The newest e-reader has arrived to paw and snort in the market arena: Amazon’s Kindle.
My take? Cool gadget, but I’m still too poor to buy one. And I probably wouldn’t use it much anyways.
Wouldn’t use it?
Nope. I’m pretty sure I’m going to be one of those generational dinosaurs who, in fifty years, when people are reading novels through the glowing screens tattooed onto their eyeballs, I’ll still be curling up and flipping through yellowed pages, getting paper cuts and dealing with the archaic library system.
Not that there’s anything wrong with ebooks and e-readers. In fact, I will likely get one at some point. My opinion is that eventually all these individual devices, from cell phones, iPods, USB drives, e-readers, and so on are going to be consolidated into one central piece of equipment that we carry on our hip and run off the electrical discharge of our heart. This kind of unified operating system is already happening with a lot of devices, and I think, what with paper-printed circuitry and the advancing flat screen technology, it’s only a matter of time before we get something capable of being compact, yet with an expandable display that can imitate the printed page.
Until then, the e-reader will be more like a toy for me. Something to geek out over. Maybe take it on vacations so I can read a shelf’s worth of books while keeping my suitcase under 200 lbs. They’ll have their uses. But replacing books entirely? Nuh-uh. Not for me at least.
Oh, and is the name “Kindle” a play on words? Are they suggesting that since we have this new device, books will soon only be worth using for fire starters?
Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 comes to mind…
I see that smile.
ebook readers just won’t work man, its like teaching old dogs new tricks, people are too used to books in paper format.
and the name just doesn’t send good vibes either.
M
Maybe it will be more of a generational thing. By the time the next batch of kids are growing up, there may be a lot more viable e-readers on the market, which they’ll think are the norm, along with cellphones that brush their teeth and pack their lunches. Just think…teenagers will have a whole new reason to make fun of their parents…
“Geez, you guys still read that paper stuff? How old school.”