Kindled.
So I’m checking out the Amazon.com Kindle.
I don’t want one – yet. Even without picking the thing up, I know that I’ll agree with most of the reviews. It’s a big improvement on e-readers and it will be the most content-filled “book” yet released. But I figure I can wait until the price goes down, the design is improved, and Amazon figures out the solutions to the following problems:
- File formats – not supporting PDF or .doc will be a hindrance.
- Charging for blogs? Seriously? And how will the bloggers benefit from this arrangement? I don’t mind paying good writers for what they do, but why would I pay to read news articles and blogs on the Kindle when they’re already available on the nearest web-linked computer for free? Granted, Amazon is paying for the broadband on the Kindle (for now) but the internet connection I pay to use on my computer will also deliver video, games, social networking, graphics, and color.
- I’m a functionality geek. Make it work, make it minimalist, make it pretty. In that order. So for functionality it looks like it’ll do pretty well, it’s not quite minimal enough yet, and it’s not pretty. But I’ll give it some time and let it get there.
Either that, or I’ll let Apple come out with one too.
I hate working on this Mac laptop. Give me my right-click context menus! My delete button and a backspace button that CALLS itself a backspace button! My Guild Wars! My tweakable open-source programs! Then again, the iPod is still on my good-functional-minimal-pretty list, so I won’t be upset if Apple answers the Kindle with one of its own.
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