Comments on: Amazon Kindle bites the dust… $187 to fix

By: Gary D

Gary D — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 21:13:56 +0000

Apparently many have noticed the cost-effectiveness of going to the library:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/01/04/check_it_out/

By: philg

philg — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 00:08:23 +0000

http://havemacwillblog.com/2009/01/01/one-million-users-is-stanza-killing-the-kindle/

claims that a smart phone is a better electronic book reader than a Kindle. You probably already own the smart phone. The smart phone is more rugged. I’m not convinced by this because my smart phone, a Google Android, has very short battery life if the screen is lit. The Kindle, by contrast, is good for a whole week of moderate use, as long as the wireless is turned off.

By: Edward Vielmetti

Edward Vielmetti — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 22:51:22 +0000

Libraries plus interlibrary loan for books; free e-books on your cell phone. Save purchasing actual books for buying manuscripts print-on-demand of works in progress, so that you can mark them up and send them back to the author for the next revision.

By: Solar Power Homes

Solar Power Homes — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 19:28:30 +0000

Tiago,

True. To fulfill EU requirements, Amazon would have to provide at least 2 years warranty. Therefore, they would also factor this in their initial pricing and the Kindle would cost way more than what it does in USA. This is why these items are generally cheaper in USA than in EU.

By: Dave

Dave — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 18:10:58 +0000

I read that a lot of musicians don’t care for iTunes; sells a lot of iPods but doesn’t make much money for the labels / artists.

I wonder if authors make more money selling a dead-trees book, or Kindle? Zero manufacturing costs, but, maybe Amazon really nails them on the profits. (Not to mention they might sell books they wouldn’t have otherwise sold.)

Any ideas?

By: Val B

Val B — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 13:51:52 +0000

Tiago: I was about to say that it would cost you in the EU at least twice as much anyway but after not finding the kindle on amazon.co.uk and amazon.de and doing some googeling it looks like there’s no kindle for EU for now so I guess there’s no advantage in having a mandatory two years warranty on something you can’t buy.

Frankly I don’t see the point in today’s world of devices like kindle. It isn’t rugged, it isn’t really cheap, it can’t display “everything”. If I settle for less I can easily read books on some device I already own: GPS/PDA/smartphone/netbook.There are already quite a few devices out there with internet access and gorgeous displays, there’s no point in getting another one unless it crosses some thresholds in terms of output quality, price, reliability.

By: Tiago

Tiago — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 11:20:36 +0000

If you lived in the European Union, you’d have at least 2 years warranty on your kindle. So a saving of $187 per year.

By: Wayne

Wayne — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 17:40:02 +0000

The library is better than free – using the web interface to inter-library loan you can order many out of print books and media that Amazon doesn’t carry and certainly not found on the Kindle. From order to pick up is often as fast as super-saver shipping. My library allows me to keep these books for 3 weeks, I can renew on the web. I take it back, don’t pay anything and my house never has piles of boxes to break down. It’s very civilized.

By: David Wihl

David Wihl — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 12:42:40 +0000

I’m still a fan. I’ve always left it in the vinyl case which has protected it from various abuses like falls or scratches.
Rumor is a Kindle 2 sometimw in ‘09 which will still be black and white. I hope they add a backlight.

Sharing or loaning Kindle books is a huge lost marketing opportunity for Amazon. It’d spin a virtulous cycle if, for example, I could loan you one of my Kindle books for 60 days. You would have exclusive access to that paid content it would automatically revert to me when the timer expires. One of my frustrations in loaning physical books is not getting them back. This could also work for giving away a “used” (ie read) e-book.

The wireless free internet is a huge plus. This past weekend, I was oUt of cell coverage for my regular provider but had backup for free through the Kindle. That should factor into your economic analysis.

By: Devin Dawson

Devin Dawson — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 02:48:13 +0000

Concur.

I just reached the same conclusion when my 2 year old Sony Reader took a light tap and half the screen is non-responsive. Repair options all appear over $250. I think I’m out of this market until something roughly as durable as an ipod or phone appears. I did love it while it lasted.