Caveat: before half of you get your shorts in a bunch, tomorrow’s post will be: Top 10 Reasons Why iPad Means Kindle Is Dead. With that said, have at it!
10.) Taking reading from a simple printed page to an e‑book environment such as the Kindle is a great step forward. Its ease of use, portability and storage are ideal for readers. No more innovations needed!
9.) The enjoyment of reading has always taken place within a reader’s mind. This is both why reading is great and why the words on the page don’t need to be in flashy colors or feature fancy graphics.
8.) Added cost of iPad and $30/month fee for 3G from AT&T (the realistic cost) make Kindle a better deal. Enough said.
7.) Everyone hates AT&T, their 3G service is spotty at best, and NO ONE who’s buying a 3G iPad will use less than 250MB a month, so the $14.95 price point for 3G is useless!
6.) Glare/e‑ink. You can always read during the daytime with your Kindle. Take it to the beach, read in broad daylight. e‑ink is simply easier on readers’ eyes than back-lit pixels.
5.) There’s no need for a device that fits between laptop and smart phone. Both are extremely portable and serve different purposes. If I want to curl up in bed with a movie or the web, I can use my laptop for that already. If I want to curl up in bed and read, I can use my Kindle!
4.) Apps! That’s right: The new opening up of Amazon’s Kindle format to app developers will mean a lot more versatility on the device. Once a few folks come along and develop email clients or web browsers for the Kindle, Kindle will become even more useful as a potential smart phone substitute—the niche that iPad seems intent on filling.
3.) The new price-sharing announcement (70% publisher/30% Amazon) for Amazon’s Digital Text Platform (DTP) makes Kindle more attractive once again to all the powers that be in publishing. If they can get this pesky text-to-speech battle cleared up, things will be even better.
2.) Big publishing is currently doing so much of their sales through Amazon, that they might be afraid to carry business over to Apple. Sure, they will sell books there, but keep in mind that Apple might have to keep prices in the iBook store higher than at Amazon.
1.) “I love my Kindle!” –Seriously, a lot of readers are devoted to these devices, including me. I’ve found a nice cover that makes the Kindle easy to hold. I really like the ease of buying/storing books on it. And I just want a plain, simple device to use for reading.
The opinions expressed above are not necessarily those of Open Culture or the author.
Up next (tomorrow): Top 10 Reasons Why iPad Means Kindle is Dead
Seth Harwood is a voracious reader, subversive publishing maven and crime novelist. His next book Young Junius will be available from Tyrus Books this fall. He’s sure to have some crazy promotions going at his site this spring as well.
I have been using the Sony E reader 600 touch screen and find it to be an outstanding reading device…and I like it better than the Kindle because I have more control over the content in being able to use my pc to download e books from my public library and all of the other free e book sites.….as well as buying if I want..so I guess I agree with the Kindle lover about the need for and Ipad.
Jerry,
So you’re saying you DON’T need an iPad?
Seth
A thought on two of your points re: Why iPad will not displace Kindle. It is my understanding that using WiFi which many have these days, it won’t be necessary to use an expensive 3G data plan for access to content. Plenty of downloading and buying can be done from home wifi or from free access in cafes or other hotspots. Very convenient.
As one who follows the software and hardware market professionally I have to say that the first thing I said after spending about 10 minutes with a Kindle was that it was going to be so much better when Apple finally did it. Once you are used to a touch screen it is so hard to go back to little buttons on the side unless you are a Blackberry addict. Have you ever tried to read a Kindle on plane when it turns out you got the seat without the working overhead light? It’s worse than a book under those circumstances. As an educator and parent of a dyslexic son I also can’t wait to see what the iPad is going to do for differentiated instruction since it seems to be such a foreign concept to most teachers.
Good points! Thanks for your responses.
Diane, yes: Although I do love my Kindle, I’ve often found the buttons to be misplaced for my fingers, inconveniently located, and I always want to use the left one to go back a page when searching. It takes me a while every time to remember I want the UPPER left button here.
Very non-intuitive.
There’s also a real problem with the Kindle’s destruction of page numbers.
Seth
Cool stuff .….….…
Diane: if you spent only 10 minutes with Kindle , your opinion about buttons is worthless… Seth: if you use your Kindle to read books 10 min. once a month, OF COURSE you will have problems with buttons …
Read more, and everything will be INTUITIVE for you .