Amazon Kindle - Criticisms With Which I Disagree, Part 1

For the next parts of my apology for a Kindle, I'd like to address some criticisms with which I disagree.

It's too expensive
This statement is relative. For some folks, the $400 price tag is completely out of reach. For others, it is pocket change. For myself, the price definitely causes a pause for discernment, and requires saving up for the purchase. However, given that Amazon sold out of Kindles in less than six hours, one could argue from a classical economics standpoint that the price was actually too low. Of course there are other possibilities as to why Amazon ran out of stock. It could be that they did not expect it to be as successful as it was, or it could be that they are trying to generate hype by artificially creating scarcity.

Another factor in the price is that the Kindle communicates on Sprint's 3G cellular network. This is very cool, as it means that you can access online books and other material from anywhere you can get a cell phone signal. As the New York Times points out in their review, this is a service that costs $60 per month for laptop users. While I suspect that Amazon is paying less, it is understandable that they would want to bake some of those costs into the price of the device, since they will be footing the wireless bill for every Kindle sold for its entire lifetime.

In the end, I do agree that there is a early adopter premium in the current price. However, that premium does not speak to the merits of the Kindle as much as it speaks to the merits of being an early adopter... which is a whole different point.

Don't buy it now, the price will drop in a few months
Whether or not to be an early adopter is a personal decision. Generally, I am an early adopter of new software and not an early adopter of new hardware. I was not one of the folks who stood in line all night to pay $600 for an iPhone, and I have no plans to buy one even though the price has been cut by a third. My two year old, $20 after rebate, pre-paid phone with the crack in the case is still working just fine, thank you very much.

But that has more to do with my attitude toward telephones than it has to do with the iPhone itself. I'm not a fan of phones (understatement). However I am a fan of books.

I'm not in anyway saying that you must be an early adopter of the Kindle in order to be a "true book lover". But you would have to be a true book lover to be an early adopter of the Kindle.

I have three major reasons for wanting to be an early adopter of the Kindle.

First, I want it to be a successful product. The paper book is not going away anytime soon (nor would I want it to) but it is certainty no longer the most efficient method of delivering information. Electronic publishing promises:

• Lower costs
• Faster (near instant) delivery
• Reduced environmental impact
• An end to books being out of print
• Much greater opportunities for unknown authors to market their works.

These are good things, and I want to support the effort to move us in that direction. I believe Amazon is in a privileged (perhaps unique) position with publishers to move this particular ball down the field, and I want to throw my shoulder behind their efforts.

Second, the early adopter is in a position to impact the changes made to the next generation of the product. As we will see in future posts, I have a long list of improvements I would like to see in Kindle 2.0, and I want a place at the table to express my opinions, and have my voice raise at least slightly above the clamor. I also want to do my part to ensure that there is a Kindle 2.0 at some point in the future.

Third, between Christmas and when the price drops, I plan to read a whole bunch of books. :)