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Refurbished Kindle 2 ereader $89.99 at Woot

Richard — Mon, 23 May 2011 15:11:37 +0000

Amazon is selling refurbished Kindle 2 ereaders for $89.99 plus $5 shipping at Woot. As with most things Woot, this sale is for one day only. Please note that these are 2nd generation Kindles — not the latest generation Kindle 3. Amazon provides a one – year warranty with these. This price is $30 less than what Amazon currently lists refurbished Kindle 2 ereaders on its website for.

Woot was acquired by Amazon about a year ago.

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Kindle ereaders will soon be able to borrow library ebooks

Richard — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 15:48:16 +0000

Well, this is something I didn’t expect to be writing about any time soon. Amazon has announced that it is indeed working with OverDrive to bring library ebook checkouts to the Kindle ereaders.

The new feature will launch later this year and will work on all models of Kindle ereaders as well as the free Kindle apps. Note taking and highlighting will be supported, and if you borrow the ebook again or buy the Kindle book all of your annotations and bookmarks will be preserved.

Being able to borrow ebooks from public libraries on the Kindle (provided the library is one of the 11,000 plus in the US that are powered by OverDrive) will remove one common complaint about the Kindle and a reason some consumers might have for buying an ereader other than Amazon’s. The Kindle Store seems to get the most free promotional ebooks, and now Kindlers will also have access to public library ebook holdings. At the moment this feature may not seem really important, especially if your local public library does not have many ebooks yet. But in the future the ability to borrow library ebooks will become increasingly valuable as libraries grow their digital collections.

Reading library ebooks may not be a perfect fit for you if your are into the instant gratification of your need to read. There is usually a waiting list, and sometimes it can be quite a long one for popular titles. You have limited time to read the borrowed book and usually can not renew it — if you don’t finish a book in the allotted time you will have to get back in line to check it out again. The maximum checkout period at my library is 21 days. While this is normally plenty of time, it may mean putting down your current read unfinished to accept your requested title when it does become available.

There also appears to be some sort of “When it Rains it Pours” clause written into the fine print on the back of my library card that seems to dictate that all titles on my waiting list shall become available at the same time regardless of whether requested six days or six months prior.

One nice thing about digital books as opposed to the paper books you might borrow from the library — ebooks don’t get stinky, dirty and full of questionable stains. That’s right, you can toss the reading gloves.

Update: OverDrive notes that once the Kindle Library Lending program goes into effect a public library’s existing collection of ebooks will all be Kindle compatible. Libraries will not need to purchase new Kindle versions of their existing ebooks.

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Kindle book lending arrives

Richard — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 18:03:35 +0000

Amazon has enabled lending of Kindle ebooks as promised. Of course, this feature will also need to be enabled by the publisher — for many titles it isn’t, just as on the Nook ereaders.

You can see if an ebook is lendable by looking in its Product Details on its page at Amazon. If you already own a title you can also check the Your Orders section in Manage Your Kindle(click the + button to the left of the title).To initiate a Kindle book loan you will also need to go to the Manage Your Kindle page or the ebook’s product page at Amazon. You will need the borrower’s email address so that they can be notified. The recipient will have seven days to accept the loan.

Kindle books that can be loaned can only be loaned one time ever and only for 14 days. When one of your ebooks is loaned out you will not be able to access it yourself until it is returned (same as if it were a paper book). These are the same basic lending rules as on the Nook ereader.

Recipients of loaned Kindle books do not need to have a Kindle — any Kindle device app will do. Currently Kindle book lending can only be initiated by customers in the US. US customers can loan an ebook to someone outside of the US as long as it is not restricted by geographical rights.

One drawback appears to be that Kindle book loans cannot be initiated from the library of the Kindle ereader itself. With the Nook you initiate the loan from the ereader, rather than having to do it from your computer.

The Nook’s LendMe program actually has some cool features, like being able to discover ebooks that are in the libraries of your friends that you might like to borrow (discoverability can also be turned off if you don’t want your friends browsing your library). Of course, all of this is somewhat crippled by the publishers. The Kindle will probably get there too; ebook lending is one area where Amazon has not been the leader of the pack, yet.

For more info, see Amazon’s lending Kindle Books page.

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Refurbished Kindle 2 available

Richard — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 15:07:57 +0000

Amazon is listing refurbished Kindle 2 ereaders with the US wireless (Sprint) for $109.99. If you are interested you should act quick as this is sure to be very limited.

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NY Times Crosswords for the Kindle ereaders

Richard — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 06:16:24 +0000

I was just thinking to myself this morning that it is odd we have not seen any crossword puzzle apps from the New York Times, USA Today, or suchlike for the Kindle ereaders. It seems like such a natural. Well, the NYT released four crossword apps today:

NY Times Crosswords Vol. 1: 30 easy puzzles; $1.99.
NY Times Crosswords Vol. 2: 90 easy puzzles; $4.99.
NY Times Crosswords Vol. 3: 30 challenging puzzles; $1.99.
NY Times Crosswords Vol. 4: 90 challenging puzzles; $4.99.

Each volume of crossword puzzles is edited by puzzle master Will Shortz. The apps can provide assistance by revealing single letters or entire words if you so desire. You can also have the app check for errors in the words you have entered.

Having just been released some time today, these don’t have any ratings yet. I’ve bought one but have not yet had a chance to try it. I like the crossword app on the Nook Color ereader, but for some reason the touchscreen is not very responsive in that particular app, which makes it frustrating.

I like the layout of the Kindle crossword app much better than that of the Nook: the Kindle shows you the clues for all of the columns and rows just as you would see it in the newspaper. The Nook only shows you the clues for the particular column and row you have highlighted.

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New Kindle Game – Monopoly; EA Holiday Sale

Richard — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 17:57:43 +0000

Electronic Arts is having a Holiday Sale. Now through Jan. 2, 2011 all of the Kindle Games from EA are 50 percent off. This includes EA Sudoku, EA Solitaire, Texas Hold’em and Scrabble. EA has just released a new Monopoly game for the Kindle ereaders and this is included in the sale as well.

Monopoly lets you play against the Kindle ereader or against up to 3 friends using Pass ‘N Play. When playing against the Kindle you can select from Easy, Medium or Hard difficulty-rated opponents. The game also lets you customize how some of the house rules such as Free Parking, Taxes, Get Out of Jail and other rules work.

Normally priced at $4.99, until Jan. 2, 2011 Monopoly is priced at $2.49.

As is usual for Kindle games, Monopoly will only work on the Kindle 2, Kindle 3 and Kindle DX ereaders and not on the Kindle apps.

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A couple of new interactive text-based adventures for Kindle ereaders

Richard — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 22:01:06 +0000

Choice Games has released a couple of new text-based adventures for the Kindle 2, Kindle 3 and Kindle DX ereaders. As you make your way through the story you get to select different actions that will determine how the story unfolds.

Choice of Broadsides (A Text-Based Adventure) $4.99.

Choice of Broadsides is a text-based adventure where your choices control the story. On most pages, you’ll choose between a set of options, determining which action you will take next as a young and promising naval officer.

If you like gamebooks, you’ll love Choice of Broadsides. Its unique approach to interactive fiction allows larger, deeper, and richer stories than traditional gamebooks. Will you discover all of the hidden endings? Will you become an admiral, or will you be court-martialed? When on shore, will you marry for love or for career advantage, or will you leave aside romance and spend your time gambling and dueling? The choice is up to you.

The sails have been hoisted and the guns run out as the enemy ship approaches. Your country is counting on you!

Choice of the Dragon (A Text-Based Adventure) (4 stars/2 reviews) $4.99.

Choice of the Dragon is a text-based adventure where your choices control the story. On most pages, you’ll get to choose between a set of options, deciding which action your dragon will take next. Choose between Brutality or Finesse, Cunning or Honor, Disdain or Vigilance. Or just try to gather as much wealth as you can!

If you love gamebooks, you’ll love Choice of the Dragon. Its unique approach to interactive fiction allows larger, deeper and richer stories than traditional gamebooks. Will you discover all of the hidden endings?

Dominate the local kingdom, loot and pillage, and inspire terror in the hearts of your enemies!

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Panda Poet – New Kindle word game

Richard — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 01:44:29 +0000

Panda Poet is a new word game for the Kindle ereaders. The object is to form words from the letters available on the game board.

With Panda Poet you use the letters on the game board to form words. Words formed from letters in open spaces create pandas. Words formed from letters near pandas make existing pandas grow.

The goal is grow the biggest panda possible. You get the highest scores from either creating the biggest possible panda or from forming the longest possible words.

To add to the challenge, each letter is only available for a fixed number of turns. Each time you enter a word, all the letters on the screen come one step closer to expiring. When a letter expires, it is replaced by a skull, which prevents you from growing your pandas in that direction. This makes playing Panda Poet a delicate balancing act: you must consider where a letter is located on the grid and how soon it will expire, not simply spell the longest word you can.

Panda Poet is $2.99 and will work on the Kindle 2, Kindle 3 and the Kindle DX ereaders. This is from Spry Fox which also made the Triple Town Kindle game.

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Refurbished Kindle 2 Price Lowered

Richard — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 17:21:55 +0000

I just noticed that Amazon is now selling the refurbished Kindle 2 for $139.99, which is down from $159. Not sure how long this price will last. The refurbished Kindle ereaders come with a full warranty, just like a new one.

By buying a refurbished Kindle 2 you could have 3G for the same price as the Wi-Fi only Kindle 3. However, unless you really need the 3G and don’t want to spend the money to get the 3G Kindle 3 ($189), I would recommend the Wi-Fi only Kindle 3. This is because of the improved screen contrast and faster hardware.

Refurbished Kindle DX ereaders are also available for $269.99.

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Amazon’s Dual Screen Patent – Trouble for the Competition?

Richard — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 02:23:10 +0000

A patent originally filed in 2006 by Amazon and granted today and therefore made public might have ramifications to some of Amazon’s biggest competitors in the ereader space.

Some of the descriptions of what the patent is for:

A handheld electronic book reader device is equipped with dual displays. The device includes a first display for presenting visible representations of textual or graphic content related to the electronic book. The device also includes a second display positioned alongside the first display. The second display includes a plurality of graphic elements that correspond to portions of the first display. Also, the second display is responsive to user input to one of the graphic elements to perform an action on the content that is shown in the portion of the first display that corresponds to the one element.

and:

A handheld electronic device comprising: a first display for presenting visible representations of content, the first display comprising an electronic paper display; and a second display positioned alongside the first display, wherein the second display includes a plurality of graphic elements that correspond to portions of the first display, and wherein the second display is responsive to user input to one of the graphic elements to perform at least one action on content shown in a portion of the first display that corresponds to the one graphic element.

and:

42. A handheld electronic device comprising: a housing; an electronic paper display disposed in the housing and having a first surface area; and a liquid crystal display (LCD) disposed in the housing proximate the electronic paper display, the LCD having a second surface area that is smaller than the first surface area of the electronic paper display.
43. The handheld electronic device of claim 42, wherein the LCD has a rate of refresh that is faster than a rate of refresh of the electronic paper display.
44. The handheld electronic device of claim 42, wherein the LCD is substantially rectangular and is disposed below the electronic paper display.
45. The handheld electronic device of claim 42, wherein the LCD is touch-sensitive and is responsive to touch input.
46. The handheld electronic device of claim 42, wherein the electronic paper display and the LCD comprise a single structural element, with logically separate control systems for driving the electronic paper display and the LCD.

Does all of this remind you of any non-Amazon portable electronic reading devices? Perhaps nook and the Spring Design Alex?

CrunchGear has an interesting article about this with some interesting comments. Never a dull moment, indeed.