In November of 2009 we made a plea on S&F to Amazon's Jeff Bezos to price the Kindle eBook reader at $99 rather than the $259 which was the selling price of the Kindle at the time even if he had to sell each unit at a loss as it would hugely profit Amazon overall (and the eBook movement worldwide) for him to do so, and asked whether he was listening. Apparently he was, for we now have the Kindle Touch ("touch" for its touchscreen controls) priced at — mirabile dictu! — $99, and it's a real beauty both in appearance and function.
We've been using the new Kindle Touch
with Wi-Fi connectivity (thank you!, Verizon FiOS) for but a few days now but that's more than sufficient time for us to declare that this version of the Kindle is a near-paragon of what an eBook reader should be, never mind that it lacks the ability to reproduce color (for a catalog of its many features and functions check out the page at the above link). The Kindle Touch is beautiful to look at and hold, just the right size, its E Ink display a joy to read, its minimalist button controls philosophy just the right design philosophy for an eBook reader, and its $99 price tag painless (the ads that display themselves when the Kindle Touch is not in use reading the text of an eBook are in no way disruptive). We would only suggest to Mr. Bezos that the Kindle Touch be built with a more powerful processor so that page turns and pop-up screens are instant (as opposed to merely very fast) and screen refreshes invisible. We would also suggest that the Kindle Touch be sold with a slipcase storage case and AC charger as standard equipment — without raising the price, of course — which today must be purchased separately as the Kindle Touch really needs both in regular use.
God bless technology, Amazon, and Jeff Bezos. It's a great time to be alive.
with Wi-Fi connectivity (thank you!, Verizon FiOS) for but a few days now but that's more than sufficient time for us to declare that this version of the Kindle is a near-paragon of what an eBook reader should be, never mind that it lacks the ability to reproduce color (for a catalog of its many features and functions check out the page at the above link). The Kindle Touch is beautiful to look at and hold, just the right size, its E Ink display a joy to read, its minimalist button controls philosophy just the right design philosophy for an eBook reader, and its $99 price tag painless (the ads that display themselves when the Kindle Touch is not in use reading the text of an eBook are in no way disruptive). We would only suggest to Mr. Bezos that the Kindle Touch be built with a more powerful processor so that page turns and pop-up screens are instant (as opposed to merely very fast) and screen refreshes invisible. We would also suggest that the Kindle Touch be sold with a slipcase storage case and AC charger as standard equipment — without raising the price, of course — which today must be purchased separately as the Kindle Touch really needs both in regular use.
God bless technology, Amazon, and Jeff Bezos. It's a great time to be alive.
It's The Music, Stupid!
Peggy
