Unimpressed With Amazon's Wireless eBook Reader

There's apparently a lot of fawning and drooling today over Amazon's (AMZN) new gadget - an eBook reader connected via CDMA EVDO, which lets you download digital books (and magazine subscriptions) wirelessly. It costs $399 to buy, and then $8 or $10 for a book, and some other number for a magazine sub. Oh, and $1 for a blog/RSS feed.

And apparently there's a charge for converting PDFs to the inhouse proprietary protocol if you use the email service. Amusing, as I've joked before that in an all IMS world, we'd never have got free PDF clients, but instead be stuck with some lousy billable document viewing service. (I'm really going to have to stop writing up what I think are really stupid ideas as that's the second time in a month someone's actually gone & tried them out).

I like idea of a wireless tablet-type device in general (it fits in with my belief in multiple devices, and divergence). And the fact that there's no ongoing wireless service subscription fits in with my comments that we'll see more devices that subsidise the service, rather than the other way around.

But I'm totally unconvinced that this particular one will succeed. "This isn't a device, it's a service" says Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. Funny, but actually I like to own stuff that I read. I don't want a personal document & library service. I want it tangible, sitting on my shelf or on my coffee table.

Some thoughts:

• In the eye of this particular beholder, it's hideous. The name's a bit naff too.
• It's black & white. OK for text in novels & newspapers, but not ideal for magazines.
• It's quite expensive for what's essentially just a screen & some memory.
• "The captain has switched on the seatbelt signs. Please secure your tray-table and turn off your ebooks."
• "Long battery life. Leave wireless on and recharge approximately every other day". Am I missing something, or is that not really 'long' for a mobile device with the radio off?
• I'm not really interested in locking my reading matter to a proprietary device for all eternity. At least with iTunes I can play music back through my PC as well.
• It's not as obviously 'personalisable' as an iPod. And it doesn't come in pink.
• What's the point of reading most blogs if you can't follow the links? (or, presumably, add comments). OK yes there are some news-type blogs which I just scan, but I'm unconvinced I'd pay for this.
• I've seen some fairly spurious "save the trees!" environmental commentary. That's not convincing as most paper is made from farmed forecasts. And I'm sure that the plastics & silicon of the gadget itself have a fairly large energy input in their manufacture. Books and magazines are rather more easily recycled too.
• Magazines are delivered 'overnight' - which suggests Amazon cut a great MVNO deal with Sprint to get low-cost data transmission. I know that there is a part of the magazine market (subscriptions) for which timeliness is less important - but quite often I want instant gratification with reading material. [my gut feel is that the subs part of the magazine market is quite a small % vs. newsagent in-store purchases, but maybe that's different in the US]
• Not everywhere in the US has Sprint EVDO coverage. Let's hope people test it out before giving it as an Xmas present.
• I've got a pile of old magazines in bathroom. Maybe there should be a Kindle-holder accessory next to the loo roll holder.

And at least in London, there's actually huge competition from paper-based alternatives to mobile devices - there are now 3 free newspapers handed out on street corners every workday, one in the morning and two at night. Plus a couple of localized ones in the City and elsewhere. Sure they're not the pinnacle of journalism, but they're perfect for a 20 minute tube ride.

I think I'll be adding this to the 'What's not' column on my website's Opinions page.

Comments

[Tom B]

Someone explain to me how Amazon; a company that has only had one good idea EVER-- and that was over a decade ago; a company that has a slim 2.8% profit margin-- merits a 90 P/E? Particularly, given this latest abortion, which will sell exactly two units, one to Jeff Bezos, one to his mom? This stock almost makes MSFT and Dell look like buys.

[No Stable EURO Please]

Nokia N810 is similarly priced and is a much better device than Amazon Kindle. It is just a matter of time before someone makes Amazon format readable on N810. It is light years ahead of Amazon Kindle and has full browser, touch screen, GPS and a lot more.

[All Tech]

I rarely comment on articles or blogs, but you have a bunch of facts wrong. Go back and check the battery life again - its a week or more with the radio off - which by the way, is long. Also, how could you pick the iPod as an example of a device not tied to a service??? Are you kidding me? Try playing your $5,000 worth of apple music on anything that doesn't have an "i" in front of it...