OK, so Apple’s iPad and upcoming foray into eBooks aside, let’s consider the Kindle. I’m an avid reader. I read practically anything, fiction and non-fiction both. I read just for fun…not just for school or for work. I’m also a published author. In short, I love books.
However, there are three reasons I won’t buy a Kindle. Or even any other eBook reader.
Reason #1: I have thousands of dollars invested in printed books. Some I no longer read, others I keep around for nostalgia and glance at occasionally, and others I refer to frequently. There is no way to convert this significant investment in printed books into some sort of eBook format. I feel this is a key flaw in the eBook business model which touts convenience. Sure, it is convenient, but only for books you buy after you buy the reader. For the thousands of dollars you already have invested, tough. What are your options then? Recycling? Sharing or trading? The point of a book is to have access to knowledge. Either you keep the physical copy around so you have it for later, or you get rid of it. If you get rid of it, you “lose” that knowledge.
Reason #2: There’s no option to get a book’s Kindle version later, for a discounted (or even free) price. Let’s say I want to buy a book, but the publisher hasn’t released it for the Kindle yet. No problem…as I pointed out above, if it is a book I want, I have no problem buying the hard copy, reading it, and storing it on my shelf. However, I’d probably be a lot more inclined to buy the book in the first place, especially for those books that are more “that sounds like a good read” vs. “I definitely want to read this” books, if I was offered a future Kindle version for a discounted price or better yet, free. Something like “Not available on Kindle, but buy now for $14.99 and we’ll ship if for free and when it does become available on the Kindle, you’ll get the Kindle version for just $1.99.”
Reason #3: This is more of a deficiency in Amazon’s web site than a problem with the Kindle. I have a fairly sizable wishlist with books as the overwhelming majority of items. Scrolling through my wish list, there’s absolutely no indication whatsoever whether any of the books are available on the Kindle. Why not? If I was looking through my wish list, and saw that 60% of the books were available on the Kindle, I might seriously consider buying one and getting the books that way. Further, there should be options on my wish list, like “Purchase all books from your wish list that are available on Kindle”. It is this type of library management that Amazon is lacking. Something like iTunes gets it, though. I can log in, and iTunes will tell me that X number of songs I purchased earlier are available at a higher bit rate and without DRM, with a “one-click” option to upgrade all of them. I don’t see this at Amazon.
The Kindle is a great idea. It just seems to me that Amazon is seriously missing some opportunities for better marketing tie-ins and web site integration with the product.
Apple announced the iPad today, their version of the tablet computer. It looks awesome. Starting at $499 for 16GB and WiFi only, going up to $849 for 64GB w/ WiFi + 3G cellular support. 10 hour battery life. I think I am in love. I was going to buy a Kindle, but now I won’t. I realize they are apples to oranges, the point is that a Kindle DX is $400 and it is just for books and grayscale. Who wouldn’t spend another $100 to get a computing platform with a full color touch screen? I’ll probably sell my MacBook Pro, too, and buy an iMac. iPad + iMac + smartphone (Android, iPhone, etc) sounds like the perfect mix to me. Heck, get a decent headset and use Skype and you don’t need the smartphone.
You have to wonder what other companies are doing when Apple consistently is first to market with pretty amazing technology. Yes, other companies get some cool stuff out (Archos media players, Nokia tablets) but Apple is the only company that consistenly gets the whole experience out first and integrates it into a person’s life. That’s the key right there…they get the technology out and the user doesn’t worry about it: it just works.
On the way home from my league shoot last Saturday night I was pretty parched so I stopped at the 7-Eleven for a bev. I was leaning towards a can o’ Monster Assault but then I spied 20-oz Mt. Dew Throwbacks. Too cool! Definitely better than the stuff they push now. Only way it could be better would be to find them in the original glass bottles instead of the plastics.
So last night I decided to jump into MW2 for a bit. I was close to getting promoted and wanted to wind down before going to sleep. Anyway, I got my level up, and as I was logging off I noticed that MSFT was advertising last.fm as a service for Live Gold members. Sure enough, you can get last.fm streams on your Xbox now for free. Very, very cool. Ever since giving up my cable TV service, I’ve wondered about how to get some music streams into the house. The iPod is fine and all, but sometimes you want a different playlist, or want someone else to make the choices. I had almost settled on a Sirius or XM system for the home when I saw the last.fm blurb. Now I don’t need to spend any money. Thanks, MSFT!
Went to Greektown and MGM casinos today with some friends. Lost $40 at Greektown on the stinking “virtual video dealer” blackjack machine (I will never play that again!!). Headed over to MGM and turned the day around completely. Made some bucks on the craps table. Then went to Michael Mina’s Bourbon Steak restaurant for a genuine Japanese A5 Wagyu steak. $26 per ounce!! We started off with French fries deep-fried in duck fat prepared three ways with three different dipping sauces and a pan of cornbread, courtesy of the chef. Then Rick went with tuna tartar and Donovan and April shared Kobe beef lettuce wraps while I went with a bowl of Portuguese bean soup which was fantastic. Never tasted anything like it before. After the soup it was an 8 oz. Wagyu steak medium rare served with fresh wasabi, lime and ponzu sauce and a crock of truffled mac & cheese on the side along with a glass of Calera Pinot Noir. Absolutely the best steak and the best meal I have ever had in my life. The steak had so much flavor and was easily cut with just a fork. Just absolutely outstanding. Would I have one every month? After I win the lotto, sure. But on the first day of the best year of my life? Of course, and worth every penny.
NFL Films just put up the highlight film from last Sunday’s Lions/Browns game, featuring Matthew Stafford mic’d. Stafford took a wicked hit on the last play of the game, and was essentially out with an injured shoulder. But due to a penalty on the Browns, the Lions had one play, no time on the clock, from the 1 yard line, for the game. Stafford went back in and threw a TD, and Jason “Money” Hanson K’d the extra point for the win. Gotta hand it to the kid, he is one tough cookie. Pretty cool hearing the game audio like that…I can’t stand the announcers. Do they have cable channels with just the player audio and not the announcer? That would be cool, but then again I don’t have cable so I guess it doesn’t matter.
I love that Google’s doodle today features Big Bird. Hard to believe Sesame Street is 40 today. Used to watch it all the time when I was a kid. Oscar, Bert, Ernie, and Mr. Snuffleupagus were my favorites. Other kids’ shows on my list back then were “Davey and Goliath”, “Jot”, and of course The Three Stooges. Kaiju movies on the weekend (back when Channel 50 was cool) and Sir Graves Ghastly were required…Gamera and Mothra were the bomb. Oh, and Oopsie the Clown and The Ghoul.
Got my DJ Hero game today. It is pretty cool, the carry case builds out to a table with legs and everything to hold the controller. I played it for awhile on beginner, it was boring. I tried it on medium and I sucked. I tried it on easy and I still kinda sucked but a lot less than medium so I guess I will stay with easy for now. Look out, DJ in da house! LOL
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