Archive for the ‘kindle 3’ tag
Kindle Mother’s Day promotion no comments
To promote Mother’s Day Amazon has started offering a $25 Amazon.com gift card with the purchase of either the Kindle 3G or Kindle DX ereaders. The promotion will end on May 8, 2011.
To take advantage of this offer you need to put the gift card in your shopping cart by checking the “Add a $25 Amazon.com Gift Card at no extra cost” button located under the buy buttons.
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Amazon Xoom giveaway no comments
Amazon is giving away a Motorola Xoom tablet along with some other prizes in a contest to promote the Amazon Prime program. To enter, just go to the “Sweepstakes” tab at Amazon’s Facebook page and click on the “Like” button. To have a chance to win the Xoom you will need to enter by May 1. After that Amazon is giving away other prizes each week, including a Kindle 3 with lighted cover and $50 gift card for the May 16 thru May 22 period.
The contest will end on June 19, 2011 at midnight PST and is limited to US citizens.
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Amazon announces lower-priced Kindle ereader subsidized by ads no comments
Amazon has just announced a new lower priced Kindle ereader option. 
You can now get the Kindle with Special Offers for $114. This is the Kindle 3 Wi-Fi that is regularly priced at $139, but with sponsored screensavers as well as advertising and special offers at the bottom of the home screen.
The first set of sponsored screensavers are from Buick, Olay (Proctor & Gamble), Visa and the Amazon.com Reward Visa Card (from Chase). Some of the initial Special Offers include:
- $10 for $20 Amazon.com Gift Card
- $6 for 6 Audible Books (normally $68)
- $1 for an album in the Amazon MP3 Store (choose from over 1 million albums)
- $10 for $30 of products in the Amazon Denim Shop or Amazon Swim Shop
- Free $100 Amazon.com Gift Card when you get an Amazon Rewards Visa Card (normally $30)
- Buy one of 30 Kindle bestsellers with your Visa card and get $10 Amazon.com credit
- 50% off Roku Streaming Player (normally $99)
Amazon will be launching “AdMash” — a free Kindle app and website where customers can vote for sponsored screensavers. Screensavers with the most votes qualify to appear on user’s Kindles. You can see previews of some of the ads here.
At first glance I’m not sure if saving $25 is worth having ads on my ereader, but as long as the ads don’t invade the actual ebooks themselves it seems innocuous enough. It’s not like I’ve never seen an ad in something I’ve been reading before, and some of the Special Offers do look good. I wonder if Amazon will offer existing Kindle owners some sort of credit or other incentive to take the advertising.
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New OCTOVO leather Kindle 3 covers & wool sleeve no comments
OCTOVO has a couple of new leather covers and a wool sleeve for the latest generation Kindle 3 ereaders. OCTOVO ereader covers feature high quality materials and workmanship.
Black Leather Bookcover for Kindle 3
This cover is made of Italian leather panels hand stitched in a diamond check pattern. The lining is microfiber and has a flap to hold papers. Elastic straps are used to hold the Kindle in place and another strap is used to hold the cover closed.
Available for $74.99 at Amazon.
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Vintage Leather Book Cover for Kindle 3
This cover is made of 100 percent natural vegetable tanned leather in a
vintage leather finish. As with the Black Leather Cover, elastic bands are used to hold the ereader in place and to hold the cover closed. The interior is lined with microfiber and has a single flap. Each Vintage Leather Cover will age a little differently due to the finish. Available at Amazon for $74.99.
I have the OCTOVO Vintage Leather Cover for my Kindle DX (see my review) and am very happy with it. Craftsmanship and the materials used are very good — even the microfiber lining is much better quality than I’ve seen on other covers.
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OCTOVO Wool Felt Sleeve for Kindle 3
OCTOVO also has a new Wool Felt Sleeve to fit the Kindle 3 ereader. 
The sleeve holds the Kindle snugly and protects from splashes and light shocks. Made from 100 percent natural wool and available in six different colors. Priced at $24.99 at Amazon.
Additionally, OCTOVO makes the Tirim Splash-Proof Case, but this one has been out for awhile. The Tirim is made of felt with a clear plastic window and protects from splashes and small shocks. Priced at $24.99 at Amazon.
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Amazon Kindle Facebook giveaway no comments
Amazon is giving away 10 Kindle 3G ereaders at its Kindle Facebook page. The sweepstakes will end on Mar. 31, 2011. To enter you need to become a fan — by clicking the “Like” button on the Kindle Facebook page, which will take you to the sweepstakes entry page.
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Tablet & eReader News – 2/28/2011 no comments
Just catching up on some recent news:
Today Bloomsbury Publishing announced that in 2010 its ebook sales increased eighteen fold. The publisher of the Harry Potter books says that trade ebook sales are now running at just under 10 percent of print sales.
Bloomsbury CEO Nigel Newton says that 2011, “will clearly be the year of the ebook.” In spite of this there is still no word on any digital versions of the Harry Potter books. Last spring there were rumors that J.K Rowling was finally looking at the possibility of releasing the series in ebook format, but nothing seems to have come from that so far.
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HarperCollins has decided that, beginning in March, it will only let libraries loan its ebooks 26 times. After that the library will need to buy a new copy. Needless to say, librarians are not impressed with the publisher’s actions.
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Earlier this month Bloomberg was reportedly told by unnamed sources that RIM was developing software to enable its forthcoming PlayBook tablet to run Android apps, rather than just relying on the relatively meager selection of RIM apps available in its App World.
TechRadar has found a video of the PlayBook shot at MWC in which someone who is ostensibly a RIM representative does say that the PlayBook will support Android apps.
Enabling the PlayBook to run Android apps would dramatically increase its functionality and would be a sensible thing for RIM to do.
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Beginning March 6 the Kindle 3 3G ereader will be sold at AT&T company-owned stores nationwide. There will reportedly be demo units in the stores.
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Kindle 3 gets page numbers, more social features no comments
There is a new software update for the Kindle 3. Version 3.1 includes the following features:
- Real page numbers – Finally the Kindle will get real page numbers like most other ereaders instead of the “locations” that have been used up to now. Page numbering will have to be added to the Kindle books themselves, so it may take awhile for every book in the Kindle Store to have the new feature.
- Public Notes – Kindle books get social. Users will be able to share their notes and highlights with others. This is an opt-in feature that you can turn on at the Kindle library management page.
- Before You Go – At the end of the book users can rate a book, share a message about the book with their social network, get personalized reading recommendations and see more titles from the same author.
- New newspaper and magazine layout – the layout for newspapers and magazines has been “new and improved” to give users a snapshot of the news and let them decide what you want to read first.
I’m really glad about the page numbers; I know there has been ongoing debate about locations vs page numbers, with some Kindle users defending the locations system. I prefer the page numbering system most other ereaders use myself. I hope that this feature will come to the Kindle DX and Kindle 2 as well.
The update will be pushed out wirelessly, or you can download the update and update manually here.
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LightWedge ereader lights and covers no comments
LightWedge has a couple of new ereader lights that 
are available now and several ereader covers to be released shortly, including a really nice lighted cover. I got a chance to spend a few minutes at the LightWedge booth at CES 2011 and check them out.
Verso Rechargeable Wrap Light for Kindle
The Verso Wrap Light comes with a set of interchangeable cuffs that you can use to fit it to any Kindle ereader model (1 – 3, DX) as well as the Sony Touch and Pocket Editions, Nook and Kobo ereaders. This light features a metal-clad gooseneck LED light that likes to be wrapped around the base when not in use. The battery is rechargeable over the included micro-USB cable and gets about 15 hours use per charge.
Verso Rechargeable Arc Light for Kindle
This model puts the LED on a light bar that comes on
automatically when the bar is raised. The Arc Light also is rechargeable with the included micro-USB cable and gets about 15 hours of use between charges. The set of interchangeable cuffs is included with this ereader light as well.
Both the Wrap Light and the Arc Light come in a choice of white or graphite. Both are priced at $39.99, which is higher than other ereader lights, but it is rechargeable. I was told that the Arc Light was the bestselling model of the two, but both looked quite good when I saw them. The advantage of having the gooseneck model will be that it is more adjustable, which may make it a better light for use with the larger screen of the Kindle DX.
LightWedge eReader Covers
LightWedge also has several new lines of ereader covers coming in the near future. 
All of the new covers will fit the Kindle 3, Nook Classic and the Kobo ereader. The first series to arrive (Feb. 2011) will be a series of covers adorned with reproductions of classic NY Times photos. These covers are expected to be priced at about $50. The cover shown has a photo of the Flatiron Building.
Also in the works is a series of leather ereader cases decorated with designs created by various artists. Not sure when these will become available but I can say that they seemed well made and the leather material used feels really nice in one’s hands.
I was also told that LightWedge is working on a possible set of Disney-themed ereader covers. That may or may not happen – and no idea when if it does.
Update: Some of the LightWedge Kindle 3 covers,
LightWedge is also working on a lighted ereader jacket that will fit Kindle 3, Nook Classic and Kobo ereaders. It features two metal-clad gooseneck LED lights that fold flat into the front cover when not in use. Like the ereader lights above, these are rechargeable with a micro-USB cable. The video below is of this lighted case at LightWedge’s booth at CES.
I was really impressed with the lighted cover – it seems well designed and elegant. I was told to expect a price of about $69 and availability around the end of the second quarter.
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Octovo Solis light for Kindle 3 no comments
Octovo still doesn’t have their Kindle 3 covers ready,
although they have told me they will be available before the end of the year — I hope in time for Christmas delivery. In the meantime their Solis light has been redesigned to fit the latest generation Kindle 6-inch ereader.
The Octovo Solis light is created from a single block of brushed aluminum. The lighting arm houses a single LED bulb and folds down for storage. The light is powered by a single AA battery (included) which should provide about 25 hours of use between battery changes. The mount is designed to angle the light at 15 degrees to prevent glare.
The design is somewhat similar to the Kandle ereader light, as opposed to the gooseneck style of the Mighty Bright lights. I like the Solis better than the Kandle for several reasons. First, it uses AA batteries 
whereas the Kandle uses button batteries which are harder to find and more expensive. The Solis is also made of metal instead of plastic.
Finally, even though the description of the Kandle says that it is also for the latest generation Kindle 3, it was originally made for ereaders with a wider bezel (Kindle 1 & 2, Sony PRS-300 & PRS-600). The clamp of the Kandle is wider than the bezel of the Kindle 3 and if not careful I think it would be easy to accidently clamp it onto the screen of the Kindle 3, which would not be good. I have a Kandle, but I hesitate to use it on my Kindle 3 ereader because I’m afraid I might forget and do this.
The Solis light is available from Amazon for $29.99. OCTOVO also makes the Solis ereader light in a size to fit the Kindle 2 and the Nook ebook readers.
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eReader & tablet news – 11/18/2010 no comments
Delta Electronics has partnered with Bridgestone Corp. to bring Bridgestone’s color epaper technology to market.
Bridgestone’s Quick Response Liquid Powder Display (QR-LPD) is a bistable reflective display that uses airborne, electronically switchable powder particles of extremely high fluidity, resulting in an epaper display with fast response times and ultra-low power consumption.
The QR-LPD display will be marketed under the brand name “AeroBee.” Initially Delta will be focusing on the Chinese market, using the new color reflective display technology in ereaders and e-signage.
Color QR-LPD displays are achieved by adding color filters to a monochrome display. Bridgestone and Delta have shown demos of both black and white and color displays before, but this latest announcement does not indicate whether AeroBee will include both monochrome and color versions.
Digitimes reported recently that Delta is also partnering with Japanese publisher Kadokawa to introduce an ereader that will be intended for digital comics using Bridgestone’s QR-LPD display — obviously that will want to be color.
The video below is from Diginfonews and is about seven months old. If you watch older videos from 2009 you will notice that the screen refresh of the prototype displays has improved, but it still seems too slow for ereader page turns to me. Hopefully this has been improved on since this video was made.
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Black Friday seems to be a predominantly American thing, but Amazon is trying to infect the UK with the concept. From 22 Nov, Amazon UK will feature a variety of discounts and deals on various products. These offers will take the form of “Lightning Deals” with a limited quantity of the featured item being offered at a discount for a limited time.
Over the five days the Black Friday promotion takes place over 200 deals will be offered. Some of those mentioned include:
- Over 60% off Nintendo Wii Consoles
- Over 60% off Flip Mino High Definition Camcorders
- Over 60% off Microsoft Xbox consoles
- Canon PowerShot Cameras at less than half price
- Over 60% off Eternity Moment Eau de Parfum
- Over 70% off Pearl Necklaces
- Sony TVs at half price
- Coronation Street Golden Anniversary Collection DVD at less than half price
The percentage off is from the RRP or Amazon UK selling price. You can keep track of the deals at Amazon UK’s Black Friday page.
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It is looking like there is a good chance that Kindle 3 ereaders will be sold out by Christmas. Recently there was a limit of five Kindle 5 ereaders per order. Currently the limit is 3 Kindles per order, both at the Amazon US and the Amazon UK sites. This is for shipment within the US or the UK.
The international order page
If you want a Kindle 3 for Christmas and you live outside of the US or the UK, then best pick up one of the Wi-Fi + 3G models from the Amazon UK site before they are gone as well.
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The Copia social reading platform is out of beta. Copia went from listing six different ereaders it would launch down to just two LCD models announced about five months ago to none. At present there are no forthcoming ereaders promised at Copia’s site — you will read ebooks from the Copia ebookstore on your desktop, iPad or Win 7 phone. An Android app is also in the works.
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A couple of publishers have added their titles to the iBookstore recently:
Technology book publisher Peachpit has announced that hundreds of its titles, including Apple Training, Apple Pro Training series, Adobe Press and New Riders titles are now available in the iBookstore, with more to come.
Pearson, which specializes in publishing books for the home, office and technical professional communities, has announced that hundreds of its titles have been added to the iBookstore.
Pearson’s imprints include Addison-Wesley Professional and Prentice Hall Professional, Sams Publishing, IBM Press, Que Publishing, Cisco Press and Pearson IT Certification.
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Wine.com has launched a free app for the iPad. While this is primarily a shopping app that lets you buy wines from Wine.com, there is also a lot of information provided for each wine including critical acclaim and pedigree specifics, winery background, region, varietal and even an interactive geo-location "tour."
If you want a more comprehensive wine app there is Cor.kz Wine Info for $3.99. There is a version of this app for both the iPad and iPhone.
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Don Johnston Inc. is having a sale on the Intel Reader. Until Jan 30, 2011 the Intel Reader, which is designed for use by those with visual impairments, is $899, or $799 if two or more are purchased. If that seems expensive, keep in mind that the regular price is $1500.
