Amazon’s Kindle: E-Books Attract Mainstream Hype
In the past, I’ve alluded to the anticipated new E-Book Reader under development by Amazon. Well, the time is here: the Kindle E-Book Reader will be officially unveiled on Monday, 19 November. It is already causing a stir in the press and online.
Newsweek, in fact, in its 26 November issue hitting newsstands today, trumpets as its cover story this week, “Books Aren’t Dead — They’re Just Becoming Digital.“ Writer Steven Levy breathlessly announces “a revolution (already in progress) that will change the way readers read, writers write and publishers publish.” We writers, I guess, must pay attention.
The Kindle offers an interesting array of new features, taking it immediately beyond its competitor, the Sony Reader [ which recently released its updated model 505]. The book can connect wirelessly to the Amazon store via cellphone networks, giving it an extremely broad reach well beyond limited-range wifi hotspots. Already, Amazon has 88,000 titles available for purchase, which can be accomplished with the click of a few buttons. Before purchasing, one can read reviews, even read for free the first chapter of many of the books. A final click downloads the book effortlessly into the Kindle and makes it immediately available for reading. Up to 200 books can be stored in the e-book’s memory, with more available via plug-in memory cards. The Kindle then, as Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos says, is not just a book, it’s a service.
Readers can also subscribe to newspapers, magazines, even blogs, though the list is currently quite limited — and issues are automatically downloaded into the Kindle upon publication.
Levy goes on in his Newsweek piece with a provocative exploration of the place of books in history and the many ramifications of the e-book. Along the way, he points to the changes all this portends not only for readers, but for writers. This article is immensely important — and it’s available HERE online.
Of course, not everyone thinks so highly of the Kindle, which has been fueling a debate among e-book advocates for some months now. David Rothman at the TeleRead blog is in a bit of a froth about the Kindle’s “Soviet-ugly” appearance and the machine’s lack of support for the open standards many e-book advocates are calling for. Everyone will be comparing the Kindle and its business strategy to the iPod, with its associated iTunes store and proprietary file standard.  Many buyers, for example, me included, have refused to jump on the iPod/iTunes bandwagon because of its strangle-hold file requirements. Personally, I happily use a Creative Zen player, listening to mp3 files ripped from my own collection of 400-plus CD’s. And I may find myself waiting for a rival to the Kindle, which offers compatibility with open standards. I’ve already, for example, fondled a Sony Reader and turned away from it for the very same reason. [I must admit, however, that I'm salivating about the Kindle and may end up first in line to buy one.]
Other critics, such as William Lidwell at WOWIO [read my previous post], will also hold out, saying that e-books have not arrived until they can render color pages and original design, faithful to the standards of the print media.
No matter how the E-Book evolves, there is no doubt in my mind that the Kindle will serve as a tipping point, just as the iPod revolutionized the music industry. In the meantime, we writers need to follow developments, adjust our habits, perhaps even begin exploring new forms of writing.
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