Source: The Verge
Summary
Amazon has announced that it will end support for all Kindle e-readers released in 2012 or earlier. This means that these devices will no longer be able to load new content. The decision affects Kindle owners who have been using their devices for nearly a decade. Amazon has not provided a specific reason for ending support. The change will likely impact users who have grown accustomed to their older e-readers.
Our Reading
The announcement sounds ambitious.
Amazon is ending support for old Kindles, because who needs backwards compatibility? The affected devices are from 2012 or earlier, which is basically ancient in tech years. This move is a great opportunity for users to upgrade to newer, shinier devices. Because what’s a few hundred dollars when you can have the latest and greatest? The real question is, how long before they start charging for cloud storage of your old ebooks?
Author: Evan Null
Planned Obsolescence
It’s not like Amazon is doing anything new here. Planned obsolescence is a time-honored tradition in the tech industry. Make a product, sell it, and then stop supporting it after a few years. It’s a great way to keep the money flowing and the upgrade cycle spinning.
The Cost of Progress
But what’s the real cost of this “progress”? For users, it means shelling out more money for a new device. For the environment, it means more e-waste. And for Amazon, it means more profits. It’s a win-win… for Amazon.
Cloud Storage Concerns
And then there’s the issue of cloud storage. If Amazon can just stop supporting older devices, what’s to stop them from charging users for cloud storage of their ebooks? It’s not like they haven’t done it before. Users should be wary of storing their content in the cloud, lest they wake up one day to find it’s no longer accessible.
The Future of Reading
So what does the future of reading look like? Will we be forced to upgrade our devices every few years just to keep reading our favorite books? Will we have to pay extra for cloud storage just to access our own content? The answer, much like Amazon’s support for older Kindles, remains uncertain.
