Comments on: Kindle owner’s report, Amazonian gift to U.S. snoops, Mobi’s iffy fate, Aussie e-reader, and gloomy reading study

By: Dennis E Henley

Dennis E Henley — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 16:21:55 +0000

>>This is the Apple model

By: info NeoGnostic: Kindling enthusiasm: the Amazon reader

info NeoGnostic: Kindling enthusiasm: the Amazon reader — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 14:47:41 +0000

[...] titles already available.TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home has excerpts from some of the many US Kindle owner’s reports – naturally there are happy owners and some not-so-happy owners: there are now 547 customer reviews [...]

By: David Rothman

David Rothman — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 03:34:18 +0000

Paul, thanks. Brian, the positives of the Kindle make it all the more urgent to educate Bezos about the darker side of his machine. Thanks. David

By: Paul Gilster

Paul Gilster — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 01:29:49 +0000

Brian, thanks for the clarifications. Tell me, is text justification forced or can you opt to go without it? Second question: what’s your take on the case?

By: Brian Carnell

Brian Carnell — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 00:51:54 +0000

“David, nice work and glad to see you looking hard at this device; otherwise I

By: Brian Carnell

Brian Carnell — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 00:43:03 +0000

“Is Amazon going to stick it to the independent bookstores and others that have built much of their business around Mobipocket?”

I think its pretty clear they don’t want people buying DRMed ebooks from competitors like Fictionwise. This is the Apple model — if you want to sell DRMed music for the iPod, you *have* to go through the iTunes store.

The odd thing is that Amazon’s model seems to be the opposite of Apple’s. Apple’s model is to use the content to drive the sales of the hardware. Amazon’s is to use the hardware to drive the sales of the content.

“But maybe not. In the interest of profitability, Amazon said good-bye to PDFed e-books, so anything

By: Paul Gilster

Paul Gilster — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 23:04:58 +0000

David, nice work and glad to see you looking hard at this device; otherwise I’m largely seeing the euphoria that always travels with people who had shelled out major money on a new purchase, and stories like that uncomfortable Newsweek job.

A question I still don’t quite get: I’m told that Kindle does handle non-DRM Mobipocket files. So if I go to Munsey’s and download David Copperfield, I can read it on the Kindle, right? Can I transfer it via USB to get it on the device, or do I have to pay an Amazon surtax just to move it over? Still trying to sort all these options out.

By: David Rothman

David Rothman — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 19:09:53 +0000

Franz, happy holiday season and thanks for your perspective. I share your hope that the Kindle will result in more books in the Mobi format. But there are still some real concerns that the opposite may happen–that Amazon intends to back off from Mobi. Let’s hope not! Of course, as I see it, .epub with DRM for publishers wanting it (may they not!) is the ultimate solution. Thanks. David

By: Falk Kühnel

Falk Kühnel — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 18:07:30 +0000

Having 90.000+ titles available as ebooks alone is good news. Even if you can only use them as a Kindle owner.

I am still hoping, that many books will get released to mobipocket aswell, once the publishers get it done.

By: David Rothman

David Rothman — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 17:57:31 +0000

Hey, RP, I just call ‘em as I see ‘em. For novices not worried about the social and technical concerns, the Kindle could be great. What’s more, I’ve noted that its existence should help e-bookdom for now. I hope the Kindle succeeds. But that won’t stop me from writing about the darker side; people need the entire story, especially after all the hype in Newsweek and whatever. Happy holidays. David

By: R Pollack

R Pollack — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 16:50:05 +0000

very sour review. try taking a more positive view of life and what other people do.