There IS a keyboard shortcut for bookmarking, which is much faster than even scrolling up to the dogear in the corner.

Just press ALT-B!

And that would be … Apple?

http://fakesteve.blogspot.com/2007/10/our-new-ibook-reader.html

Apple ebook reader + iTunes Store + AT&T = bye bye Kindle.

I had high hopes for the Kindle, but the hardware is going to have to be rev’d before I spend any money on it. The premise is superb as most would agree. The execution is where Amazon fell on their face. In particular I have severe reservations about the physical design. Just ask yourself would Apple ever introduce a device this hideously designed? What were they thinking with the huge buttons and sharp angles at every opportunity? You can’t tell me that no one noticed some issues with the design during the testing phase. I’m all for new ideas and execution, but come on you can’t pick it up by either side without hitting a button.

I have a Sony Reader and I enjoy using it. Once you get a book loaded the machine works great. Now if someone can merge the Kindle’s ease of use, cellular integration, and great selection of books with Sony’s hardware design we may be on to something.

I must grill you a bit more:

>>>But when they use it, things start breaking down a bit.

Do you mean using the device itself? I don’t see how the Kindle laden with buttonage wouldn’t be intimidating itself.

>>>And when I explain how the whole system works, I lose a lot of them. “Too complicated” is the usual reaction. Keep in mind that these are the aforementioned “normal” people and not geeks and gadget freaks.

I guess you mean installing the software, syncing, buying books, etc, etc. What people used to go through with Palms until it stopped working smoothly… amazon’s has an OTA advantage there, with it bypassing a PC.

Actually, a modern VGA PDA will have a screen that looks fantastic, and with built-in lighting at that. You can also set (if you pick your reader software well) font size so big that even downright elderly readers should be able to enjoy it.

And when I refered to an average user I meant an average but intelligent and educated user who simply isn’t a downright geek. There are quite a few people out there who enjoy reading and would welcome the insant gratification of downloading books but don’t enjoy fiddling with gadgets, and a single-purpose device that doesn’t require a lot of messing around with cables, connections, software installations etc has an obvious niche compared to a PDA or Tablet.

James: Another button dedicated to bookmarking is a good idea – not arguing that. On the PDA thing, show an eBook on a PDA and on the Kindle (or Sony Reader for that matter) to any “normal” consumer and they’ll pick the dedicated device every time. As I said (and as you know all too well), I’ve been reading on PDAs for years. In the words of Bush the Elder: “Not going to do it (anymore). Wouldn’t be prudent.” Not with my aging eyes!

Mike: People love the look of the Sony – they have always made very pretty hardware. But when they use it, things start breaking down a bit. And when I explain how the whole system works, I lose a lot of them. “Too complicated” is the usual reaction. Keep in mind that these are the aforementioned “normal” people and not geeks and gadget freaks.

>>>the Sony’s software is, as usual, miserable. It’s a pain to use, Windows-only, and their store provides a much smaller selection of titles. IMO, neither device is anywhere near perfect yet but Kindle’s out-of-box user experience and suitability for non-technical users is head and shoulders better than Sony’s.

Yes, amazon got that right. And, yes, Sony is not the place to go for either shopping or desktop software!

>>>FWIW, I’m enjoying the heck out of my Kindle. I’ve loaded it up with a bunch of free books from manybooks.net, converted PDFs from my own collection with expected results (good, not great and exactly the same or better than what I get from the Sony), and a few purchased titles from the Kindle store. I’ve taken it with me everywhere I’ve gone this week and demo’ed it oa bunch of people. All are very impressed with it and most wanted one for themselves.

What reactions did you get from showing your Sony Reader back when?! I still favor the Reader.

Marc, thanks for the tip about the bookmark. I still think a dedicated add bookmark button is the way to go. I agree with you and have said before that the Kindle along with the Amazon system is much better to get the mainstream consumer involved in the ebook movement and that’s a very good thing. However, I’ll disagree with you that you can’t compare the ebook experience of PDAs with dedicated readers if you already have a PDA. There’s a fair comparison if you already have a PDA and it’s OK to point that out. I am enjoying reading on the Kindle, I just want Amazon to address these obvious problems to make it better.

I do believe that the Kindle can be a great holiday gift for family members who are otherwise unfamiliar with technology items.

I am really trying to get into the average Joe’s head as cr0ft suggested, but i fail to see them actually going for eBooks being it the low interest in reading, the phobia of technology, or inability to pay $400 (or $400 for a device with limited capabilities). I don’t have the numbers in hand, but reading is correlated with socioeconomic status and with technological literacy.

Although it is a bit like comparing apples and oranges, i still think that if you are about to spend $400 on a gadget, it makes more sense to buy a laptop from the OLPC project and this way also contribute another one to a kid in developing country. This in my view is an appropriate answer to the Kindle-hype (which is purely marketing based)

James – two quick points. You can bookmark any page at the top of the screen with a quick scroll-and-click on the dog-ear icon at the top of the screen. In the Kindle Guide, they explain the “goofy” location address – as you reformat the screen with different sizes, the page numbering changes. I’m not saying it’s particularly useful information but I do understand the technical issue.

Having used both the Sony Reader and the Kindle, all I can say in response to your very commenter above is that the Sony’s software is, as usual, miserable. It’s a pain to use, Windows-only, and their store provides a much smaller selection of titles. IMO, neither device is anywhere near perfect yet but Kindle’s out-of-box user experience and suitability for non-technical users is head and shoulders better than Sony’s.

And, having been a long-time Palm PDA user and a big eReader fan (and customer) for many years, you simply cannot compare reading on a PDA (or phone) and on a dedicated book reader. They provide completely different experiences and appeal to very different users (beyond hopeless gadget freaks like us who want one of everything).

FWIW, I’m enjoying the heck out of my Kindle. I’ve loaded it up with a bunch of free books from manybooks.net, converted PDFs from my own collection with expected results (good, not great and exactly the same or better than what I get from the Sony), and a few purchased titles from the Kindle store. I’ve taken it with me everywhere I’ve gone this week and demo’ed it oa bunch of people. All are very impressed with it and most wanted one for themselves.