Stupid for Buying Kindle???

[koolmnbv]

I notice alot of people when out and about in public they always get asked by bystanders or family members "what is that thing" or "can i demo it" etc. Alot of people on here usually have a very good outcome and walk away thinking they might have helped amazon sell yet another Kindle.

But my question is does anyone have a very negative story or experience. Like after someone (or even a family member/friend) got to see it,play with it,demo it or learned what it was they still say "thats a stupid idea, why not just buy a book"? Or "oh what a waste of money", "i'd never use that" etc etc

I know most people have very positive experiences after they let someone new see it for a 1st time but Im curious how many of us have run into people that just dont get the kindle concept/idea.

edit: Also what do you say back to people or friends that think you are stupid/crazy/wasting money etc. when they say their point of view about the kindle?

[libros_lego]

Yeah, someone I know kept telling me to just buy the ipod touch since they have the kindle app for it. I just don't bother explaining that I read a lot and that would drain the battery, the screen is too small, etc. I guess people who don't read a lot don't get it? But you know, to each his own. For me, I  love my kindle. 

[ak rain]

I have people say it just would not work for them.
sylvia

[MeganW]

Everyone I've shown my Kindle to (and I've shown it to at least 25 people) is fascinated by it and thinks it's the coolest thing ever (next to their iPhones, anyway).  I haven't heard anything negative, but maybe I'm just traveling in the right circles. 

[Susan in VA]

I have to confess that if I had seen a Kindle six months ago, and someone had shown me how it works, I would have thought it was a nice little gadget but hardly a *necessity*...  I would have said that I like books just fine, that I have no problems with their font size or weight or allergens, and that can just as easily stuff a paperback into my purse every day...  I would have said that I rather like the cozy look of bookshelves, and don't plan to replace my books...  that I have at least two major bookstores within five miles of my house, and of course Amazon...  and that I just didn't see the point...

...  and, not knowing anything about Kindles, I would have said that I can't read for hours on a computer screen without eye strain, that I dislike the way my laptop heats up and wouldn't want to be holding onto something like that for hours, that I dislike the little barely-there buzz or vibration or whatever it is that most electronics give off, and that I just couldn't imagine comfortably reading in bed with a teacup, a cat, and a technological device.

So I would have been one of those non-success stories, and those would have been my reasons.  

Of course, then I got a Kindle.  <searching for smiley with scales falling from its eyes>  


(And then I didn't see the point of skins, etc. ....  that lasted about two days here!    )

[kindle zen]

i guess the worst reaction i got was from a college teacher who asked what that thing was i was holding (kindle).  i told him it was an electronic reader and he went "hmm"  and walked off without so much a second glance or comment.  that kind of surprised me coming from a teacher.  thus far everyone else was much more fascinated and interested in the kindle or at least pretended to be.  one has actually bought one after seeing mine.  so far nobody has made an outright negative comment.

i'll admit the very first reaction i had upon seeing the original kindles debut on the amazon site was "$400.00 for a electronic book? you got to be kidding amazon".  took me about 6 months to give one a try and have no regrets whatsoever.

kz

[CegAbq]

Also what do you say back to people or friends that think you are stupid/crazy/wasting money etc. when they say their point of view about the kindle?

I would probably say something like - well as my friends would say, I am just an over-the-top gadget-loving person who finds wonderful ways to make this geekiness work for me.

[Susan in VA]

I would probably say something like - well as my friends would say, I am just an over-the-top gadget-loving person who finds wonderful ways to make this geekiness work for me.

But that's just it, the Kindle sells itself to "over-the-top gadget-loving" people.  It's us non-gadget people that need the extra push!

[koolmnbv]

But that's just it, the Kindle sells itself to "over-the-top gadget-loving" people.  It's us non-gadget people that need the extra push!

exactly! Of course its easy to tell and introduce people that are already mildly interested or a "gadget/tech type" person. Its the others that always and only have negative things to counteract my positive thing that I am curious about.

[JetJammer]

I'd say probably 90% of the people who expressed real curiosity about my Kindle were positive (many to the point of buying one themselves), but there are the occasional naysayers.  I've heard a few "sounds like an expensive paperweight to me" or "why would you need that, what's wrong with books?" comments.  My personal favorite was "you young people and your d*mn gadgets" (I'm 45, the person who made the comment couldn't have been much more than 50!).

[jimbellow]

Kindle is pretty amazing!

[Leslie]

The few people I have gotten quasi-negative reactions from have said things like, "Oh, that looks cool, but I really like reading books--I like holding them, the feel, the smell..." blah, blah, blah. Okay, fine. Whatever. Smell away, I like reading.

I was talking to a nurse at the Free Clinic last night. She is getting ready to head off on a 3 week trip with her husband. One week will be in Florida at a condo they own. Then they head off to San Diego and Hawaii for back-to-back conferences for her husband (he's a doctor). She commented that she'll be spending lots of time flying, plus lots of time lounging by the pool while he is working. I said, you've got to a Kindle for the trip! and she said that her best friend owns one and has been saying the same thing. I couldn't believe that the best friend hadn't talked her into one yet (LOL, she needs to join here and get some enabling lessons!).

Maybe she's not really much of a reader. She did say she was planning on bring "a few books" on the trip.

L

[Tippy]

The main response I receive is people saying "I love books.  I love to hold them, the way the feel, the way they smell."  It is rather amusing that they all have Blackberries and other 'fancy' cell phones, ipods, and laptops.  Yet they seem unable to wrap their minds around the ides of an electronic book.  That attitude continues to be a puzzle to me.  The point is that everyone has their own personal comfort level. 

However, my supervisor is buying one for her mother for Christmas.  One of our court reporters is buying one for his wife's birthday.  I have two friends that do a lot of travelling and always carry several DTB's with them.  I believe they are going to be converts soon. 

Perhaps the other point is that all of these people are readers.  It's all good.   

[Susan in VA]

I'd say probably 90% of the people who expressed real curiosity about my Kindle were positive (many to the point of buying one themselves), but there are the occasional naysayers.  I've heard a few "sounds like an expensive paperweight to me" or "why would you need that, what's wrong with books?" comments.  My personal favorite was "you young people and and your d*mn gadgets" (I'm 45, the person who made the comment couldn't have been much more than 50!).

It's the NEED for one that's hard to understand for non-gadgeters.  If there's a physical reason (eyesight, strength. allergies, or other) why someone has a Kindle, then yes, it's a need.  For me, the biggest convenience would be for long trips, to avoid having to haul lots of books.  But if someone doesn't habitually take those, then you'd have a hard time convincing a non-gadget person of the "need".  And of course we're used to having gadget-friendly people push truly useless things on us all the time, so there's a certain amount of resistance even before you start talking.

[Susan in VA]

The few people I have gotten quasi-negative reactions from have said things like, "Oh, that looks cool, but I really like reading books--I like holding them, the feel, the smell..." blah, blah, blah. 

LOL!  I recognize that, it could have come from me a few months ago.  It's not really about the smell of books, it's about the idea that some things are perfectly good enough and don't need improvement...  and whenever someone tells me about the latest-and-greatest gadget, most of the time it is in fact only an infinitesimal improvement on whatever's already available.  So there's automatic resistance to *any* new gadget. 

I suspect that much of it has to do with feeling that someone is trying to get you to give up things are are familiar and comfortable.  If only people would realize (both DTB-only people AND Kindle owners) that in most cases the Kindle does not replace books completely.  I love my Kindle, but it is not *in all cases* better than a book <gasp!  I know that's heresy here... > , and I have the impression that for most people on KB the Kindle and books will coexist quite nicely in their homes and lives.  Perhaps the not-yet-converts who appear to resist the demo just don't realize that it's an enhancement to their existing reading habits, not a replacement.

[Susan in VA]

Perhaps the other point is that all of these people are readers.  It's all good.   

Absolutely!!  Non-readers wouldn't even ask for a demo. 

[Leslie]

Perhaps the not-yet-converts who appear to resist the demo just don't realize that it's an enhancement to their existing reading habits, not a replacement.

That's really the key point that so many people miss completely. They didn't murder all the horses when cars became popular -- and plenty of people still ride horses. It's "in addition to" not "instead of."

L

[RangerXenos]

My husband, who actually bought me my Kindle, thinks they are a complete waste of money, LOL!  He doesn't understand why I wouldn't just read a paper book.

Of course, he also doesn't understand the appeal of my iPod, which I could not live without.

[Susan in VA]

That's really the key point that so many people miss completely. They didn't murder all the horses when cars became popular -- and plenty of people still ride horses. It's "in addition to" not "instead of."

L

So then maybe when one encounters resistance, that's a point that should be stressed as well... not *just* the advantages of reading on a Kindle, because that'll make non-gadgeters dig in their heels just on general principle.  Trust me, I'm one of them.   

[Anju No. 469]

A person in our DTB Club gets upset whenever I bring my kindle to our meetings.  She had not "said" anything, but attitude is all evident.  She is a reader also so I don't get it.  One other lady in our club has bought a kindle and loves it, particularly the font increase and the lack of holding a tome of a 100 pounds or more  another lady in the same club is seriously looking into one (also at the suggestion of her DH), she travels a lot and always carries a lot of books with her, she never expressed negativity, but the other person just doesn't seem to get it.

[CoolMom1960]

When I was speaking to my older sister the other day - she said - don't you miss the feel of a book in your hands.  I replied I still have plenty of DTB's that when I need to read a "real" book I can.  Plus I don't have to wonder what am I going to do with the book when I'm done especially if it's not a "keeper".

When I explained that she could get pretty much all the classics for it for free - then she was interested.

[Leslie]

A person in our DTB Club gets upset whenever I bring my kindle to our meetings.  She had not "said" anything, but attitude is all evident. 

I can imagine this exactly but talk about ridiculous! If you came in with a paperback vs. a hardback would she have an attitude? I doubt it. If you were reading in French vs. English -- well then, she probably would have an attitude because she'd think you are showing off. Maybe that's the issue -- you are flaunting your Kindle! LOL

L

[Ann in Arlington]

I wanted a Kindle from the first day I saw it advertised on Amazon back in November of 2007.  I'd seen reports of other readers and thought now "that's what I need -- one device with all my books."  I had to think carefully about the price. . . .it IS an investment and if you don't read a lot is probably a waste of money.  But I do read a lot.  The price came down in May or June of '08 and I had a GC for Amazon from my Amazon CC so I decided the time was right.  When I told my husband I was going to get it he just shrugged and said "one more tool for me."    Friends and family generally think it's pretty cool. . . .some would jump except for the price. . . some recognize it wouldn't pay for them at all and others just feel that it's more than they want to spend.  These are both gadget and non-gadget people.  One or two have said, "I like books."  My response is generally, "So do I.  This way I can have even more of them!"

Ann

[Tangram]

My mom thinks I waster $360 that I could have just spend on books instead of an e-reader. So does my mother-in-law. My dad loves the thing, though. He can't get over how great it is. But then, he also reads two or three novels a week, so it'd pay for itself in no time for him.

When strangers ask me what it is, I do my best to hype them up by explaining the technology behind it as I explain to them that yes, it is just an e-reader that can also browse text-based websites. Also, I make sure to let them know that you can buy books from the Kindle store directly from it, which also gets them. Even after that, I've had some people just say, "Oh..." and walk away, probably thinking that I just more money than I know what to do with. I try to not let it get to me. The positive responses outweigh the negative tenfold. It's easy for someone to just not see the value in it, but you know people are actually thinking it through and all when they're ecstatic over it.

[Susan in VA]

I'll be keeping this thread in mind later today...  I'll have my first opportunity to demo my Kindle to a friend today, and she's even less of a gadget person than I am!