Kindling? Are They Kidding?

At first glance, the Amazon Kindle looks like a modern Etch A Sketch in eggshell white with keyboard and wireless features. Kinda ugly yet neat. But the product's name, value proposition and target audience elude me.

First, the name: Kindle? As in to ignite? Imagine a Kindle product launch after the holiday shopping season. Any spark? We probably keep reading our trusty printed tomes, unworried about fumbling with them in the airport security checkpoint (after removing our shoes, belt, jacket, laptop from briefcase, cellphone from pocket).

Second, the value proposition: 90,000 titles and up to 200-book capacity. Not terribly exciting on its face -- who is going to read 200 books in the next year? Next 5 years? Most of us like to consume books one at a time. Then display them on our shelves. No such thing as novel shuffle or party mix. However, what may bode well for the product is the ability for a user to purchase a book wirelessly now -- bingo, the impulse buy after reading a great review or getting a recommedation from a friend. That's consumer magic. No waiting for the FedEx truck.

Third and most puzzling to me is the target audience: Who is Amazon going after? They've got great market data so I can't doubt them. Clearly the under 30 market is wireless. But are they book buyers and newspaper consumers? Why read blogs on Kindle when you can read them on your mobile. Feels like a 35-49 demographic play. I read the NYT on my Blackberry Pearl while out and about. A single news column fits on the screen perfectly, and I carry it around in my pocket. My eye scrolls down news columns just like it would on a newspaper page. But I don't spend hours. Just enough time to scratch the information itch. No, I don't want to read the newspaper on a tablet. I'll buy one, thank you. Fifty cents to a buck, if out of town.

So, what are books? An escape. A chance to get away for an hour or so. Sometimes a vacation. Sometimes brain food before sleep. The intimacy of reading and savoring the page are part of the experience. Making dogears. Scratching notes in the margins. Going back to revisit a key passage. Seeing how close you are to the end and wishing for more -- or sensing relief about finishing.

Kindle? I'm not feeling the fire.

But an Etch A Sketch may end up under the tree this year. I'm a sucker for red.