Feb 18, 2010 03:30 PM
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Being an avid reader and a gadget freak, an e-book reader posed itself as a tempting and interesting prospect amalgamating both the interests together. And hence in the quest to find an apt choice, I started my research on the available options at a decent and inviting price. The obvious choice on the first look was the Amazon Kindle, but as it needs to be shipped in from the US, a little more effort brought me to the Indianised version from the local vendor here - the Infibeam Pi.
The excitement at first sight of it and the prospect of having a localized product that should in principle have provided a better support and usability quickly dwindled as I came to study it more closely. The product has been priced at around Rs 10, 000/- making it cheaper than the Kindle. The site doesn't think twice before boasting about how cheaper it would make your book reading if you buy the Pi!, but whoa la! The experience with these Infibeam people was most dissatisfying and annoying at the same time.
I was almost 80% sure to buy the product and couldn't wait to have my hands on it. But before dong that, a question came to mind which I thought of asking the Infibeam staff on their Facebook page. I had a simple query - If I buy the Infibeam Pi e-book reader, will I get any set amount of free downloads in a month from your site, or maybe discounted rates on the e-books on your site The reply to this came in the negative saying currently there are no offers for Pi customers and they have to pay the same rates on book downloads as any other person. To this I asked them, ;If I have to pay the same amount as any other person, then how would buying the Pi be of use to me? These days we have reasonably good Netbooks from branded companies available at around Rs 16, 000/- easily. Not only are these very handy and easy to carry, but they also give you the entire functionality of a computer/laptop/net surfing/computing etc. Then why should I not put in an extra few thousand and get a netbook than a dedicated e-book reader? To this, the treatment I got was that my post was deleted from their Facebook page and I was BANNED from their fans list!;
I still cannot understand this approach? It was a genuine concern of a prospective customer which was handled in a most unprofessional manner! That when I was a prospective customer, one may well imagine the kind of support to expect from them once you have bought their product.
The site lures the customers with bait such as reducing your reading costs if you take to their Pi and ebooks. It may well be useful to quote an example from their site where on searching two books this is what I came across. The Lost Symbol is quoted at Rs 991/- and Treasure Island at Rs 85/- for download when one can easily find the same books in usual paper form at Rs 422/- and Rs 45/- respectively.
No, I am not against e-books at all! I may well consider paying more for them in an effort to do my bit to save the environment. But yes, before you decide to do so, consider the option of a netbook than an ebook reader unless of course if you are a fan of the Kindle...
