The Kindle Paradox

May 15th, 2008 | by geo |

When I first saw the Kindle from Amazon, I basically laughed out loud. (Kindle is an electronic book reader) Who is going to read all their books electronically? Really? Plus the pain of getting the content on the device, worrying about running out of battery on a long flight, is it worth my time? Not to mention the horrible interface that reminds me of the first iPod – with the black and white unappealing graphics.

I’ve now changed my thoughts after a little education, and some good conversation with some smart people. I haven’t yet tried the Kindle, but I can see there are some compelling advantages for the extreme readers only:

Carry thousands of books in one device. Save space in your bags
You can instantly purchase a book – the barrier is zero, and you don’t have to transfer it to the device.
It comes with an unlimited data plan to download books – I think from Sprint ? It’s built into the price you pay upfront.

There is some shock that the Kindle is gaining traction. Credit to Jeff Bezos for having the balls to try anything. Pretty soon Amazon will be struggling to find an identity – if he’s successful with the multiple unrelated projects coming out of Amazon.

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