November 24, 2007

Kindle buzz (and delays) continue

Posted by Ed Oswald under Consumer electronics | Tags: , |
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Some wee hour blogging today (think I caught something today, I’m not feeling well at all. Hey thats what you get for going to a mall with 1,000s of people right after the weather’s changed. Someone’s bound to be sick).

Looks like the Kindle in-stock date on Amazon has been delayed an additional 3 days to December 6. Wonder whats causing the ever increasing delays? One thing is certain: any further and it could become somewhat problematic for those trying purchase it as a gift to guarantee it gets to its intended destination by Christmas (without shelling out even more money for expedited shipping). That’s no good.

The device is definitely still continuing to build buzz. Even the NYT is now on the bandwagon.. David Pogue says: “It’s not the last word in book reading. But once its price comes down and its design gets sleeker, the Kindle may be the beginning of a great new chapter.”

Let’s remember that the first-gen iPod wasn’t exactly beautiful either (especially compared with today’s versions). I think I myself am having a bit of a change of heart on the thing — looking over its obvious design shortcomings to see the real promise of the device.

I still think its ugly… but I’m willing to reserve full judgment until the thing is in my hands. I’m seriously considering picking one up.

 

November 21, 2007

Want a Kindle? Not until December 3rd

Posted by Ed Oswald under Consumer electronics | Tags: , |
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Well, despite many of us tech pundits deriding it, the Kindle has still managed to sell out. Amazon is tight lipped about how many they’ve sold, it won’t be back in stock until the 3rd of December at the earliest.

(FYI, it was November 29th before — so I guess we’re already seeing delays — woohoo!)

Orders received between now and then will be filled on a first come, first served basis. So if you want it before the holidays, your best bet would be to order it today. We’ve got a request out for a review unit, so I’m hoping to have more details soon once I actually have one in my hand.

 

November 19, 2007

It took three years to design this?

Posted by Ed Oswald under Consumer electronics | Tags: , , |
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KindleWhile it is certainly admirable that the nation’s largest online book retailer is trying to rekindle (no pun intended) the electronic book industry, I have to say I’m a little disappointed. Not in the feature set — that’s pretty darn awesome — but in the design of the thing.

It just looks, well, uninspired. Very basic, like the Sony Reader with a keyboard I guess. There’s no real innovation here, and that’s disappointing. Inside, it’s very innovative. The EV-DO connection is a neat idea — including the fact that they don’t directly charge you for it, and the company picks up the tab.

Instead, you pay for when you use it, say to download subscriptions or blogs. Starting at 99 cents — from what Scoble is saying, it even shares the revenue. That’s pretty neat in my opinion.

But like FSJ, I think it’s ugly. And see, beauty is what helped sell the iPod. I know people like Michael Gartenberg are quick to jump on those who poo-poo this, but even Mike has to agree here the design is unimaginative. Richard Nantel from Brandon Hall research calls it a “big cheap calculator”. While I won’t go that far, i will say its not the design that it needs to be to reinvent this space.

Lots more fun analysis from tons of places on Technorati where its currently the top search term. Well Mr. Bezos, at least you have buzz on the thing I guess?

 

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