Kindle Revisited

And so it goes, a mere 3 weeks of owning my Kindle and it's already obsolete. Today Amazon announced plans to release the all new Kindle Touch and Kindle Fire. I'm just thankful I talked myself out of the optional cassette tape drive while I had the chance... Having just finished reading my first complete novel on my new Kindle, I originally planned to discuss my thoughts on the experience. I'll probably get to some of that too, but instead I guess we'll look at the new models. As they are slated for release in November, this comparison is based entirely on specs given on Amazon having never personally seen or used the new line... So what gives me the credentials to give you such a review? The internet, my friends. The internet.

The Kindle Fire is Amazon's more affordable answer to the iPad. Unlike all previous Kindle releases, this model features a full color display and touch screen technology. While this seems to be a promising new addition to the tablet family, those seeking the readability of the e-ink display should pass this one by. As far as reading material goes, Kindle Fire seems more suited for magazines and comics. As with the iPad and other tablets, reading in sunlight will most likely be more difficult than the e-ink display, even with glare reduction.

The Kindle Touch seems to be a more intriguing concept for the literary crowd. It features the same easily readable display of e-ink with one big difference: touch screen capabilities. It's hard to say whether this feature is worth the hype without actually using one, but I foresee trouble if Amazon didn't take time to accommodate the sausage-fingered folk. These folks might want to swing more for the new standard Kindle, which features a smaller, more lightweight design with the side mounted buttons for page turning.

Even with these new releases in mind, I still stand by my purchase. What was formerly known simply as Kindle is now the Kindle Keyboard. In contrast to these new models, the Keyboard holds more books (3,500) than the Touch and new Kindle, which hold 3,000 and 1,400 respectively. With touch screens gaining more popularity, the use of keyboards and buttons seems to be going the way of Latin Pop, but I don't mind having them while they're around. I'll get a little more excited once they find a way to integrate touch technology onto a color e-ink screen. Until then I have some more reading to do!

Crossing Borders

I made my last trip to a Borders store ever today. For those of you unaware, the entire Borders chain is set for liquidation effective the first of September. When the news hit the web and, to an increasingly lessening extent, newspapers, the book nerds of the world briefly stepped out into the sunlight for a collective gasp... Then promptly returned to their reading. Vulture that I am, the impending going out of business sale was my first thought. I've been to many independent book store going out of business sales over the years, many of which following the arrival of a book retail beast like Borders to town.

Since 1971 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Borders has proved a worthy opponent to booksellers worldwide, crushing competition left and right, and eventually growing to what it is today... Or was yesterday rather. With their competitors taking to the internet, Borders partnered up with Amazon to host their online store. Both companies enjoyed a mutually beneficial union leading up to the release of Amazon's first generation Kindle in 2007, also when Borders's financial woes began. Demand for the device was overwhelming and it remained out of stock until the following year. Borders, financially rocked and now partnered with their biggest competitors, wisely severed their partnership with Amazon in 2008, opting instead to host and process their own online orders. They never bounced back.

Meet the Kindle. There is little I can say about it that the likes of Oprah hasn't already said. This is fortunate since I happen to agree with her in this case. Only when you disagree with Oprah do your loved ones start inexplicably disappearing one by one... At any rate, like it or not, digital e-readers like the Kindle are growing in popularity with every year. Not only can you download thousands of entire books to one portable device, but a lot of public domain titles are available at absolutely no cost. Libraries are even offering more and more contemporary e-book titles for use on these devices, meaning no more worries about why the pages are stuck together! (Note that at this time Amazon does not allow library lending to the Kindle, but it will later this year.) For those  titles that do come with a price tag, you'll typically note the lower price on the digital copy compared to its print counterpart. Best of all, it makes buying books easy. You simply download your titles straight to your device and begin reading. Fresh air just may be a thing of the past!

Now, before you begin stashing books in the attic for when "The Man" comes to burn them, or curse the name "Kindle" for ruining civilization as we know it, let's take a look at this honestly. If our ancestors would have faced the same hesitation to change we might be reading our bestsellers in scrolls, or even on cave walls. The book was invented as a practical organization of information. The times are telling us now it's time to change. Besides, it's not like print will ever completely die, much in the same way vinyl records didn't. This also will open the door for independent bookstores to take over again.

So what killed Borders? Darwinism. Their inability to adapt to changing conditions caused their extinction. Those of you still not convinced that digital is the future, I urge you to check out On the Origin of Species for further examples of what happens to those unable to adapt. It's $6.99 in paperback or free on the Kindle. The choice is yours!

On that note, I'll leave you with this photo I took.. Apparently nobody cares what Bush has to say even at 70% off