The Amazon Kindle Basic Web Wireless Service: Why It Is a Revolutionary Feature, and Why Amazon Should Keep It Free or Cheap (Kindle Edition)

by Stephen Windwalker (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
This article is excerpted by Stephen Windwalker's book, The Amazing Amazon Kindle (Harvard Perspectives Press, December 2007). Windwalker is author of Selling Used Books Online: The Complete Guide to Bookselling at Amazon's Marketplace and Other Online Sites and creator of the Big Man Getting Smaller blog at http://bigmangettingsmaller.blogspot.com. Approximately 1700 words. PLEASE NOTE: THIS CONTENT IS ALSO INCLUDED, along with much, much more IN How to Use the Amazon Kindle for Email & Other Cool Tricks: Read and Answer Email Anywhere, Anytime on the Amazing Amazon Kindle - http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0011XW1E8/ebest

Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 215 KB
• Publisher: Harvard Perspectives Press (indieKindle.blogspot.com) (November 24, 2007)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0010B0C9C
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #79,324 in Kindle Store (See Bestsellers in Kindle Store)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #12 in	Kindle Store > Kindle Books > Lifestyle & Home > Home & Garden > Antiques & Collectibles > Books
  #54 in	Kindle Store > Kindle Books > Reference > Consumer Guides
  #85 in	Kindle Store > Kindle Books > Computers & Internet > Web Marketing

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Let the Market Decide, March 26, 2008

By	Vincent P. Domeraski "vdomeras" (Hammondsport, NY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Kindle is an experiment and those who want to participate in it pay a substantial upfront charge. Anyone who thinks it's too expensive, too constricting or too risky can wait on the sidelines and see. What bothers me is that so many people are evaluating this product using either the paper book, or their own wish list of features as a standard. I personally prefer to read books on my Kindle rather than on a computer or on paper.

I have accumulated literally a ton of books in my lifetime and have no desire to add any more to my collection, unless it's what I consider a collectible, in which case I'll buy it in paper. Incidentally, I have reached the same conclusion about my music collection. The iPod is just what I need, so I use it. I don't begrudge Apple or Amazon the fees or restrictions, because they offer a quality product and service for the price.

I have a laptop that I use to access to video clips, play DVDs, read blogs, news, search via Google and use email. I don't see any advantage to using a Kindle for any that. Adding a fraction of an ounce or a penny of cost to the Kindle in order to add any of those features would disappoint me.

Amazon obviously put a lot of though and research into this venture and I hope that it works out for them and for us. If they have to make adjustments as time goes on so be it. Like Apple, they provide an excellent product at an initially high price. In Kindle's case I estimate that I'll get my money's worth over about a two-year period. Users' mileage will vary. Similarly, my five year old PowerBook G4 doesn't owe me a penny. And Amazon, it seems to me, is closer to the ideal of excellent service and support for a reasonable cost than Apple. Let's hope it stays that way.

Finally, anyone who feels that people should be able to drop their computer's internet access because they own a Kindle are to me a little off base. It's for reading text. Increasing the list of Kindle books, working out a solution to the PDF problem and the next page button are what interest me most.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ingenious device, March 13, 2008

By	reader "ada" (whiting, nj USA) - See all my reviews

i held off buying a kindle because it seemed like a lot of money to read a book {how wrong i was}. after reading the initial revues i found that it was a lot more than that. ive had it now for a couple of months and i dont know how i ever did without it. there are a couple of changes i would like to see. larger area to hold it without changing the page, a much better book cover with stlyus and key stroke chart. i have problems with the internet but not downloading which is amazing, for some reason it takes my user name and password but goes no further {i.e. banks and brokerage acct's}. i cant wait for the improved model and will buy it without hesitation especially if you improve the internet and make it easier to hold. the kindle will revolutionize the world for people like me that love to read and resarch.

5.0 out of 5 stars Nice job, March 12, 2008

By	Rena D "Rena D" (The Boros, Massachusetts) - See all my reviews

Helpful article, that gets down into the real economics of the wireless feature. I definitely agree that Amazon should not start charging heavily for this tool.