We've all heard about Amazon's Kindle. They are currently shipping the 2nd generation model that's slimmer, lighter, has more memory and a larger screen. The 3rd gen Kindle is already in pre-production and looks to improve yet again upon the original.
The Kindle isn't alone on the market either. There are a few competitors on the market and it appears more on the horizon. Sony already has their PRS700 and Cybook is coming out with their own 3rd gen Opus. Both use "E-ink" displays for extended reading without the eye strain of digital mediums. Of course, every SmartPhone has some kind of "e-book" reader application though none of them are as easy to use, navigate or read.
I'm not going to discuss the differences or pros / cons of each. What intrigues me more is how important these devices are to the evolution of information distribution...i.e. printed medium.
We, as an internet connected, always on society need a digital information distribution system to work and work well. In order for it to work well it has to satisfactorily suit the majority of printed material needs. This includes not only news and periodicals but also text books, manuals, business cards, credit cards and a whole host of information that we all carry and take for granted on a daily basis.
The Kindle (and it's brethren) are step one. The great thing about the Kindle is Amazon is paving the necessary infrastructure for digital delivery and usage, albeit in the commercial world. We need the public and private sectors to take the baton and go the next lap. This means college, school and business campuses need to adopt the same technology and infrastructure. This not only eases the burden of text book heft and cost but also aligns them to deliver notes, study guides, memos (all the myriad print items created and distributed on campuses and in classes) and emergency alerts. Think how fast a college campus could deliver news alerts about a campus safety incident if all students and staff members carried an always-on, wireless connected information device.
The second step will involve the smaller items we carry and count on every day. Driver's licenses, credit/debit cards, library cards, coupons, airline boarding passes and more. We need a smaller version of the Kindle to replace all the items that represent our personal information. A "digital wallet" so to speak. The technology is available, it just needs refined. The use of OLED screens (small, light, flexible digital displays) will greatly help.
So many newspapers are going out of business. Partly do the economy bust but greatly in part to the shifting of information to a digital medium. People, businesses and educators are realizing that printed material is heavier, more costly, more harmful to the environment and more difficult to share. We must go digital but without sacrificing the quality, variety and availability of information. Furthermore we must protect integrity and propriety, which can all be handled with ease in the digital medium.
What are your thoughts?
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