Canadians, will you buy a Kindle?
In case you haven’t heard the news, Amazon today announced the availability of its popular Kindle e-book reader in Canada. Will you pick one up? Or do you already own a Sony or Indigo product like this? Or do you prefer paper?
Today, Amazon announced it would begin selling its popular electronic book reader in Canada (for US $259), allowing Canadians to wirelessly download and store up to 1,500 digital books onto a device thinner than most magazines, yet produces clear black text.
Not only can you download roughly 300,000 titles from the Amazon store (averaging about $15 per download) but you can also subscribe to digital versions of daily newspapers, such as the National Post and The Globe & Mail.
While not all book publishers allow for this feature, many books can also be read to you by the Kindle’s human-like voice. So, if you’re fatigued while reading in bed or, say, on an airplane, you can press a button, close your eyes and have the book read to you, like an audiobook (but not as good).
So, tell me, dear Sync readers and book lovers, is this something you’ve been salivating for in the Great White North? Or are you prefectly content with Sony’s eReader series (which are great, too) or the Indigo offering (which I haven’t tried yet)? Or do you prefer paperback and hardcover books — like, er, from a tree and everything.
Here’s my take: e-book readers will appeal to those who want to carry around a lot of titles in a small package, plus it’s neat you can adjust font sizes on the fly and download books anytime and anywhere. But if you’re off to a sandy beach you will likely bring your paperback (with the curled pages), and for a collection of beloved classics, which are fun to share with friends, you might opt for bounded hardcovers for your bookcase.
In other words, I believe e-book readers supplement – rather than replace — paper books.
I don’t think we’ll see them take over paper books the way MP3s have more or less replaced the music CD. Instead, I see the relationship to paper books more akin to DVDs or Blu-ray Discs and movie theatres: both can coexist by offering similar content, but with a choice on presentation.
Your thoughts?
Filed Under: Handheld Devices > Hardware & Gadgets > Lifestyle > Portable Devices > Portable Electronics
Tags: amazon, book, download, e-book, ebook, electronic, indigo, kindle, newspaper, reader, SONY, Wireless
I agree with your comments. ebooks are really just a gimmick for those who have the money to spend and want something cool to flash around. I was looking into ebooks a little while ago thinking, “hey, these are cool, it would be neat to have one, easier to carry around, and should save me a lot of money on books” boy was I ever wrong. When I realized how many hard covers I could add instead of buying one of these gimmicks, and that online titles sell for more then paperbacks do, I was stunned. You’d think that not having to publish books on paper would be cheaper then your classic book. When I see quality readers at under $100 and online books at $5 or less, I’ll consider this to be more then just a gimmick, and something worth having for the potential financial and ecological savings.
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I disagree that they are just a gimmick. For those who are visually impaired, they are a necessity as you can adjust the font size so you can read it, or if legally blind, you can have it read the book to you. My only beef is the price. Hopefully it will come so more people with eyesight problems can purchase them. The baby boomers will definitely embrace this technology.
I currently use my GPS to listen to audible books and I love to listen to them as I drive. It helps to pass the time on long trips.
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I agree with Crimus entirely. At the price of $259.00 u.s. or thereabouts. why would anyone want to buy this gimmick. Also the cost of downloading new titles is prohibitive – could buy two paperbacks for the price of one download. I would only be interested in this if the price dropped considerably. Otherwise, I would continue to browse at a bookstore and buy paperbacks when available.
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Why would you buy a Kindle.
Kindle made it plain in the past that they did not want to sell to Canadians.
I am very happy with my Sony product.
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I agree. I have a Sony reader and I am quite happy with it. The ebooks are great if you have limited space and love to read (just don’t sit on the device, they aren’t that durable). I also haven’t found that they are more expensive.
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Marc, you are only looking into 2009 and not the future! The Kindle and other eReaders are just the beginning of another hot trend of consumer acceptance of digital books. New versions to be released will be more affordable, smarter & more multifunctional than this seasons models.
The prices of eBook Readers are currently $199 to $499 but as competition heats up, entry models will drop to under $99 by 2011 and then the average Canadian will want to buy their own device.
What you did not mention is that there are millions of free quality eBooks available on Google Search and other sites & that some online retailers are discounting eBooks below the paperback prices. Cheaper book prices & wireless downloads will compel millions to buy eBook Readers instead of “real” books. The convenience of having your daily magazine, newspaper and favorite books sent via digital signals to your device almost anywhere in Canada or while traveling can’t be beat.
I do agree that paper books will be around forever because traditionalists are very passionate about how they read but be prepared to see Kindle & friends everywhere you go as eReaders become as important to Canadians as mobile phones, PDAs and MP3 players.
Sorry Crimus, this is not a gimmick! You will soon see, eBook readers will be a cheaper, easier, ecologically friendly alternative to books.
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Downloading books from the net is nothing new. The Gutenberg Project was one of the earliest projects on the internet. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971. What is new is that someone is now charging for ebooks and is requiring people to buy a special device.
Public Domain Books were previously published on paper by bona fide publishers and digitized with the help of thousands of volunteers.
Got to gutenberg.org for over 30,000 free ebooks that can be read on your PC, Kindle, Sony Reader, iPhone or other device. Over 100,000 free books are available through their partners. http://www.gutenberg.org/catalog/
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Good day Marc:
Other than the extra weight of books while traveling, I see no reason to allow these abominations to exist. It is a privilege and great delight to cruise the shelves of Chapters/Indigo, Barnes & Noble and the myriad of smaller new and used book vendors, support your local business and all that. Doing so I can pick up, instantly peruse a recommended book, and gauge my interest.
There is for the bookworm nothing better than cracking the hardcover spine the smell of paper and ink with the tactile feeling of holding a book as one sinks into the warmth of a leather recliner, it is fully human and like a fine wine, divine.
As for reading the newspaper on a small screen, which I have done and do when, I have no choice on my Blackberry. The point being that the human eye and really eyes in general see things from a global perspective as they’re meant to do. When one spreads out the Globe & Mail, you can instantly see and comprehend the whole of the page and will immediately look to the article that captures your interest most, whether that is to the left page or right page. Plus health wise I do believe that paper is without a doubt easier on the eyes, this is backed up by well documented medical research CRTs, LCDs and plasma screens are major causes of daily eye fatigue and soreness.
Trees are a natural and renewable resource; plastic is an oil-based product which choking our land fills and will not breakdown into earth friendly biomaterial.
As for MP3s, the music played is clipped of its highs and lows it is like having a kite on a fifty-foot string instead of a three hundred foot string, case in point vinyl versus CD/MP3. However, when running or doing other sports an iPod (Touch) is excessively nice to have. Technology will evolve to better our lives and will in turn bring superior abilities in what they give us. However, for the most part as-natural-as-possible is still the best for the human body and mind.
Have a good day,
Phil
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I won’t be buying a Kindle. I have all the ebooks and audio books I can handle on my iphone and a wall full of paperbacks and hardcover books.
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To all those that wish for the future you will have it for a while and then the future will always be around another turn. I for one will stick with books and open one with joy and not worry if my batteries are running low. I hope that all that do buy the Kindle have a good experience and it works for you, I though will stay with my much loved paper books and know that I do not have to plug it in and check it at the airport . I may be grey hair but when if comes to books all books are friend and new to me.
Stuck in the now.
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I have a Sony Reader and used it daily for over one year and would not be without it. I can download Public Domain Books free and Best Sellers cheaper, why would I go back to a printed book ?
There is only one disadvantage with a electronic reader – DON’T DROP IT.
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My wife buys her books at Costco, after being read the book travels from person to person.. My mother in law, a friend, another friend etc etc. In the end they end up in hospitals.
E-readers can’t accomodate that without everybody making a 300 dollar upfront investment.. That’s just no good.
And why on earth is that technology that expensive?!
You can buy full computers for that money!
ANd the books, are they any cheaper now that we don’t print and distribute?? It’s just like the mp3 “deals”, companies don’t want it.. And that’s why they keep the price up, way up!!
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Why the big hype about Kindle? – They didn’t want to come into Canada and now have introduced a “crippled” version and the media is falling over themsleves promoting it.
I’ve been using the Sony e-reader for a year now and I find the books reasonably priced and that the device works well.
It’s time the media stopped being so biased and present all the readers equally – and mention that e-readers have been in Canada for a few years, but not Kindle!
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Why buy a Kindle? Anyone who has a blackberry, I-phone, Palm OS, Pocket PC or Android can download e-reader for free, download e-books and have it “on the go”. I have e-reader on all of my computers (Home, work and blackberry) so I can read my current novel whereever and whenever I want. The prices are reasonable and the selection is actually quite amazing.
And for those who ask me “doesn’t it hurt your eyes reading on the computer?” – e-reader has the ability to adjust the color schemes of script and background so everyone can be happy. In fact, one of the things I really like about it is that now I can read in the dark!
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Unlike Crimus, who posted first, I don’t think e-readers are just a gimmick, and I believe they are here to stay though the form may change with new tech. I do agree with Crimus’ complaint that e-books are much too expensive. And, as others have stated, the e-readers themselves are still too pricey.
The biggest, and possibly insurmountable problem (given the industry’s track record), are the prices of the e-books. Most are in the same price range as paperback books, meaning $10-$15 per title. This is simply greed on the part of the publishers. There are few costs associated with creating an e-book, and certainly none approaching the cost of putting a paperback on store shelves. Consider that the book, prior to publishing, will be formatted in a program like Adobe InDesign. Once there it can be made into numerous formats with ease, print or digital, so if the book is being released in traditional format, no extra expense is incurred for the digital version.
Needless to say there are no printing costs associated with an e-book, nor are there any shipping, warehousing, or prefered shelf-placement costs. Since these costs account for the vast majority of a printed book’s final price to the consumer, why aren’t e-books 3 or 4 dollars? This would leave the author and publisher with around the same money as traditional printed books and give the consumer a lower cost (and greener) option.
If this occurs (though it likely never will), and the price of the hardware comes down to something reasonable, I will happily join the e-book crowd as I am a voracious reader.
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Now, a comment from an entirely different perspective. It is standard procedure for an electronics manufacturer to sell a new gizmo at 300% the cost of initial production. (This estimate was made by an electronics engineer I know back in 1985, so that number could have gone up with inflation.) This is to make their real money early in the knowledge that the price will go down due to competition. Give it a couple of years or so and this new jimcrack will be as cheap as dirt.
From an author’s perspective, any format is good, though, if it’s to be print on paper, let the paper be made from bamboo or kudzu or a number of other fast-growing, fibrous plants. Trees simply do not grow quickly enough to be a truly, easily renewed resource.
Regardless of the format, an author rarely gets to see more than $1.49 per single volume, even if it sells for $15.95, or whatever, on the shelf.
Thanks for hearing me out. Now, I’ll just get back to work on the humorous fantasy spy-thriller I’ve been hammering away at of late…
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As an avid, some might even say voracious, reader I like the concept of the Kindle or other readers. And while there’s nothing I enjoy more than spending a few hours at a great bookstore, I also find it much easier to find books online, than trying to browse shelves for a specific title. And, there’s some days when you’ve read the last page of your last book, and you really don’t want to go to the store, but you need another read. However, I don’t like the the Kindle is ‘crippled’ for Canada, and the cost seems somewhat prohibitive. I’m anxious to see what the Apple iTablet looks like, as I suspect it will be a great reader as well as having full Internet functionality and ability to run Apple apps. For me that would be the perfect combination of functionalities.
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I have the Sony EBook and I truly love that one better when I was looking around I tried out the Kindle and did not like it as much as the Sony EBook. Ever since I have had my EBook I have been reading much more. I think more people should buy them to read more.
N
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I think the Kindle looks like an updated Speak & Spell… (if you don’t know what that is, it’s not a good thing)
I have a Sony eReader and agree that most ebooks are overpriced. At this point at least 75% of the content I have for my Reader was free (Gutenberg, Google, Public Library, promos etc). One of my favorite features about the Sony is that it supports multiple file types. There’s no way I’m going to be shackled to any one retailer or file type.
I would like to see more international (especially Canadian) content available in ebook formats though…
And for all you paper-purists: I still buy regular books, when I want to keep the title forever, but being someone who enjoys all genres of writing I understand that some books make a good read but will not need to be re-read or referred to in the future, so why should I take up precious and limited shelf space for them? I already have hundreds of books and space is definately an issue.
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I have a sony book reader which i enjoy , i was holding off buying a kindle becaused they seemed to be taking forever to get to canada . I will always love paper back books but i do enjoy the eletronic version
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If they make the Kindle fully accessable to the internet, not just ebooks and newspapers, I may consider it. A HD colour screen should be included for that price.
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For many years, I had box after box of book collections – which got bigger and heavier each time I moved. As I get older I have got tired of “stuff” and have shifted to a smaller foot print. As I am an avid reader, the Sony Reader is a Godsend! I was surprised as to how quickly I adapted to this gadget. I love the fact that you can adjust the print size, and I even bought the light feature for night time reading. For me, I chose the SR over Kindle (after the big brother is watching you fiasco, where Orwell’s books were deleted from people’s Kindles). Also, another factor is the SD card slot where I can accumulate all the PDF ebook files that I want – plus swap with friends. People will have their opinions as to what best suits their needs – but for me, this is the future and besides, my future Grand kids will need some oxygen from the remaining trees left on the planet…
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I am NOT going to be getting the Kindle since it has been very limited compared to the US version. I am getting the Sony one for an xmas gift.
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