A message to Amazon

This is what Amazon would have to do to get me to consider buying a Kindle:

1. Scroll the text continuously. I know this makes me sound incredibly lazy, but hear me out. I like to read while I’m at the gym. I currently use my iPod touch for this because I have an app called the iFlow reader which so generously scrolls the text for me so I don’t have to worry about hitting the pesky touch screen to turn the virtual pages (I feel idiotic just typing that, please don’t judge me). The scroll speed can be adjusted so I can set it at a comfortable reading pace. I actually find it a very pleasant reading experience and I’ve read a couple of books like this. So, if you think about it, a scrolling feature would encourage me to be less lazy because I would use it at the gym.

2. Offer a more extensive free library. I never buy books, with the very huge exception of books I purchase for my future classroom. What I mean to say is that I never buy books that I know I will read only once; I am a very loyal patron of my local library. If I could “rent” virtual Kindle books (for free) for two to three weeks and then have them disappear from my device, that would be cool. I like the idea that with a Kindle I could have access to a book I want at a moment’s notice. I don’t like the idea that I would be paying full price for something I would most likely not purchase and something that I cannot even pass along to someone else when I am finished.

3. Convince me that owning a Kindle is different than owning an iPad. I could be wrong about this, but I believe there is a Kindle app for the iPad and that the app could perform most, if not all, of the functions of an actual Kindle. To me, that sounds like a Kindle imbedded in a much more useful device. Until someone can prove to me that it is better to have the actual separate Kindle, I think I’ll save my money for an iPad.