Yes!
I want a Kindle.
The interesting thing about this device goes far beyond the fancy screen and electronic books. What caught my eye a year ago was the whispernet instant access to the library and the availability of newspapers, magazines and blogs. Not to mention the ability to put my own documents and stories on it. With the backing of powerhouse Amazon.com behind it, the experiment has a chance to ride out the early adopter cycle and push boundaries of publication and media.
I can see young authors self-publishing to the kindle and finding an audience in better analogy to indie film and music than the current vanity press system offers (which tends to exploit rather than encourage). I can see blogs and litererary writing merging. I can see my nightstand with a few less stacks of dead trees threatening to topple my waterglass onto my clock radio in the middle of the night and shorting it out.
Right now, the price is a hefty barrier for going mainstream. And while I see the broader idea taking off, it may or may not be the Kindle that ends up the physical device of choice. But, like the advice to wait a year before getting a tatto, I’ve waited my year in considering the Kindle, and I want to do it. I would have bought one before Christmas, but they’ve been sold out for months. Today’s gizmodo scoop predicts an announcement for the launch of the Kindle 2 on Feb 9. I don’t know whether that means they’ll go on sale that day, but I hope so.
Because if it doesn’t come out soon, I may have to get a tattoo instead.
You could get a tattoo of a kindle.
-glenn