Last month we wrote that the uptake of electronic paper (e-paper) was going more slowly than we had anticipated a year ago. No sooner had our report hit the streets than Amazon decided to release Kindle, their e-book system, described by one commentator as having ‘out-Appled Apple in terms of ease of use’.
It also uses e-paper for its screen, something which works very well although it seems to have been a complete surprise to many tech journalists.
Amazon aren’t the first to the party, but we suspect that Kindle may be the ‘tipping point’ for e-paper.
The question is, who will buy it? Our prediction is that it will be US college students, not passionate geeks, who will push Kindle and the whole category into the mainstream. Just remember where you read about e-paper first - that’s right, in the assignment report, back in mid 2006! Now let’s watch to see if Amazon releases the Kindle in China.
