for the last time, the Sony Reader does play back mp3s!

@Adam Frucci:

"...will make the Kindle look like it was made in the late '80s."

-- It already does.

The Sony is not $100 cheaper than the Kindle - you need to buy a $1000 computer in order to load documents onto it. The whole point of the Kindle is to remove the need for a computer. You could load 10,000 documents onto it before you made up that $1000 difference.

Since most Gizmodo readers probably all have at least one computer, sure the Kindle isn't going to appeal too much to us. But since close to 50% of the population doesn't have a computer and broadband access, this device might be appealing to them.

Minor complaint:
these are eBook readers, not eBooks. eBooks are what you read on them.

And another major plus for the Cybook is that it supports DRMed Mobipocket ebooks, which many libraries lend through their websites.

"But if you just want something to read books on (presumably books you'll download from Amazon), the Kindle seems like a good, albeit an expensive, choice."

Do you honestly think you would enjoy picking up this beige-ass beast and reading a book on it? If you put aside the specs, remove the "gadget factor" and picture yourself on a hammock in hawaii with a few hours to kill, do you honestly picture yourself picking this thing up and pleasure reading?

Either you're going to be using a real computer to do real computer type stuff, or a flappy stack of dead tree pulp to do reading type stuff. But the Kindle is like "Political Science": Neither politics nor science, but the worst of both by way of kludgy combination.

That Kindle design is the ugliest device I've seen in over a decade. The color, the layout, everything about it is just plain ugly. It reminds me of the old Motorola Brick phones.

If the whole point of the Kindle is to sell it to people without computers, it's dead already. Those folks would be much better off using the $400 to pick up an eee or some other cheap-ass laptop.

I could see my grandma using one.

@midtoad: The percentage of population that does not have a computer that would reason buying a $400 reader like this is a slim overlap.

The price tags on these things doom them to failure in my opinion. $400 just for the reader, then I still have to pay $10 for new books? Screw that.

Even if I was paying $20 for physical copies of new releases (I can usually find them cheaper,) I'd have to buy 40 ebooks before I'd even see any savings with the Kindle. That's a long time to get a return on my investment.

I want an ebook reader, (I love the idea of taking multiple books with me on trips without loading down my suitcase,) I just don't want to drop $400 or even $300 to do it.

Amazon is in a great position to take the razor/razor blade approach. Sell me the reader for cheap and make your money on the "refils."

Does anyone think Gillette would have any success (in the razor market) if the Mach 5 (or what ever it's called) cost $50 and refils were only $3 ?

Huh, turns out I can't spell refill...who knew?

I like all this innovation in the hardware space, but until eBooks are sold without DRM, an eBook reader will not be interesting. I'm sure as hell not interested in another iPod/iTunes-like monopoly.

It pains me that each media industry (music, movies, and now books) have to climb up this learning curve on their own, and can't seem to learn from each other's failures in this respect.

I don't understand why the $.10 keeps coming up. That charge is if you want it sent via wireless to the kindle. There is no charge if you send them via usb.
The $.10 deal is interesting. For business people needing a FAX from the office while on the road. That is pretty sweet. I'm curious on how certain documents will look.
I'll probably buy one in a few months when the price drops...

The best use of one of these ebook readers, at least for me, would be to read pdf manuals on. God, how I miss printed manuals... I'm being serious. Yeah, they're bad for the environment, etc., but I really, really love them.

If the Sony was Mac-compatible, I'd buy one right now. I want native pdf support, not conversion to some other format.

Also, as a writer, typography is an important aspect that is totally thrown out the window by the Kindle, as it converts everything to its own native font.

@Bender: You're paying $10 for an eBook that would cost $20 to buy on paper. You only have to buy a small fraction of the books I already own to make the Kindle "free." So what if it takes you a year to make your money back? A one-year ROI is nothing.

Someone else already said this, but it bears repeating since people don't seem to get it:

It costs NOTHING to load your own content onto the Kindle. They only charge you if you use their remote service to convert the file and transmit it to the kindle. That's it. You can hook a usb cable up to the kindle and put any file from your computer onto the kindle. It's a mass storage device.

Although I probably would not purchase one because of the price, I think this evolution for books is inevitable. Not that they will likely replace paper in the short term, but I think of these devices in the context of ecology. Paper is one of the largest industrial water consumers. Shifting to electronic delivery of books could reduce paper production significantly, save tons of fuel annually reduce carbon release during delivery and methane release when the book is rotting in the landfill.

The president of amazon was on Charlie Rose last night. CR pretty much gushed over the device. It is pretty fugly. You spent 3 years on that? But as a side note, he has his own project which he is funding to make a suborbital vertical take off and land vehicle. That get mad nerd points. That and his mighty nerd laugh which I had an ample earful of last night.
But ipod of books. no.

Regular libraries FTW.

The cost and design are ridiculous. Just atrocious. The thing looks like it costs $25 in parts and assembly.

The absolute most I would possibly pay for something that looked like that would be $100, and that would only be if I was sold on the concept of an ebook reader, which honestly... I'm not. I imagine the target market for this also happens to be AARP members, but most of them can remember a time when they bought a car for $400, so this iteration at least seems doomed from the start.

I'm preeeety sure the unwashed masses would prefer a computer to an E-book reader.

Document conversion is free. Delivery is what costs a dime. If you have them mail the document back to you rather than push it to your Kindle, there is no conversion charge.

Of course, you have to load the converted document via USB or SD card, but that's easy enough in most cases. I expect that sooner or later we'll see desktop conversion tools.

If i want to read a book off of a pile of polar bear shit, i'll go to the Yukon, Ho! (sorry, their first comic anniversary was a couple day ago)
Anyway, these things wont take off until they play movies and current TV shows (maybe even live?) on those beautiful screens, synch with ur PDA, Blackberry, and computer, have tablet capability for drawing and writing with a stylus, handwriting and voice recognition, and true web browsing.
Maybe this could be Google's next project (bringing literacy back to the masses).

@chinesedentist: I have one. Just got it. So STFU about that which you do not know. I also have the Sony. It kills the Sony. Display is better, it's MUCH easier to change pages on. The construction feels a bit light and I am concerned about that.

The thing has FULL web browsing. Don't think it does flash but I was able to browse and log in to numerous sites. Graphics are good for grayscale and it doesn't butcher page formatting. Haven't tried Giz yet...

Kindle shop VERY easy to use. Subscribing to the WSJ took 90 seconds and downloading today's edition another 30. This thing is the ultimate 'sit and think' device (for Leisure Suit Larry fans).

Doesn't do native PDF but will convert in Email for free. Only costs if you send the doc DIRECTLY to the Kindle. Any other Email address with file transfer via USB and it's FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.

The thing works and works well. It's MUCH more usable and useful than the Sony. As for people bitching about price... y'all seen the iLiad lately???? Not sure why everyone's hating on Amazon but the device is damn good.

How about a Mobipocket ap for my iPhone? Mobipocket is probably the only reason I keep my old Palm Tx around, and I'd love to retire it and load everything on the iPhone.

i use an old lg vx6600 smartphone to read e-books. it sucked as a phone but it is a great ebook reader.

I'd rather have an iRex iLiad.

Who am I kidding, I'll never afford one.

@midtoad: Of course those people you are taking about also are a bit too busy trying to survive to have heard about things like Wifi or EBooks.

Right now the Sony reader comes with 100 classic book downloads free. choice from like a 1000 books. granted classics you can download from alot of places for free cause no copy rights laws on them. As for reading PDF's on it... it kinda sucks have tried numerous pdf's and really hard to read font is very small even zoomed in. and widthwise view. ok too look at something for a couple min but not for reading a whole book. non pdf looks great with 3 zooms and sony has a kinda white back ground with black letters that gives it a book like quality and looks and feels nice like a paperback, That kindle is a beast.

Yeah, please correct the comparison with the Reader to indicate that you can put PDFs on for free. Completely free. My gosh people, I don't know why I keep seeing this misinformation spread around.

And how does the Reader, or anything else, get RSS feeds without an internet connection? How do I get BoingBoing on the road with a Sony Reader?

*jaw drops* I'm still frozen at the line where it says the Seiko reader is THREE MILLIMETERS thick.

Spotted today by a Racked correspondent: workers trying to fix the always-fritzy Sony PSP billboard on Houston Street. Rain can't be good for that thing.

How about the iRex iLiad. Why is this not included? I personally think this is what is really what amazon should have shot for. With the iLiad you can read ebooks and write notes on it like Palm PDAs. However, price point is always a big issue. Since ebooks still have not taken off, eInk based ebook readers will never take off. E-Ink should quickly develop a color version for it to be really viable for XXX magazines for it to really take off. Because we all know that billion dollar 'industry' really drives what consumers want. Just my two cents or less

@midtoad: Given the fact that the Kindle is only available on Amazon's WEB SITE (and probably for the foreseeable future), it might be difficult for those without computers to buy one without some assistance.

@Buford T. Justice: What's the use of internet access if all you're going to get is greyscale porn? Of course if you're into porn from like the 1920s then it's perfect.

@Amuro: Well said.

@Brock: Huh. Nintendo seems to be doing just fine selling what are essentially DRM'd game cartridges for the DS.

@andrewl6097: I much prefer RSS feeds on my Tilt because I can read them while I'm waiting for friends at a restaurant or a coffee shop or when my girlfriend drags me to the damn mall to go shopping without the need to lug one of the ugliest gadgets in recent memory. Oh yeah, my Tilt can browse the web in colour, do my PDA type thingies, handle my work (Exchange no less) and two personal email accounts, take photos, play music and videos, does full GPS (TeleNav, TomTom, Google Maps), does SMS, plays games, tethers to my notebook and make phone calls (fancy that). Oh and my Tilt fits in my pocket.

----

I own a Sony Reader and it serves my needs especially when I'm on the road for work because it slips nicely into the back pocket of my carry-on bag. It's easier on the eyes than any kind of computer screen. Battery life lets me read several novels between charges. The battery life on my Tilt is okay for all of my other needs as listed above but reading anything for a long time on that tiny screen is a surefire way to thicker glasses not to mention taking away battery life from my needs as listed above.

I'm waiting for the colour eBook readers before I upgrade from the Sony Reader. Bluetooth would be cool so I can tether to my phone for internet access.

me likes reading e-books on my tiny Hagenuk S200-screen;-) A bit bigger and wider would be oK (iPhone, anybody?), and if I want real full-page layout pdf-stuff - my powerbook does all that.

@wilsonma29: I might have been living under a rock, but what's the Tilt (see, mummy, I'm not embarrassed to ask the nice man;-)?

Um, did I read that right? It charges you to load PDF's onto it?

Wow, that's lame.

@yogibimbi: AT&T Tilt (aka HTC TyTN II) phone.

Of course, there are other phones that can do some or all of those things. Phone screens (2.8" diagonal for the Tilt) are a bit small for doing heavy web browsing but it's fine for RSS, occasional web browsing and all of the other things I've mentioned.

Web browsing is the only thing that I feel the phone doesn't do that well even with Opera or NetFront because of the screen size but it'll do when I'm away from a computer. I love it for everything else. It's not the best camera but it does well enough when I don't want to carry a camera and Windows Media Player is well, Windows Media Player.

I don't like Microsoft but Windows Mobile has a LOT of applications that serve my needs. It is a godsend since we use Exchange at work and I can get push email as well as sync my appointments, contacts and tasks.

How many apps can one use on the Kindle?

All that for $300 (less than the Kindle).

And it fits into my pocket. Jason Chen might enjoy putting gadgets down his pants but I do not.

Dang it. I forgot to mention a lot of smartphones (like the Tilt) do WiFi (802.11g) which is much faster than UMTS/HSDPA and free in a lot of places.

@DetergentDinners: That's amazing. I'd never seen the iLiad before.

Ok, $699 is too much to pay for it, and it really needs to come with more than 256mb, but I still don't care.

It's good looking (way better than the Kindle, maybe better than the Sony), it's got wi-fi built in, it takes all eBook formats AND lets you put any PDF or HTML doc on it - I love it!

I really hope someone like Dell or Gateway gets involved with iRex so this could be available at a lower price. I'd be first in line.

The Kindle looks like crap and the Reader doesn't have the books I read, but I think these are still some of the coolest gadgets in the last decade. I have way, WAY to many books - I'd love to have them to digital form.

I have wayyy too many magazines pilling up. The space they take up alone makes me interested in an eReader.

But before I take the leap, I need the following for a compelling product:
1) COLOR eInk
2) WiFi built in (with an off switch to save juice), EV-DO is nice, too
3) Web/RSS/email access
4) More than just RSS feeds for Magazine subscription replacement, inclde pictures (and work on cologne ads smell-o-vision)
5) Let me import and view my own files for FREE
6) An onboard eBook store is nice, but at least give the option for a good 'ol PC sync
7)Optional solid state drive
8)$200-$300

Google? Apple? MSFT? Anyone??

So many haters on this one, poor Amazon e-reader. Personally I think the free ev-do access to wikipedia and the ability to subscribe to newspapers makes it worth the $400 alone. Ebooks? Who really cares? Free and convenient access to wikipedia and other online blogs + the ability to ditch your nasty ol newspaper rag? Priceless!

@permissionmag: I totally agree! I've never seen the Illiad either and I'm always on the lookout for new wacom enabled mobile devices. 256mb of ram is beat, but drawing on an e-ink device would be brilliant. With wifi too? Sweeet.

@midtoad: Obviously you have a computer because you posted this. Name your three closest friends that have no access to a computer? Somebody who is totally techno-illeterate is not the target market for an eBook reader. Although I will admit, since I got my Sony Reader my Mom and SIster have both asked for one on their christmas list. It makes reading so nice.

@Vizi: Please don't make my ereader do all those things. Battery life would suck and it would ruin the experience. What's wrong with a product that does one thing really really well? I hate all in one hodgepodges.

I was just wondering about the free internet. Would it be possible to mod this ebook or take out some components so that you could connect this onto a laptop computer. Free internet every I go for one payment of $400 and an ebook sounds like a fine deal to me. Or even just the internet.

that thing looks like a handicapped laptop. so, why would anyone pay the same amount as low-end laptops?

No Coverage in Rural States!

I bought a Kindle with high hopes. I live in Missoula, Montana, which is one of the largest cities in the state. It turns out that the wireless connectivity that the Kindle requires does NOT work in Montana. After several tech support calls they admitted that there is no coverage in Montana. There may also be no coverage in other states, such as Wyoming and Alaska. This means that the Service component of the device is useless, and that many, many people may be duped. I think this is bait and switch advertising, and I think Amazon owes people in Montana, as well as other non-coverage areas, an apology.