[IxDA Discuss] Kindle Love concept prototype: www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_uVLg9UxRw
Given soundings of a new 2nd generation Kindle on the way, thought you might get a kick out this short concept prototype (Kindle Love) video sketch by a small group of students in my recent Scenarios Simulations course at Kansas. Credits at end. Product designers learning grammar of story-telling and film– contextual, not deadly serious. Earlier such vid sketches at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gGvKF2MXEYv3 ; youtube.com/watch?v=1byqqWioRTw Enjoy, Michael Michael Eckersley, PhD | Principal HumanCentered [EMAIL PROTECTED] 801.891.6259 Professor | Interaction Design, Design Management University of Kansas [EMAIL PROTECTED] Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Kindle
Another take on Kindle. This reviewer likes it, and discusses why. http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasicarticleId=9048498pageNumber=1 Opinion: Why Amazon's Kindle is revolutionary Surprising facts about Amazon's new Kindle e-book reader Mike Elgan mn *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Kindle
On 11/26/07, Murli Nagasundaram [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Another take on Kindle. This reviewer likes it, and discusses why. It's refreshing to read this article. I have to admit, I was *very* surprised to see such negative reactions on this list. No, it definitely *isn't* perfect, but it represents so many user-centric design innovations that it's hard not to love. In the context of some recent discussions about the life cycle of technology (basic functionality features experience), the Kindle seems to represent a jump straight from functionality to experience. Everything about this device (okay, except for the retro design and DRM) is focused on the *experience* of reading. I don't have time to go through each feature and point that out, but the article Murli posted certainly does a great job of that. But I think in many ways Kindle goes one better than just replicating or taking into account the experience of reading. It actually *extends* the experience, in that it makes things that readers may like to do *easier than they are now.* The example that sticks out most in my mind is the hookup to Wikipedia. I read a lot of history and historical fiction, and these genres rely heavily on context. So, for example, if I'm reading something in a regular book that takes place during the 1918 influenza epidemic, I might just acknowledge that fact and move on rather than going through the effort of opening my computer or pulling out an encyclopedia to get more information about it. That's a serious interruption in flow. But if an encyclopedia is *right there* (meaning not in the computer or taking up a whole bookshelf), it doesn't significantly interrupt my flow to go read about that event in depth. Smarmy comments about Wikipedia and accuracy aside, in that situation I just experienced a much richer version of reading than had I done so using a regular book. So is there a *fourth* stage in the lifecycle of technology, where the experience is not only accounted for but actually extended? To me, Kindle makes it seem that there might be... Alright... gotta get back to billing! - Fred *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Kindle
On what grounds? As has been mentioned a couple times (), the success of the iPod hinged on the fact that people already had huge digital music collections and no convenient way to play them... the Kindle is trying to start a market that doesn't really exist yet... and if you already have a collection of digital books they probably aren't supported by Kindle anyway due to it's DRM scheme and proprietary file format. The other issue is that a book purchased in Kindle format can't be used anywhere else... if you're Kindle dies or Amazon stops supporting it you're out of luck. That library is useless. At least with the iPod I can use plain MP3s or buy AACs and burn them to a non-DRM CD for later use. To me that's the biggest difference between the iPod and Kindle.. and the reason why the Kindle is not going to take off like the iPod did. On Nov 21, 2007 5:53 PM, Prasad Perera [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: It's going to be famous like the iPOD. For music it's iPOD, for books it's (going to be) Kindle. To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Wed, 21 Nov 2007 10:38:36 + Subject: Re: [IxDA Discuss] Kindle Maybe they only had 10 of them? http://tinyurl.com/ypb8ea -- Matt Nish-Lapidus email/gtalk: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ++ LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/mattnl Home: http://www.nishlapidus.com *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Kindle
Matthew:(drm versus open library) To me that's the biggest difference between the iPod and Kindle and the reason why the Kindle is not going to take off like the iPod did. The iPod isnt as 'open' as you might think. You cant really take your iTunes library and plonk it on another player, you can only burn a track/album to cd 5 times. Its not terrible but its certainly DRM. However, I think there's a strong argument to say that isnt the reason the iPod took off. Ease of use, and for me.. the 'story'. Non technical users pitched a scenario that they could buy in to, and a solution that actually worked. The question hanging over the Kindle's head is will people buy the story? Can they visualise their life being better through carrying digitised reading collection around? There's no question in my mind that the ebook reader concept will have a significant market share in the future. But I see a more gradual shift from book to connected-linked-searchable-always on which younger and future generations will be more comfortable with. But a ~5 year mass switch from book to ebook, similar to CD-iPod... very hard to see that happening with something that wouldnt look out of place on the set of Space 1999 http://www.treksf.com/podcast/space1999cast.jpg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://gamma.ixda.org/discuss?post=22764 *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Kindle
The real deciding factor may be that listening to music is, and always has been much cooler than reading books. That is not likely to change. The promise in the Kindle (or any similar portable display) is finding some method of delivering books without the delay of the publishing and print process. That is takes months to get a book printed and distributed renders it much less instant and as a result less relevant for all but the most in-depth studies and stories. Even magazines pale in timeliness to online sources such as blogs and even forums. I am not sure that knowledge and science are progressing at a faster rate than ten years prior, but information dissemination surely has. Last spring's MBA class on internet marketing is now sooo out of date. Mark On Nov 22, 2007, at 1:40 AM, pauric wrote: Matthew:(drm versus open library) To me that's the biggest difference between the iPod and Kindle and the reason why the Kindle is not going to take off like the iPod did. The iPod isnt as 'open' as you might think. You cant really take your iTunes library and plonk it on another player, you can only burn a track/album to cd 5 times. Its not terrible but its certainly DRM. *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Kindle
Matt Nish-Lapidus: To me that's the biggest difference between the iPod and Kindle and the reason why the Kindle is not going to take off like the iPod did. Exactly right. There are several likely scenarios this fundamental barrier could have been alleviated by Amazon, but they chose not to deal with it at all. I blogged about this on the eve of Kindle's introduction: Why is the new Kindle eBook reader from Amazon and not Apple? http://counternotions.com/2007/11/19/kindle-vs-iphone/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=22764 *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Kindle
Maybe they only had 10 of them? http://tinyurl.com/ypb8ea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=22764 *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] Kindle
Amazon has released the Kindle, their electronic book device. This is a very interesting product. My initial reactions: It's the right size/weight. I didn't like the industrial design of it at first (too antiseptic?), but it's growing on me. I can't imagine enjoying sitting down with it as much as I do a book made of paper, but then, once you get into the story, maybe the object you are holding doesn't matter so much. On the other hand, there are several things that really appeal to me, like the ability to search your content, the ability to annotate (without defacing the book), and bookmarking. They've done some really smart things, such as including the wireless service in the fee for the product, rather than requiring a separate, monthly fee or service contract. You can read the first chapter of any book for free before purchasing. It handles magazine and newspaper subscriptions. It also will display blog content, but is limited to some specific set of blogs, and this comes at an extra fee. They also charge a fee to put your own documents on the device (via email). As for the UI, call me spoiled, but their selection wheel with the separated selection indicator bar seems disconnected. Having had an iPhone for over a month now, I would want the ability to select things by tapping them on the screen. Even without a touchscreen, why can't the selection be shown within the content display, rather than in a separate display beside it. I like that they made the next/previous buttons available on both sides, but made the previous button significantly larger on the left, and the next button larger on the right. Still, I want to flip pages with a horizontal swipe of my finger. Using a grayscale display makes sense for reading books, but when it comes to magazines, blogs, and even newspapers, color would be desirable. What do you all think? Jack Jack L. Moffett Interaction Designer inmedius 412.459.0310 x219 http://www.inmedius.com I am in search of the simple elegant seductive maybe even obvious IDEA. With this in my pocket I cannot fail. - Tibor Kalman *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Kindle
You will have a hard time getting me to give up books. There is a good chance the batteries won't run out before I get to the end of a chapter. On Nov 19, 2007 11:26 AM, Jack Moffett [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Amazon has released the Kindle, their electronic book device. This is a very interesting product. My initial reactions: It's the right size/weight. I didn't like the industrial design of it at first (too antiseptic?), but it's growing on me. I can't imagine enjoying sitting down with it as much as I do a book made of paper, but then, once you get into the story, maybe the object you are holding doesn't matter so much. On the other hand, there are several things that really appeal to me, like the ability to search your content, the ability to annotate (without defacing the book), and bookmarking. They've done some really smart things, such as including the wireless service in the fee for the product, rather than requiring a separate, monthly fee or service contract. You can read the first chapter of any book for free before purchasing. It handles magazine and newspaper subscriptions. It also will display blog content, but is limited to some specific set of blogs, and this comes at an extra fee. They also charge a fee to put your own documents on the device (via email). As for the UI, call me spoiled, but their selection wheel with the separated selection indicator bar seems disconnected. Having had an iPhone for over a month now, I would want the ability to select things by tapping them on the screen. Even without a touchscreen, why can't the selection be shown within the content display, rather than in a separate display beside it. I like that they made the next/previous buttons available on both sides, but made the previous button significantly larger on the left, and the next button larger on the right. Still, I want to flip pages with a horizontal swipe of my finger. Using a grayscale display makes sense for reading books, but when it comes to magazines, blogs, and even newspapers, color would be desirable. What do you all think? Jack Jack L. Moffett Interaction Designer inmedius 412.459.0310 x219 http://www.inmedius.com I am in search of the simple elegant seductive maybe even obvious IDEA. With this in my pocket I cannot fail. - Tibor Kalman *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Kindle
On 11/19/07, Jack Moffett [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: They've done some really smart things... And a few that are not so smart. Newsweek says Amazon's looking at it as the iPod of reading. I explained why it won't be here: Why is the new Kindle eBook reader from Amazon and not Apple? http://counternotions.com/2007/11/19/kindle-vs-iphone/ -- Kontra http://counternotions.com *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Kindle
$2 a month to read TechCrunch... really? Why would I pay this for a free blog that I can read on my pda or iphone? On Monday, November 19, 2007, at 02:14PM, Kontra [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: On 11/19/07, Jack Moffett [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: They've done some really smart things... And a few that are not so smart. Newsweek says Amazon's looking at it as the iPod of reading. I explained why it won't be here: Why is the new Kindle eBook reader from Amazon and not Apple? http://counternotions.com/2007/11/19/kindle-vs-iphone/ -- Kontra http://counternotions.com *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Kindle
Mark, point of fact; you spent 60 cents reading Techcrunch on your iphone over the month (assuming 10 minutes a day, ~2K TCO iphone over 2 years). While this device has a better story than previous e-readers it fails in that its over priced even for early adopters. Jeff Bezos struck me as a smart guy until I read this: We forget (that the printed book) is a 500-year-old technology, and we sort of forget that it's even a technology, Bezos mused. Gutenberg would still recognize a modern-day book. If it aint super broke, why charge $400 to fix it? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://gamma.ixda.org/discuss?post=22764 *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Kindle
Well - actually I pay $20 a month to read as much of, what ever I want, each month. But point taken. On Monday, November 19, 2007, at 02:50PM, pauric [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Mark, point of fact; you spent 60 cents reading Techcrunch on your iphone over the month (assuming 10 minutes a day, ~2K TCO iphone over 2 years). *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Kindle
Pauric said: If it aint super broke, why charge $400 to fix it? Nice :-). This is a great concept, but the locked-in pricing nature of the device is a bit of a deal breaker. But we do have to consider that wireless access is included (hence Pauric's fractional allocation of the $20 monthly data fee to Tech Crunch). The industrial design is a bit off-- not sure if I'm a fan of the lopsided, angular design-- evokes Japanese electronics design from the 80s. But this is my favorite part: *System requirements:* None, because it doesn't require a computer Interesting vision, and sounds a lot like the celestial jukebox for books. A step in the right direction, but I agree with Pauric that even early adopters will steer clear with such a high price. - Nasir *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Kindle
If it aint super broke, why charge $400 to fix it? With regard to the environment, the printing process, ink, paper, bleaching the paper, etc., is hugely wasteful. The production of a device is wasteful as well, but in theory, you can reuse it for years without any new damage to the environment. Of course, it has yet to be determined how much better it is, what with people potentially dropping and replacing the devices often enough that it ends up not being better at all. I'm dedicating part of the proceeds of my next book to purchasing carbon offsets for the production process and raw materials used. My book will be green. Though, it will likely have a white cover. ;) -r- *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Kindle
On Nov 19, 2007 12:26 PM, Jack Moffett [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I can't imagine enjoying sitting down with it as much as I do a book made of paper, but then, once you get into the story, maybe the object you are holding doesn't matter so much. These first (eh, second) generation devices are something of a horseless carriage -- the form factor is determined less by the purpose of the device (getting knowledge from one brain to another) than by the fact that people have been comfortable with books for hundreds of years. We'll eventually move from the book form factor onto something that leverages the technology more effectively. (I'm sure the first bound books must have felt weird to people used to reading off scrolls.) Cheers, -- Jorge *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Kindle
All technologies follow a path into obsolescence. The question is not *if*, but *when* the paper book will reach this point. Books do still have some advantages, but those are likely to be short lived. Major issues with paper books: - weight. when I move, half the weight of my possessions is books. it also keeps me from travelling with information I need. - static. I can't search paper books. it is often very frustrating to not be able to find information. I can't search a library card catalog and be certain a book has what I want in it. - inefficient libraries. libraries have to deal with space for large numbers of books, and having to physically go pick a book up (and find it) and track it's loaning out, etc. - durability. I went to see the dead sea scrolls recently. much of their content has been forever lost due to them falling apart. digital formats at least have the potential of being upgraded/converted. - backups. when I lose a book it's gone. - updates/errata. impossible to rapidly update a paper book. - distribution speed. if blogs had to wait a day to be delivered they wouldn't be all that useful. the inefficiency of book rental/purchase/print isn't going to work in a society that is speeding up. -Jeff On Nov 19, 2007 12:24 PM, Jorge Arango [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: On Mon, 19 Nov 2007 11:49:54, pauric [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: If it aint super broke, why charge $400 to fix it? There are some situations in which books are super broken. Moving information around in heavy blocks of mashed wood pulp is ineffective. With the rising social, economic, and environmental costs of fossil fuels, it is also morally dubious. An example: in the developing world, access to quality libraries is rare -- the availability of books is limited by their impractical physical form. Like cellphones, which have improved people's lives in the developing world by bringing telecoms where copper wouldn't reach, ebooks have the potential of helping folks in less developed parts of the world get access to resources we take for granted. Cheers, -- Jorge *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help -- Thanks, Jeff Jeff Axup, Ph.D. Principal Consultant, Mobile Community Design Consulting, San Diego Research:Mobile Group Research Methods, Social Networks, Group Usability E-mail:axup at userdesign.com Blog: http://mobilecommunitydesign.com Moblog: http://memeaddict.blogspot.com Designers mine the raw bits of tomorrow. They shape them for the present day. - Bruce Sterling *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Kindle
Jorge:I'm sure the first bound books must have felt weird to people used to reading off scrolls. You should watch this (o; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFAWR6hzZek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://gamma.ixda.org/discuss?post=22764 *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Kindle
I think Amazon is definitely on the right track with the Kindle in terms for creating an online experience, instead of just a device that can display text and images. We've all seen it; iPod clearly proved that with enough creative thinking behind the scenes, a company can create a complete interactive experience (device, iTunes, iTunes store, 3rd party support etc.). So I think by following that model, Amazon is already ahead of the game compared to say Sony, or others. And they are most likely to succeed, with more than a decade of online media experience and robust infrastructure. Here is my initial impression: On the positive side: - Great move with whispernet. Especially that you don't have to subscribe to a monthly service. - Integrated keyboard - Lightweight - Unique design that is not reminiscent of the iPod - Long battery life - Newspaper mode - Connects to wikipedia and has a built-in dictionary And not so positive: - Small screen size compared to the actual footprint - Low resolution - No color - No pdf support - Cannot connect to just any blog, only the ones available in the store. So forget about posting to your own blog, or responding to comments (I hope I'm wrong about this one) - No touch screen (I'm guessing it's a limitation of e-ink technology) - Dated look. I think they were shooting for a design that didn't look like an electronic device (like the Sony reader) but unfortunately it's a failure. The Kindle still looks like an electronic device to me. One from the 80's. It also reminds me of a cheap toy, almost like a streamlined etch-a-sketch. Cheers, -onur www.tuningslide.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=22764 *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Kindle
I would love to see a full-on comparison between this and the Sony device, in comparison to the Gemster eBook/SoftBook Reader and the NuvoMedia RocketBook. (I'm biased, having worked at SoftBook/Gemstar for a couple years. The market wasn't quite there yet -- and the bubble would have collapsed it anyway, even if Gemstar hadn't wrecked the momentum -- but it remains to me a superior device and I wish it had lived to be in its 3rd or 4th generation hardware today.) -- Jim -Original Message- From: Jack Moffett [EMAIL PROTECTED] Amazon has released the Kindle, their electronic book device. This is a very interesting product. My initial reactions: *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Kindle
From: Onur Orhon [EMAIL PROTECTED] And not so positive: - Low resolution - No color - No touch screen (I'm guessing it's a limitation of e-ink technology) I think these are all limitations of the current level for the tech. - Cannot connect to just any blog, only the ones available in the store. So forget about posting to your own blog, or responding to comments (I hope I'm wrong about this one) Is there a lot of utility in the hardware keyboard without this? (Oh, and is the blog access interactive -- can you leave comments -- or is it just a limited web clipping service?) Of course, the eInk technology may preclude a software keyboard at this point. One of the big requests that they are going to be pushed for is PIM abilities. And even though I got it when working at SoftBook that it's just a book, that it need to be a really good book and not a mediocre everything else, the utility of even just some simple PIM facilities is massive. Notes, calendar, contacts -- an eDayRunner, if you will. I don't buy the argument that the initial price point is too high, even for early adopters. The SoftBook Reader was $700, or $300 plus $20 a month for 2 years. The iPhone was $500 plus service. The iPod was $300 or so. $400 is completely in line with every other device in its initial entry. -- Jim *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
