I worked in publishing for many years and also have a sizeable library. I consider myself old school. I love books and paper but I’ve been eyeing the Kindle. Like you, I am balking at the price, no battery and other features that just don’t have me convinced just yet.
.-= alyssa´s last blog ..Hope in a Jar =-.

Many of the issues you’ve raised were ones that I didn’t know about, so I’m glad to be more informed about the Kindle. I would probably pay $100 for a device like this, mostly because the technology is still developing and I really don’t like the limitations (i.e. pdf support). But I am truly looking forward to converting to digital books and saving space and trees.

Finally, I would add one thing: Get an iPhone girl. What are you waiting for? It’s the best piece of electronics I have EVER owned!
.-= Melissa Donovan´s last blog ..Word Pairs: Fewer vs. Less =-.

I love my Kindle and read on it almost exclusively. While you raise some valid concerns, some of the issues you mention don’t seem to be a problem to me.

As you say, the Whispernet is amazing. I really like that I can order directly from the Kindle or I can order from my computer and it will be on the Kindle the next time I turn it on. This is great for me because I read a lot of book blogs, and when I read a review of a book I want, I click over to Amazon and order it immediately. Then when I turn on the Kindle, there it is.

I also have an eBookWise reader and have used several other devices in the past. Two big advantages of the Kindle over the other e-book readers I’ve used are the large library of books available and the large text size available on the device. The font size is adjustable in a wide range, and I can set it at a size comfortable for me to read with my bad eyes. I can barely read the largest text size on the eBookWise, and I can’t read most mass market paperbacks.

Many books are more expensive than they should be. The large traditional publishers haven’t adapted their pricing to the market, yet. However, books from small independent publishers are much less, and I find many great books. In fact, I read more books from small press than the large publishers. I have also found a number of free books for the Kindle (there’s a blog about free and discounted Kindle books), so while I’m spending more money than I wish on books, I’m not spending as much as you might think.

As far as books and magazines disappearing, I have not experienced that. It may happen, but not to me or anyone I know.

I’ve had no problem with the battery. I can read a very long time between charges, and I plug it into the charger whenever the first sliver of white appears in the indicator. So even if you’re traveling, I don’t think you’d have a problem if you took the charger along to plug in occasionally.

I don’t like DRM e-books, but as an author I understand the problem of pirated material. A professional e-publishing organization I belong to encounters pirate sites all the time. It’s a huge problem for e-publishers and e-authors.

There seems to be a standard e-book format developing; unfortunately Kindle does not yet read e-pub format. I have read many non-Kindle books on my Kindle, though. It’s easy to convert Word, HTML, text, and other formats. If PDFs aren’t secured, I convert them to Word then import to the Kindle.

I wish e-books could be shared among families, but I don’t think any of the e-book reading devices allow that. Hopefully that will come in time.

I’ve written about the Kindle on my blog a couple of times–first about what I thought it would do for the e-publishing industry when it first came out, then a review after I got mine.

It’s not perfect, but I still love it!
.-= Lillie Ammann´s last blog ..Guest Post: 9 Ways to Promote Your Book Using Social Media by Beth Morrow =-.

Thanks for the Kindle eye-opener. I would so love to have one. After reading your open letter I still want one, but I feel like now I know what the possible issues may be.

Cheers

George
.-= Tumblemoose´s last blog ..Writing basics for the first time novelist, part one =-.