Last week, I got to do one of my most favorite things – play with new tech. I don’t get to this very often – most new e-toys are far beyond my price range. Fortunately, the public library I work at has been able to purchase good sampling over the past few years. Among them is a Nintendo Wii, an Amazon Kindle and an iPod Touch. I was lucky enough to be the person assigned to setting up the iPod Touch, and since I quickly became addicted, I’m already pretty familiar with it. I also visited my local Best Buy (there aren’t a lot of high-end electronic stores in Dubuque) and played with a few of their HD camcorders (the Canon VIXIA and Sony HDR) and their PSPgo. I wasn’t able to fully use the gadgets at Best Buy – they seemed to be set on a limited “demo” mode. I did have fun making my Mii on the Wii, but I have terrible hand-eye coordination so my gaming experience was mixed. The best gadget (and the most unique) was the Kindle.
The Amazon Kindle 1 http://www.flickr.com/photos/jblyberg CC BY 2.0
The library purchased the Kindle 6-7 months ago, so the one in this review is the first generation model with 250 MB. According to the specifications on Amazon.com, this model can hold about 200 titles. The initial cost was $300 (currently, a remanufactured Kindle 1 sells for $150 on Amazon.com) and it came with a cover, charger and a (currently missing) USB cord.
Before turning it on, my initial impression was that it was very light for its size (7.5″ x 5.3″ x 0.7″ overall with a 6-inch screen.) I have small hands, so perhaps it seemed bigger than it would for someone else. I took it out of the cover and saw that the battery was removable – a very nice feature after worrying about the iPod Touch’s non-replaceable battery.
After turning it on – it took a few seconds to boot-up, a little longer than the Touch, but not as long as my Dell netbook (thank goodness) - I was really blown away by the resolution of the text display. I had read about the “patented E-Ink technology” the Kindle uses, but I had been skeptical. But really, the display was incredible. I tilted the screen every which way under the fluorescent lights and later at home near a table lamp and outside in the sun, but I did not have any problems with glare or fading. The Kindle also automatically found and connected to a wireless Internet connection – not having to log on to anything was very convenient.
I had been cautioned that the Kindle had been initially set-up with the library’s credit card, so I shouldn’t download any titles. Fortunately, there were a few e-books already loaded, and I flipped through them using the page forward and page back buttons on the left side of the device and the larger page forward button on the right. After only a few pages, I was able to navigate through the books easily. There was one newspaper downloaded onto the device – The New York Times – and it displayed well, too, even though there was a bit more navigation involved. I briefly listened to an audio that book that had been downloaded, and the sound (through headphones) was comparable to any other portable device I’ve used before. I also tried the very rudimentary web browser, which didn’t work very well. But trying it let me use the “keyboard” on the device. Even with my tiny fingers and the QWERTY layout, I still had to peck at the keys with my index finger. Maybe with time and practice, I would be able to type more efficiently.
This may seem odd, but most intriguing aspect (aside from the display) on the Kindle was the silver display bar that ran the length of the device next to the display screen. When it was processing a command, the bar would pulse up and down. I could not for the life of me figure out how it worked. It wasn’t an LCD display and it almost looked like quicksilver. It didn’t have much of anything to do with the device performance, but it was pretty dang cool.
Overall, I was really impressed by the Kindle 1. The screen size was small-ish, but it was certainly better than trying to read a book on an iPod. After 10-15 minutes of reading, I got used to it and didn’t even notice the size. I wish that I could have tested the download speed, but I was able to browse the Kindle Store easily. Even better, the Kindle picked up a signal where ever I took it – quite a feat in Dubuque, where the geography limits cellular and wireless signals!
Later, when I grudgingly gave the Kindle back to the library director (Susan Hendricks), I asked if we were planning on buying more and lending them out to patrons. Susan hesitated, and said that that was the hope, but there were quite a few barriers to overcome before we could, in line which what I had expected. To sum up the main three issues:
- First – and probably the biggest issue – is the price of the Kindle. As of this post, the Kindle 2 sells for $260. The Kindle DX, which features a larger screen, is $480. As I mentioned earlier, a used Kindle 1 can be had for $150, which places it more in range with what our library could afford on a larger scale. Still, even $150 is a lot for a device that can be taken from the library. Last year, our library purchased 20 1GB MP3 players to lend out to patrons. After 4 months, 9 were never returned, 4 had been physically damaged beyond usability (including one that had been sprayed by a skunk – really) and 3 suffered some kind firmware damage that rendered them unusable. Perhaps the damaged ones would have lasted longer had we purchased more expensive models (we went with the $30 Zen Stones.) Still, we lost about $270 from theft alone. The experience has made me very hesitant when considering lending out such an expensive devices as a Kindle. Aside from the risk of never seeing them again, accidents happen, and I certainly wouldn’t want a well-meaning patron to suddenly be holding a $300+ bill because she accidentally dropped it in a puddle or her 2 -year-old got a hold of it.
- In addition to the cost of the device, there is the cost of the accessories. The Kindles do come with the essential accessories, however, if I was planning on lending one out, I would want a higher-grade cover ($30-40), screen protector ($10) and a replacement battery ($20), A/C adapter ($15) and USB cord ($10.) I would also factor in the staff time and materials need to ready the Kindles for circulation – adding to the catalog, applying security strips or RFID tags, etc. The aforementioned prices are based on current price on Amazon.com. I would probably budget an extra $80-100 per device for accessories & replacements.
- The Kindle comes with a 1-year limited warranty against manufacturer defects. An additional 2-year warranty (which I would absolutely buy) costs $65, which includes defects and damage.
- Probably most importantly, there is the price of the actual eBooks. As of this posting, new releases in the Kindle format cost $9.99 per title. Newspaper subscriptions are $6-15 for a year and magazines around $2/issue. This consideration also leads to the next major issue – who pays for the content?
- Copyright – Since the Kindle was released, there has been an extensive – and confusing – debate over whether or not libraries have the right to lend out Kindles pre-loaded with content. Publishers have objected to this, even though it essentially boils down to what libraries already do with print books. Library Journal has followed the debate and their April 2009 issue published a good summary here: “Mixed Answers to “Is It OK for a Library To Lend a Kindle?”
- The resolution of the legal issue would (hypothetically) determine who would pay for the content downloaded onto the device. The price for the eBooks are within the same range that my library pays for print materials, so the price would not be unreasonable. It would have to be decided how many books would be pre-loaded and if patrons would be able to purchase and download additional titles (and how to charge them.) These variables make it difficult to estimate the cost for content. If it was decided to load 5 titles per device, per month, content would cost around $600 per device, per year.
- Technical support – This became an important issue during our MP3 player experiment. None of the staff had experience with the model we bought, so we had to learn on the fly. Since it was a library device, patrons were not happy to troubleshoot by themselves (understandably so.) A clear policy would have to be set forth and subsequent training would have to be carried out. While this may not be an out-of-pocket expense, the time and effort involved could be considerable.
I love the Kindle, and if I had the money, I would buy one for myself. Essentially, my library is in the same situation. Of course, I do not have the legal considerations a library would have. Aside from that, purchasing the one Kindle we have for staff use was a considerable investment and buying more for public use is, right now, just not feasible. It’s possible that, as eReaders become more more popular and the price drops they would be a sound investment. I do however, think is wise for libraries to stay current with this technology. If my experience is common, demand will increase!