Amazon Releasing a New Kindle, but Nobody has the Old Kindle

So Amazon is poised to release a new version of it's ebook reader, the Kindle. According to ZDnet, it will be called the Kindle 2.0, and the Wall Street Journal reports that Stephen King will be releasing an exclusive novel available only to Kindle owners. An exclusive book is a weak consolation gift for a device that costs nearly $400. The problem with the Kindle is that nobody cares about the Kindle. Why? Well, for starters, the name is lame. What fire are we supposed to start with this ugly, clunky, and overpriced gadget? Second problem is the size. Has Jeff Bezos seen the adds for the iPhone with the book reader app? The iPhone is far smaller and has the capability of a mini-computer. The Kindle? Well...take a look:

It looks like something that came from the 1980's. Maybe this clunker can finally allow E.T. to phone home. So we get it you say, it's big, ugly and poorly named. But wait until you hear the price. It originally retailed for $399, and it was later reduced to $359. Used ones start at $240 on Amazon's site. If the 2.0 is priced similarly, why should one shell out the same amount of money that could be used to purchase a laptop? The book savings are not really all that great either. The average book for the Kindle is still about $10. Not exactly a pittance for a book.

I just read Jeff Jarvis' "What Would Google Do?", and I think that Amazon could learn a lot from this book (I read it for free actually, while sipping a coffee at Borders). Books need to be distributed in a low cost or free model if readers are going to flock to these ereaders. Until then, people will continue to give you odd looks when you ask them if they know what a Kindle is.

But I have to admit, this video is compelling: