Cutline Speaks

Can I borrow your, um, e-book?

posted by Megan on December 20, 2007

If you follow technology news in the slightest, you’ve surely seen the launch of Amazon’s new Kindle. It’s been hard to miss. Fortunately for Amazon, the announcement, so far, has been going their way. The initial feedback has been generally positive (minus the recent Mossberg review), when it could have very easily t­urned south from the beginning. Book digitization is still an open question.

I’d argue that most consumers are like me – not quite ready to turn in our paperbacks. But I don’t doubt for a second that these devices, and all book-related technologies, will be hugely important and useful. We just have to find the right applications – like students who are breaking their backs (and hurting natural resources) with pounds of books, or researchers who need faster access to more specific information, or millions of readers in countries all over the world who have no access to libraries or universities.

That last one seems to me the greatest promise of all for Kindle. Combinin­g an e-book reader with a high speed Internet connection has incredible potential for education all over the world. Not for $399, of course, but you get the idea.

In the meantime, I’ll stick to my paperback.

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