The original Kindle, produced by Amazon, was a landmark in the world of e-books. While e-books have existed for some time, they haven’t caught on quite as much as Amazon probably hoped.
The Kindle 2 hoped to remedy that problem. It has a whole list of new features and enticements, not to mention the alluring promise of not having to carry around heavy books all the time. Indeed, it advertises a capacity of 1,200 books. Try fitting that in your backpack.
Even so, it’s hard to recommend the Kindle, or any e-book for that matter. It will remain a niche product until retailers realize the consumer need for a complete fair use policy.
Fair use is the idea that once a consumer buys a product, they own a license to that product. Buy a CD and you buy a license for yourself to listen to the music on that CD. You can burn copies for yourself, rip it onto your computer, and throw it into your iPod – none of which is illegal; all of which companies aspire to make as difficult as possible so you buy it twice.
The same would apply for the Kindle or any other e-book reader. It would be lovely to have every book you have already bought available on the e-book reader, free of charge. But there is no such thing.
There are logical reasons for this. Converting it takes time, and time is money. But still, it seems there should be some sort of discount to buying an e-book if you already own the crisp, well-loved paper back version. I’d hate to buy a 2nd, or 3rd as the case may be, copy of my favorite books on an e-reader.
Other problems come with the technology. Loaning a book to someone is a favorite past time activity among friends, which is currently impossible with e-book readers. An e-book bought is an e-book that stays on its current machine.
Some people simply enjoy the feel and weight of a book in their own hands. Same could be said for a newspaper; some just enjoy having a real, print edition. E-books will never be able to compete with that, even if they have been slowly progressing towards the same form factor as a regular trade paperback.
Perhaps one day Kindle will be a viable option for saving trees, but for right now it remains an accessory for the rich and environmentally friendly.