The technology has been around for years but the idea of reading books on a small, portable screen has yet to achieve widespread appeal. Will Amazon's version succeed?
As of last week, both engadget and The New York Times report that after a year of waiting, Amazon has scheduled the launch of its newest endeavor, an e-book reader, on October 15, 2007. The "Kindle” was designed to go head to head with Sony's version of a device Amazon hopes will finally hit it big with the general public.
Electronic book readers have been around for a while but have continually failed to capture interest in the way that other electronic devices, such as cell phones and digital cameras, have in the recent past. Explanations for the failure of e-book readers are plentiful; high price and poor image resolution for example, but the answers have yet to present themselves. Amazon is not the first to try and tempt consumers with e-book technology, but they may be the first to succeed.
The Kindle is expected to retail for around $400.00, which is relatively inexpensive in comparison to i-rex's Illiad, selling for over $800.00. It appears as if Amazon has attempted to combine some of the better features of other readers with a few new twists of its own including the ability to play audio, a USB 2.o (mini-B connector) EVDOCDMA wireless modem and superior battery life. Amazon's version is also rumored to use e-ink, which is widely thought to be the best technology for book viewing and avoiding eyestrain, a common complaint with early generation e-book readers.
Amazon also has an advantage by owning Mobipocket books. The company's long term goal may be to publish, sell and download e-books directly from Amazon's site to the new Kindle, a convenience that could appeal to today's busy consumers. College students may also be attracted to the Kindle if Amazon can market the idea of downloading a years worth of textbooks onto one affordable, easy to transport device.
In other reports, preliminary opinions indicate that consumers may believe the price is still too high to be tempting and that the device is clunky and ugly. The included keyboard only seems to clutter up the already limited "face space,” and appears largely unnecessary. In addition, the smaller than average viewing screen, only 4 x 6, has consumer reviewers wondering why Amazon didn't leave out the keyboard in favor of a larger reading area. The Kindle is, after all, primarily a book reader, not an MP3 player or a word processing tool.
The question now becomes; can Amazon's Kindle succeed in a market that has, so far, failed to catch fire with the American public? Only a new, sexy design, an especially aggressive marketing strategy...and time, will tell.
