Many details about the Kindle
By Ryan Block 
posted Nov 19th 2007 11:16AM
posted Nov 19th 2007 11:16AM
- It doesn't use a generic RSS aggregator -- it's Amazon-selected blogs only (and they "want every blog they can get"). Blogs that are aggregated by the Kindle get a revenue share with Amazon, since it costs money to get those publications.
- The side scroller is, as we expected, a polarized PNLCD (pneumatic LCD). It looks amazing.
- It's SD only, not SDHC.
- It uses the Kindle file format (which is a variant of structured HTML), but also accepts Word and PDF files (but only via email since they need to be converted by Amazon), Mobi, HTML, plaintext, and image files like JPEG, GIF, and PNG. Sorry, no RTF.
- Oh yes, it supports Audible! Oh, and a little, unused file format called MP3.
- It has a user-replaceable, 1530mAh battery
- You can bind five or six devices to a single account, and share books you've purchased to those accounts. There's no simultaneous reading lock, so if you and your significant other are on the same Amazon account you can both read the same book at the same time on your Kindles.
- Amazon is also releasing the Digital Text Platform, which allows users to upload their own content to the Kindle store for sale and download.
- The $9.99 price point is the sweet spot, but there are books for sale from the Gutenberg project for under $1 (if you don't want to download them for free yourself), and upwards of that quoted $10 price point as well.
- Amazon wouldn't say who makes the device, just that "it's an OEM in China."
Wish it were backlit.
You can't backlight and eInk screen.
I know, I can still wish it were backlit.
Did you notice that Amazon's order form lists an accessory on the bottom? It's a USB-driven nightlight on a bendable arm. I sure haven't seen it, but would guess you can drive it from the USB port on the Kindle. Obviously that will reduce the battery life, but it would give what you're asking for.
Do you also read books? You can use this ANYWHERE you would otherwise read a book. If you want something backlit, then buy a tablet PC and have at it.
While it cannot be back lit that does not prevent lighting the screen from the front. I would think it just requires using a wave guide material and LED's around the edges of the screen. The plastic over the screen reflects a percentage of the light downward onto the screen. I am not that sure about the surface of the e-ink screen though so that might be the problem.
Do you not know the whole point behind eink? Backlight causes eyestrain. Whens the last time the last paperback novel you read started glowing?
I was stuck in traffic (parked) at night and had no difficult browsing Google using the interior car lighting.
and when will we get it in Europe?
....never? OK Ta vrymuch
*cries
No offense to Europe but what about Canada? We actually have an EVDO network here as well so when would it be available in the North? Probably as soon as a Canadian carrier offers unlimited data, so I won't hold my breath.
What about cross border roaming?
indeed Sean,
the problem with roaming in Europe is even worse than across the 49th parallel as the carriers (even the same carriers) will charge you roaming in each EU country. I was told the other day that just logging onto GPRS in France will cost me 12 Euros (about 18 CDN or a Brazilion USD) As for EVDO, I've no idea where europe is with this but whatever the answer is, it won't be consistent across the EU.
Europe has 3G networks in all member states
hey, in australia we'd be happy just to have an amazon store.
"You can bind five or six devices to a single account, and share books you've purchased to those accounts. There's no simultaneous reading lock, so if you and your significant other are on the same Amazon account you can both read the same book at the same time on your Kindles."
That's a great feature.
Except then everyone in the family needs to buy a Kindle... family of 4... almost $1600... right...
Needs to buy? No. Can buy? Yes. There's a very distinct difference between those two phrases.
Not to mention how we have yet ANOTHER iphone like device for engadget to moan about for 2 weeks
"Not to mention how we have yet ANOTHER iphone like device for engadget to moan about for 2 weeks"
Uh... you mean, a gadget? Yeah, what a shocker that engadget's going to be writing about it...
I love the technology inside and all, but frankly from the pictures I think it looks like something from 1997.
That's why I'm going to wait for the second generation. In addition, I don't want to suffer iPhone Early Adopters Syndrome yet again when the price drops after the holidays.
I can't believe they actually went with the leaked design. I thought it was some kind of sick joke or misdirection. May God have mercy on their souls for unleashing such ugliness onto this world.
Yes it's ugly. And that's not because of some grand utilitarian vision. It's because Bezos is a cheap, cheap bastard. Hell, he'd have those things made out of refurbished and spray-painted Etch-A-Sketches if he could...
Uh, it's *nematic* LCD, not pneumatic (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nematic#Nematic_phase). But the bigger question is - didn't you mean Polymer Network LCD (http://www.dic.co.jp/eng/rd/topics/pnlcd.html)?
Oh, but that changes everything … I’d have bought one right now if it only had a pneumatic LCD, but in that case … and they really expect people to buy this crap?
I was wondering why it had done an LCD that was driven by compressed air....
I'm still not completely sold on the hardware and price(for starters I'd like the keyboard area to be smaller), but the services, features, and supported formats are absolutely amazing.
I imagine prices will eventually drop once technology improves. I really hope so at least. And if it is only a couple and they are the type who like to read together, this is an amazing feature. Reading in bed lives another day!
Engadget, I think Amazon should be paying you. You've done a great job advertising for them. I want one!
No easy PDF reading, no sale.
When will someone come out with a e-ink ebook reader that actually displays PDFs nicely? The scientific community would KILL for a way to store and read articles that doesn't require a giant stack of papers or a full-fledged computer.
Exactly. I'd pay twice as much for a larger screen, backlight and ability to display arbitrary PDF, with formulas and images.
I know right? Almost everything in academia runs off of PDFs. I print them out, staple them, bring them to class. If I could just send full page scans that I get from my professors directly to the Kindle, this thing would be sold.
Aaarghh, don't encorage that goddam PDF!
The most awful file format to curse the interweb, why oh why do people use it?
Exactly. A reader needs to support every common format. HTML, RTF, LIT, PRC and PDF. This particular device looks horribly proprietary and expensive for something that only works off Amazon's own site. Considering the lock-in I would expect that either the device should be free / subsidized, or the books should cost far less than $10 to own. I'm embarrassed to say it, but Kindle makes most other e-book readers look quite open. I think Sony's Reader looks far better than Kindle though neither device strikes me as that desirable. I personally don't believe any e-book format is going to take off until it gets the equivalent of MP3 - an industry standard that all readers support. To me that *should* be PDF or some well-defined subset of HTML. I also believe that the pursuit of proprietary formats and standards has been the downfall of ereaders this far. I don't think it will take long for someone to crack the Amazon file format and start spreading high quality all over the place. And frankly when it happens I will be laughing at the grand folly of DRM and this device in particular.
This is what I want:
- NOT proprietary,
- easy reading of ANY pdf, just like on computers, easy transfer,
- touch screen interface would be nice, I love my iPhone on this respect, no buttons...
- sleek design, BLACK, that does not make you look like a nerd when you take it out in public.
- ideally, backlit, wifi included as well as a simple web browser
I know, huh? How great would that be to not have to print so many articles out?
@spass:
Sounds to me like what you want is the iRex iLiad:
http://www.irextechnologies.com/products/iliad
Linux-based OS, native PDF support, touch screen (though it does still have buttons, I'm afraid), looks pretty good, Wi-Fi & a web browser.
No back-light though, as that is physically impossible with e-ink. Might as well ask for a back-lit book.
You can expect to pay an iPhone like price for it too...
Alright, this is a common complaint and I think the Kindle has an elegant solution.
Displaying a PDF on anything other than a full size sheet of paper is unwieldy. It just doesn't work properly. What most of you want is just a damn tablet PC, which this is not intended to be. Plus, if you really wanted one, you would own one already, and thus outside of the market, but I digress.
PDF's need to be converted into some more manageable form before they can be displayed at this size, and it appears to me that through MOBI support or the email program, that is exactly what Amazon is doing. This is merely a solution so elegant that most users would never know there was a problem. Sure, we would all love to drag and pdf's in a useable fashion, but it ain't happening in this form factor. Live with some solutions.
I'm still not getting the need for this or any other ebook reader. Books are inherently incredibly legible and portable. There doesn't seem to be any advantage to carrying around 200 books.
I'll give you two.
* Engineering/IT for refrence material
* School where one device an replace N number of 10 lb. books (where N is the number of classes you are overloading your self with this semester).
I agree with your points, but Amazon seems to be targeting the general consumer market with the Kindle, which still gets a WTF from me. I can buy all the paperback books I want at $6.99 a pop with a better UI than the Kindle without having to plunk down $399 for a reader.
Where I attend school, the reading text is provided at no extra cost (the costs are included in the tuition), but they come in .pdf files. I would gladly buy a decent ebook reader that would benefit me through all of my classes rather than have to purchase each textbook separately.
Josh, nice idea regarding schoolbooks, but it will never happen. Most textbooks aren't produced by the school but by textbook publishers, an they aren't going to do anything to upset their profit margins. Unless, of course, they can make more and spend less.
OK, I'll amend my original statement. It *might* happen, but you will still pay $80+ for a textbook and it will still be obsolete in 2 years.
I agree with you in that I'm not sold there's a need for these devices, but I would rather carry this than 200 books! Well not unless I was practicing for a weight lifting competition.
I GET the need for this ebook reader and why there's an advantage to carrying around 200 books. I think this is targeted at readers. I'm really not trying to be the one who points out the obvious or being a smart ass but I think there are those who like to read a bit and then there are Readers..I go into hyperfocus when I read and the rest of the world does dissapear..The Kindle isn't absolutely perfect but it does seem to be the closest answer for me. I've been waiting for a good ebook since the Sony came out and the Eink is perfect for me.
I like that it carries 200 books. I often read multiple bks at the same time and flit from book to book depending on my mood or if I reach a doldrum and want a change of pace. I'm not saying I read 200 at the same time but it would be excellent to be able to refer to a previous book in an anthology to clarify something -or when I'm reading non fiction which I read often -to be able to compare authors points at my fingertips. Who cares about the increased portability of several books? Me! I have a 6 month old infant who breastfeeds, many appointments and a first grader..I'm a stay at home mom and my only down time is when my daughter nurses, I am cooking and something is baking, or I'm in a waiting room of the doctor or dentist...sooooo this ebook is a miracle for someone like me who already totes around an infant and all her accesories. I can read one handed w/ this and switch books while my infant sleeps on me. That is a miracle for an avid reader who has to settle with reading blogs and websites on a laptop while the baby sleeps instead of a long form book.
Plus-when I vacation I regularly mow through 5-15 books depending on the density of topic and downtime alloted on the beach..this is a god save! I'm the kind of person who waxes wistfullly of my library filled childhood and inhaling the scent of books but more than ever I care about content. The Kindle just happens to deliver it in a way that allows me to keep on reading at the pace that I prefer and lust after since I have very little time. For all of you who can afford to read whenever want maybe this isn't such a luxury or worth it.
The issue I have is not wanting to buy the first version when they release the even better one later on or reduce price significantly. And the fact that I read some more obscure books and I wonder how easy or hard it will be to obtain the book on Kindle or if ever. I've already perused the Kindle book store and I would rate it so so. There need to be more books. I would love to know how quickly Amazon will be adding more.
The issues with format don't apply to me as I don't have a vested interest in any since I don't have a store of ebook in other formats like a lot of ppl are complaining about. I'm more worried about the library...how quickly can Amazon get more titles? This is one of the main concerns for readers I imagine? No one seems to be talking about that. Everyone seems to be bitching about what the Kindle doesn't do..I just wanna read more and more easily now that I'm a busy parent.
Conversion of files sent wirelessly will cost you a small fee per the user's manual.
Converting files then sending them to your computer, then uploading them to the Kindle will be free.
No mention of PDF conversion in the user's manual.
Deficiencies include. Forced to submit your data for perusal...scanning....err drm management errr. I mean conversion by Amazon. I have HUGE issues with this since sometime I read pre-published works, or confidential materials, sorry Amazon you're not getting my business solely for that one reason. I understand the publishers likely demanded that all content pass through your servers but I aint biting.
The other problem I have is the lack of wi-fi (over simplification of device to cut support cost) and lack of a front or back light. Yes I know a paperback book doesn't have a built in light either but I am buying something electronic likely for convenience, not being able to read in the dark without buying another light is a poor decision.
Most likely, they did not include a backlight for experiential reasons. Ebook readers are trying to get away from the computer screen model and replicate the printed page. Light-on does that better than light-through.
Eink displays cannot be backlit. Eink is opaque. You need to use a light just like actual paper.
So to get html, pdf or mobi files I have to pay to have them converted. Even if I plug it in using the USB?
Are there any zoom options for pdf. Not just font sizes, but actual zoom, including graphics?
when in the UK?
On further inspection, as A54 mentions, pdf not mentioned in the manual, no support at all?
All we really need though is a third party app that can handle the conversions. That and a zoom option in the kindle for images/pdfs.
"But only via email since they need to be converted by Amazon."
Surely they're joking?
What's with the Headphone Port?? Can this read the book to you as well? I haven't seen anything about that??
"Oh yes, it supports Audible! Oh, and a little, unused file format called MP3."
No, as stated it has Audible and MP3 support, so you can do more than just read things on it.
These wont work until their resolution is greater than yer average pdf file (like 1680*1050 or something), so you can view a full page natively. Also, no SDHC support in a new device these days is a crime.
You need about 1000 pixels along the long axis of the page to read a letter-sized PDF. My PC runs at 1600x 1200, and can display two pages legibly side by side.
The physical size of the screen may also matter. Even if this screen had the resolution, the text on the page would be half size.
Is it me? Or is reading suddenly more appealing?
No, it's not just you.
Is this the perfect reading device? I doubt it. Locking consumers in to a proprietary format kind of sucks, and I think Amazon will wind up discounting these heavily, but there's definitely a market.
I've read e-books on my Pocket PC, and I loved the convenience of being able to carry an entire bookcase on an SD card. Devices like this will, eventually, revolutionize textbooks in schools (ahhh... instant updates!)
Those who whine about the lack of backlighting are clearly missing the point. The whole concept of eInk is that it only consumes energy when the page CHANGES, thus using waaay less battery. Backlighting defeats the purpose.
Please bring it to Canada, Mr. Bezos. I'd gladly be an early adopter.
After two phone calls to the Kindle support line at +1-866-321-8851, I've verified that if you aren't in a location where Sprint EVDO is available, you can't buy and download books from Amazon, which is an amazingly stupid oversight, IMHO.
The only delivery mechanism is via EVDO; even though you can access the Kindle's internal flash memory via the supplied USB cable, and even though you can copy things from the Kindle to your computer or from your computer to your Kindle (or do the transfers via SD card), once you've purchased an Amazon Kindle Edition eBook, there's no way for you to download it from Amazon to your computer, or smartphone, or whatever, in order to copy it to an SD card or directly to the Kindle via USB.
This sucks, because if you live out in the boonies and have good Internet connectivity but no EVDO, you're hosed. If you're traveling internationally and want to buy some eBooks whilst outside the U.S., too bad. If you live in an apartment building, or are in some facility which has good Internet connectivity to which you can gain access, but to which the EVDO signal can't penetrate, you're hosed.
The first tech I spoke with confirmed that the device was USB- and SD-accessible from a computer, and he assumed one could download the .AZW (Amazon's proprietary format; there are no other .AZW readers, and the Kindle can't read DRMed eBooks purchased from MobiPocket retailers such as Amazon itself) from the Media Library which stores backups of all the Kindle Edition eBooks you buy. After poking around on Amazon's site, I didn't see any download options or mentions of it, so I called again, and asked the tech who answered my second call (a different tech) to verify this for me. After being put on hold for 5 mins, he took me off hold, told me that in fact (to his surprise) one can't download the Kindle Editions any way other than directly to the Kindle Reader via Sprint EVDO; he said that they 'might' add that functionality in the future.
So, unless you always have Sprint EVDO coverage anyplace you might want to buy an eBook, beware of the Kindle.
Idiots.
>sigh
I think customer support was mistaken because Amazon's Kindle page makes reference to use of 1xRTT in low coverage areas when discussing battery life. "In low coverage areas or in 1xRTT only coverage, wireless usage will consume battery power more quickly."
You are actually able to download eBooks to your computer and then copy them over via USB. This is all clearly documented on the support page:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200137100
EVDO coverage is far from ubiquitous (none at my house!) but that certainly wouldn't stop me from buying this. Great for use out of the country!
I guess the support folks hadn't read their own support pages, heh.
Damn you, now you've cost me $399.00 plus shipping, heh.
:>
The price does need to go down, I don’t see myself spending 400$ for this, it does not look like its work that, the supporting formats are the only things that a plus for this device.
compare this to an MP3 player with 30GB of storage, its only 200$ and you can see why it’s worth that, it plays music, Videos, it has a big screen in colour, and you listen to music more than once unlike a book which you read once then shelf it.
On the other hand if you were to look at their competitors, the iRex iLiad is 700$, the Sony Portable Reader is 300$ but that’s more of a paperweight than this one is, Bookeen Cybook Gen3 is 350$ but the supporting formats is just not there, it does look 100 times better than what Amazon is offering, and the best in my opinion is the eREAD STAReBOOK but is still lacking if supporting formats, I believe one day it will update its firmware to support more formats, the price on this one is 450$.
we should all expect prices to drop as the technology gets cheaper.
This device looks like a white elephant. $400 for an ugly device that reads books in black and white. And it only works from books you buy and download from Amazon. It's not like $10 for books is particularly cheap either considering you don't actually own them. The EVDA sounds like a good idea, but charging people money for what they can obtain for free from the web does not. Blogs should not cost money, newspapers should not cost money. Perhaps Amazon could charge a nominal download fee for the free stuff but the actually content should be completely free. Aside from the wireless support, the Sony Reader sounds like a far better and cheaper device.
It's big, it's ugly, it only displays black and white, and it only works where you can get a wireless signal. No no no, this "Television" nonsense will never fly!
I do agree that it sucks to be paying for blogs, but then Amazon is sharing that revenue with the bloggers, who are losing advertising revenue, so it's only fair. Also, you do have to pay for the newspaper, you know...
That said, having waited to see what this would be like, I think I'm now going to get a Sony Reader instead.
When I'm talking about newspapers I'm referring to the fact that most are online for free (supported by advertising). If I can get news online I see no reason I should be paying Amazon to suck up some site and regurgitate it in their own proprietary format. RSS readers are commonplace and services like similar aggregation services such as AvantGo are free. If AvantGo can provide a free service I see no reason that Amazon can't.
Y'all are a bunch of Amazon Fanbois! Where were you for the launch of the printing press. You a-holes totally snubbed Gutenburg. How much is Amazon paying you?
Engadget - can you please confirm that the comment "9.99 is the sweet spot" refers to the books, and not the actual device, as well as list the actual device's price.
Thank you, I was momentarily extremely confused and excited...lol
can it display manga/comics?
so, did you guys notice that it was getting some bad reviews (2-2.5 stars), so amazon just now took down the user's comments section?
Yeah, but I read many of those comments and the negative reviews were coming from people who were either completely clueless about the technology (ie, for the price I expect a full color hi-res screen, etc.) or else complaining about the lack of functions that actually do exist when they hadn't bothered to read up before posting.
How long until somebody hacks it so we can use that free EVDO connection for something more fun than buying books or reading Wikipedia?
I already download books over ev-do using software from ereader.com, and they back up my library and have many thousands of titles, and when I am reading I lose awareness of the medium, just like a book and....blah blah blah...and the device is MUCH more portable. In fact its always in my pocket. It's Windows Mobile phone. Why does amazon think people will want to unconverge their converged device.
The only reason Amazon has any possibility of sucess is because they are using your $400 up front money to subsidize the books. New releases on ereader.com are in the low twenties.
Reading books on a PDA is really uncomfortable, nearly impossible without actually hurting your eyes.
The only technology to provide print-quality reading is e-ink.
So unless your pocket convergence device has got two screens somehow, having both color LCD and a second e-ink screen in one device, then the convergence in one pocket won't happen yet.
E-ink is much better then LCD for text. LCD is only good for video, touch-screen interfaces, browsing and such. E-ink is much better for text, in fact it is the only screen suitable for text, there is no way around that fact.
Charbax,
I have seen some e-ink displayes in person, and I have to agree that the display is quit nice, and it would be nice to have a larger screen, but who will carry around an (ugly) device of that size? How is the UMPC market doing? The current mobile phone or music player really is the largest thing people will keep with them at all times.
I have read over fifty novels on my phone, including The Brothers Karamozov and The Lord of the Rings and my uncorrected 20/15 vision has not been negatively impacted in any way. I don't feel any particular strain while reading. As I said before, I am not aware of the medium at all.
Does this thing work without EVDO? Like in Europe/ Asia?
Is it possible to purchase books through computer and download it to Kindle?
I've read on another blog that it is possible to purchase books and upload them via USB cable if there is no EVDO.
whispernet sounds amazing. How does it work?
The same way your cell phone works. Whispernet is just a marketing phrase.
Kinda makes sense since none of those commenters actually have one or have even seen it. I think that should be their policy with all unreleased products.
It's a cool device, but there's two big problems. First, it's way too expensive. Second, it's ugly as all hell. I mean, serious butt ass ugly. You can't deny that. In the age of iPod, your device needs to look good to have mass appeal. I would consider one if it was $199 and didn't look like it was from the 70's. As is, no thanks!
/awaits second generation
Blackberry devices - they're clunky, ugly, ungainly things as all hell - yet have enormous popularity because of their functionality.
As I recall, there were people who knocked the 1st Gen iPod for being an ugly white rectangle with monochrome display (not even B&W), and that weird wheel and four buttons.
I agree butt-ugly, too expensive, needs PDF capability.
Wish someone with some design sense, like Apple or Sony, had come up with this.
Also, it's so amazon-proprietary that they should give the readers away, and make their money on the sold books. What am I saving, about $6 per book, to download it to my $400 appliance? I don't think so.
I can't imagine spending that much on something that fragile, unless I lived in a REALLY small apartment.
Sony has designed something like this; The Sony Reader
http://www.learningcenter.sony.us/assets/itpd/reader/
You can even buy it from Amazon, if you like!
There are some more, too. Better ones, not proprietary. I think the Russians have us beat on this one.
http://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/E-book_Reader_Matrix
I really like the concept, but Amazon needs to take a lesson from Apple when it comes to styling a device to be used primarily on a proprietary foundation.
Forget all the e-readers out there, I just don't see how this competes with my Palm TX at the same price point. Palm does many things besides books. With my palm I am not tied to any one website. I can shop around and spend my money on sites that offer competitive products. Finally while tx doesn't have e-ink, it does have a 320x480 backlit screen.
My replacement for a reader needs to be better than the previous generation, not worse.
Post up suggestions in the Kindle suggestion thread on the Amazon forum:
http://www.amazon.com/Suggestion-Thread/forum/FxBVKST06PWP9B/Tx38KXJAJ4A7JP/1/ref=cm_cd_et_md_pl?%5Fencoding=UTF8&cdMsgNo=1&cdAnchor=B000FI73MA&cdSort=oldest&cdMsgID=MxA9JTS95A4T61#MxA9JTS95A4T61
I don't see Engadget on the blog section on Kindle Bookstore!
does EVDO = 3g? anyway, that is cool, I know we have it available here in Belgium. A europe wide agreement might be tough at the moment though as individual state's operators act independantly (thus xyz mobile France *sometimes* charge xyz mobile Belgium customers full roaming fees, although some do have "deals" charging lower roaming for same company calls)
anyway, roaming in europe is still a mess. I understand that they're legislating against the ripoff at the moment , at least for calls, not too sure about data.
Also (@ sean again), the way the charges are looks to me like they have a slice in there to cover bandwidth. Until someone hacks the thing of course
At $9.99 Amazon drives a hard bargain for this device. I'd buy one for $4.99 but not a penny more.
Can it charge via USB?
I think the whispernet thing is gonna get hacked.
Also how long till someone creates a windows mobile amazon reader app.
Where Amazon went wrong is in thinking they could sell you both the paper and the content. What they are attempting with this is to be the paper making company that also prints the books. What is really needed is a reader that acts just like paper (universal for all kinds of writing) and a separate and isolated system for publishing content for it.
This is true for lots of other media. kodak doesn't make the movies. Dell doesn't write the operating system. Dunder Mifflin doesn't tell you what to write on your paper (that would be a great episode).
I would argue that's where they went right ... they're basically aping the lucrative iPod/iTunes model. I imagine they'd be very happy to be positioned for books where Apple is for music.
Go for a ASUS EEEPC instead of Kindle..(Same price as Kindle; Color Screen, Ultra portable real laptop which supports more data-formats, Does more than being a reader).
Asus does not have the e-ink screen. That is the entire point of the ereader device.
A54 - um so I'm paying for something that doesn't have a grasp on a number of formats and is locked down with a cellular network - I think this will be OKAY for developing nations that do no have the wired internet infrastructure or wifi hotspots - but to make it so closed and dependent on a carrier signal kinda makes me wonder - does this device really have a market around here?
Amazon themselves sell the Asus EEE PC 4G for the same price - $399.99
What this boils down to is the unleashing from your computer and you subsidizing the eINK hardware, that's about it - it's like Amazon wants to emulate the cellular carrier model in book form!
Sorry Amazon but you've killed alot of bookstores already - but this will put the final nail in the coffin for the rest of them - your local bookstore will just become a browsing ground for downloaders - the store is full but nobody is buying anything.
Thanks Amazon - hope you get sued for patent infringement next year by some trolls - and most likely someone working in your conversion department stealing other people's ideas - what kind of relationship do you have with the DOJ, CIA, FBI, etc etc etc?
Will you protect people's privacy?
Am I the only one who thinks it strange that a device to replace books is called "Kindle". Conjures up images of books burning. Not good.
transitive verb: to start (a fire) burning.
From the Newsweek article: "Therefore the Kindle (named to evoke the crackling ignition of knowledge)..."
Not that "the crackling ignition of knowledge" couldn't be a way of describing a book-burning party. But as far as dumb product names go, at least it's a real word. I mean, really, what the hell is "iPod" or "Zune"?
I want my Zindle brown.
won't get one until they improve format support. ebooks dont have a defacto standard like mp3, so an eReader needs to support as many formats as possible; instead of attempting to tie me to a single service. uploading a PDF to be converted is laughable. the Sony reader has similar problems. it has basic PDF support, but isnt quite good enough; of coure their BBeB format works great.