Archive for the ‘kindle dx’ Category
Kindle to Get a New Browser? no comments
The Web browsing experience on the few e-ink based ereaders that have that ability is generally slow and clunky. It works if you do not have a more capable device on hand, but there is definitely much room for improvement.
Fast Company has noticed a job opening at Lab126, which is Amazon’s Kindle design department, for an engineer to be part of a team charged with being “responsible to provide an innovative Embedded Web Browser” and to “design and implement new features on the Browser.” Said engineer must have a "familiarity with current Web standards" and “a proven ability to deliver high quality work on tight schedules.”
Obviously Amazon is being pressured by the myriad new devices coming to market soon, and by the iPad in particular. New ereaders such as Spring Design’s Alex will also provide a much better Web browsing experience than the Kindle currently does.
Internet browsing on the Kindle ereader is free. If Amazon were to make the browsing experience on the next Kindle comparable to that of a tablet or other MID would users have to start paying for the connection? A better browser would mean more use and therefore more bandwidth used.
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Kindle eReaders get Free Two-Day Shipping Upgrade for Valentine’s Day no comments
Amazon is offering free two-day shipping for the 6-inch Kindle
To take advantage of this offer you will need to add your Kindle order to your shopping cart and select the two-day shipping option.
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Amazon Buys Touchscreen Start-up no comments
The New York Times is reporting that Amazon has purchased Touchco which is a start-up specializing in touchscreen technology. The acquisition will be merged into Lab126, which is Amazon’s hardware development division.
This is exiting news for the Kindle family of ereaders. While Kindle DX2 will definitely need a touchscreen, it is a feature that is perhaps less vital for the 6-inch Kindle, at least for some users. It is however, a feature that Amazon will need to add to maintain parity with competing hardware. It could also perhaps enable Amazon to ditch the chiclet keyboard and have a larger screen on a new ereader with the same overall size as the current Kindles.
The touchscreens commonly used in current ereaders are either of the capacitive type, which Sony uses in the Sony Touch Edition and which has glare issues which detract from the reading experience, or Wacom technology which adds considerable expense and must be used with a special stylus. Endless Ideas (of BeBook fame) will be releasing their new Neo ereader on February 25. The Neo will use a touchscreen based on Wacom technology and is priced at $299. I believe that this is the lowest priced ereader using this type of touchscreen that has been announced so far.
The technology (interpolating force-sensitive resistance) developed by Touchco is said to be completely transparent and flexible, and could cost as little as $10 per square foot. It is also capable of multitouch and can accept input from either finger or stylus, or just about anything else you should choose to touch the screen with.
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Kindle DX Global to Start Shipping Tomorrow no comments
Amazon is due to start shipping the Kindle DX with global Wireless
Since Amazon first announced the global wireless connection for the 6-inch Kindle ereader a little over three months ago Kindles are now available in several countries that were not included in the original Kindle Global release. These countries, which now do get Kindles, include Argentina, Canada, Chile and Thailand.
Refurbished Kindle DX ereaders with US wireless don’t seem to be available at the moment, but there are a few sellers of used Kindle DX’s with US wireless
This also seems to be true of the Kindle 2; there are no more refurbished Kindle 2 ereaders at the moment, so I am presuming that Amazon has sold out of their stock. You can buy used Kindle 2’s
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NewspaperDirect Comes to Kindle no comments
Just one day after NewspaperDirect announced availability for Sony ereaders the company is announcing the same for Kindlers.
The Kindle ereaders until now have had access to 80 newspapers in 6 languages. NewspaperDirect brings 1,400 full-content newspapers and magazines from 93 countries in 44 languages to Amazon’s ereader.
To access the new content, you will need to subscribe to PressDisplay.com and install their PressReader application on your computer. Your selected newspapers will then need to be sideloaded onto your ereader. Not as convenient as Whispernet, but this does make a lot more content available. Newspapers from NewspaperDirect should also have most of (if not all) of the graphics of the original, which in many cases are MIA in the current Kindle editions.
PressDisplay subscriptions for personal use are $9.95 per month for 31 credits (1 credit = 1 newspaper issue), and $29.95 per month for unlimited use. This is definitely a welcome addition to the Kindle; it would be nice if access to OverDrive were to come next!
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Kindle DX eReader Goes Global no comments
Amazon has just announced that the Kindle DX ereader
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Kindle DX Gobal eReader Coming? Sony eReaders get More Newspapers and Magazines no comments
Engadget has a screenshot of an Amazon Kindle DX page that includes the blurb “Kindle DX Now with Global Wireless”. The DX ereader is currently out of stock for another 2 – 3 weeks; perhaps when it returns it will be Kindle DX Global? Amazon had said that it would bring the same international wireless feature to the DX as it did to the smaller Kindle ereader.
Sony eReaders Get a Few More Newspapers
NewspaperDirect announced yesterday that its catalogue of more than 1,400 newspapers and periodicals will be available for Sony’s line of ereaders beginning on January 6.
NewspaperDirect carries publications from 93 different countries in 44 languages.
via Mediabistro.com
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Amazon Announces New Kindle Features to Help Blind and Vision-Impaired Readers 1 comment
In a press release this morning Amazon is announcing that it is working on new features that will make its Kindle ereaders easier for blind and vision-impaired readers to use.
“Kindle is for anyone who loves to read—in fact, we’ve heard from thousands of vision-impaired customers and customers with learning disabilities over the past two years who have been helped tremendously by Kindle,” said Ian Freed, Vice President, Amazon Kindle. “With some key modifications, we believe Kindle can be a breakthrough device for the blind, and the team is excited about making these enhancements.”
The new enhancements are said to include an audible menu system and a new seventh font size that will be twice as large as the current largest font. Expect these new features to reach your Kindle ereader by summer 2010.
All of this is no doubt in response to the Kindle DX’s university trials getting shut down recently by the National Federation of the Blind, which says that the Kindle DX ereaders discriminate against the visually impaired. This due to the fact that even though the Kindle’s Text to Speech feature is of benefit to those with visual impairments, it is often very difficult to impossible for the people who need the feature the most to operate the controls without the aid of a sighted person.
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Sony Touch eReader to Go to School no comments
Sony of Canada announces in a press release (via Sonyinsider.com) that high school students at Blyth Academy will be using Sony Touch ereaders “that are pre-loaded with course textbooks, outlines, assignments, reference materials, background reading and personal timetables.”
Amazon’s Kindle DX ereader did not receive many good reviews in its own academic trials at the collegiate level. I think that this was to be expected and came as little surprise as the necessary study tools are just not in place in the current version of the Kindle DX. Presumably Amazon will use the feedback that they received to make Kindle DX 2 much more viable for use in the classroom.
The Kindle DX also ran into problems with the National Federation of the Blind, which claims that the Kindle DX ereaders discriminate against the blind. While the Kindle’s TTS feature would be great for visually impaired readers, it is difficult for a blind person to turn it on without sighted help. The Federation says that the menus should have a spoken option as well.
While this seems true and the Kindles do need more accessibility (Amazon is reportedly working on this), the National Federation of the Blind’s tactics of boycotts, filing complaints with the Department of Justice against schools in the trials and even filing suit against one school seem rather heavy handed. Wouldn’t it be more productive to work with Amazon to improve accessibility rather than just blocking the trials? After all, this is a relatively new technology, and one which holds promise for all students, especially those with disabilities.
I’m not sure if the Sony ereaders will face this particular hurdle in Canada – it does not have any text to speech feature. It does have somewhat better study tools than the Kindle DX with its touchscreen and stylus. I would think that the Kindle DX ereader’s larger screen would be much better suited for use in reading textbooks though.
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Kindle for PC Beta Released no comments
Amazon has released a beta version of the promised Kindle for PC
Amazon’s press release (edited):
"Kindle for PC" Now Available — The Free Application for Reading Kindle Books Available on the PC Today for Readers Around the World
Latest Kindle application brings more than 360,000 Kindle books, including New York Times Bestsellers and New Releases, to the PC
SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Nov. 10, 2009– Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) today announced the availability of "Kindle for PC," the free application that lets readers around the world enjoy Kindle books on their personal computers (PC). The U.S. Kindle Store (www.amazon.com/kindlestore) currently offers more than 360,000 books, including New Releases and 101 of 112 New York Times Bestsellers, which are typically $9.99 or less. The Kindle Store is the only place to find some of today’s most popular books in digital format. Kindle books can now be read on the Kindle, Kindle DX, iPhone, iPod touch and PC. Kindle for PC is now available as a free download to readers in over 100 countries.
Kindle for PC features Amazon’s Whispersync technology that automatically saves and synchronizes bookmarks and last page read across devices. Whether you read Kindle books on a Kindle, Kindle DX, or one of the free Kindle applications, you can always have your reading with you and never lose your place. With Kindle for PC, you can read some on your PC, read some on your Kindle, and always pick up right where you left off. Whispersync helped make the Kindle for iPhone application the most popular books app in the Apple App Store.
"Kindle for PC is the perfect companion application for customers who own a Kindle or Kindle DX," said Ian Freed, vice president, Amazon Kindle. "Kindle for PC is also a great way for people around the world to access a huge selection from the Kindle Store and read the most popular books of today even if they don’t yet have a Kindle."
With Kindle for PC, readers can take advantage of the following features:
- Purchase, download and read hundreds of thousands of books available in the Kindle Store
- Read the beginning of any book for free before they buy
- Access their library of previously purchased Kindle books stored on Amazon’s servers for free
- Read books in full color including children’s books, cookbooks, travel books, textbooks and graphic novels
- Choose from more than 10 different font sizes and adjust words per line
- Add and automatically synchronize bookmarks and last page read
- View notes and highlights marked on Kindle, Kindle DX, iPhone, and iPod touch
- Zoom in and out of text with a pinch of the fingers (Windows 7 users only)
- Turn pages with a finger swipe (available in a future release for Windows 7 users)
Keep in mind that this is a beta release; no doubt it will be tweaked and more usability features added.
