E-book or real book

[McHanhan]

First I saw this article [http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/] and then I read this:

Kindle Breaks Record for Sales in a Single Month During November
Kindle is the Hottest Gift This Holiday Season Across All Amazon Product Categories-Not Just Electronics

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 30, 2009--

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) today announced that November is already the best sales month ever for Kindle, even before Cyber Monday. Kindle continues to be the most wished for, the most gifted, and the #1 bestselling product across all product categories on Amazon. The latest generation Kindle ? just released in October ? is $259 and available for immediate shipment today at [whatever]. "Kindle is a great gift for anyone who loves to read and it's flying off the shelves faster than any other product Amazon sells," said Ian Freed, Vice President, Amazon Kindle. "We're seeing lots of people buying from one to a handful of Kindles as gifts for friends or family, as well as many businesses and other organizations buying Kindles in large quantities for their employees or customers."

How is an E-book reader outselling actual books?.

How is this:

beating this:

I would have thought people would have gladly payed $10 for a book rather than $259 for something to read a book. People and the holiday season confuse me.

Either this is PR fudgery or I am seriously missing something about this Kindle.

The main question I have is why do people love things like these when there is a simpler alternative (an actual book). Is it the technology that drives people, the trend, or do they genuinely see this as revolutionary?.

 

[grimsprice]

Yes, you're missing something about the Kindle...

Edit: Ah XKCD. A picture for every discussion.

 

[Kaboose the Moose]

Considering that the Kindle is an Amazon product and that every person who wants a Kindle has to go to Amazon, while essentially every other product they carry can be acquired from many other sources, it is not that surprising that the Kindle is the best selling product there.

I do agree though, real books all the way!. It's the smell and feel to it that's makes the endeavor all the more enjoyable. Then again the Kindle can hold several copies of The Lord of the Rings. It's more that it's a bookshelf rather than a single book that may be the source of it's appeal..plus internet access. I mean when was the last time a copy of Fire and Ice came with a web browser?.

 

[ShadeOfRed]

Ugh, this ones tough. eBooks have no mass since they're data and you can carry tons around if you've got a Kindle or a Sony Reader or whatever. Real books however, give you tactile response, something many developers are starting to move away from. Just look at all the touch screens!
Real books win, only because I have more real books than eBooks.|
This post is evil.

 

[Cakes]

These will never beat the appeal of curling up on the armchair by the fireside with a wicked awesome book. They do, however, beat lugging around about a half tonne of textbooks.

 

[McHanhan]

Yes, you're missing something about the Kindle...

Edit: Ah XKCD. A picture for every discussion.

Not really. I mean that's why we have 3G phones, iphones, ipod touch, Laptops and all sorts of gadgets that have wireless access. Does it have to be in a book as well?.

If that was the case then someone would have to build a book, that can connect to the internet and accept and transmit calls, send and receive emails. It's just unnecessary. If you want the internet on the move, use the phone, thats what the W@P was created for or better yet a laptop.

 

[Puzzles]

Books here are like 25-40 dollars in my experience, which isn't that cheap.

I'm considering getting a kindle, because in the long run e-books come out a lot cheaper.

I do hate reading off a screen though, and paper feels good in my hands.

 

[Spaghetti]

The real thing. Every.Single.Time. Half the experience of reading a book is being able to turn the page and have something substancial in your hands. I can't ever see myself buying a Kindle or an e-book. And if anyone buys me a Kindle, I'm getting a re-fund to buy some real books.

Plus, books don't need batteries.

Also, and I don't know why, but I was recently on a plane, reading my Teddy Roosevelt biography, and the guy sitting next to me was reading his Kindle. In my mind, I imagined that I was the better man. I have no idea why

 

[Chronarch]

Real books for the win.

 

[Nemu]

If I had a choice and infinite room, I'd always choose books over an e-reader. Books have a nice smell, they're fun to buy, fun to hold, like a security blanket of sorts.

However, e-readers are infinitely more portable, and smaller than a library, so for folks who travel a lot or like to just read at work/in the park/wherever, they're a lot more practical and easier to lug around.

Personally, I've put off buying a Kindle for the past couple of years, I used to give a friend of mine a heck of a time for reading books on his Palm Pilot (obviously, this was years ago), but since I travel a lot more now, I see why it's easier.

 

[Slayer_2]

Wow, I personally hate E-books. One of the perks of reading a real book is that I can do it in bed. Also, I think that reading is a little easier on the eyes then a bright, glowing monitor. But now you can get an E-book "reader" and it costs 250 bucks?!? That's half of what my gaming PC cost.

 

[DeadlyYellow]

Hey wait, wasn't there some complaining a while back on the sudden expiration of ebook licenses?

Gimme the real book any day. Black text on white background projected through a screen gives me a splitting headache.

 

[Carlston]

E-book. If I was in the navy, would be nice to have 20 books to read in my small Submarine rack.

I got camping real book...camping means no electricity to me unless it's a fracking flash light.

 

[phoenixbeast]

Personally, I love real, physical books a lot more...Probably biased due to being a librarian's son and practically growing up there...But nothing beats finding a good book one day then sitting down and reading it...Having it suck away your entire free time until your done...The absolute childish joy of reading under the covers with a flashlight (A lot easier if you have a bedroom on another story as I now know)...

And the smell of a new book...I know this is weird but the first thing I do is open the book to the middle and inhale...My goodness I love that smell...

 

[the1ultimate]

Yes, you're missing something about the Kindle...

Edit: Ah XKCD. A picture for every discussion.

Not really. I mean that's why we have 3G phones, iphones, ipod touch, Laptops and all sorts of gadgets that have wireless access. Does it have to be in a book as well?.

If that was the case then someone would have to build a book, that can connect to the internet and accept and transmit calls, send and receive emails. It's just unnecessary. If you want the internet on the move, use the phone, thats what the W@P was created for or better yet a laptop.

I think you may have missed the point of the comic. Amazon pays for wireless access.

OMT(on my topic): I'm not going to buy a kindle because you have to get all your ebooks from Amazon and pay them, even for the ones you already own, however I can see the appeal of having one.

The beauty of the kindle for me, would be being able to hold the entire contents of my library in the palm of my hand. The kindle uses very little power as the screen will hold an image until it is changed, and I hear the screen resembles real printed text, which makes it look more natural.

The kindle is way easier that lugging around a heap of books ( and eco-friendly ), but not being able to transfer ebooks directly from your computer is the reason why I won't buy one.

 

[Phyroxis]

So far its been 'real books' (though what sets printed word apart from graphically-displayed-word in being more 'real' confuses me..) as they're the only method of delivery for my course material.

Casual reading? Lol.. I wish I had time.

 

[Pimppeter2]

I prefer real books myself

 

[Jark212]

Books here are like 25-40 dollars in my experience, which isn't that cheap.

I'm considering getting a kindle, because in the long run e-books come out a lot cheaper.

I do hate reading off a screen though, and paper feels good in my hands.

Where the hell are you from?? $20 at most...

 

[FluffyNeurosis]

Real books... for now. The kindle doesn't have enough of a book selection for me, I cant find what I want to read

 

[Puzzles]

Where the hell are you from?? $20 at most...

Australia, I guess for when our currency wasn't great... but it's been pretty much the same as USD for a while, so it's very expensive.

The last book I bought was 24.95, a paperback Steven Erikson book. My girlfriend just bought one for 35 dollars a few days ago, also paperback.