Two new Kindle models on the horizon?

Take this one with plenty of salt, but CrunchGear has it that not one, not three, but exactly two new Kindle models are destined to go on sale to the adoring indifferent public within the next 6 to 12 months. Reportedly, the first model is simply a revamped version of the existing Kindle with a smaller form factor, the same sized screen and an "improved interface." The second new version will purportedly be shaped like a 8.5- x 11-inch sheet of paper and should land early next year. Both Kindles will be available in a variety of hues, though pricing information remains a mystery. Hang tight bookworms, we've still got awhile yet before figuring out just how legitimate this is.

[Via The Boy Genius Report]

[Jimmy Jones @ Jul 16th 2008 9:48AM]

Hopefully they fixed the shortcomings of the first-gen...and much cheaper and more features of course

[Tagbert @ Jul 16th 2008 10:00PM]

Is this whole rumor a spin-off of the Fujitsu ebook rumor from 2 days ago? Just cycle the rumors around and switch the names around.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/07/14/fujitsu-to-launch-flepia-color-e-ink-e-books-in-the-fall/

[Pengadget @ Jul 16th 2008 9:51AM]

haha yeah the only thing I thought was cool about the first one was the fact that it could access wiki wirelessly.

The book were expensive, the kindle was expensive but in the end it was sold out for a while.

[Jimmy Jones @ Jul 16th 2008 9:56AM]

I'm pretty sure the street bois are working hard to get an open source platform out for this nice device... it is only a matter of time... :-)

[Michael Chastain @ Jul 16th 2008 8:13PM]

Actually the books for the Kindle are pretty reasonable compared to what I've seen from other e-readers.

[chayashida @ Jul 17th 2008 4:24AM]

While it's not free software, you can load your own files onto it. If you send a file to your Kindle e-mail address, it will e-mail you back with a converted file that you can load onto the Kindle.

I started reading some of the texts from Project Gutenberg.

There also seems to be a large number of free or low-cost books on Amazon. I think they are promotional, but I picked up three novels for free. I also found a book I was looking for that was only $.80. It was $13 US for the paperback.

My biggest gripe is that there isn't a monospace font, so it doesn't display computer programming manuals that well. The code snippets aren't readable. The main reason that I bought the Kindle was to replace the armload of computer manuals. Even though it didn't work out with the computer manual, I'm still satisfied that I bought the Kindle.

[skant @ Jul 16th 2008 9:56AM]

Why create a new device, when you can just improve the current set of software on PDAs, and smartphones? The problem is that the software out there now, doesn't have a standardized format, or at least software that can provide the same functionality across formats. Locking people into ANOTHER device, that simply gives you more of the functionality in the form of specifically made buttons does not improve my reading experience. It just clutters my bookbag.

If only Microsoft did something right for once, cross polinated with Amazon and Sony you might get somewhere. All they would have to do is improve Microsoft Reader.

[Harkonian @ Jul 16th 2008 10:09AM]

PDAs & smartphones have absolutely nothing to do with eBook readers.

[LC @ Jul 16th 2008 12:01PM]

It's not the software, it's the technology. A lot of people cannot read on an lcd comfortably for hours. Maybe short spurts of news and RSS feeds. Reading on an E-ink device is as comfortable as reading on paper.

[skant @ Jul 16th 2008 1:00PM]

Very good
*sarcastic clap*

That's the point of my comment. You shouldn't need an ebook reader when improving the software on current devices gets you to the same place.

As for E-ink, cut the bullshit. I've read a number of books on a pda using microsoft reader with zero eye strain. One thing is the painful LCD screen of a computer, another thing is a smartphone or pda. If I can finish Atlas Shrugged on a pda without a problem, why the hell do I need a $300 kindle? I'd recommend people actually try it instead of breaking out the credit card so quickly.

The only remaining problem is dealing with the myriad of formats and the loss or gain functionality depending on the format and software.

[CV @ Jul 16th 2008 1:36PM]

Maybe you don't feel the eye strain on a PDA, but I assure you, I do. That would be the reason I haven't used my Palm for serious reading/writing in over a year. From my own experience and the number of people who have a Kindle and have commented on the screen, I would say a LOT of people notice the difference with e-ink. Have you actually tried reading on an e-ink screen? Or even looked at one in person?

[yoctotech @ Jul 16th 2008 10:09AM]

nice,I like

[Adam P @ Jul 16th 2008 10:15AM]

"If only! If only! All they have to do is blah blah blah."
Just read the news.

[Dimitri @ Jul 16th 2008 10:23AM]

I'm tired of Engadget's gratuitous use of strikethrough text. It's quite annoying and seldom amusing. Give it a rest, Engadget.

D

[Steve @ Jul 16th 2008 11:24AM]

It's also almost always used incorrectly. You strikethrough the gag, then rewrite the spin. Get it... the joke is that the editor has whitewashed the truth with a visible strikethrough.

Ex: The proofreaders on this site are worthless invaluable.

[Charles Han @ Jul 16th 2008 10:25AM]

hopefully they lower their prices also, I love the concept, I just don't have 500 dollars to drop on the kindle.

[Anto @ Jul 16th 2008 10:28AM]

Color screen?? It looks like something from the 1980's.

[fistpittingnork @ Jul 16th 2008 10:55AM]

Have you actually ever looked at one? You can see the screen very well, even in sunlight. It's designed to look like paper, not give you hi-def visuals.

[lt.milo @ Jul 16th 2008 11:26AM]

...and it looks beautiful. You really can't judge it until you hold one. Then you will buy one (like I did).

[Skeepax @ Jul 16th 2008 11:02AM]

Why does it have a keyboard? Makes it much bigger than it needs to be?

[lt.milo @ Jul 16th 2008 11:33AM]

The keyboard is very useful (for internet, kindle store, etc) but it does take up a lot of space. Basically the kindle is already very small so there isn't much of a need to make it smaller.

[John V. @ Jul 16th 2008 11:08AM]

Has Amazon ever said how many of these they've sold. I know they sold out of them initially, but I don't recall them ever actually telling us if that meant 100,000 or 10,000,000. (My guess would be somewhere in between those two numbers.)

[Frank Furter @ Jul 16th 2008 11:11AM]

I did extensive research on sales for the last 365 days, and came up with a total of.....wait for it.....

17.

[Atenlaugh @ Jul 16th 2008 11:13AM]

Compelling argument.

Now where did I set those 80,000 books published in the U.S. last year...

[Anto @ Jul 16th 2008 11:27AM]

That's 17 more than they should of sold IMO.

It may have a clear screen but say I want to view some graphics or maybe photo's to illustrate something?? Even print newspapers print in color these days and they use technology that's several hundred years old now.

[Michael Chastain @ Jul 16th 2008 8:19PM]

When you invent a technology that offers the same battery life, resolution, and readability of e-ink in color let us know. I'm sure it will make you a billionaire.

[sracer @ Jul 16th 2008 11:36AM]

I'll consider a Kindle when they are not so proprietary. Allow me to put my own content on it without having to go through Amazon's service and it might actually be useful.

[Tagbert @ Jul 16th 2008 9:50PM]

Sracer: "I'll consider a Kindle when they are not so proprietary. Allow me to put my own content on it without having to go through Amazon's service and it might actually be useful."

Amazon sells books in a version of .MOBI which is the most common commercial ebook format. You can directly add your own mobi files. You can also add your own .prc ebook files (also very common) and you can also add your own txt files.

If you want to put any pdf, doc, rtf, html files on your Kindle, you can use the free mobipocket sofware and do you own.

[eddy @ Jul 16th 2008 11:55AM]

Oooh, this actually gives me a little more time to save up for a Kindle then. Was considering getting one very soon, but now I'm glad I've waited. Curious to see the smaller form factor. Wonder how much it'll affect the pricing, if at all.

[Jubei @ Jul 16th 2008 12:12PM]

Another terrible implementation of an electronic book concept. The iPhone/Touch is the correct and modern approach for electronic books.

[bartoron @ Jul 16th 2008 12:36PM]

Oh yes, because a 3.5 inch screen clearly makes reading a book easy and enjoyable.

[Jubei @ Jul 16th 2008 12:49PM]

@bartoron

"Oh yes, because a 3.5 inch screen clearly makes reading a book easy and enjoyable."

Glad you agree. When reading for an hour or so, the iPhone/Touch light weight is perfect to keep your posture in proper position. Do I need to explain that for you also?

[Frank Furter @ Jul 16th 2008 12:49PM]

@bartoron - take your iHate somewhere else - nowhere did he say "The 3.5" iPhone/Touch" is the correct approach. If you weren't so quick to bash the iPhone, you'd realize he/she probably meant the concept, not the size.

Of course, your "let's remove the keyboard" statement was much more valuable. Who needs a way to order books, or make notes, or anything like that.

[bartoron @ Jul 16th 2008 12:35PM]

I think that if they want to make it better, they should completely get rid of the keyboard. The majority of people who use this device are using it to read books, newspapers, and other normally printed materials. You don't need a keyboard to read a newspaper, and if they got rid of the keyboard then they could put in a bigger screen (which would make it a lot easier to read newspapers, which display a lot of different stories at once), and you could even make the body slightly smaller.

[Tam @ Jul 16th 2008 12:49PM]

How many of you actually own a kindle or used one? I own one and have bought two more for friends. It is a great device to read books on. I love to read books for hours on end and there is just no way I can stare at a LCD screen for that long and not get some kind of eye strain. The keyboard is great because I can perform search functions and browse the kindle/amazon store to quickly buy a book. I love how I can also read my doc and txt files on my Kindle for free. After a couple of minutes you forget you're reading on a electronic device.

The best part of it that it just plain works as an E-book. It does what it is meant to do...for your reading pleasure. It's not meant to be a computer.

[CV @ Jul 16th 2008 12:53PM]

Wow, I really love how people who have clearly never even seen a Kindle, and apparently have never looked at comparable ereader options, comment on or review the device with what is obviously uninformed, biased opinion. A couple of clarifications from someone who HAS seen a Kindle, and researched the other options out there before buying:

~ I see over and over again how people want the Kindle to be $100 or some ridiculous low price. The Kindle's main competition is the Sony eReader, or the iRex iLiad, which sell for $299 and $799 respectively (no that is not a typo). How, exactly, is Kindle's $359 price tag too high? It's quite competitive with the Sony, which doesn't offer the Whispernet connectivity.

~ an iPhone is NOT an eReader. Not a good one, anyway. One of the things that makes the Kindle and other similar models special is the E-Ink "looks like ink on paper" screen. PDAs, phones, and computers are all hard on the eyes. E-ink is not. I also see people complain over and over how they want it in color. Well sorry, guys, the E-Ink technology just isn't there yet. Not good enough, and not cheap enough. Someday, a couple of years down the road, I'm sure we'll see this option. But really, this isn't a deal break for an ebook reader, anyway. The Kindle isn't designed for pictures, it's designed to read text on a page, and it works very well for that.

~ Proprietary is a problem? Really? Because most ereaders are. It's the way the book industry tries to protect itself from copyright infringement. Have you ever noticed that your iTunes downloads are only playable on a maximum of five computers unless you resave them as mp3s, burn them to disc, and reload them into iTunes? It's the same concept of the company protecting itself, and not likely to change anytime soon. I personally don't use Amazon to convert my docs to their proprietary format - I use the free Mobipocket Creator and convert them myself to prc. Works like a charm.

~ The Kindle IS the same approximate size as a mass market paperback. I took a picture of mine beside one when I got it. It's maybe half in inch different, but also thinner and lighter. And not nearly so ugly, by the way, as everyone makes them out to be.

~ The whispernet (EVDO) is incredibly convenient. I can be practically anywhere on vacation, finish whatever books I brought with me, and d/l my favorite author's new release, or the next book in a series, or whatever else I want to read, in approximately 30 seconds. Don't knock it as useless until you've actually tried using it.

And that goes for the Kindle itself, too.

[Frank Furter @ Jul 16th 2008 1:03PM]

Heh. CV said "hard on".

[Sporkinum @ Jul 16th 2008 2:53PM]

It needs to be $100'ish if it is going to be mass market. You can make it $100 if you do away with all of the extra features that the Kindle has. Yes, it should have some sort of DRM for purchased reads, but it should natively support common file types like pdf. The only extra feature it should have is scalable fonts for when you get old like me and need reading glasses.

[MR @ Jul 16th 2008 1:58PM]

having the keyboard is crucial--I would never buy an ebook reader without one. I need to annotate text (write notes in the "margins," as it were) or it is pointless.

The only thing holding me back from buying the Kindle is the fact that the vast majority of books I need in my life (I'm a grad student in an obscure field) will probably never be turned into Kindle versions. Does anyone else have this issue? I wonder if there will ever be a way to request kindle versions of books or something...

But, especially for those of us in academia, the Kindle comes closest to being a miracle invention. Being able to have 200 books--books you can write on, just like normal books--on one tiny device is CRUCIAL. I know people who spend a thousand bucks shipping their books overseas when they get year-long jobs but are writing a book, etc. etc. The Kindle would be amazing if it ever got to the point where every book had a Kindle version.

Not to mention the environmental aspects. I have fantasies of the future where class readers are simply emailed to students who read them on ebook readers, instead of the current situation, where you make an 80-page reader for each one of your 40 (or 400) students, and then most of them just throw it in the garbage when the class is over. Same with textbooks.

One thing I wonder about is: could you get a book from Google (you know how they are scanning the world's entire library) and put it on your kindle? Are the kindle versions of books much much smaller than normal pdfs? I mean, if you got a book in pdf form off google and tried to stick it on your Kindle, would it take up tons more room than a kindle version you bought on amazon?

The proprietary thing is lame. I understand why it exists, but it's still lame. Books themselves aren't proprietary. You can get used versions, you can find them out on the street, you can trade them, you can buy them from all kinds of different stores. Amazon doesn't have a lot of the stuff I want. And also it would be sad to lose the excitement of finding some used book for a quarter---now every book for kindle is the same 9.99 price.

I don't know.

[Nugwin @ Jul 16th 2008 3:15PM]

all they have to do is add pdf compatibility to make this thing great imho

[Sporkinum @ Jul 16th 2008 10:00AM]

Needs to be paperback sized, native pdf support, and cost around $100. Do not want wifi or internet. Either USB cable and/or sd card for getting text on the thing.

[Jason @ Jul 16th 2008 11:03AM]

It's the integrated EVDO access that has made the Kindle such a success. You can take it with you on vacation and get access to plenty of new material (books, magazines, blogs, newspapers, etc) without the need to bring a laptop along to feed it material.

Integrated EVDO is probably the biggest single strength of this device over cheaper comparable e-readers.

[lt.milo @ Jul 16th 2008 11:26AM]

The Kindle DOES have pdf support. When you want to view a pdf, you send it through amazon who will convert it to their proprietary format. Not a perfect solution but it does work.

[Ellianth @ Jul 16th 2008 11:51AM]

Converting something from 1 form to another isn't the same as supporting something.

That's like saying, my store accepts US dollars, but first you have to go to the bank and convert it into some currency that i accept.

[Steffen Jobbs @ Jul 16th 2008 11:59AM]

Kindles won't be needed as much anymore. There's already the iPhone with e-reader capability that can handle 90% of what the Kindle can do and still fit in a pocket. Yes, I'm an Apple fanboy, and although I'm not downplaying the Kindle's ability, I didn't make this up. That's what the media has been saying this morning. Hard times ahead for Kindle. This e-book reader is a niche product and it's niche just got smaller. $400 might seem to be a bit much to pay for a single purpose device in today's economy.

[BoxOfSnoo @ Jul 16th 2008 3:38PM]

And don't forget ansible connectivity, I wanna see that in the next version.

[bryanB @ Jul 16th 2008 3:49PM]

The problem is that PDFs and e-books are different concepts. A PDF has the page dimensions, font size, etc., hard coded into the file. E-books need free flowing text (such as HTML, DOC, TXT) to allow the reader to present a full page of text at your selected font size. The only way to render PDFs natively on an e-book reader is to take away a big part of what makes them great for reading books. On a monitor you can zoom and shrink a PDF to get the right size, but that isn't possible on a 5x7 screen.

[CV @ Jul 16th 2008 6:38PM]

Sporkinum, your list of demands makes it pretty obvious that the Kindle is just not for you - YOU may not want the whispernet, but for most of us that actually own Kindles, it's one of the best features. You might as well just go with a Sony 500 - it's the older model of their eReader, still has e-ink display, is pretty darn close to paperback sized (but then, so is the Kindle), and supports PDF's so long as they're sized correctly.

It's as close to your list of demands as you're going to get, except for the fact that it will still cost you around $200. That $100 wish of yours is going to be a deal breaker, I'm afraid.

The Kindle will never be right for you, I'm afraid. Best of luck finding the eReader that is.

[Dones @ Jul 16th 2008 3:37PM]

Engadget,
Can you please explain to me why you mention Crunchgear in the story, but your link leads to BGR, which likewise mentions Crunchgear, but links to some other blog, which then finally links back to Crunchgear? Should we just scratch Engadget (and BGR) out of our bookmarks because it's derivative of a derivative of a derivative?

Reporting news from other folks is fine, as is getting a story from another blog (though this isn't ideal), but for pete's sake link to the original post, if you would, please?

[JohnPombrio @ Jul 16th 2008 3:49PM]

The REAL news is the 8 1/2 by 11 size. That means I can finally read PDF's of textbooks and magazines! I have the SONY Reader, and have read dozens of books and find it better than a paperback but not quite as good as hardcover (except that it is a lot easier to hold!).
I would love to take a book and create a PDF of it with scanning then read it on my E-ink reader.
8 1/2 by 11. Killer app for textbooks and magazines.