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PrintAmazon Kindle: Pointless Technology
News Type: Other — Mon Feb 2, 2009 11:05 PM EST
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The Amazon Kindle really makes me mad. It is, without a doubt, the epitome of senseless, pointless technology - the kind of technology that people only develop because they can. There is no reason to own a Kindle. None. The printed book has served its purpose quite efficiently for 400 years, and there's no reason to discard it.
I'm a fair person, so Here's a description of the Kindle so that Amazon can present its argument. The first thing they say is that the machine "looks and reads like real paper." Well, if having paper-like qualities is so good, then why don't I just read a printed book with real paper? If you ask me, that point alone shoots the Kindle down. But then they go on to talk about the wireless nature of the Kindle.
Let's talk about wireless. The only way you can use a wireless device is if you are in the vicinity of a wireless router. That's just basic radio-wave technology: if you want to receive a signal, you have to be near a transmitter that actually sends out the signal. So, if you want to download a book at home, you need a wireless router. And you also need an internet connection for the router itself. So now you're not just buying a Kindle: now, if you don't have them, you have to buy a wireless router, and you have to pay for high-speed internet access. It has to be high-speed because, seriously, would they really make the machine compatible with 56K modems?
Then they laud their product by saying that it uses "the same high-speed data network (EVDO) as advanced cell phones." Yet interestingly enough they don't cite a specific "advanced cell phone": AT&T's 3G phones? How about Verizon's phones? And you want to know how reliable "advanced cell phones" are? My mobile service is AT&T's "3G" network. I tried to send a text message to a friend of mine in a 4-year-old building on campus. It didn't go through. However, a guy sitting 4 seats down from me was texting away just fine. So Amazon, pray tell: which "advanced cell phone network" does the Kindle utilize? Is it the AT&T network that doesn't work in all places?
I'll leave you with a couple of my own observations. Obviously, the printed book can be damaged/destroyed by only two means: water and fire. Think about it: water will wash off the ink of the text, and...well, I won't insult your intelligence by telling you what fire will do to a book. If you put a book in your backpack, the most that can happen is a few pages getting wrinkled or bent. If you drop a book from any height, it will only make a "plop" sound; you pick it up, dust it off, and it's good as new. But think about the Kindle. Water and fire will damage it as well. But what if you put it in your backpack? Lean up against a wall absentmindedly, and it could easily get damaged. Put down your backpack just a little too hard, and, again, it could easily get damaged. What about dropping it? Try dropping a Kindle from 10 feet and see what happens. Heck, drop it from 5 feet and see what happens. Bottom line is: the Kindle is made out of parts that can break easily. Save for the glue in the spine, the printed book has no parts that can break. (And even if the spine breaks, you can still read the book if you hold on to all the pages.)
The Kindle is pointless and a waste of money. It's time for companies to stop messing about and making these products simply because they can. And it's time for consumers to use theirs heads and realize that the simple products in life - like the printed book - are just fine as they are.
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 | Analyst estimates Amazon sold 500K Kindles in 2008 | Associated Press | Tue Feb 3 | 0 |
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{"commentId":5148543,"authorDomain":"sobriquet"}
I enjoy the feel, smell, sensation, and satisfaction of a good paper book too, but to say the Kindle is completely useless is naive. There is room in the market for both traditional printed books, as well as "e-books" and their associated readers.
Here are just two examples of where I see benefits for e-book readers:
Kindle is much lighter and more portable than the hundreds (maybe thousands) of books it contains. As a student, I would love to have the ability to carry all of my textbooks in a Kindle or similar device.
Printing newspapers that typically get thrown away or littered is a complete waste of resources. Imagine the benefits of having all the articles wirelessly sent to your Kindle every morning. Reading it on the bus would be much easier, too.
To be fair - there are also drawbacks. One thing I love about books is the freedom. Once you own a book, you own that book and can do whatever you want with it. "E-books" are often only slightly cheaper than print books, and you lose the ability to loan them to friends or re-sell them. To me, this is a major drawback. Of course you can probably tell where I stand on DRM issues!
{"commentId":5148543,"threadId":"489707","contentId":"2386961","authorDomain":"sobriquet"}
- 1 vote
#1 - Tue Feb 3, 2009 1:10 PM EST{"commentId":5152317,"authorDomain":"sobriquet"}
Your analysis of the wireless capabilities is also nonsensical. First you criticize for needing to be near a wireless router, then in your next paragraph you mention it uses the EVDO network. If you understood these technologies, you would realize your argument doesn't make sense. It's also clear that it does not share a network with AT&T, as AT&T's advanced data network is UMTS, not EVDO.
You are correct, though, that you probably won't be able to get reception everywhere. This is an unfortunate truth with any wireless technology. However, considering we tolerate this for paid services (cell phones), why should we complain when the Kindle wireless service is free? Plus, you only need about 1 minute of reception to download an entire book, and after that it is on your device (accesible offline) forever.
{"commentId":5152317,"threadId":"489707","contentId":"2386961","authorDomain":"sobriquet"}
- 2 votes
{"commentId":5244654,"authorDomain":"sphinx"}
"E-books" are often only slightly cheaper than print books, and you lose the ability to loan them to friends or re-sell them. To me, this is a major drawback. Of course you can probably tell where I stand on DRM issues!
DRM and associated format capability issues is one of the two reason I don't already have a Kindle. The other: utter lack of a library borrowing system. Heck, I'd probably even go for a Netflix-like subscription program. I simply don't see the sense in buying every book I want to read.
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{"commentId":5236935,"authorDomain":"jnicolas"}
It uses Sprint's EVDO network.
{"commentId":5236935,"threadId":"489707","contentId":"2386961","authorDomain":"jnicolas"}
#2 - Sat Feb 7, 2009 1:44 PM EST{"commentId":5237350,"authorDomain":"denniswright"}
This is a fishing expedition? Must be.
If there is no demand for the Kindle it will fail as a product, but that seems unlikely so there must be lots of people out there who either like wasting their money on useless products or the concept strikes a chord with them.
Personally, the idea of taking loads of books on a trip in a single device is highly appealing. I don't need my house cluttered with old paperbacks, and I like the instant wireless bookshop.
The biggest downside is I can't lend books I've read to other people without lending them the Kindle too which rather spoils things.
{"commentId":5237350,"threadId":"489707","contentId":"2386961","authorDomain":"denniswright"}
- 3 votes
#3 - Sat Feb 7, 2009 2:16 PM EST{"commentId":5237431,"authorDomain":"alkimija"}
It seems like a good idea but it needs development. The printed book won't ever go out of style.
{"commentId":5237431,"threadId":"489707","contentId":"2386961","authorDomain":"alkimija"}
- 1 vote
#4 - Sat Feb 7, 2009 2:22 PM EST{"commentId":5244648,"authorDomain":"sphinx"}
The book really makes me mad. It is, without a doubt, the epitome of senseless, pointless technology - the kind of technology that people only develop because they can. There is no reason to own a book. None. The scroll has served its purpose quite efficiently for 3000 years, and there's no reason to discard it.
;-)
Try dropping a Kindle from 10 feet and see what happens. Heck, drop it from 5 feet and see what happens. Bottom line is: the Kindle is made out of parts that can break easily. Save for the glue in the spine, the printed book has no parts that can break.
A slide rule is much more durable than a laptop. Darn worthless computers.
The Kindle is pointless and a waste of money. It's time for companies to stop messing about and making these products simply because they can. And it's time for consumers to use theirs heads and realize that the simple products in life - like the printed book - are just fine as they are.
The Kindle is the size of a large, but thin, hardcover book, yet it can carry a student's entire set of textbooks, along with auto-downloaded daily newspapers (and lets you search Wikipedia in a pinch).
Hmmm... one hardcover-sized with full annotation, highlighting, and search capabilities, vs. a stack of textbooks that can easily be more than a cubic foot in volume and weigh upwards of 15 pounds.
You're right. The former is completely useless.
{"commentId":5244648,"threadId":"489707","contentId":"2386961","authorDomain":"sphinx"}
#5 - Sun Feb 8, 2009 2:39 AM EST{"commentId":5366538,"authorDomain":"the-spindoctor"}
Wow - you really don't understand the Kindle at all.
I agree - it's not for everyone. Why would someone want it? Because I travel all the time and now I don't have to carry 4 books, magazines and newspapers with me. I can get what I want, where I want. Also, it DOES NOT require a wireless router. It works off the Sprint network cell towers. Anywhere a Sprint phone would work, my Kindle works. Is it worth it? If you read enough, yes.
It's not for everyone, but I appreciate having one and I read enough that I've long gone past the break even point.
{"commentId":5366538,"threadId":"489707","contentId":"2386961","authorDomain":"the-spindoctor"}
#6 - Sat Feb 14, 2009 12:58 AM EST{"canLink":false,"threadId":"489707","isPrivate":false}
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