
The State of the Kindle - jmarbach
http://jmarbach.com/the-state-of-the-kindle
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dvvarf
Why can't I rent ebooks? All I want is to pay $X to take out Y books at a time
like I do with Netflix for movies. Who do I need to talk to get this done?

I'd love to do it myself, but the Kindle is proprietary device.

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dhimes
Or even borrow, like a library?

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jonknee
With DRM you're always borrowing (you can't give it to anyone).

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kyleslattery
I love my Kindle, and I've been trying to get my mom, an avid reader, to get
one as well. Her biggest issue with it though, is that you can't share books
with friends, and I feel like a lot of people have the same thing holding them
back.

This seems like such a no brainer for Amazon to create, but clearly
something's holding them back (likely the publishers).

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angstrom
It's not the publishers because the Barnes and Noble Nook already allows
lending on an equal platform.

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jonknee
Perhaps the publishers gave B&N a different license agreement to encourage
competition? That happened with Apple and the iTunes Store and it's a pretty
strong parallel (one company with the bulk of sales in a whole category).

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astine
If there existed, and I could afford, a device like the iPad (a tablet), with
the Kindle software, an electronic paper screen (something like Pixel Qi), and
was substantially lighter than the iPad, I would have no reason to own a
Kindle over it.

The only reasons I can think of to buy a Kindle in addition or instead of this
device would be:

1\. I couldn't afford the device, but could afford a Kindle, and read enough
to justify buying one.

2\. I was rich enough to wan't something like a Kindle in every room, or one
in my office and another at home, so Ididin't have to worry about keeping it
with me.

3\. I saw the fact that the Kindle _only_ allowed me to read books as an
advantage which helped me to focus and avoid distractions.

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mattmaroon
The good news for Amazon is that such a device won't exist at an affordable
price point for years. Color e-ink might be on its way in the relatively near
future, and at reasonable pricing in the mid term, but with refresh rates fast
enough to play games and watch video on (and really that's what the iPad is
for) at reasonable pricing is farther away than any sane business plans for.

Also when it does exist Amazon won't care, so long as you buy your books on it
through them.

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patrickgzill
Depends on whether or not PixelQi and others are able to deliver such a
display based on LCD technology.

Economies of scale for LCD as found in laptops, tablets, TVs, etc. are huge,
vs. the relatively tiny market for e-paper / e-ink.

If (currently a big "if") a decent reader-like display can be made from LCD,
the market will quickly shift to it based on cost alone.

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dhimes
I pre-ordered it, so I hope it's good. I disagree with Bezos on the array of
devices bit:

 _Bezo’s projects that in the future, people in society will fulfill their
needs through an array of devices_.

    
    
        + Kindle for reading, smart-phone, laptop, tablet PC
    

I think the future will shrink the length of this array; that is, the iPad is
a step in this direction, and the Kindle is behind. I'm getting it because the
devices aren't up to what I want yet, and I want to reduce the physical space
my books require.

If the iPad was a better reader and had a better battery life, I would have
gone with it.

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jokull
I'm not so sure. I used to think there would be one device to rule them all,
but now I think that this just applies to mobile devices. "The pocket
exception" I've heard somewhere. When you're not concerned with mobility you
want specialized devices. I still whip out the old calculator with huge
buttons for some tasks. As for a long-reading device I can definitely see the
Kindle work out (esp. with it's month long battery charge). I also pre-ordered
a Kindle :)

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dhimes
I'm thinking along the lines of a wearable device (or some other configuration
where it's not intrusive-- I think the intrusiveness is the only problem left
to solve). Much like the phone (particularly the iPhone) absorbed the function
of calculators, watches, and note pads (and to some extent cameras), I think
this trend will continue. Now, I'll admit, the _extent_ to which the phone
solves this problem may only be so great for people who are now early
teenagers (hell, I still wear a watch...), but I suspect it's coming.

