The new Kindle 2.0 device from Amazon is a welcomed but small step forward for ebooks. Some of use were perhaps hoping for a larger leap forward (many very promising prototypes have made the rounds lately). But it looks like for now we will have to settle for nominal but welcomed tweaks.
The primary tweaks seem to include:
1. A much thinner profile and improved button placement/UI.
2. A sharper screen, more capable screen.
3. Better battery life.
4. It will apparently read text to you.
The Kindle is still the best electronic reading product out there. That’s because it is more than just a gadget. It’s a full product including a sophisticated and well designed device, as well as full service behind that really completes the experience. Remember that an eBook reader without easily downloadable books from a substantial library is near useless to most people.
Hard to say if its time to consider this a ideal time to jump into eBooks or not. If you are willing to setting for a fairly mature service but a still early and less than stellar hardware, join the early adopters. If you are a heavy reader and don’t mind paying amazon for your books, I’d highly advise this as a route to carry more with you everywhere you go.
It may not be long though before we start to see far more capable devices that have larger screens, multi-touch screens (lets get rid of the damned keyboard – this is for reading) and perhaps even color or video. There is currently available technology that allows for color and video so its all about mass production now. This is an exciting time where electronic paper is finally becoming a reality. I still want to see the large flexible paper like epaper that replaces the look and feel of a real newspaper but is delivered electronically onto a single, large, foldable sheet. Give me color, video, and interactive features and we’ll have entered the ‘future.’
NotForPaper is devoted to seeking out and respecting the best in digital design, while also creating an open forum for discussing trends and topics moving a very exciting design specialty into the future. Read More
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Interaction Designer at Odopod.
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