I have already told you about the things I wanted to see in a Kindle, before plunking down my money to buy one. Without them, it just wasn’t worth $260 to me. And then, they came up with an offer I couldn’t refuse.
Buy a Kindle, try it out, and if I didn’t like it, not only would they return my money, but they would let me keep the Kindle either way.
Now, first, let’s think about this as a marketing technique …
It’s almost diabolical in its “How can you pass this up” vibe. There’s literally nothing to lose. In the details, it specified that the offer was strictly for me, that I could not pass the Kindle on to anybody else and still be eligible for the offer, there was a sharp deadline (two days before Apple’s announcement of the iPad, as it happens) … but nothing to make me suspicious. And you know I can be suspicious about “Very Special Offers.”
This one, though … how can it hurt them? Worst case scenario is that everybody who tries one asks for their money back … but hopefully will continue to use them, anyway. My guess is that they wanted to get Kindles in more people’s hands before the Apple announcement, and that maybe they’ve got a Kindle 3 in the works and wanted to get rid of some inventory ahead of time. (I told you I can be cynical.) But still … they want you to buy THEIR ebooks, not ebooks from the competition, so having a Kindle in-hand is going to encourage customer loyalty. It’s a great scheme.
Now, as to the Kindle itself.
Now that I’ve gotten my hands on one, what did I think? Starting with my points from July:
Well, the price keeps getting better. When I wrote my open letter in July, the price had just dropped to $299, and it’s now $269 for the standard Kindle. I still think this is pricey for an ebook reader without a touch screen or color, but it’s getting closer. Personally, I think they should be closer to the $150-$200 range, since ebook readers do only the one thing.
They have, in fact, added the option to read Kindle books on my pc, which I think is wonderful. Thank you, Amazon, for that. No matter how good or convenient the ebook reader, there will be times when I’m simply not going to be carrying it with me, so having options is a good thing. Versatility is vital.
Price of the ebooks. Obviously this is an ongoing concern, and really warrants a whole, ‘nother post, but I still have a hard time spending about the same price for an ebook as I would for a paperback … great option when the book is new and only out in hardcover, but not so great later on. Because, frankly, if they cost the same, I’d rather have the paper book that works with any technology than the ebook that only works on the Kindle.
The screen. I know, eInk isn’t quite there yet, for color (though it’s coming fast), and having a variety of shades of grey is a plus … but, the background of the screen is light gray, and I find that a little wearying for my eyes, since it’s not as sharp a contrast as white would be.
No, it’s not a touch-screen yet, either. The buttons for “next page” are easy to reach with either hand, but I sometimes had trouble getting it to click. Not a big deal, just not as handy as the “swipe” on my iPod Kindle app.
I really thought the 5-way controller button was clunky and inconvenient. Trying to move the cursor up the page to look up a word or select an option in the Table of Contents was a pain.
It’s got a sleek feel and shape with its tapered edges, but they also make it harder to hold, and almost impossible to hold in one hand … at least, not if you need to turn pages. And since I read fast, I turn pages a lot.
The built-in dictionary? Very cool, very handy, very nice touch.
The “Whispernet” technology that let me search for books, free of charge, without needing to be hooked up to the computer? Very, very cool, handy and nice to have. The fact that it was free is even better. Amazon gets full marks for that one.
Once I had a Kindle in my hand, I went right to my Amazon wish list to treat myself to the kindle version of one of the books I’ve been wanting to read … and only one of them was available. This surprised me because they really DO have a huge selection of available books … just apparently not as huge as I’d thought.
I do love the fact that so many classic books are available free of charge, since they’re beyond copyright restrictions at this point. Finally, I can read Don Quixote or Anna Karenina without having to purchase a copy or go to the library. That is a handy thing.
I found it awkward (almost impossible) to scroll through the books–there’s no easy way I was able to find to skip forward to the next chapter, or to skim looking for something, and not every book I downloaded had a table of contents, so … ugh. Huge pain.
I do a lot of reading while in the kitchen or in the bathroom, and admit that I worried about getting this electronic gizmo wet … because a stray drop of water while pouring a cup of tea could cause a lot more damage to the Kindle than to a paper book, and that intimidated me.
I know there are protective cases available, but why isn’t at least a cheap version included? I’m really wary of putting this into a bag or carrying it around without protection, and since the cases start at $30 on top of the initial cost … that gets pricey. On the plus side, the gadget seems reasonably sturdy.
It’s true, the eInk is a lot easier on the eyes than a back-lit screen, and the option to enlarge or shrink the font to suit my eyesight or fatigue level is a great convenience.
My verdict?
While there are definitely things here that I liked, as it happens (and to my own surprise), I did not actually love the Kindle. I really thought that I would, but apparently the (available) techology is not quite where I personally want it to be to wean me away from paper books. It’s the words and sentences that matter, not the delivery method–paper or electronic, a story is a story, good writing is good writing–but after playing with this for a few days, I am still reaching for my paper books instead of being beguiled by the electronic options. Will this come in handy for my next vacation, though? Oh my, yes. For travelling, I love the idea of being able to bring a huge selection of books in one place … but since I usually only have one trip a year …
As I said, I didn’t love it as they promised I would, and have asked for my money back. I’m waiting to hear what happens next. I wouldn’t be surprised to have to fill in some kind of survey about why I’m not satisfied, and I’ve hung onto the (very simple, environmentally-sound) shipping box, just in case, but still. I’m all in awe at the marketing technique.
Though the iPad looks nice and shiny, I am thinking it might be too shiny for reading for an extended period of time. In that case, I think Kindle is actually a better option because it’s easier on the eyes. (Not that I actually know for sure, since I haven’t seen either of them in person.)
If I had one, I would probably read old (hence free) books with it. I guess Amazon wouldn’t like that.
.-= Kelvin Kao´s last blog ..Pili Prestige: The Dragon Warrior =-.
Well, that’s the thing–a regular computer screen (no matter what the size) is back-lit and therefore harder on the eyes … but is convenient because it can do all sorts of things in addition to the actual ebook-reading, making it more economical. But an ebook reader is easy on the eyes which makes it better for long-term reading stints.
hey… how’d you get that screen? was that just at amazon.com? hmmm… i have a kindle, so maybe that’s why i don’t get that…
fwiw, i love my kindle, although i get most of my books from non-amazon sources (i read a lot of classics from feedbooks and manybooks, and some indies from smashwords in addition to indies from amazon and the very occasional popular book at amazon)
It was a brief, limited-time offer because they “noticed I read a lot of books.” It was only available for a couple days, though, and expired a couple of weeks ago–just before Apple’s iPad announcement.
Deb,
Interesting how subjective these things are. I do love my Kindle. 🙂 I never read print—with my poor eyesight, it’s just too hard to try to decipher the text unless it’s large print.
I have autographed books that I’ve never read though they’re by authors I love. If the book is also available as an e-book, I’ll keep the print book for the autograph but read the e-book. Weird, I know. 🙂
Right now I have more than 30 books on my Kindle to be read, many of them new releases, and most of them were free. Just like the short-term offer you took advantage of on the Kindle, many publishers give away Kindle editions for a day or two. Often, if a new book in a series is released, earlier books are free on the day the series is released.
I talk about where I find free books in a recent blog post about Read an E-Book Week, coming up next month. There will lots of free e-books offered by publishers and authors that week (not specifically for the Kindle).
.-= Lillie Ammann´s last blog ..Looking for Vets with PTSD Who Have Improved =-.
Hi Deb,
I won’t bore you with all of the details, but I did receive a Kindle around Christmas. I do love the thing, although it has complicated my decision matrix when looking at books. BK (Before Kindle) I had to decide if I wanted the book on my shelf or did I just want to check it out at the library. Since I love books and love to fill my bookcases this was no easy decision. NOW, I have to decide: buy the book, Kindle the book or library the book. Oy.
I’m in agreement with the 5 way controller. I havta use my thumbnail and even then it seems to have a mind of its own.
The pricing for Kindle books is very interesting. I spend a lot of time on the Amazon site specifically at the Kindle Bestsellers page. The prices change on the books constantly. I saw a book called Two Rivers and read the description and reviews. It looked great and it was free so I downloaded it. Two hours later, the price was $9.60. I see that happening a lot.
I too have enjoyed downloading the classics (for free). The Picture of Dorian Gray was a great read and I think without the Kindle I may never have read the book.
I know you’re a bit disappointed but hopefully you’ll get used to the Kindle and its quirks over time.
Nice review!
George
@Lillie–Obviously the variable text size is a HUGE benefit if you need it (which thankfully I don’t yet). The value of the gadget improves immensely with that feature.
@George–I think the Kindle (and other ebook readers in general) could be WONDERFUL. I just don’t think they’re quite there yet. It has a lot of things to like, just not quite enough for me to actually love.
I’m cynical about marketing the same way you are! As you shared your thoughts, I was nodding along because that’s exactly how I would have responded to this ad.
As for ebooks, I really want to go digital this year. All my books just take up way too much space. My biggest nit is with the entire industry. Why not make universal devices and let me buy the books wherever I choose? Wouldn’t it make more sense to let me get a Kindle and buy books from iTunes or get an iPad and buy from Amazon?
Can you imagine if we had to deal with this kind of technology hogging with CDs, DVDs, cassettes, and VHS? It’s absurd.
.-= Melissa Donovan´s last blog ..A Messy, Liberating Guide to Journal Writing =-.
@Melissa, I do love my paper books. I weeded out about a third of my library when we moved in November, but I still have about 2,000 books. I LIKE having books, but I do see many advantages to having digital versions of certain references, or books that I’ll probably only read once, or favorites I’d want to bring on vacations. Ebooks have a lot of advantages, I just don’t think the delivery system is quite perfect yet … and there will be some books I will always prefer to have in paper.
The formatting thing, though? The ebook prices? The short-sightedness of the publishers insisting on higher prices and incompatible formats from seller to seller? I am all for authors getting paid, I am all for publishers making profits for the work they do to create the books … I just don’t understand how they don’t realize that people simply won’t pay as much for a digital copy that can only be read on ONE device?
.-= –Deb´s last blog ..Kindle Revisited =-.