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November 20, 2007, 04:02 PM ET
Between the Lines of a New e-Book Reader
Theoretically appealing though they may be, e-book readers haven’t lived up to the hype, say most campus librarians who have chatted with The Chronicle. Will the Kindle, Amazon’s new version, change that perception?
If not, the price tag might be partially to blame. “I’m going to have to reserve judgment until I try it out myself,” writes Rob Hof, of BusinessWeek. “And at $399, I’m not sure how soon that’s going to be.”
And David Rothman, of TeleRead, mentions a survey which argues that lower prices, not nifty new devices, will drive the e-book market.
Even if the Kindle were $100 cheaper, though, it would still have its critics. Mr. Hof wonders if the device’s heft—it weighs 10.5 ounces—will prove problematic: “I’m doubtful that I’m going to hold that sucker up over my head lying in bed.” And Valleywag offers a tongue-in-cheek chart comparing the Kindle with the hardbound books it might replace. (A book might give you a paper cut, the blog notes, but a Kindle threatens you with “death by electrocution.”)
Any thoughts on the Kindle, or on the state of e-book readers in general? —Brock Read
Categories: Company-Watch, Teaching
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