Is the Kindle a turkey?
Amazon’s new electronic book, the Kindle, was released just in time to make it on holiday gift lists. The product has been derided by some reviewers as ugly and overpriced. Both of which it is. But the Kindle is an important product for Amazon and for publishing, since it represents a potential game changer in how we acquire content to read. The Kindle is also a Web-access device–in fact, it’s the only wireless device I know of that comes with a free (well, after you buy it and the content, too) EVDO data connection. It can display blogs and newspapers. But, bizarrely, you have to pay for each blog you want to read on it.
Amazon’s Kindle, the new electronic book reader (hands-on first look), is not just a device for reading paperless books and newspapers. It’s also an ecosystem for writers who want to publish their works without dealing with publishers or vanity presses or other middlemen.