News that our loyal tech-cake maker LilPeaPod still has not yet purchased a Kindle had me in a state of shock. According to Amazon, there's still a ton available, plus they've dropped the price to $359, yet she still doesn't have one? Why all the effort to produce a crazy-awesome Kindle cake if you weren't going to rush out and buy one the first chance you could? I'm guessing the blame lies with another must-have gadget.
Apparently this is the story across the board. The Kindle sold out during the first few months it was released, but sales have been dropping off ever since. According to Wired, our pals over at TechCrunch have a source that says Amazon sold a respectable 240,000 units in their first eight months, but that number is nowhere near what I thought it would be by now. Are people just not reading as much as they used to? Or is the price still too high? Honestly, I'm still considering one myself, but have yet to throw down the cash to buy. Do you own a Kindle?

Fendi
I read fairly often so I thought about it, but for me it wasn't about the cost (which, by the way, is REALLY expensive if we're bringing it up), but I just couldn't read from it. I mean I guess I shouldn't knock it 'til I've tried it because I'm sure there's tons of anti-eyestrain features, but I just don't like reading from a screen for very long. Plus, I just like being able to hold a book and flip the pages and physically see how far you are into the book, it's very exciting. Plus books smell really good and look cool in my apartment.
1To itsme, trust me, it's just like reading a book. I've read with it for hours at a time and my eyes were never strained. I love my Kindle but unfortunately I don't use it too often because in order to save money, I don't buy that many books. I still do love my Kindle!
2I agree completely with itsme. I love the way books look lined on a shelf. I love turning pages and the smell of an old book. I really really hope that e-readers don't become the norm in the future, because I would really miss a good old-fashioned book.
3Ditto itsme. I read constantly, but in my opinion, traditional books are just better. I'm online a lot, and screen reading is bad enough! Books are my only escape from it!
4I like books that are paper, far too much, to ever consider buying a Kindle! I find this contradicts how I feel about music, as I rarely ever buy an actual CD nowadays...
5I like the book format better. I love the idea of the Kindle, and other ebook readers, but I think it still has a ways to go. For example, I read very quickly, so I'm constantly turning pages. E-ink does this thing where the entire screen flashes when you "turn" a page, or rather, refresh the screen. This bothers me greatly, and I would say it is the greatest deterrent to buying a Kindle for me. Now, if e-ink could scroll (or not flash), I would probably buy one.
6i read tons of books but i like to hold them in my hand, flip the pages and smell them. call me crazy. it is the one area where i don't want technology to intrude. we got the printing press, color ink and recycled paper. now leave books alone!
7i'm with the bibliophiles up there!
8nothing beats the prettiness of having loads of books lined up on a shelf. it seems too surreal to have 200 books shoved into one little gadget.
I'm a poor college student. While this would probably be great and save me a ton of space and future backache I just can't afford it! What really makes me sad is that I'm an english major so I would get a ton of use out of it if I did buy it. Oh well.
I'm also not the most tech friendly person though. I still don't have an ipod. I use a cd player. It's sad.
9I read a lot but have no desire to buy a Kindle. I love the look, feel, smell, etc. of real books.
10I prefer "real" books. Besides, I've heard the design is a bit clunky, pages load slowly, book selection is not very wide, and of course you can't import other formats onto it. $250+ is a lot to pay, plus the extra $10 per book!
I would definitely buy an iphone before a kindle, because it does so much more.
11i like real books. i like them on my book shelf too--- friends borrow them, I pass them on to others.
12I bought my Kindle back in April when they came back in stock. I LOVE LOVE LOVE it. I travel a lot, and believe me, this is SO much more convenient than packing 3 books (just in case I finish the first, or don't like it, etc.) Plus, books are cheaper (never over 9.99) and download in 60 seconds! How could you go wrong?! It fits perfectly in my purse and goes with me everywhere. I definitely recommend it to everyone!
13I read every day, but I can't justify the cost of the Kindle, or an entirely new gadget to read text, when all my existing gadgets already handle text just fine. The limited selection and the load time issues turn me off as well.
Now a $20 iphone app with $5-$10 books I might go for, if the selection was good enough. Being able to read on the iphone when I can't get the internet to load would be awesome.
14nope
15nope
16I love the concept of a Kindle, but I'm too much of a bibliophile to give up books. Plus, I get the majority of my books from my local Library... You can't borrow titles from your Library for your Kindle! That would make me switch over from paper to e-books!
17i totally agree with itsme3683. i'm sure the kindle is cool and all, but i love books! and i mean the look and feel of books. i have tons of books and don't think that i could get rid of them in order to have a kindle. i do like gadgets but books are one thing that i can't give up. i guess the only thing that i would like it for would be for travel like girrly007. if i traveled a lot it would be worth it, but i would really miss the feel of a real book i think.
18I read a lot, more than I should and I don't know what a kindle is...
19I love the idea of it, and if I'm ever in a position where I have more expendable income I might get one. I don't travel a lot, though, so I'm not sure I could justify the price...I'd rather buy the books themselves and get a Nintendo DS to satisfy my techie urges!
20I would love one, but I'd rather spend that money on something else.
21I would rather read a book by holding it and smelling that great book smell.
22my mom got one and she takes it everywhere.
23she even brags about it just so she can take it out of her purse to show people.
I love my Kindle. I just bought it about 6 weeks ago, but it's made reading pleasurable again. I'm a fast reader, and it killed me to have to lug 10-15 large books with me on vacations and business trips, so I stopped bringing books for a long time. Now, I carry my whole library with me.
As for the screen refreshing that e-ink requires, you really get used to it very quickly. Plus, you can change the text size to get more on the page to minimize the number of times it's needed.
Kindle's big selling point, though, is the internet access. Being able to pop into Wikipedia to check something, to check into flights, and to do quick scans of e-mail without starting up my computer or dealing with my relatively tiny phone screen...it's just awesome.
24$350 is steep for me right now, & i'm not sure i'm ready to give up "real" books. although, it would make moving easier without all the books to pack up (much like giving up cds would)! if i do go digital, i think i'd go with sony's sleeker take on the kindle.
25i have an odd situation... i have a kindle that i take out of from the library... they have like 10 kindles at the library, and you can borrow them, read the books that are already on it or buy new ones for it... its good for figuring out whether or not you want to buy one
26Kindles may be neat but part of the pleasure of reading a book for me..is the fact it is a BOOK.
Its paper. Its real, its timeless. I have books that cannot easily be replaced, books that are just better "inhand"...books that are generations old.
Would Kindle recreate the amazing scent and feel of a 100 year old Victorian's "Women's Guide" complete with everything on how to keep a fire "alive" through the night and the best potted shrimps? Can it recreate the amazing N.C. Wyeth illustrations of old storybooks?
Books are part of my memories...as a child, reading every horse book I could get my hands on...as a girl of 12, coveting my Judy Blume stories and Archie comics, and onwards to my wierd collection now containing such little gems as an out-of-print Genevieve Dariaux book on social entertaining (just so damn fun to read!), an antique Norse fairytale storybook, my Anne Rice hardbacks...and my Terry Pratchett paperback collection....just to start.
To read a book...to truly read it, is to hold it in your hands.
Its visceral.
Kindle simply cannot replace that, imho.
27I love the idea, but right now, the price is simply too high. I'll likely buy one when the price has dropped into the $200 range.
28I will always love real books. But I want one of these. DROP THE PRICE! $200 and I'd think about it.
29I love picking up a well-worn favorite book and reading it again for the 5th time. The smell of the binding, the worn pages. Or cracking open a brand-new book and turning each crisp page as you reach through the chapters. I can't imagine feeling that excitement picking up a Kindle.
30Besides the fact that copyright laws in Canada don't allow for such things as Kindle, I still prefer a book.
31For me- it is just too expensive. Esp when you consider you have to add in the cost of the "book." I have bought E-readers for things that I'm likey to admit to reading.
But mostly, I'd rather stick with a real book that I can pass on to a friend when I'm done. It makes that $12-20 price tag seem like it gets more use.
32I like my tangible books. It gives me something to trade with other readers.
33No
34I read often but I love the feel of a book.
35I plan to buy a Kindle, but I'm waiting to see if the rumors of a smaller form factor due in October are true. That's when I'll make the switch.
36I might get it, but I'd wait until it's cheaper. With the cost of the Kindle plus the books and subscriptions... yikes. But I think I'd read a lot more often if I had one. It seems very convenient, and with a tiny one-bedroom apartment, I don't have enough room for all the books I like.
And what's with all this talk about "I couldn't give up real books, so I won't get one"? Getting a Kindle doesn't mean you give up buying and reading real books if you want. Just like having a video iPod doesn't mean you stop watching movies at the theatre or on your TV. It's just something more convenient for people on the go.
37There are just things that shouldn't be digitalized....sounds convenient but (and this is a generalization) people who like to read, like to read books and a lot of people still like to read actual newspapers. Particularly, the people who can afford such a splurge (aka, my parents
) would rather experience reading a book, going to a book store or library and browsing, filling shelves with books etc. My dad loves the ritual of sitting down with a newspaper
every morning and sometimes evenings and especially on the weekends. My parents aren't that old, but I do think that it is still something that goes on in a lot of homes. I don't foresee this
picking up as quickly as the mp3/ipod trend did because there's just something about appreciating a goodbook and experiencing it- as mentioned by many before me on this post.
Then again, my moving days would be a heck of a lot quicker if i didn't have tons and tons of books to lug!!!
Finally, having a portable reading machine doesn't always sit well with people who get sick when reading in the car. Until Kindle can cure that, they may not sell as many
38I have been thinking about getting one. I am not sure i will though, it's really expensive although i like the thought of being able to get a book immediately when i finish a book and not have to go to the store. But i really like my books and i trade books with friends and you wouldn't be able to do this will kindle.
Maybe eventually if the price drops a lot i might get one. I read so much that it would be nice to have new books at my fingertips at anytime day or night.
39I'd love one, and it would be used quite a bit by me, but I can't seem to accept the hefty price tag just yet. It needs to go down quite a bit for me to fork over anything for it!
40i want the sony ebook reader instead of a kindle.
41The Kindle doesn't have many of the books I end up buying and the ones it does have, my library offers for free. It's just way too expensive overall for what you get. I can hold out for something better.
42I own one, so is my husband. It's nice to be able to read the same book at the same time, so we can discuss it without spoiling anything. We are not very organized and we own a lot of books so every time we want to read something, it's quite a pain trying to find where it is. The books are also taking quite a bit of space in our tiny place.
It's probably been said before but the e-paper doesn't strain my eyes. The unit is also light weight. Overall, I love to be able to bring a lot of books in one small device. It does take some time to get used to flipping between pages. I like to flip back and forth but it turns out I don't do it as much as I think I do. There is also a search feature and clippings to minimize flipping but I haven't had to use them much. I use the bookmarks a lot though since I often read more than one book at a time.
Talking about bookmarks, I love collecting bookmarks but a lot of the nice/cute ones are pretty thick and I hate putting them in books just in case they might leave a mark on the books if I left them there for too long. Am I weird?
43I will NEVER buy a Kindle. Books are much better.
44No, I have no interest in the Kindle or any other eReader. I read very often however I prefer to have the physical book rather than a digital read-out.
45I agree with a few other posts here. I don't think the Kindle is meant to replace books - it's just more convenient for people on the go. Also, I like the fact that I could get magazine subscriptions so I could cut down on the piles and piles of GQ and Food & Wine back issues that I have at home.
I'm seriously goign to get one. I heard a rumor that version 2 hits Amazon on October and I'll get that.
46I really like mine. However, I pretty much only use it when traveling since I prefer to get my books free at the library!
47I didnt know about it until today! I read tons of books and I love the way they smell too! and I like having them in the house, but how many can you keep in the house? I think I want to try Kindle! I just saw the video on Amazon and it looks really good, but expansive.
48My dad just got my mom one of these for their anniversary! She was soo psyched but of course she asked me how to use it! Hahaha.. Now I'm jealous cause she won't let it out of her hands!
49It doesn't sound appealing to me, I'm a HUGE bookworm and all but I'd much rather have the book in my hands and flip the pages and whatnot. It just feels more real.
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