An announcement that came somewhat out of the blue this week was Amazon debuting a new book reader called Kindle. I have to admit here that I bought one of the very first ebook readers 5 years ago and loaded 3 books, never used it, and now have added it to my museum for devices that were hot one day, and scrap at this point. Since that time, I have really debated whether the concept of an ebook reader will ever really take off, or if it is simply a technology that sounds practical, but lacks the features really desired by most normal humans. The fact is, a paper book is a pretty cheap and efficient form of communication. So I was a bit surprised to see Amazon jump into the fray with this product. It makes sense if they are trying to drive book sales of course. With all of that said, there are a number of features I like about Kindle. Amazon has done a great job of studying the way humans use a book, and this has translated into design features that are unique as to how the device is shaped and colored. They also are using an ePaper screen so as to best imitate the look of paper. And finally, they have made it so that new books can be downloaded wirelessly without attaching the device to a PC. This is a great move in my opinion. Here is my bottom line… At the end of the day, people do not want to carry multiple devices so the Kindle might be a great tool for storing books, but will not generate huge usage. It might end up being the best of the readers, but will not be the next iPod.
As the smoke clears from the Google announcement of the Android mobile phone standards, we have learned this so far… The technology market is applauding the concept of having software standards that allows developers to build software that can work across phones, and telecommunication vendors. This should result in an explosion of applications in much the same way these things have happened on the Facebook platform, and other areas where simple standards get set. They will not be coming out with the gPhone any time soon, but hold open that it could be done in the future. They have started discussions with AT&T this week to see if they can convince the giant to join the group. The interesting wild card that looms is that they have been working on putting the money together (est. $4.5 billion) to buy a piece of the wireless spectrum for the US Govt. This move could be signaling that they want to get into telecommunications on their own. We are all just guessing at the moment because Google has not made a statement as to what they would do with it. My take is this… Google is a VERY smart company that has really learned how to monetize “free” usage covered by advertising. Whatever they are planning will involve a radical change in the current cell phone model. I am sure we will not have to wait long for the answer.