Kindle Leave Those Books Alone

The big question is why would a company that specializes in books, the things made of paper, suddenly decide to get all techie and develop this ‘Tool’, and I use that term very loosely, The Kindle. It’s merely an e-book reader which most devices including mobile phones can have if you download a compatible application.

Have you ever heard your parents say this to you – Put that darn computer/game/other handheld device down and go read a book or something! Imagine the look on their faces when you tell them – But mom I am. I’d expect the next retort to be something like this – Don’t talk back to me young man. Do as you’re told. And I’m sure you’ll agree with me, there’d be no point perusing this argument. So why? Is our world become so digital that the written word (on paper) is becoming outdated?

The Kindle may have a lot of potential in its concept, but honestly, at a price of Rs. 16,000 ($400 + tax) even if it can store up to 200 books, it still seems a little odd. Imagine taking this electronic device to the bathroom (if that’s something you do) and getting electrocuted because you were reading a book. How odd would this headline look – Man dies in bathroom, Cause of death – Reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire or Electrocution By Reading.

The device itself has a system that allows users to download books via a special wireless service and each book costs about Rs. 400 ($10). There are also subscription services available for the same for The New York Times and various blogs. The device itself has a 6 inch, 4 level grayscale display and weighs 289g. The Kindle comes equipped with 256MB of internal memory and an SD card slot for additional storage. It has a 3.5mm earphone socket as well as a built in speaker and has a USB port for data transfer. As I mentioned earlier it also uses an EVDO/CDMA wireless modem to download papers and blog information. What no Mp3 player?


It’s not that it’s just a fancy, expensive, futuristic way to do something average, yet something that has successfully entertained the human race for centuries just the way it was, it’s odd to have a device dedicated to do just that. There’s also the show-off-to-be-knowledgeable factor when it comes to the old fashioned way of just being surrounded by 200 books. There could also be a, perhaps, comfort to be derived from that as well. Then again if you're frequent traveler it would be rather handy having so many books with you while out and about. Provided of course there's a charging port for the battery always around. And don't forget 'All electronic devices MUST be switched off during take off and landing'. Sound familiar?