Interesting controversy over on the Amazon Kindle product page. As of this writing, there are 82 reviews and ratings - the vast majority of which are from individuals who have never seen/touched/used the device. Based on looks and announced functionality alone, the Kindle has a paltry 2.5 stars, with nearly half of all reviewers giving only 1 star.
The biggest complaints I’ve seen so far across the web are as follows:
- It’s ugly and looks like a device from the 80s.
- You have to pay for blogs. WTF?
- No backlight.
- Books will always be better.
- Maybe. I’m not sure how I feel about the look, though seeing it in context being unboxed makes it look pretty cool. As does this shot with the pencil.
- There’s been a lot of uproar about this “feature” in particular. For $0.99 a month, you can subscribe to content from one of (currently) 250-ish top-tier blogs. Opposition has been of the “why would I pay for something that’s free?” variety, to which I reply 1) It’s usually not really “free,” just ad-supported and 2) You’re paying for the subscription feature and the local storage and conversion, but as far as I can tell (and I’ve flipped through the manuals) there’s nothing to stop you from navigating to these sites manually, nor, even, from using Google Reader. I’m not sure what the capabilities are of the web browser, though it does support Javascript.
- The E-Ink technology is incredible and easy on the eyes. Backlighting drains the battery and causes quick fatigue. You can use a book-light if you want to read in bed. Or you can read on your iPhone.
- You’re probably right. As long as they still exist, that is. But the Kindle doesn’t aim to replace books, it aims to add functionality that books could never have. It aims to leverage the connectivity of the Web to provide a new, though familiar, reading experience that is a huge improvement over LCD and CRT monitors. I don’t know how much Amazon is pushing this idea, but the Kindle could easily be seen as a greener, more sustainable, and ultimately less expensive alternative to books. So, better? Yes and no and maybe and we’ll see.
1 comments:
Nice job in responding to the negative reviews. It's actually kind of frustrating, in my opinion, when Amazon users abuse the review system. That is, I don't give a rat's ass what your opinion is on an Amazon product page if you've never used the thing! Save that kind of commentary for your own blog.
By the way, thanks for answers to some of my questions. I've updated my post to include them. For me, this is turning into a bit of a pricing decision. I'm definitely interested, just not at the current price point.
Post a Comment