The times are tough, especially if you are living in the U.S. these days. A whole lot of folks have lost their jobs, and some folks have lost their year-end bonuses. So I am just wondering where does Kindle rank on your shopping list. Buying Kindle is more than just throwing a couple of dollars away. You are making a long-term investment. Having said that, with all the gadgets that are out there (iPhone, XBox, PS3, iPod, Wii, Pleo, …), where does Kindle rank on your shopping list, if it does at all.

Oprah endorsing Amazon Kindle was a big thing. At least that was the logical expectations when a heavyweight such as Oprah calls Kindle one the “best gadgets” she has ever had. But analysts are claiming that Oprah’s endorsement may not matter to Amazon until 2010!

Oprah’s endorsement has had some effect. And I think the effects will be more significant than some of the naysayers expect them to be. I have been a big fan of Amazon Kindle since day one, but I see two fundamental challenges for Amazon in the upcoming month:

• Economy
• Culture

The economy has hit and has hit companies hard. The tech companies are now feeling the effects (Sun Microsystems is cutting force and more companies will follow suit). Folks simply do not have money to spend on Kindle (possible solution: offering free interest financing for 12 months, lowering the price, an alternative monthly fee structure).

Many folks simply do not take Kindle seriously. We have gotten used to paper books, and sometimes it is hard to breakaway from old habits. Amazon needs to find ways to encourage folks to adopt Kindle. That could be done with major book promotions, early book releases, exclusive content, free starter content packs, and content distribution promotions.

Amazon Kindle is a wonderful device, but if people fail to justify paying $350 for it, then Amazon’s got a big problem. In these tough times, Amazon needs to bring its innovative ways to product management and content distribution. If not, even the mighty Oprah can’t turn the tide.

The political season is finally over. I got to admit that I followed this election more so than any other election. While I didn’t agree with the republicans, I did like their theory of cutting taxes to stimulate the economy. But that made me think about Amazon’s strategy with Kindle. Kindle is going for $359, which is not cheap. Many folks complain that $359 is a lot of money for an eBook reader, and they’d rather keep the money and stick with paper books. It really all comes down to this: when will we see the next price cut on Amazon’s part?

If I had to guess, I would say we would see it for the Christmas, this year. I do believe that Amazon needs to have a good quarter to show investors that it’s on the right track. These days the fear is in the air. Everybody thinks eveyrone is going bankrupt. Some investors are pulling back their money, and that is not good for companies such as Amazon. But Amazon should have lowered its production cost by now. I know they are trying to cover for the losses they took initially on Kindle, but the holiday time is not the time to ask for more money.

Amazon Kindle is worth every penny at $359, but folks want to believe that they are getting a bargain for the holiday season? A $60 price drop, which has been rumored for a long time, can make folks believe they are getting a steal. Will it save Amazon’s tough quarter? I can’t say for sure. But cutting price is one of few options Amazon has at this point to get the late adopters on board.

I got to admit. I have always doubted Oprah’s hype, and I have always been prove wrong. This lady can sell, and a lot of folks just buy things that she says you should buy. Now. I may have had some disagreements with her about some of the items that she has recommended in the past, but recommending Kindle was just right on the money.

But she did more than that. For a while, she was giving $50 off on Kindle on her site. That offer expired a few days ago, but I’d be interested to see how many folks bought the $300 Kindle. I am sure Oprah has gotten paid handsomely for her recommendation, so the sales bump better be good. She did come through for Barack. Will she for Kindle?

I had a discussion with a co-worker yesterday about Amazon Kindle, and he told me how buying Kindle has helped him in his personal life. Sounds corny, right? But he was telling me that he has developed a “super geek” reputation for owning Kindle. He is not a super Linux guru, and he does not live a second life as a hacker. All he did was showing up with Kindle to a college event (getting his MBA).

I know a lot of folks who read this blog have had Amazon Kindle for quite some time now. So I thought I’d ask you about your favorite moment with Kindle? Mine wasn’t a life changing moment, but rather a moment of pure joy. The very time the UPS driver knocked on my door and left Kindle on my door, I was on the moon. I had waited for the device for a months or so and to have finally gotten it was pure joy for me.

How about you? Do you have a life-changing experience with Kindle to share? Please share

We are only days away from the release of Sony PRS-700BC, the alleged Kindle killer. Sony has been in the e-Book business for quite sometime. They have invested a lot of money in it, and this is a fight they are not going to give up anytime soon. But let’s see how they stack up.

Display: Sony PRS-700BC with a 6″ display. It’s has about the same real estate than Kindle on the surface, but it comes with touch screen technology.

Keyboard: unlike Kindle, PRS700BC comes with a digital finger touch keyboard. While its easy to use your finger to turn pages or bookmark them, I still would like to have the keyboards too.

E-Ink Technology: rumors are going around that Sony is using the new generation E-ink technology that will be used with Kindle 2.0.

LED Light: I have talked about having the backlit feature on Kindle, but Sony has implemented this feature with PRS700BC. The problem here is that I haven’t heard the same feature being offered with Kindle 2.0. Shame.

Thinkness: Kindle is about 0.6″ in thickness whereas Sony PRS700 stands at 0.4″. So the advantage here goes to Sony. But both devices weigh about the same.

Memory: Sony does support SD cards and Duo cards. Kindle only supports SD cards. Both devices come with internal memories.

Price: Sony PRS700BC is priced for $399. You can get it for $299 if you get a Sony card.

Even if you get Sony PRS700BC for $299, you still have to think about whether the free life-time wireless service provided by Amazon is worth the extra $60. I think it is worth way more than that, which is why PRS700BC will not have a home in my house. But Sony PRS700BC still is a cool gift. I am just not sure why someone would go for Sony instead of Kindle for the holiday season.

I have argued many times on this blog about the merits of Amazon Kindle, and how I feel it is worth the money more so than Apple iPhone. But Apple iPhone is unquestionably the more popular gadget these days (with Apple’s promotion machine behind it). The good folks at PC World reported the other day that Apple will be cutting production for iPhone and have had to scramble to readjust their forecasts for the next quarter due to the financial crisis that has taken the U.S. by storm. 

I’d like to believe that Apple’s troubles are due to them overestimating the demand for the iPhone. But the fact is, Amazon may also take a hit in their sales numbers, even though Kindle has been a bright spot for them in this past quarter. But how much that enthusiasm negates the fear that folks feel in these volatile times?

I am not sure Amazon Kindle can move forward as fast as before despite all the praise that it’s getting in the press. This year promises to be one of the worst years ever for retailers, and folks are cutting their shopping budgets to prepare for the worst. I don’t know about you, but if I was in an unstable job with the economy in the toilet, I would too be hesitant about buying Amazon Kindle. Will Kindle survive these tough times? There is no reason to doubt it, but nevertheless, the numbers won’t be that rosy for Amazon in this and next quarter.

Your take: do you think Amazon will get hit harder by the financial crisis than Apple?

There is some bad news for folks who are hoping to get the Kindle for the holiday season. Now the good news is that it’s just happened which means you can still get fairly in front of the queue by getting your Kindles now. I remember when I bought my Kindle. Even a day made a big difference then. Kindle used to ship in batches then which meant a day of difference could have put you in a different batch. I am not sure how high the demand for Kindle is now but it should be enough to delay orders by a couple of weeks.

So Oprah finally endorsed Kindle. I know Oprah’s endorsement for Barack didn’t really push him over the top, but with Kindle, I am sure a whole lot of folks who didn’t know Kindle existed now get a chance to take a look at this great device.

Now here is my complaint about this whole thing. I haven’t lived in the U.S. for too long, but like many Americans I have developed distaste for marketing material and commercials. I am sure Oprah’s life was changed dramatically with Kindle, but it just sounds too good to be true. I am as big of a fan of Kindle as you can find. I was probably among the first batch of folks who got their Kindle. But for Oprah to come out and claim Kindle has changed her life after a year it’s been around sounds a bit of an exaggeration.

I am all for all the support that Kindle gets. I hope folks will not find Oprah’s glowing endorsement too good to be true and actually go and pick up the device. The economy is not great, but if you read books (which you should), then Kindle is a must have. Kindle hasn’t changed my life in an earth shattering way. But, it has made me more productive and helps keep me informed. I would have done the reading without Kindle, but I am glad that Kindle is here. Aren’t you?

I am sure you have of this iPhone application that allows you to read eBooks on your iPhone. Stanza has outperformed Amazon Kindle, but does that mean Amazon is in trouble as some are suggesting?

I personally think Stanza’s market and Amazon Kindle’s market are totally different. You can’t honestly tell me that folks read long books on the iPhone on a daily basis. I admit that I have read a book or two on my iPhone when I have been on a trip, but the screen is very small, and I just don’t like the experience of reading on a mobile phone (no matter how shiny it is).

So should Amazon go Open source to compete with device such as the iPhone? I think they should. Having a community of developers contributing to the Kindle platform only helps, but Amazon doesn’t need to be the next iPhone. I don’t see any direct competition here, do you? Sure. Both of these devices may be competing for our cash, but I wouldn’t abandon Kindle to buy the iPhone or vice versa.