Amazon Kindle - Is the Electric Book Finally a Reality?

Monday last week Amazon launched their new e-book device which they call Kindle. Coming from a family of poets and printers, I love books and have collected them since before I learned to read. My first reaction when I heard about Kindle was that it would never gain popularity. I want to have the book in my hand, feel the paper, smell the print, sensing if it's old or new, being able to make marks, write on the margins of the pages and so on (well, actually, I would never do that to a book, I take my notes in notebooks).

A few questions come to mind regarding Kindle. From a practical point, when I'm flying I'm not allowed to have my computer on in take off and landing so I pick up a book. Can I use Kindle or is that forbidden too? And what is the cost. If I can read blogs and news on my phone for free, am I willing to pay for it on Kindle? What's in it for me? The cost of the device is $399 but that includes the wireless network. You can connect through Amazon's own 3G network at anytime without ever paying for it. But then again, I pay for reading blogs, newspapers and books. People have different opinions about paying for that stuff when at the same time newspapers like New York Times and Wall Street Journal are dropping their subscription fees online.

I haven't seen Kindle yet here on my arctic island but I've read what others are saying, like Guy Kawasaki who got to be an early tester. And the more I read, the more I would like to try it out. Because from what I've heard, you can add comments, tags and notes which sounds like a nice thing. The screen is made of digital ink so it looks just like ordinary paper with no backlight. That is a very important thing because that means you can read the screen in direct sunlight (which is a problem with my laptop) and you want get as tired in your eyes from reading. I can upload the books instantly which is a big plus and don't need to connect it to any other device such as a computer or phone.

It would have been very nice to get the Seth Godin collection free with the device, even though I have many of his books already, but I guess that is not an option as it is. Another interesting option regarding the payment system is if I can monetize my blog on that. As it is, the subscription to my blog is free (yes, you can become a subscriber via email - for FREE! Just sign up here on the left.). But that would never be much money. I also guess I have to have a few thousand subscribers before they take my blog into consideration. So I don't know. I need to try it to be convinced it's worth it.

You can check Kindle out for yourself in this video here below:

Now the scary part is what will happen if I lose my Kindle. Will I lose my whole library? And all my notes and tags? That would be disastrous. I read the product description and reviews on Amazon and it is obvious they have spent those three years they used on development well, because they seem to have an answer to all my worries and skepticism. That includes an online library where I can store my books and retrieve them at any time.

Unfortunately, Kindle: is only sold within the US so I can't try it yet. But I look forward to the time when I can.

They say on Amazon that the first shipment is sold out but they are taking orders for the next one. So if you hurry, you might get one before Christmas.

Kindle: Amazon's New Wireless Reading Device

Hjörtur Smárason