I was recently made aware of an article/statement released by Amazon.com just yesterday, 27 January 2011. The main statement that caught my attention (and would possibly catch yours) is this:

Quite an interesting statement, to say the least.

I had an iPod Touch, but now have an iPhone. So I have the Kindle app (as well as the new Google e-reader app, which is not as good as Kindle at this point). On my iPod Touch/iPhone, I have read 2 books thus far via the Kindle app (as well as 1 book via the Google e-reader app).

To be honest, the first experience wasn’t that wonderful. And I am sure many first-timers felt the same. With that initial encounter with my e-reader device, I dipped into a more theological work. I think that is why it proved somewhat difficult. Since I was not used to and had not learned how to take notes in the Kindle app, I didn’t want to try it out (though I think I attempted something quickly). Reading a more scholarly, theological work proved somewhat frustrating because I wanted to underline statements here and leave a little note on a page there. But I didn’t want to take them time to learn (yeah, it would have probably been a whole 10 minutes!) So I ended up buying a paper copy of that book.

But my second experience was much better because I read a fiction book. For such, I didn’t need to take any notes or underline anything. That was a much more enjoyable experience.

Still, I am aware, as you can see by the quoted statement above, that the world is heading more and more towards e-books. Over the holiday period, I actually thought about investing in a Kindle itself, or something even nicer such as an iPad or other internet tablet. But a part of me is old fashioned a loves a paper copy.

But, hey, we are headed that way. I suppose in 10 years (if not before) most people will have moved towards e-reading devices (smart phones, internet tablets, etc) and paper books will have slowly faded to the background, somewhat of a thing of the past, though they mind still be around. I even noted earlier this week on a tweet that one private school in Tennessee (my home state in the US) is mandating iPads for students next year. Hence, we are definitely headed that way. Not to mention that Apple recently announced that they have reached 10 billion apps available at their App Store.

Thus, I am thinking of getting my next fiction book (maybe all of them) through my Kindle app on my iPhone. But I won’t start buying theological works via the Kindle app until I have something like a Kindle or iPad/internet tablet. I want something larger that is mainly dedicated to books. At that point, I will make the effort to learn how to note-take on the device.

There you have it – my story, but more importantly, the statement of Amazon.com CEO and founder about the major shift that took place as we wrapped up the year 2010.