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? May 2009 | Main | Mr. Play It Safe was afraid to fly ?

May 07, 2009

9.7" DX

I have hundreds of books in txt form that I am most likely never going to get round to reading at the computer. Maybe, just maybe, it is time to think about an e-book reader... I cannot endorse the product as I find the concept an abomination but I confess I am tempted by the new, larger format Kindle DX.

Horrifying:

The most startling thing Jeff Bezos said today at Amazon’s launch of the Kindle DX, it’s large-format Kindle optimized for textbooks and newspapers, was this statistic: For books that are available on the Kindle, sales are already 35 percent of the same books in print, up from 13 percent just a few months ago. In other words, if a paper book sells 10,000 copies on Amazon, it will sell an additional 3,500 digital copies on the Kindle. Let me repeat that, digital books via the Kindle are selling at 35 percent the level of physical books 18 months after launch.

So much for civilization; try stashing this lot in an Irish monastery through the coming Dark Age. The auto-rotating screen feature would probably get right up my nose too.

By contrast: While I have yet to read it, I am sufficiently convinced of its currency, relevance, authority, accuracy and purpose to endorse Hairy Pothead & the Marijuana Stone.

Posted by Ghost of a flea at May 7, 2009 06:44 AM