#13 - Blog about Technology

Bizarre hype (and critique) this week in the blogosphere for the release of Amazon's ebook reader, Kindle. I can't see any reason why this is likely to be any more successful than all the failed ebook readers of the past - not because it's hard to read in the bath (who really does this?) but because:
- it's chock full of digital rights management crud that locks it in to the Amazon website and prevents easy management and sharing of files in other formats
- it's a single function device that's betwixt and between the myriad and converging forms of handheld devices on the one hand, and lightweight laptops on the other - if ebooks are really going to take off I can't see why it wouldn't be on software that runs on a laptop with a better digital display...
- it costs US$399 (if I recall correctly) - hardly an incentive to explore - if they worked on the razor principle (ie give away the razor to sell future blades) and sold it for twenty bucks, a lot of people might try them out and get to like them, but at that price, no way...

I guess you could argue that Apple's strategy for the iPod wasn't a whole lot different, but on the one hand a lot of people can see the value in toting around 1000 songs in a tiny device, but why you'd need 1000 books with you on the train is a bit less compelling, and let's face it the iPod is a brilliant piece of design and the Kindle is not.

My prediction - in a decade the only place you'll be able to find one of these is in the Dead Media Museum.