I have already expressed my frustration with the impact of the used book business on those of use who don’t want to spend five years of our lives writing books “for free” elsewhere in this blog. Because the used book people do not pay the publisher or author when they resell, students buying a new edition of a textbook are essentially subsidizing the book’s production costs for the benefit of students enrolling in subsequent terms. As far as I can tell, this cycle will not be fixed unless people are willing to move away from paper books into one-user electronic media. My biggest objection to this approach is that I’m an old-fashioned (and I suppose somewhat old in general) lady who likes to curl up in her rocking chair with a cup of Earl Grey tea, a fire in the fireplace, and a really good book.
Amazon is trying to market their new electronic book, Kindle, to meet this need. According to the Amazon website, Kindle weighs less than a standard paperback and its screen resolution is especially designed to simulate paper. Its fast wireless connection does not require hotspots, and can deliver a purchased book in less than a minute. At $399, it’s not cheap, but neither are textbooks. Right now, Amazon reports that it is out of stock, due to the popularity of the product.
Not too surprisingly, the negative reviewers are all whining about having to pay for content. Here’s a sample:
“The media industry scores another victory against consumers with this device. When you buy a book, you own it. You can read, loan it, sell it, etc. With this device, if you try to transfer the “book” to someone else you are in violation of Federal Law and like thousands of children who were sued for violating the Millenium Digital Rights Act, you could be liable for millions of dollars for violating Amazon’s super restrictive user license.”
Okay, the big bad media industry strikes again by making it a tad harder to make a profit off somebody else’s work, normally known as “piracy.” I think I’ll save my tears for starving children, okay?
So…will this catch on? If it does, the cost of a textbook to an individual student will just plummet, as the publishers’ costs can be spread out over all users, instead of just the poor students who happen to take a course the first term a new edition is available. Everybody wins, except the used book companies and campus bookstores.
I might actually put this one on my Christmas list, as long as they offer Harry Potter. But what’s with the name–Kindle? As in ignite? I surely don’t want my “book” to ignite in my lap. “Ignite” the imagination perhaps? I think I’ll leave the marketing/PR angle to Mr. F and Karen this time.
7 Comments
R.Nickles · November 25, 2007 at 7:47 pm
This is so interesting! I’m glad people are coming up with different approaches to decreasing the cost of textbooks, especially when the price of each electronic ‘book’ is so cheap after the inital cost of the Kindle. However, supposing students do puchase textbooks to read on the Kindle… are highlighting and underlining alternatives provided? I find that these become oh-so-necessary, especially in a literature class. And even leaving a handy Post-it on the edge of a page to remind you to go back there in the future is something I find very useful. It sounds like a wonderful piece of technology, but I have to say that scrolling down a page on the Kindle doesn’t hold a ‘flame’ to snuggling up with my favorite book!
cat tran · November 25, 2007 at 9:18 pm
I definitely have mixed feelings about this one. I went to the amazon website and watched the video on it, and it seems like something I could go for. I like that you have access to any book, newspaper, or magazine you want, which makes it easy especially when traveling…who wants to carry around 10 heavy hardback books?
However, there’s still something about physically turning a page in a book, and being able to see how much of the book I have left to read..and being able to see that book on my shelf…all things that I would miss.
I would see it useful for books that I would only read once, such as textbooks for class, but I’m wondering if it would be practical to use when studying and such…however it did say that the kindle can highlight passages and allow you to type ‘notes’…but is that the same? I wonder if the Kindle provides pictures and highlighting in color? and do we own the ‘book’ forever after we purchase it? is there a memory capacity?
I think I’ll wait for time to pass and for improvements to be made before I jump in
SaraViggianelli · November 25, 2007 at 9:24 pm
I think that this will definately catch on, but it doesn’t really seem practical for in class use. Can you make the necessary notes and highlights in this device? I remember things by writing notes and highlighting. I also like to flip back and forth and compare things on different pages of text books and I don’t think that Kindle will allow me to do this. I also find it really difficult to read things off of a computer screen. Plus I don’t think I would want to carry around a $400 electronic book. You also have to worry about batteries, dropping it, and getting it wet when it rains. I think that I will just stick to the traditional text book for now. As a Liberal Studies major it will be interesting to see how this will affect my classroom when I am a teacher if this does catch on.
Laura Freberg · November 26, 2007 at 2:39 pm
I appreciate your insights. I do not think Kindle provides underline or notation features, which I agree, are essential for student use. Online e-books do have these and other amazing capabilities, but lack Kindle’s portability, of course. If the technologies can be combined….then we have something.
Another regret is the loss of a “beginner’s library” that keeping one’s textbooks provides. A house without books is sad to me. I do occasionally refer to my old books (much more helpful in math and stats than today’s verisons). I guess we have to give up some things to get new, better things.
nichol.myers · November 28, 2007 at 12:07 pm
I agree that the name Kindle does suggest book-burning, especially since the device is designed to eliminate the need for tradtional textbooks. My concern is that this will become a Napster of sorts, someone will inevitably get sued and the students will end up paying the price for it by having to pay a fee they originally have expected to pay because someone forgot to seal up all the loopholes.
How much would it cost per book to download, by the way? I am aware that the internet cannot (and probably never will be) governed like the personal/intellectual property of an actual physical being in an actual physical city, since all the “property” is just a series of zero’s and one’s and the “owner” is usually a corporation but it’s hard to determine where to actually call their home. This makes it difficult to set concrete rules on any type of product that originates as electronic media.
I’m for it if it makes textbooks cheaper. As anyone can imagine, a starving college student will look for any way to save money.
fishngman · December 2, 2007 at 7:32 pm
I’m all for the rights of the copyright holder and the right to be compensated for their work. I’m not for mandated electronic enforcement which precludes legal uses that I’m entitled too as a purchaser of a copyrighted work. Think backup copy or selling my copy to a friend. To see how far our current copyright law has drifted from the original see Free Culture by Larry Lessig available for free online under copyright with a creative commons license. Hey originally patents and copyright had the same length. Why do authors deserve a longer monopoly that engineers?
Laura’s Psychology Blog » More on the “Kindle” name…. · November 26, 2007 at 3:40 pm
[…] In a previous post, I asked a rhetorical question about the choice of “Kindle” as a name for the new Amazon electronic reader. I don’t pretend to know anything about marketing, but fortunately, others do. I got a nice note from Collin Gebhard, whose job it is to evaluate product naming. […]
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