mobile devices), the reasons to buy a Kindle 2 evaporates (except, of course, for fanboys.)
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