Wednesday, February 27, 2008

A New Era For Books

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Have you seen the gadget from Amazon.com called the Kindle? It is a wireless device that holds electronic copies of books among other things. The concept is enticing; you can literally carry around hundreds of books with you and even buy e-books wirelessly at any time. But I wonder if I'd really like reading books this way. They've already addressed what my first and most pressing issue would be and that is reading a book from an electronic screen is not easy on the eyes. But apparently, they've developed a screen that they call "electronic paper" that imitates what real paper looks like. Supposedly there's no glare or strain on your eyes and the device does not heat up like most electronics when in use. Maybe I'm being old fashioned and probably in 5-10 years you'll spot me reading all my books from the Kindle, but right now I'm kind of partial to the look and feel of a real book. I'm simultaneously excited about and wary of this type of reading experience.

5 comments:

Dara said...

Love this thing! I just wish it wasn't $399! Great invention! Not that I don't enjoy the look and feel of real books... but this would be very handy!

Unknown said...

I am not too crazy about this new device. First of all, I like to lend and borrow books. Impossible with this. You buy a book, but it's just data saved on your device or on your online back-up. You paid for it, but you don't own the real book that you can share or do whatever you want with. Also, I think the screen is kind of small. I would zip through the words on the screen and be constantly pushing the next page button. I think it might be annoying. At least with a book, you read two pages before having to turn. Of course the pro is get any book you want whenever you want it. It just doesn't appeal to me much though.

Lindsay said...

I agree with Becky. I can see why they came up with the idea but I like real books also. Easy $400 saved by me. :)

Stephanie said...

Chris and I saw this awhile back and had the same discussion. I like to read actual paper books, too. Right now I can't see myself getting a Kindle, but who knows 5 years from now. I agree what Becky said too!

Blair said...

My concern - can I read this thing in the bathtub without getting electrocuted? If not, I'm not interested!