Steve Jobs On the Kindle: "The Whole Conception Is Flawed"

John Markoff of the NY Times talked gadgets with Steve Jobs.

Today he had a wide range of observations on the industry, including the Amazon Kindle book reader, which he said would go nowhere largely because Americans have stopped reading.

“It doesn’t matter how good or bad the product is, the fact is that people don’t read anymore,” he said. “Forty percent of the people in the U.S. read one book or less last year. The whole conception is flawed at the top because people don’t read anymore.”

Ironically, the only people who will see Jobs' last point are those who by their nature disprove it.

Hat tip: Fimoculous. Photo: strfireblue, via Creative Commons.

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By James in News on January 16, 2008 2:59 PM

Comments [rss]

Jack

Jobs is absolutely right. Which is why with every new commercial development and mall renovation, a new Barnes & Noble or Borders Books gets built. And why these places are always crowded. Because Americans have stopped reading.

Chris V

Steve Jobs is wrong. People DO read - all the time. Right now, YOU are reading. With the popularity of the internet, Americans are now reading more than ever.

MvB

Plus, we're actually *ahead* of the Canadians when it comes to reading:
According to a new Ipsos Reid survey, which was commissioned by CanWest News Service and Global Television, nearly a third of adults (31 per cent) across the country didn't read a single book for pleasure in all of 2007. The discouraging figure puts Canadians four points behind the U.S., where an identical poll last August showed 27 per cent of Americans hadn't picked up a book in the previous 12 months.

Troy Morris

Have you seen the new Mac Air?

It doesn't have a CD/DVD drive because only 40% of people actually used a disc last year.

Yes, I pulled that number out of my ass.

I'm sorry, but I'm not going to wifi everything. My laptop needs a player because I'm just too friggin' lazy to digitize everything (as are 60% of my friends).

It's much too much work to rip all my movies, catalogue them, buy a big wifi capable hard-drive etc.

When confronted with all that work, I'd rather read a book.

James Callan

Even if Jobs' numbers were accurate, I'm sure Bezos is comfortable with a niche that comprises 60% of the population.

And it's not like books are the only things people read, especially on electronic devices.

jessejb

Is he trying to start a bandwagon to stop reading and just listen to IPods? I think so...

MvB

Not that the barbarians aren't at the gate, you know, but I understand that "a book" in that survey referred only to fiction, not non-fiction. In that context, I'm okay with 40% of the U.S. taking time to read a novel.