Update: Erick is liveblogging the event.
The speculation over Amazon’s new ebook gadget, called the Kindle, ends on Monday afternoon during a special Amazon press conference in New York. Newsweek’s Steven Levy claims to have had the device for weeks and wrote a glowing seven page cover story review of the Kindle this weekend. He finds no fault with the device (every journalist who had the iPhone in their hands prior to launch thought that device was pretty perfect, too).
The Kindle isn’t the most elegant looking gadget ever created (in fact it looks like it came out of the 70’s), but it packs an impressive list of features and could finally bring ebooks mainstream. That’s something Sony couldn’t accomplish with its much more elegant Sony Reader.
The reason Sony failed? Perhaps because their device requires syncing with a computer to download content. That’s the Kindle’s killer feature – cellular and (probably) wireless internet access that will let users download content directly to the device from the Internet. And the cellular connectivity, which generally costs $60 or more per month, will be included with the device for free says a source close to the company.
Kindle users will also be able to browse the web, and Amazon is offering access to some blogs for a monthly subscription fee (some bloggers are wondering why Amazon is charging for this).
The Kindle will cost $100 more than the $300 it takes to get a Sony Reader. It uses the same screen technology – E Ink – as the Sony Reader. that means the display will be viewable in full sunlight and uses very little power.
Amazon isn’t supporting the industry’s open standard around eBooks. Instead they are using their own proprietary format from Mobipocket, a company they acquired in 2005.
More details will emerge tomorrow (and lots and lots of photos) during the press conference. Erick will be live blogging the event.
Hey, that’s actually pretty cool, but it’s a hideous beast. I still prefer my regular books, though.
Ugh. Elegant, stylish, and desirable aren’t in this thing’s vocabulary. Does it come with a giant pocket protector?
How many readers are we going to see come out before people realize that I can do the same thing on my blackberry/palm/iPhone. What else can this thing do?
did somebody offer to give you one if you finally posted about it?
For something like this to be successful, it has to attract people. It has to spark ‘consumer passion’. It may do wonderful things, have wonderful features, but if it’s not very portable, and fails to cause ‘oohs and ahhs’ (from you the owner as well as curious others – this is where Apple is king) … it will not be a hit.
Someone design a slim device that opens like a book, so the screen and keypad are protected when it’s closed. And when you open it (it’s the size of a small book) you can read on both screens, and you could hold it like a real book, having just wirelessly downloaded an e-book to it. Yes, that’s what I want. And it would have a cool leather satchel to carry it. I’m guessing Apple will make this.
It’s not that bad. Especially when you compare it to some others.
Jeff #4 is spot on…except for maybe the apple part.
“users will also be able to browse the web” – where do you guys store all of the blogs you have to pay extra to access?
Does it really look that bad? I thought it might have been a mockup when I first saw it…they need to sack their stylist if this is what it looks like.
I don’t read a lot of books, but cannot see myself ever using this thing. Seems like a great idea with poor design.
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I think the picture angle on this beast makes it look double it’s natural size. I’m guessing. But it makes me think of Pong … that it’s a retro video game player instead of a cool new e-book reader. Beam me up Scotty, I want to play Pong and Donkey Kong and Missle Command on this bad boy.
I think for eBooks to succeed it needs Steve Jobs to do a great device, and a great business content business model that only Jobs can do.
Sony was headed down the right direction (hardware wise), but this Amazon Device is two steps in the right direction. As a Sony owner, syncing every one is a while was not that much of an hinderence…wireless browsing and content is pretty cool (only if it supports open standards like PDF – which Amazon isnt!
that looks horrible, I would imagine Amazon would have some good designers to come up with something modern looking. The original post is spot on, this looks like something from the 70s that you find in your attic.
They definetly need to redesign it, if they plan to charge that much. Granted the audience is probably aimed at olded people, but still there is retro and there is this
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Kinda looks like an albino speak and spell
lol…reminds me of Saturday morning cartoons, Atari, and something out of Battlestar Galactica..
You better tell Erick that the press conference is at 9:30AM EST, not “afternoon” as you mentioned. I’m happy to see Amazon continue to push into digital media. Unbox movie downloads, DRM-free MP3s, and now a new spin on the eBook reader. Not to mention their storage network. Sweet! I remember the ole days when Amazon just sold books and send customers coffee tumblers at Christmas.
EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Good idea but I think the design could have been better unless there is a better design coming in the pipeline.
Do a Google image search on the HP e-book reader, still being developed. Then picture it with a ‘fold-up’ split screen, and that’s exactly what I want, with all the functions of this Amazon reader. HP’s is hipper than the Sony Reader, has a dual screen left-to-right page effect when reading, but too big in size. Give me functions (WiFi, etc), elegance, cool factor, portability. And not a replica of a Star Trek shuttle that’s been flattened.
The big question for me, not living in the US is: does it have Wi-fi connectivity, in addition to Sprint EVDO, and will I be able to connect to the store anywhere in the world?
If the answer is yes, I ll buy it tomorrow. If not, it loses much if its appeal. Anyone has insight into this?
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That’s one ugly device. And will probably fail because of that.
Has anyone ever tried to put the keyboard on the back of one of these devices? Seriously I think I could type more easily with my fingers rapped around the back. 90% of what I do on the internet is about reading/browsing so it makes sense to me to have a device purely devoted to reading. If it’s got a keyboard that’s just a bonus.
That is one piece of Industrial Design, boys and girls.
“Ugly But Impressive”
Reminds me of that Apple stuff!
I feel like I’m raining on some parade here. $399? To read books? C’mon. On top of that price, you’re going to need to buy the individual titles.
It’s not that it’s ugly. It’s that it’s an extravagance that has limited value to the consumer. Avid book readers are not screaming for this innovation. What need exactly is being met here?
I’ve seen the wireless aspect mentioned a few places as a killer feature. Why? Books take a while to read – days, weeks. So the wireless is a nice feature, but not in sync with consumer’s buying habits. Unlike say email, web access, IM…books do not need immediacy. iPods would be a better case of wireless downloading being in sync with consumers’ buying habits (hear the song on the radio or on your friend’s player, download it immediately).
This dog ain’t gonna hunt. Kindle, meet the Newton. Nice PR with Newsweek though.
Should’ve been in black…
It’s like they’re trying to go “Beetle” or “Mini” and be all retro. It will be huge.
I just don’t see how this possibly succeeds… Selling gadgets of any nature is hard enough. Selling expensive gadgets in a new category wherein the technology barely ekes out the non-tech version seems even harder. Unless Bezos is committed to lots of $ spend combined with numerous revisions of the HW, this is not going anywhere…
There’s no good reason in this day and age for something like this not to have wifi.
There’s no good reason for this, period. People are not giving up the experience of reading a book, and all that comes with it, to carry around a device with ALL their books. Only the nerdy’s of nerds will find this interesting. Why did Amazon take off? Because it sold ACTUAL BOOKS!
You must be kidding. Maybe it’s a marketing ploy – it is so ugly people talk about it but the reality is that it’s really slick looking. Otherwise … OMG … it’s hideous.
Even my Commodore Pet looked sexier than this.
who wants “another” device? Instead, amazon should offer book downloading software that makes it easy to access and read on existing PDA/other devices.
Still look like a book for me. I think this is the problem, but let’s wait and see…
I’m pretty excited for this, I would never consider reading a book on my computer/laptop – too big, too bulky, not a comfortable for holding while sitting for long periods of time. I might consider reading one on the iPhone, but the screen’s not really big enough for really long time reading. While the Kindle is quite ugly, and for some ridiculous reason has too much keyboard and not enough screen, if it’s light, fast and easy to use and if the library starts out good enough, I’m definitely curious to check it out.
@#3 – Yes, we all know that ebooks can be read on most phones. But as someone who regularly reads books on my Treo, the screen is just too small if you like to read a lot. I’ve even tried reading books on my iPod Touch….I still WANT a bigger screen (not to mention a dedicated service that I can get my books onto the device). And yes, I can read ebooks on my Macbook, but it doesn’t really fit in my purse…so I need something that is portable.
This device is ugly (but it does look a little bit better on the Newsweek cover), but the feature set is very nice. The ability to buy books without having to hook up to a computer is nice.
BZZZZT!
FAILURE!!!
NO NEED TO BE A GENIUS TO SEE IT WILL BE A DISASTROUS FAILURE!!!
The main problem I find from reading on a screen is eye strain. It looks like it has a darker screen but it will still be bad I assume
for those of u who dont have any idea how a ebook reader works ..
ebook reader do not use a regular lcd screen as in ur blackberry/iphone/palm
most readers use a special technology called e-ink which essentially a ink which comes to the surface when a magnetic field passes through it what this means is that only changing the display (here page) takes battery time not the amount of time it stays on.this also means less strain on ur eyes coz unlike lcd which flikers at high rate around 50-60 hz there is no flickr.the making of this type of screen is costly ,possibly due to the low demand
that said this is a pathetic device which costs 100$ more than sony’s reader which has 194 mb internal memory plus u can put sd cards and looks way better
What this has over the iphone is that you can search within the book for keywords and such. also the direct link to the amazon e-book store, altho maybe the iphone can get that set up as well.
Did’nt you mean, “impressively Butt Ugly”
It looks like an old Sinclair ZX80, they should get sir Clive Sinclair in the ad shot because ‘heavy’ book readers tend to be older people so a bit of nostalgia could be a seller:)
Wireless download without having to go via a computer is cool. Though will you still need to pay an internet provider a monthly charge? I think E ink is less of a strain on the eyes than reading from an LCD screen. OLED displays of the future may be as easy to read as E-ink so that might not be an advantage for long.
I couldn’t imagine taking this e book to bed but it would make a nice breakfast tray.
I can only see this finding a market among people like #34, who, when discussing the merits of the Kindle, compare it with all the alternatives to the Kindle for reading with the notable exception of *actual books*. That market probably seems bigger to TechCrunch readers than it really is.
I like the design, it looks retro-cool.
What I do not like is that I have to pay $0.1 to get a word document inside.
@lisa: [How many readers are we going to see come out before people realize that I can do the same thing on my blackberry/palm/iPhone. What else can this thing do?]]
Look at the video demo – the screen is much bigger! That’s the huge difference.
Jeff Bezos is giving an interview to Charlie Rose today (Monday), which will give a more in-depth look at the Kindle and the value of the book itself. We’ll also be talking about his space company, Blue Origin.
To all the “ugly” comments: If it’s so ugly, I dare you to explain why. You can’t because you have no eye, no taste, now accustomed to gloss-coated Best Buy crap that’s about as interesting as Audi TT. Why can’t a paradigm-shifting device have a paradigm-shifting design to match? Styles change with the times, get over it.
To all the people crying to read on their cell phones and laptops: Don’t you realize that reading is a very specific activity that deserves and favors its own, specific controls?
I love it as a geek, but hate it as a book reader. Books are convenient – they fit in suitcases, don’t break when you drop them, and most importantly you’re not worried about loosing $400 if you use it by the pool.
Now if Amazon would provide electronic versions of school textbooks for a much reduced price, this could easily end up being the “darling” of college kids everywhere! Imagine, being able to carry around all of your textbooks easily and without all of the added weight, plus getting your textbooks for a much reduced price! Of course, it needs a way to write personal notations as an overlay over the book pages.
Michael,
I think the key to ebook readers success is not the online ebook store.
All the efforts on creating pseudo ebook stores will not help much.
Remember. 97% of the content that fills iPods are not songs purchased from the iTunes store. They are songs users made themselves from ripping the CDs.
MP3 is the key and easy CD ripping help users create 97% of the content!
ebooks are no different. all these efforts by Amazon and Sony will contribute to only about 3% at best.
It is user-generated PDFs that will help create the other 97% to fill ebook reading devices of today and next generation of iPhones for books.
However, users can now convert printed books to PDF using a book ripper from our company called BookSnap.
It’s like everyone can easily scan a lot of books using pretty much the same procedure that is being done at the Internet Archive, OCA, and Google (Google Book search).
I see we are at the dawn of ebook industry boom.
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I find it interesting that so many people are focusing on the aesthetics of this new device. Undoubtedly the same people who buy iPods because “they’re so cool” even at twice the price and half the functionality of “uglier” portable music players. Is aesthetics that big of an issue for people? I know we all want nice things, but do they all have to *look* nice?
But why doesn’t it play other formats! A reader that only plays one format is pretty useless to me. If it’s able to play a wide variety of formats (including PDF) and is able to be upgraded later with hardware/software then we’re talking. If it can do these things, I’d get it in a heart beat. @ $400 and without the aforementioned capabilities, just get a tablet PC!