Kindle unboxing
Well, this won’t get me a job at Engadget but here goes, my Amazon Kindle just showed up and I took video of the unboxing. It’s a lot smaller and lighter than I remembered (I saw a prototype more than six months ago) and it’s cute! I gotta put it next to an iPhone next.
I’ve only had it open about 10 minutes so far and one thing I notice I don’t like is the flashing as you turn pages. I’ll do a video of that so you can see what I mean.
The text, though, is a LOT nicer to read than on my laptop screen. At least in my upstairs office where things are nice and bright.
I’m going to go down to the Ritz and take some videos to show you why this is a lot better than a laptop or cell phone screen for reading text, though. Be back in a little while.
I’m having dinner with Mike Arrington of TechCrunch. It’ll be interesting to see what he thinks of his.
UPDATE: one nice thing is it comes personalized to your Amazon account so you can instantly buy a book and start using it without putting in any personal information. That’s wicked cool.
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November 20th, 2007 at 5:27 pm
I believe the flashing is an unfortunate E-Ink limitation. To my knowledge all other ebook readers that use the technology have it.
November 20th, 2007 at 5:35 pm
The packaging is very Apple-esque in someways but the box looked very large for something that is actually so small. Apple have amazingly small boxes for the volume of their products. They pack stuff in damn tight.
November 20th, 2007 at 5:46 pm
Or maybe they aren’t enraptured by….
Aw hell, forget about it. This small corner of the universe simple doesn’t get it.
November 20th, 2007 at 6:01 pm
Did you buy a Kindle or is Amazon doing a little PR?
November 20th, 2007 at 6:10 pm
Hans: I spent my own money on mine. Everyone who went to the press conference got one for free. But not me. I turned down the press conference invite.
November 20th, 2007 at 6:26 pm
We don’t have our demo unit yet, but I’ve been saying since the embargo broke that they aren’t that bad at all. The FCC / Newsweek image doesn’t represent the actual product.
It’s not perfect, but it’s a huge, huge step in the right direction. We’ll see if it takes hold, but I’m sure Amazon’s committed to this, and they’ve done a LOT right with this device.
November 20th, 2007 at 6:29 pm
Yeah - I saw this on the Sony eReader as well - its actually quite annoying, the whole flashing thing, but I think it is a caveat of the technology.
November 20th, 2007 at 6:34 pm
Scoble is applying for a job opportunity at Amazon for “evangelist”
This is one of the reasons he’s promoting Kindle
Valleywag should have the scoop in a few days.
November 20th, 2007 at 6:37 pm
Amazon: nice try. Not true, but nice try!
November 20th, 2007 at 7:13 pm
“Apple have amazingly small boxes for the volume of their products. They pack stuff in damn tight.”
It wasn’t always so. Look at the box for the original iPod - I still have my 2nd gen iPod box - it’s a cube of largely fresh air.
Judging on comments made by Jobs when they reduced the packaging, I think basically it means they pay less to have them shipped from China to USA/Europe, as they are charged by volume for shipping (at least to a certain extent).
November 20th, 2007 at 7:47 pm
The 505 greatly reduces the flickering and ghost images, due to E Ink’s faster refresh time and better whites, a VERY dramatic difference over the 500. And the iRex (2.11) has long since nixed the ghosts. Obviously, the Kindle is a pre-1.0 product, as such is already a generation behind. Add in the lack of .pdf and .epub support, with major publishers shying, and the Amazon money drips, it’s near DOA, outside of the giveaways and hype push. The flicker and flash has been mostly nullified, if you get the 2nd versions of Reader and iRex, but back to square one, if you bought into the Amazon hype. Best of luck.
PS - Amazon is not me (check the ip’s), I know what you are thinking. I don’t talk to Denton daily, nor do I care where you eventually decide to shrill.
November 20th, 2007 at 8:47 pm
Good grief, man, do you not know what a tripod is? My junior high daughter shoots better videos than this….
That said, I’ll be interested in your impressions of it, especially if it can be held and operated one handed.
November 20th, 2007 at 9:32 pm
Robert: I threw up my review of the Kindle a little while ago: http://blogs.smugmug.com/don/2007/11/20/kindle-review/
(Sorry again for not giving you referral credit at Amazon, but I had to jump on it fast :)
November 20th, 2007 at 10:26 pm
Wow! I am surprised to see its as big as the palm of a hand. It sure looked a lot bigger in photos on the web.
November 20th, 2007 at 11:46 pm
Tim: what part of “I did this with a cell phone” do you not understand? :-)
November 21st, 2007 at 1:44 am
So in a few years this is what our kids will have a school. My kids will for sure :)
November 21st, 2007 at 12:13 pm
I am still reading off of my palm pilot, where there is no flashing from page-to-page. I’ve been reading ebooks for almost five years now and am curious how the Kindle would improve upon my palm - especially since I find it handy to have my reading materials in the object I carry everywhere with my schedule and contacts…
November 21st, 2007 at 5:33 pm
Kindle: First Impressions
The Amazon Kindle is not the ultimate eBook reader, but it is a giant step in the right direction. After using one heavily over the last 24 hours, I have found much that I like, things I don’t like, and a clearer vision for what the next eBook device…
November 23rd, 2007 at 7:11 pm
[...] Scoble’s review, “Kindle unboxing,” in the November 20, 2007 issue of his “Scobleizer” blog, is not so much a [...]
May 16th, 2008 at 9:20 am
[...] the joy and enthusiasm of many early adopters. Robert Scoble, the poster child for early adopters, gleefully got his Kindle on the first day and wrote about how beautiful it was and how it brought him great pleasure. One week later, he [...]