Product Pipeline: iPhone, iPod Touch, Kindle

For thousands of years, libraries have been secure in their role as institutions that collect and maintain books. New hardware from Amazon.com and Apple may force libraries to redefine the word book. Gone are the days when the only question was hardcover or paperback? Today's readers can select from a wide array of print, electronic text, and digital audio formats and use many different devices to access digital books.

Long lines and much hype accompanied the June 2007 release of Apple's iPhone. For the most part, the iPhone delivers what it promised: the easiest phone interface ever seen. Intuitive touchscreen controls access a powerful suite of always connected tools. Just flick and pinch to scroll through lists and zoom into photos on the iPhone's vibrant 3½" display.

Also, the iPhone is a fully functional iPod media player, the most widely used mobile Internet platform. With the price drop to $399 from $599, the iPhone became much more accessible, but it still requires a $60/month voice and data plan. For those who can afford the iPhone and live within AT&T coverage areas, it is probably the best wireless gizmo on the market. The always-on connection to the Internet, though slow in this first generation of iPhones, provides a sense that, yes, you're carrying the power of a library in your pocket.

For librarians: While the iPhone is something librarians should watch, it's not a device for library purchase. We must be aware of how the iPhone (and the many similar phones coming to market from other carriers) may change how our customers interact with information. When users are always connected to the Internet, they can access a wealth of data. So what they may need, beyond that, is organizational assistance from their local librarian. In the future, libraries also could make use of the mobile Safari development kit to offer iPhone-optimized web applications designed to steer mobile users toward the best sources for fast, easy, and accurate information.

While the iPhone may not be a reasonable purchase for a library, its cousin, Apple's iPod Touch—essentially the iPhone sans phone—would make an excellent addition to any librarian's tool kit, as well as a way to stay abreast of changes in handheld devices. Slightly less expensive ($299 for the 8 GB model), the iPod Touch is built around the same incredibly rich and detailed 3½" display and uses the same interface as the iPhone, plus built-in Wi-Fi to provide similar utilities. After using the Touch for a little over a month, I found my longing for an iPhone diminished, especially given the spotty AT&T coverage where I live.

I also prefer the heft and feel of Touch's metal case compared to the iPhone's lighter plastic shell. Notably missing from the Touch are the maps and notes applications on the iPhone, though a recent update did restore full create-and-edit functionality to the Touch's calendar.

For librarians: If you're at a Wi-Fi-enabled campus, you'll enjoy the ability to schedule appointments and browse the web from this small device. As a full web browser, Safari on the Touch can easily access library catalogs, research databases, online word processors, and other sites that fail on many mobiles.

In fact, it's a viable replacement for a laptop when it comes to Internet access, at least for light duties. The one aspect missing (for now) is the capacity to add additional applications—an ebook reader, dictionary, document viewer, etc.—that would truly turn the iPod Touch into a handheld computer.

Though the iPod Touch excels in video and audio, if your primary focus is on ebooks, a dictionary, and documents, another new device may be a better fit. The Amazon.com Kindle was released in late November; many in the blogosphere initially deemed the device ugly, overpriced, underfeatured, and a miserable failure. To be blunt, they got it wrong.

In Amazon's defense, those folks probably thought that this device was being released as the latest and greatest technology toy for geeks. But the Kindle is an ebook reader for the masses, those who don't have an always-on Internet connection, don't expect to download the entire Firefly series to their portable device, and may not even have a computer.

Though it may seem odd to market a digital book reader to people without computers, consider the possibilities. With its built-in mobile phone hardware and the Whispernet service through which Amazon delivers books and web content, the Kindle provides a complete standalone package for buying and reading books. Kindle marketers can hammer home the device's ability to provide anywhere, anytime access to books. For readers in rural areas who may not have a library or bookstore nearby, or shut-ins who can't go to places with physical books, the Kindle provides access.

Because the content is digital, the Kindle offers much flexibility; the font size for any reading material can be adjusted from that of a dense newspaper up to the size of a large-print book. For travelers or those who never like to be without a book, the Kindle presents huge advantages: wireless delivery of new books in a matter of minutes and the capacity for more than 200 books in its built-in memory. If the user does have a computer, the Kindle's headphone jack and SD card slot (up to 4 GB) make it an ideal platform for music or audiobooks as well.

Keep in mind, though, that all these features come with a price. At $399, this is a rather large investment for a device that may not work for everyone. But the Kindle shouldn't provoke the classic ebook putdowns like “who wants to curl up with a laptop?” The Kindle is a very sleek and light bit of hardware about the same size as a trade paperback but somewhat lighter. In addition, the six-inch screen provides a very readable page view using new electronic ink technology, and that technology is very energy efficient, with up to a week of battery life.

There are some downsides. For example, the large buttons on the side of the screen feel flimsy and are prone to accidental activation. A rather annoying screen flash accompanies every refresh of the e-ink display. Though I found reasonable coverage from Whispernet's EVDO-based wireless access in rural Western New York, some entire states (such as Montana) have no available access through this Sprint-powered network. Though critics attack the digital rights management and proprietary nature of ebooks, this same business model propelled the iPod to unbelievable levels of success while other digital music players struggled to find footing.

Still, the Kindle has great potential. There have been numerous attempts over the past ten years to bring ebooks to the mainstream market—from the failed Rocket eBook of the late 1990s to the most recent Sony Reader, which remains a bookstore novelty. The Kindle, however, allows direct delivery of books to the device from the catalog of more than 90,000 titles available from Amazon.com. Included in this catalog are a growing number of reference titles, including the CIA World Factbook and other specialized almanacs, dictionaries, and encyclopedias. As the selection of offerings expands and becomes less random, the Kindle could become a nice platform for mobile reference access. To support this use, the Kindle's powerful search function performs keyword queries through every document on the device.

The geeks with whom I shared the Kindle found fault with the design and implementation, but everyone else who held the device and heard about its capabilities immediately understood the potential. Teachers talked about loading the Kindle with all their students' textbooks. They loved the idea of shared annotations and Internet access without the need for a home computer. Others marveled at the scalable font size and light weight and said that the Kindle would be perfect for elderly family members.

People who usually shake their heads and laugh when I talk about new technologies sat up and took notice of the Kindle. When they get their hands on the Kindle and learn that it is a self-contained ebook experience with no computer required, they are sold.

For librarians: Should your library rush out and buy Kindles for patron loan? No, though at least one has bought them (see News, LJ 1/08, p. 20). At this time, Amazon's business model doesn't provide the flexibility required for library loaning. Ebooks purchased for a Kindle are registered to that Kindle alone and cannot be shared. Librarians should be aware of the Kindle, though, and can use this device to promote the continued role of libraries in an increasingly digital age.

Though we all love books, we must also recognize that the paper books our profession so adores are just one manifestation of a storage technology for stories and information. Ebooks and devices like the Kindle are a new way to store, retrieve, and enjoy the same stories and information that we hold so dear. The Kindle has a chance to break through into the mainstream, and introduce ebooks as a new way of reading.

It remains to be seen whether or not mainstream consumers will be satisfied with the Kindle after they have a chance to compare it with other media devices. While it excels for reading, the text-only Internet access would only be useful as a last resort if you aren't browsing on a carefully designed site like the Kindle Store. While a computer is not required to use the Kindle, it certainly won't replace an Internet-connected computer.

Meanwhile, don't forget that you can load that Kindle with resources and have a great platform for roaming reference that provides a librarian with some Internet access, a built-in dictionary, and an opportunity to market the library's digital capabilities with every question answered.