[nants]

The Kindle, despite its great display, is a poorly designed piece of hardware. I had the opportunity to play with one for a bit, and its ergonomics are exceedingly disappointing. Reminds me of when I designed machines for Phone-Mate, and marketing forced poor decisions about form factor and control positioning. Whoever designed this thing had a few good ideas but obviously little experience in designing hand-held appliances.

[bugsnw]

Andy is spot on. I'd pay enough to buy a Kindle to see SJ insert the kindle into anyone dumb enough to offer up such an ugly beast.
Why is this thing so ugly? It's stunningly ugly. I want one, just not the Kindle.
Please... Apple... get involved in books. SJ is wrong about the # of readers out there, just like he was about the # of people who'd want to watch video on small-ish screens.
Someone needs to shake up Jeff Bozos. Maybe inserting a Kindle or two would teach him a lesson?

[saintlouisranger]

The rumor of the AirTouch tablet are coming fast and furious... A powerful processor, 12" to 14" OLED screen, large solid state drive/hard drive, plenty of RAM, 3G, WiFi and all of the other goodies we have come to know in Apple computers would be the ultimate eBook reader. Combine the aforementioned hardware with a tie-in to iTunes, Amazon, Google and Audible for software/content would make one rockin' ereader and many of us would spend the money to have one of these to call our own... Sign me up!!!

[nants]

Nice, but the EInk display is truly superior for reading - reflective technology is simply easier on the eyes. Probably healthier for them, too. That said, it's not clear what the lifetime of the EInk display is, so it may not be the right solution, either, unless it can be recycled...

[Bruce_Star_Guy]

In your opinion, EInk is truly superior. In mine it isn't. The main reason is that it doesn't give off light. I read ebooks at night in bed. My wife finds the light given off by books lights disturb her sleep. Using eReader on a Palm OS device allowed me to continue reading well into the night while she slept.

Let's face it. From this thread it is apparent that the reading experience that one desires from a digital book is highly personal. Some of the posters here have stated that they can't see any digital reading experience being suitable for reading of any length. While others have stated that the size of the screen is a limiting factor. And still others can only accept reflective displays. All of this means that there isn't one perfect digital book reader, but probably many based on user preferences.

And, I don't think that the iTunes store meets all user preferences either. ITMS is my store of choice for music, but for audio books, I prefer Audible, for Movies Netflix. The reason I prefer Audible and Netflix is because they offer a subscription plan. That is not something that Kindle or iTunes currently offer.

[wendeehart]

There is an app for ebooks. Ereader is a wonderful app. I have been using it for 4 years, starting with my Palm m500 and now finally my iphone! The website is www.ereader.com and the app is free at itune store.

[EricsMac]

I think there are two major point here.. Size and formats.
First off I've been reading eBooks for years and have a smaller library. I tend to read when I get 5 minutes here.. 10 minutes there. For me this means that i don't have a dedicated reader but instead use my cell phone. I'm currently on a Blackberry Curve and had a Pearl before that. On screen size.. that's just fine for me.
As for format.. I get most of my books from FictionWise (They picked up the eReader guys of course). One of the reasons I stay with them is I can redownload the non-DRM book into another format when I need to or when I change devices.
I would like to see a dedicated reader like a larger version of the touch. I think the problem with adoption is related to the entry cost. There are a lot of people that are not going to plunk down $350 for a device that only reads books. The current iTouch/iPhone could function as a entry point for some if a decent reader is put in the mix. I'd love to see MobiPocket put out an OSX reader since that has been my main reader for years. When it comes down to it people don't want to loose a portion of a library just because of format.
Eric

[KentD]

I like Fictionwise too. I get the same book in eReader and PDF, for Palm and Mac laptop. I can't see most people spending more than $50 for a reader, unless it can do a lot more than ebooks.There are other applications for ebooks, like technical references, that would justify much more.

As for size, I don't see why size is such a big issue for text reading. You read one word at a time, or maybe a short line. If you had a reader that scolled at a controllable speed, with a short line of text, I think you could read at good speed. You would hardly move your eyes. I recall a system for crash learning used by some government agency that worked like that. It even stopped when you blinked.

The display could be small, but it should be high resolution, more than most monitors, maybe 200 dpi or more, and lit, but also readable in daylight. For technical references or graphics, a laptop computer would make much more sense.

[mgessex]

Ok, the iPhone isn't perfect for reading everything, but being able to have a number of books that I can read at leisure opportunities in this small handy device is great. If you want to see an early attempt to emulate text books, you should look at the various offerings of Netter's amazing beautiful anatomy books. I studied anatomy in the mid '80s and so wish I had these back then. I agree that they are awfully expensive, but I have really enjoyed reviewing anatomy in the few minutes I have now and then.

I also like listening to audio books a lot, but I read much faster than the readers speak, so for pulp fiction, reading on the iPhone is great. For poetry or great literature, savored like fine wine, audio books are wonderful.

[wmpbauer]

e-Reader Pro is already available in the Apps Store. I've been reading eBooks on my Palm Pilot for years, and now they've brought it to my new iPhone.,,,it works the same way as on the Palm, and I can read the 100 or so novels I already own as well as get new ones from e-Reader. I like to use the reverse screen (black background with white letters). In my opinion, this is a technology that could work well for the education industry as well as for other text-based materials. I know they also have a scheme for viewing graphic materials, but I'm not sure it's been ported to the iPhone yet.

Check it out.

Pat Bauer

[JohnLindsay]

Apple isn't going to make ebooks happen
If Jobs says people don't read that should be a clue
The iphone isn't going to make ebooks happen. The screen is too small.
Students on campus are not going to be reading their texts on an Iphone
The only reader that works ( for people without microscopic vision) is the iRex. It is the optimal size.
It uses Mobipocket and pdf so getting books is no problem. However the text zoom feature is from the 1980s.
In a perfect world Jobs would make a reader iRex sized with iPhone capability.
It is not going to happen.

[mixwiz]

I completely agree with Andy about an iTunes-model implementation of books for the iPhone (or a new Apple device!) being a total no-brainer. But I vehemently disagree about the implementation of the Kindle: I think it?s absolutely brilliant, one of the most cohesive, beautifully integrated high technology systems ever to come along. I think it rivals any of Apple?s products in the elegance of the system.

The most brilliant part of the Kindle?s business model to me is the free broadband wireless connectivity. Even though I spend an embarrassingly ludicrous amount of money each month on technology charges and am a chronic ?new adopter,? I would be very reticent to fork over even another $19.95/mo for yet another data service. That would have been a non-starter for me for the Kindle.

However, paradoxically the reason I didn?t buy a Kindle at its rollout was that I thought it operated on the iPod model, where you download material to your computer and then synchronize it onto the Kindle. The instant I looked a little more deeply into the Kindle and found out about the FREE wireless connectivity, and that the phone also has a FREE web browser which can by the way do email - I immediately ordered one.

The Kindle has blown away ALL expectations I had for it. I know that there have been ?liquid ink? displays for a couple of years now capable of doing 30 fps color, which would let the Kindle do streaming video, etc., and I know that the Kindle could almost effortlessly be at least a basic cellphone - it is after all already on the Spring 3G network.

But the more I thought about it and used it, the more I love the fact that the Kindle is first and foremost a BOOK READER, and is wholly optimized toward that end. I don?t want instant messages popping up while I?m reading. I don?t want the Kindle to ring with a phone call. I don?t want 30 fps color animations. I LOVE it that the Kindle is a BOOK READER. It?s greyscale display is absolutely exquisite for book reading - the brighter the light the better it looks - and unlike backlit displays, it is effortless to read, the page is exact optimum size for reading, and when you?re reading you can simply set it down and the Kindle is happy to keep the page rendered until hell freezes over allowing you to simply pick it up at any time and resume reading - just like a.... BOOK!!... all without worrying about burning out the screen or draining the battery as with computer- or phone-like devices.

Add to the above that the Kindle has a built-in ginormous dictionary which can instantly connect to google or wikipedia for further info, can add bookmarks and annotations, backs up ALL OF THE ABOVE and stores it with YOUR COPY of the book on amazon?s servers so that they are always available no matter what, and you have a BRILLIANT, perfectly integrated system.

The only tiny quibbles I have with the Kindle?s physical design are that the next-page, previous-page tabs are way too big and prone to accidental page turning, and that the lower corners are pointy and can dig into your palms when you?re holding it. Miniscule complaints compared to the overwhelming pleasure of using the device and reading books (and magazines and newspapers) on it. I hugely prefer reading books on the Kindle to reading them in print.

Lastly, and IMHO most importantly, can you imagine the environmental impact if even a modest portion of all readers used the Kindle? How many millions of trees, barrels of oil and acres of landfill would this device save? And what about in developing nations, where even without wireless networks, textbooks could be delivered to local computers and downloaded to classroom Kindles for pennies per student?

I find the Kindle, exactly as it is, to be a truly paradigm shifting device and breakthrough for the planet; a perfect resourcing and implementation of available technologies.

[cardon1122]

I think the idea of Amazon continuing to obtain the book rights and apple coming up with a better compatible e-book is good. I don't think you'll get around the copyright protection schemes or you'll never get the the authors to release their new books in e-book format. I've had a Kindle for months and love it. The ergonomics could be improved and there is a lot of functionality / features that could be improved upon through updates but it's still not bad already. Getting new books when they are first released in hardback for a fraction of the cost is great and there is not the problem of what to do with or where to store the book after you've read it. Any reader that Apple comes out with though, I think should use the e-ink technology. I find it a lot more pleasant to read and easier on the eyes that back lit electronic devices. Also the extremely long battery life is great. I can go on a trip for a week to 10 days reading several hours a day without having to recharge.

[McFAN]

I feel as though I'm beating a dead horse here. But as the owner of 2 Rocket eBooks from the late 1990's . . . this issue is now past my radar screen. For myself . . . I prefer audio formatted books for most of my reading pleasure. Converting them to mp3 files to be heard on my many iPods . . . I believe the future will hold books issued in either an audio file or an electronic file . . . unless it's a book with many illustrations . . . and even that could be solved by including jpeg files on a CD to be viewed as separate files.

The issue has been the elevated cost of audio (or electronic) books (as opposed to the cost of the same edition in a paper format) . . . most of the group of Rocket fanatics balked at paying prices we believed were inflated for an edition that no longer required shelf space and would never go out of print and could be made available on demand from the public. We believed the initial cost of production would be recouped by the publisher in no time . . . but that we the public we being charged way too much.

It's my opinion that the electronic book reached it's full potential in the invention of the Rocket eBook and the subsequent offerings by others have fared no better. Unfortunately I am beginning to have an electronic graveyard of devices . . . and I'm very hesitant to acquire more devices . . . .