Amazon's Kindle Ebook Reader

Amazon recently launched its $399 ebook reader, Kindle to much fanfare. Newsweek even featured it as a cover story. (You can read it here.) While Amazon claims that Kindle sold out within a few days, it did not disclose actual quantities sold. Nevertheless, what is undeniable is that Kindle has aroused the interest of the reading public.

Kindle the device is designed to look like a physical hardcover. For its screen, Kindle turned to E-Ink, a newer screen type with a 167 dots-per-inch resolution and a default serif font called Caecilia, all contributing to a display that approximates the clarity of the printed page. Its battery lasts as many as 30 hours on a charge of two hours. And for storage, it has an internal memory and accepts memory cards as well.

Amazon is hoping the device set-up, more than three years in the development, approximates the (physical) book reading experience. Based on various on-lines reviews, it appears to have succeeded. But the device is just a part of the equation. In fact, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos regards it as supplemental to the actual product – the service.

Kindle the service comes bundled with an unlimited Sprint EVDO service that allows the device to be automatically connected to the Internet. While it enables users to surf the Internet, it does so with a less than perfect browser. But what it does well is to deliver reading materials – ebooks, blogs, newspapers, etc. And this is what enables Amazon to bundle for free the EVDO service. For every item that is conveniently delivered to the device, the user is charged a fee.

This convenience is also what separates Kindle from the rest of the ebook readers. This, plus the connectivity, which opens up possibilities of tightly integrated forums and social networking within ebooks, is what makes some think Kindle will revolutionize the ebook industry. In fact, Amazon’s marketing spin has the press calling Kindle the iPod of ebook readers.

I just hope they mean Kindle the service and not Kindle the product.

iPod is iPod because it is an Apple iPod, Steve Jobs being a proven genius in developing consumer products that appeal to the masses. While Jeff Bezos has proven himself in redefining bookselling with Amazon, Kindle (the product) is consumer hardware. And as consumer hardware goes, it just does not have the “Gotta Have it” appeal.

As for the service, well, people buy iPod not because of iTunes but because they want iPod the device. Somehow, I just can’t imagine bookworms going around exclaiming, “Gotta have Kindle the service. Gotta have Kindle the service.”

But this is not to say Kindle won’t sell. It will. After all, it sold out in a matter of days, didn’t it? But as for going mainstream like the iPod, it has a long ways to go.

The hardware needs to be cuter. It needs to cost less. The service needs to cost less. $.99 to $1.99 monthly to sign-up for a blog that you can otherwise get for free on your regular notebook??? I don’t think so.

And speaking of notebooks, what is stopping a user from turning the Asus Eee PC into an ebook reader? Actually, it already comes with an ebook reader. And you can install other readers as well. And it is light and small enough to bring it to bed with you for some bedtime light reading.

Fact is, the Eee PC is just as big as a large hard cover book. Meaning it is very convenient to carry it. In fact, you can open it like a book, with the screen on the right side and the keyboard (controls) on the left.

And there is nothing stopping a programmer from creating or modifying an ebook reader program to display text sideways, to bring the book simulation even further.

As for ebooks, there are literally thousands and thousands of free titles being offered by sites like the Gutenberg project. Of course, readers can always opt to buy ebooks from sites like, well, Amazon.

To go on-line, for those lucky few to have the mini-PCIe slot in their Eee PCs, they can install an EVDO card. Alternately, USB HSDPA modems are so available. Admittedly, the service won’t be free like Kindle's bundled Sprint EVDO. But then you don’t get charged for accessing free content. In addition, you can always opt to connect via free WiFi hotspots.

In short, the Asus Eee PC (or any other well designed ultra portable) has the potential to approximate the reading experience being promoted by Kindle, notwithstanding the difference in screen quality and personal preferences. It is in the delivery of the e-books that Kindle has a distinct advantage in that it makes everything so convenient. But the convenience comes at a price.

If Amazon can somehow bring its pricing down, make a cuter Kindle, then it may just succeed in bringing ebook reading mainstream. Otherwise, digital reading will and still remain just another capability of computers and notebooks. And as notebooks shrink further (and handsets grow bigger), the ergonomic sweet spot will be achieved. When this happens, single purpose devices like Kindle (the product) may just as well lose their purpose.