This might be one of those embed’s that US exclusive, for which I apologize to International Bitchery members. Claire Duffy from MSNBC has done a segment on Sir Kindle the Fusspot (not my Kindle, personally, but all Kindles in general), discussing how the Kindle is alluring to readers, and specifically to the book industry. Kensington’s Kate Duffy, her sister, appears in the segment talking about why the Kindle rocks for editors and publishing folks who no longer have to lug home mountains of manuscripts. I know of at least three editors in addition to Duffy who adore having an ebook reader for manuscript reviewing.
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Interestingly, Claire Duffy’s report mentions that the press conference on Monday from Amazon at the Morgan Library will announce Kindle 2.0 though Amazon, to my knowledge, hasn’t confirmed that. Either way, big ups to Las Dos Duffys for examining the Kindle and other ebook readers’ impact on publishing folks.
of course the idea that all hardbacks are 9.99 is becoming a growing fallacy. More on that when I am not typing with my thumbs.
Hi SB Sarah,
Speaking of Sir Kindle the Fusspot, Jane at DA recently mentioned in her blog that she thought you were becoming disenchanted with your Kindle.
I got my Sony Reader PRS700 in the mail this week. SQUEE!!! I had to get it on eBay because Australians can’t buy them without a US credit card (like I have a few of them laying around!). Happily I only paid US$10 over Sony’s recommended retail and I got a 2GB SD card included in that, so I don’t think I paid too much. Got killed by the exchange rate though – it’s about 64c AUD now, a few months ago it was at a record high of 96! Oh well, them’s the breaks.
Anyway, love my Sony and was curious as to whether you were thinking of switching….
I’m still bummed that we’re not going to be at that press conference, Sarah!
hmm, I’m not sure how I feel about the focus on Kindle. They could have at least mentioned the names of the competition. The format issue the huge decision point for me…and why I have a Sony.
And now that I’ve watched that report, can I just say how I admire Kate Duffy? She’s so savvy!
But you’re right, Sarah, about what the report says about ebook prices. Not all hardcover ebooks will sell for $9.99, even on Amazon (I’ve seen this already) and not all paperback ebooks will sell for a fraction of the cost of the paperback. Some will sell for the same price, some will sell for more.
I wonder if the Kindle 2.0 will address not only design issues, but the file management issues?
Awesomeness! Thanks for that Sarah.
I do agree with one thing that guy said, though. I love my Kindle, but the page turn buttons are way too big. Ah, well… it’s still the most wondrous thing since…. well, anything.
Cool interview with Kate Duffy about the Kindle! I enjoyed it!
Hmmm might get myself a Kindle one of these days. 😉
Hugs,
jan
I was disappointed that they didn’t talk aboutor even name- the competition. Was this a news report or a free plug for Kindle?
I am glad I didn’t drink the Kindle Aide but went with the Sony. Finally seeing it being handled told me what I had feared just by seeing the pictures. The buttons would drive me nuts and i don’t care for the large “spine” on the one side. Reminds me why I don’t read many HC’s anymore- they are hard for me to handle and hold. Also, I think the sony has a bigger screen and I happen to like the backlight on it, just not how much power it does suck down. Up?
For the new Sony owners- new releases seem to be cheaper on the sony site as opposed to Fictionwise. I would love to know about other sites to download from, especially if they have better prices, if you find them. Besides Baen that is.
Agents love them for the same reason, I’m told.
Are there any that are of the least bit of use in Canada yet?
(Damn you, CRTC…)
You can use any of them outside the US, Charlene, but I recommend the Sony. The only ability you might lose is being able to purchase from the Sony store, but I don’t use it myself. Use Calibre instead of the provided Sony software and you’ll be happy!
What is Calibre or is that for outside the US usage?
Calibre is a cataloging system for ebooks which can also hook up with the Sony and you can download books to it. I have a mac and I can use Calibre, which is nice since Sony software on a mac isn’t compatible. If you have Convertlit then you can also convert MSlit books to pdf and download it to the Sony as well.
I think I will stick with my sony software. it’s a guarantee that I will screw it up.
Does anybody on here use their iphone or ipod touch for an ereader? You can download apps for that. I’ve done it and I must say that I like having my music, movies and books all on one little device. The only downside to it is the battery and I suppose for some people the backlight (which does not bother me!). I won’t be buying a kindle because I have my ipod and I go everywhere with it.
I use my itouch but usually only in an emergency= like when my sony dies on me and I can’t recharge it right away. But i do keep shows and things on it and up to date. along with my pod casts!!
I just have one thing to say—- Amazon sure knows how to promote their Kindle—Oh Sony marketing department where are you!! I have a Sony and I love it. I have the iTouch and use it as a reader also.
I also wonder if they weren’t paid for that little bit. I was excited when they mentioned “one of two” main readers on the market and then waited…and waited…for them to mention my Sony, but they didn’t. I like how the guy pointed out the really big buttons and how it’s fugly though (Sorry Sarah, ‘tis true). I also went for the Sony (505) over the Kindle, obviously, and got it new for $200 while the Kindle was still $400. It’s so nice and pretty, and smaller, and a lot easier to get books for.
As for the lady using it for reading manuscripts, I would think you’d prefer the Iliad, since it seems to be the best with annotation and is the size of a sheet of paper, but what do I know.
I too am curious for more details on Jane’s comment on you and Sir Kindle the Fussypot’s possible relationship turmoil. Come over to the dark side, Sarah…you know you want a Sony. They released a Harlequin anniversary addition, so you know they appreciate us. All the cool kids are doing it…
Oh, and the video is working fine outside the US, or at least in Korea. 😉
I actually got my Kindle last year after going to RT and having a conversation with Kate where she raved about hers! Once she told me she could send manuscript files to the device to read, I was sold. I do read e-books on it (I love the instant gratification factor), but I mostly love that I can send my own manuscripts to the Kindle and read/make notes there rather than lugging around a stack of paper. Besides the whole ‘green’ factor, it’s saving me big in paper and toner costs.
Sony is losing money $197 million on their hardware sales including their eReader.
Amazon on the other hand is making money hand over fist and some of that is due to the Kindle.
Charlene :
I live in Canada and own a Sony e-reader and it is fantastic! No issues with downloading content from the Sony e-bookstore and the e-reader is pdf friendly.
Only downside is the book prices are in US dollars and with the current exchange … well, you know.
I’ve seen several articles about Sony’s losses, but none of them tie that with the Reader.
Amazon won’t release any figures, so you can’t assume they are making those kind of profits because of the Kindle. It is more likely they are doing well right now because they are an internet discount retailer. When people are poor, they are going to go to Amazon. They’ve been doing well in a bad economy even before the Kindle came out.
I also wouldn’t be suprised if Sony has sold the same amount of Readers as Kindles, since they are offered in more places in the world than Kindles.
I’m still trying to get over the fact that she takes home 6 manuscripts to read over the weekend. I knew editors had their hands full, but 6??
Love my Kindle, hate the side buttons! I tried reading ebooks on my PDA and now my cell phone but hated the tiny, tiny screen. When I’m tired I up size the font on the Kindle—love, love that feature.
One of my doctors said he takes the pdfs of medical articles and loads them onto his Kindle. Great for lugging around all those articles he reads to keep up on things without having to haul them around with him. If he has a moment of downtime, he pulls it out and reads the latest article on whatever. Fantastic idea for folks who need to read a lot to keep up in their field.
Maybe the SBTB ladies can convince Ms. Duffy to do a follow-up piece on epublishers to go with that ereader. What I wouldn’t give to see Samhain or Ellora’s Cave get a bit of promo from a nationwide tv show!
I’ll be in New York next week and am sure I could find some time in my schedule to fit in an interview. It would be a sacrifice, but all for the good of epublishing…
Go, Angela!!!!!!!