|
The new Kindle 2 has a joystick, a function that reads books aloud, highlighting and note taking functions and new technology that prevents accidental page turnings.
But in a market crowded with an ever-growing list of hand-held gadgets, will Amazon set the book world on fire with its updated device?
"For it to become a runway success would take some kind of dramatic innovation that I haven't seen yet," said Wired.com's senior editor Dylan Tweney.
"It would have to be a device that was not just a book reader but kind of a portable information device, and it might be something like a notebook computer except without a keyboard, some kind of elegant interface that lets you browse through news, check your e-mail, read a book, but also see what's happening, maybe watch videos, and sort of get all the world's information funneled into this one screen that's very easy to carry around. I don't see anybody doing that in a way that I think is really compelling yet."
The quest for the perfect gadget
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Other companies like Apple could update their iPhone to include an electronic book reader. |
|
|
Tweney said Amazon's business model stands in its way. The company wants to sell books, not just Kindles, so they don't have much of an incentive to allow free e-books, PDFs and other kinds of content, he said.
Companies such as Apple may pick up where Amazon leaves off by creating a device that merges an electronic book reader with the options available on an iPhone, Tweney said, especially with new "e-ink" technology that creates the illusion of electronic paper and makes for an easier reading experience in many types of light.
Will books go away?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Electronic books may make sense for a generation of Americans used to reading off the internet. |
|
|
Pivotal to any gadget's future success will be society's willingness to ditch dog-eared copies of their favorite books.
Mark Glaser, executive editor of PBS MediaShift, said the digital generation that grew up reading on computers may have to emerge as a pivotal consumer group -- and get a little older -- before electronic readership really takes off.
"You can make a really nice-looking device, but I think it's kind of a societal thing, where you just have to have people really ready to do it," said Glaser, who adds that the e-reader market is "a hard nut to crack" because reading a printed book is such an ingrained habit.
Less schlepping
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Kindle enthusiasts note the convenience of storing their books on a portable device, instead of dealing with clunky bookshelves. |
|
|
Despite the competition -- and a hefty price tag at $359 -- the current incarnation of the Kindle has a core group of devout fans. The Kindle is continually sold out during holiday seasons, its sales largely driven by word of mouth.
Jacquelyn Pilch, a Washington, D.C., resident, said she bought a Kindle when she was living in Ghana and was "desperate for access to a wider selection of books that couldn't be found on the streets of Accra."
She has not looked back to paperbacks and hardbacks.
"Holding and schlepping an actual book just feels like so much work, and I've come to terms with the bygone era of bookshelves as a source of personal aggrandizement," Pilch said.
No more textbooks?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Students across the world could have access to a greater diversity of portable educational materials. |
|
|
Pilch envisions a nobler use of the Kindle for educational purposes.
"What if every child in a developing country had a Kindle? Or even every child in inner city or Appalachia America, where there are often not enough textbooks to go around?" she said.
"Children (and adults) everywhere could have equal access to mobile libraries of information. This would revolutionize learning across the world, and I think that is a beautiful possibility."
Education is an obvious market, the tech experts agree. There is a clear advantage to carrying a lightweight reading device as opposed to a backpack full of 10- or 20-pound textbooks.
"It would be easy to make an economic case for that to most students and it would probably still be profitable," Tweney said. "To hit that market they would probably need a bigger screen, they might need a color screen and they might need the support of academic textbook publishers." |
I think we've been witnessing violence for years, whether in reality through the media or through video games, and I don't think that's a first-hand effect.
