No one actually wants the Kindle

... or doesn't realize they don't want it. All the hype surrounding this thing is too much for most people to see through. Lets face it, it's no iPhone for its industry, is cheaply built, is lacking features, and is overpriced.

The Kindle, as most of you have heard by now, is a small tablet like computer for reading books. It's certainly not the first of its kind, but it is the first to have EVDO (Sprint cell phone connection), so you can download and pay for those books wirelessly. (yey)

Ever since Oprah made this one of her favorite things this $359 gift has been selling like mad. So much so that Amazon is reporting a 11 to 13 week backorder!

No doubt people are thinking 'wow, this will be great for Karen, she loves reading books'. Well, you're probably wrong. Here's why. Karen:

• Likes having an actual copy of a book to hold and bookmark while reading
• Realizes books don't have batteries
• '' an on/off button
• '' backlights
• '' instruction manuals
• '' won't be obsolete in a couple years
• Knows books won't take 3 months to get
• Doesn't want to carry around her laptop, cell phone, iPod and now this
• Knows she will look like a douche reading off the kindle enjoying her latte at Starbucks
• Doesn't have a good Sprint cell phone signal where she lives
• Also knows you could've gotten her 359 books at a garage sale

On the flip side, John, your techie early adapter friend added the Kindle to his wish list. He:

• Likes gadgets
• Hates books that take up space because he lives in a small apartment
• Still owns an original iPod for a keepsake, but has upgraded to an iPhone 3G
• Already has a Kindle he bought last year before Oprah liked it
• Displays his douchiness daily at Starbucks reading off his Kindle, throwing his indoor scarf over his shoulder after sipping his latte and taking a call on his iPhone

The iPod / iPhone weren't the first mp3 players / cell phones but they did it in a way that revolutionized how those gadgets work. Just maybe the Kindle will have the same success in the same respect, but in comparison, people have been trying to make music playing and phoning easier for the last 100 years or so. Reading books hasn't changed in thousands.

So, in conclusion - wait for the next version and the price to go down on the Kindle if you really want one. Most people that read and own a lot of books probably aren't going to like it anyway.





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