Archive for the ‘kindle 2’ tag
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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What’s Next for the Kindle? 1 comment
Barnes and Noble’s nook ereader is arguably the most formidable challenger yet to Amazon’s Kindle. The nook looks good and is slickly designed to be aimed directly at the Kindle’s weaknesses. Amazon needs to respond with some new features if they wish to maintain their current leading position in the increasingly crowded ereader market.
For me, the Kindle’s two strongest features remain:
- Kindle Store: If you discount all of the public domain ebooks at ebook stores such as Barnes and Noble or Sony’s ebook store, the Kindle store has more current and recent titles available. The Kindle store’s prices are almost always lower as well. If you are mainly interested in reading classics found in the public domain or books on the current best seller lists, then these are available at most ebook stores. But if your reading preferences are a bit more esoteric, then your are more likely to find your desired titles in the Kindle store. And yes, you can of course still read the public domain ebooks on the Kindle but you may need to convert them first with a program such as Calibre or email them to Amazon for conversion.
- Wireless browsing: The nook and other new ereaders coming to market have a wireless connection, but so far this is only for purchase and delivery of ebooks. With the Kindle’s imperfect but usable browser you can also research what you are reading about on the internet or even check your email if you need to.
For many ereader shoppers, especially those who walk into a Barnes and Noble store and get to touch and play with a nook, this may well not be enough. To maintain its edge, Amazon needs to upgrade the Kindle’s feature set so that it can again clearly stand out as the best ereader with the most features for the money. Some new features that would help put the shine back on the Kindle:
- EPUB: If EPUB were a supported Kindle format you could access the Google public domain books without conversion. Also the Kindle could claim more openness without forfeiting their proprietary format in the Kindle store. There is a lot of pressure to make the EPUB format a standard across all ereader devices and adding EPUB to the Kindle’s supported formats would surely win Amazon some applause and good will.
- Built-in PDF support: We want PDF document handling that works. This includes things like schematics and equations, etc. that display properly as well as zoom and pan functions. This is especially important for technicians, academics, scientists, etc. who work with a lot of PDF documents. This is more than a niche market. Anyone who has a Kindle ereader even if it is primarily for work will buy ebooks for it. Technically this is not going to be easy to get right and I would imagine that we will see gradual improvements when it comes to handling PDF’s.
- Touchscreen: The nook has a small LCD touchscreen below the e-ink screen for navigation and ebook selection. While it looks really cool, we won’t know until we get to use it how well it actually does the job. The virtual keyboard on the nook’s LCD may well not be as easy to use as the chicklet keyboard on the Kindle. I’m not sure if the Kindle 2 really needs a touchscreen, but the Kindle DX definitely does. I’m not talking about the type of touchscreen the Sony Touch ereader uses with its glare issues. We want Wacom Tablet technology that uses a stylus and doesn’t sacrifice readability. This would make for better study tools which are needed if the Kindle DX is going to go to school. It would also be much more convenient for business use where users need to make annotations, drawings, etc. on their documents.
- Sharing: The nook has a strong new feature that allows you to lend an ebook to a friend for 14 days (if the publisher allows). Each book may only be loaned once. This feature by itself may well swing many purchasers to the nook, even though it is not yet known how many publishers will agree to it. The Kindle allows sharing between Kindles in a family account (usually up to 6 Kindles), but if Amazon can get publishers to agree to a similar plan to the nook’s it would be appealing for many people.
- Public Library Access: The new Sony ereaders come with the ability to check out ebooks from public libraries that are part of the Overdrive system. At the moment this is mainly a feel good feature as most libraries have few titles available. This should change however as demand increases.
- Kindle store support for other devices: Currently you can buy and read ebooks from the Kindle store on iPhone and iPod Touch. Barnes and Noble’s nook adds to this support for Blackberry, PC and Mac computers. Your ebooks and bookmarks are synced across any of these devices and the nook ereader. Amazon is already working on this; a free Kindle ebook reader for PC should be available in November, and Kindle apps for Mac and Blackberry should follow soon thereafter.
- Folders: The Kindle needs a better library management system. We need to be able to arrange our ebooks and documents in folders as we wish, and have the ability to move them easily back and forth between folders as needed. Kindlers have been asking for this one for a long time.
The nook is an attractive and sophisticated looking ereader. Many purchasers will probably be drawn to it just by its good looks. Perhaps it is also time for an appearance upgrade for the Kindle, as long as it doesn’t detract from the primary purpose of the Kindle, which is reading.
With the increasing competition, I think this is more of a must do list than a wish list if Amazon wants to stay on top. What other features do you think are most important? Leave a comment.
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Sayonara, Kindle 2 with U.S. Wireless no comments
Amazon has phased out the U.S. version of the Kindle 2. A note on Amazon’s site says “Due to strong customer demand for the newest Kindle, we are consolidating our family of 6″ Kindles. We will continue to fully support Whispernet for all U.S.-only Kindles.” There are still refurbished Kindles
The Kindle with U.S. and international wireless has been reduce in price to $259, which is the recent price of the U.S. only version.
This is probably a bummer for people like me who don’t have a good signal relationship with AT&T, but there were people who had the same problem with Sprint.
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Reading PDF Files on eBook Readers no comments
If you primarily use your ebook reader for reading fiction, then you most probably are seldom if ever concerned about how good a job your ereader does at displaying PDF files. If, on the other hand, you are a technician, scientist, or work in academia, and use your reader to read technical literature, this feature will become increasingly important to you.
Most of the recent ebook reader models have at least some PDF functionality, but which are best?
Kindle 2
- Send the PDF file as an attachment to your Kindle’s email address. Amazon will convert the file and deliver it via Wispernet to your Kindle. Amazon charges 10 cents per email for this service.
- Convert the PDF file for free by sending it as an attachment to “your kindle email”@free.kindle.com. Amazon will do the conversion and email it back to your computer at the email address on file for your account.
- Convert the PDF file yourself by using MobiPocket Creator . You can also try saving the PDF document as a Word Doc, and then open the new file with Word and save as txt file which you can then transfer to your Kindle.
Conversion often does not result in perfect documents. PDF docs with DRM can cause problems, being difficult or even impossible to convert. The conversion process often messes up charts, tables and images. Formulae and equations don’t fare well either.
Jesse Vincent’s Savory program, which is a hack for the Kindle 2, seems to do a good job of converting charts, etc. Besides PDF files, Savory also converts epub files to the Kindle format. On his web page there is a shot of a converted scientific paper that looks quite nice. If you go this route, be sure to read all of the instructions and warnings.
Kindle DX
Update: 08/18/09; This post on Gadgets and Toys has some nice screenshots of the Kindle DX displaying medical journals on pdf.
Sony PRS-700BC
Foxit eSlick: If reading PDF files with lots of graphs and schematics is the primary purpose you will put your ebook reader to, then this might be a good choice for you. It allows zooming and panning of PDF documents. This ereader is still nowhere as polished as the Kindles or the Sony products, and should probably only be a first choice if you only want to use it for technical PDF document reading. To read files other than txt or PDF format you will need to convert into PDF using your computer.
iRex Digital Reader 1000S
Which of the current ebook readers will perform best for you when it comes to reading PDF documents will depend of course on your specific needs. Are your PDF documents full of intricate graphics and schematics that you need to make annotations on? Also you may want to balance PDF needs against the other uses you plan to put your ereader to such as general reading; unless, of course, you plan on using it strictly for “business”.
My picks would be as follows:
If heavy duty technical PDF document handling with full featured zoom and panning and the ability to add handwritten annotations is the most important feature set for you, and if you can afford it, go for the iRex iLiad.
For light to medium duty PDF document handling with some graphics, but where tilting to landscape mode will be zoom enough, and if annotating on the device is not a priority, and if you also plan to use your ebook reader for magazines, newspapers, and general reading; go with the Kindle DX.
If you want a smaller and therefore more portable device, consider the Kindle 2 with the Savory software.
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It’s an Orwellian World 1 comment
This week Kindle owners were shocked to learn that certain titles by George Orwell had been disappeared from their Kindles, and their accounts refunded the amounts paid for the titles. What apparently happened is that Amazon got a hold of unauthorized additions of some of Orwell’s titles and when the mistake was discovered, Amazon’s system automatically removed the ebooks from purchaser’s Kindles via the wireless connection. It’s kind of fitting that Amazon should choose a title such as 1984 to introduce us to the dark side of the Wispernet.
Because of the outrage this incident has caused, Amazon has said that in the future it will not just automatically remove purchased books from Kindles if a similar situation arises.
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Mobile is reporting that Amazon is close to finalizing a launch date for the Kindle in the UK, presumably in time for Christmas. Agreements with book publishers have already been finalized, and negotiations with a mobile operator and with newspaper and magazine publishers are in progress, according to the article.
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FreeHand Systems, a global leader in digital sheet music publishing, has announced that its Novato Music Press catalog of over 20,000 classical, traditional and American music titles is now available for the Kindle.
“This is a wonderful boon to musicians who want instant access to a vast library of in-demand sheet music,” said Kim Lorz, CEO of FreeHand Systems, Inc. “In addition to the convenient and comprehensive content selection that we offer, musicians never have to fumble through paper scores or worry about forgetting a piece of music. Everything is wirelessly downloaded and stored in the Kindle and is available for easy recall.”
This is the first time such a comprehensive collection of sheet music has been made available on an ebook reader. FreeHand Systems’ goal is to make all of their more than 130,000 titles available for the Kindle.
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If you bought a Kindle 2 for $359 just before the price drop no comments
Amazon is said to be giving a $60 rebate to anyone who purchased a Kindle 2 at the old price after 6/08. You have to request it by calling their customer service at 866-321-8851.
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A Busy Week for eBook Readers 1 comment
This has been one busy week for ebooks and related news. Perhaps most welcome was the announcement by Amazon that it was lowering the price of the Kindle 2
In other news, Amazon was reported as having patents for a method of including advertising on an ebook reader device. This would, if implemented, have some pretty obvious pros and cons: for one thing, advertising could subsidize the price of readers and/or ebooks. On the other hand, if not implemented correctly, it could be very annoying. I would at least hope that a choice would be offered to consumers: cheaper products with ads, or pay more for ad-free. You can read more about this at www.mediapost.com and www.geek.com.
A new ebook reader was introduced in the UK. The Elonex eBook 600EB is made by Elonex for Borders. It comes preloaded with 100 classic ebooks and sudoku. There is an SD card slot, and the device comes with a one year guarantee. This reader seems to be pretty basic but functional and its main competition will probably be the Sony ereaders, as the Kindle is not available in Europe.
Speaking of the Sony ereaders; if you have one of these and your computer is a Mac, you will be happy to hear that Sony has apparently announced upcoming official Mac support for the Sony eBook Store. You can read more here. Read the rest of this entry »
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Amazon Reduces Kindle 2 Price no comments
Just a quick note; Amazon has announced that it is reducing the price for the Kindle 2
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Kindle and Kindle Books Outside of USA no comments
Currently Amazon’s Kindle 2 and Kindle DX are only sold by Amazon in the US. While it is possible to have someone in the US buy a Kindle for you and ship it to your overseas location, or you can buy one on eBay, you then have the problem of not being able to access the Kindle book store unless you have a credit card issued by an American bank with a US billing address. If you are an American, or have a credit card billed in the US, then you can download books while overseas to your PC and then to your Kindle.
If the Kindle 2 or Kindle DX is the ebook reader you are set on, there is a workaround that some are using to purchase books from Amazon, even though they are living in other countries. This involves buying Amazon gift cards and using those to pay for your ebooks. You can find out how to do this here: http://www.nerdgirl.com/2009/03/20/amazon-kindle-outside-the-us/
At some point Amazon will presumably make the Kindle Family available worldwide, but it will need to be rebuilt to have wireless access via the systems in place outside the US. Also Amazon will no doubt have to negotiate with publishers as different publishers usually have the rights to publish a particular book in different geographical areas.
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eBook Readers and Textbooks no comments
One major path to wider implementation and use of ebook readers will be their use for reading textbooks, but are the current devices up to the task?
In May of this year, When Jeff Bezos introduced the Kindle DX, one of his focuses was on textbooks; which this new, larger addition to the Kindle family should be better suited for than it’s smaller sibling, the Kindle 2. Definitely the screen shots of the Kindle DX displaying diagrams are looking good. “We’re going to get students with smaller backpacks, less load”, he said. He also announced five colleges and universities that will be trying out the Kindle DX in the upcoming fall session: Arizona State, Case Western Reserve, Princeton, Reed College, and University of Virginia.
Mr. Bezos also announced that Amazon has reached agreements with three of the leading textbook publishers: Pearson, Cengage Learning and Wiley.
Some pilot programs at universities have met mixed results. In several cases, students requested print textbooks after becoming frustrated with the digital textbook. Most of the problems seem to arise from navigational problems. Results so far would seem to indicate that additional features are needed on the devices before the use of ebook readers for reading textbooks can really take off. Advanced search functions, annotations (including shared annotations), and reliable multiple bookmarking functionality for example. And wouldn’t it be great to have easy access to Wikipedia! Another problem is mismatched pagination between users of printed and e versions of books. And finally, of course, color would be much better for those anatomical drawings! Looks like we’ve still got a ways to go. Certainly the Kindle DX is currently best of breed when it comes to digital textbooks; it does include many of the features necessary. It will be interesting to see how well the device is accepted by the students in the trials this fall.
