What is a Kindle?

The Amazon Kindle announced in the spring of 2008 is an electronic book reader. Initially priced at $399, the Kindle sold out in a matter of days, according to Amazon. Unlike earlier e-book readers, this tool appears to be a closer approximation to a book, but a book on steroids.

For most of us who follow technology, it has become increasingly clear that book publishers are going to need to move away from an industry focused on the use of dead trees. Is the Amazon Kindle the technology that will do that? It is unclear, but, even if it is not, I suspect that makers of competing products are already trying to figure out how to be more Kindle-like.

Some of the nice features of the Amazon Kindle include:

• An electronic-paper display that is far superior to earlier book readers.
• Wireless connectivity; find the book online and download it in a matter of minutes.
• More than 130,000 books available (with more on the way, I suspect).
• Free book samples. Download a couple chapters to see if you want to purchase the entire book.

While it is unclear, at this price-point, whether the Kindle will become popular beyond those early-adopters of all things techno, there is no doubt that it is the best of the electronic book readers currently available.

Prior to actually purchasing one, you should consider several things including:

• Cost of the Kindle. At $399, the Amazon Kindle is over-priced. With the recent drop to $359, it is still over-priced.
• Cost of the books. The books are in the $9.99 range for New York Times Bestsellers. This seems a little-overpriced, but could be reasonable if the Kindle cost less.
• First generation technology is never as good as second generation technology. In other words, while the Kindle is rather cool, it will be interesting to see what Daughter of Kindle looks like.

If Amazon were to ask me what they needed to do to make this successful, my advice would be either to lower the price of the Kindle, lower the price of the books, or both. Part of the problem in lowering the price of the Kindle is that it uses a network in order to download the books. Well, who pays for that? Yup, since Amazon needs to carry that burden, they are hoping to get folks to pony up the buck upfront.

When will I buy one? I can sometimes be a bit of a techno-geek, but there is no way I would buy one until it is $99. On the day that happens, I will be first in line.