Been waiting patiently for the
next-generation Kindle(s) to hit the market? Growing increasingly frustrated with the wait? Thanks to the Amazon e-reader becoming Oprah Winfrey's "new favorite, favorite thing in the world (can't you see the jubilation on her face?)," you might just have to finally pull the trigger on the existing iteration. As a special offer for
Oprah Show viewers (and by extension, everyone who reads this post), Amazon.com is now offering $50 off of the Kindle's $359 price tag by simply entering the code OPRAHWINFREY at checkout and envisioning Tom Cruise leaping on your computer desk. Better act fast, though -- the offer's only good through November 1st, and yes, that Tom Cruise bit
is required.
[Thanks, Chad]
posted Oct 25th 2008 6:36PM
I sense Kindle 2.0 is in the near future.
You get a Kindle! You get a Kindle! You get a Kindle! You get a Kindle! You get a Kindle!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRbhE3GRiUE&feature=related
We're gonna have John Travoltaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
Man Oprah is FAT!
So now people are ALSO taking gadget advice from Oprah?
Not so much taking gadget advice as pretending to take her advice and really using her for her discount power :P.
Maybe if they made the kindle less ugly I'd want one.
Regardless of how you feel about Oprah, her blessing on pretty much any product is an almost guarantee of success. Her "Greatest Things" episodes gives everyone in the audience every item featured on the show, which will do a lot to boost the visibility of the Kindle.
Oprah is getting cheaper. A few years ago, wasn't she giving a way cars. 50 bucks off....what a pity
Hey, I do not post much to Engadget and I am not sure how to start a new topic so I will just tack on to the end of this one. I quote another random, annonomous engadget poster, "the future is here!....and it sucks." Thats how I feel about a device like the kindle. I just can't justify paying 359 dollars for a device that I then have to pay 10 dollars each for books when I have a library that is perfectly free right up the block. I'll buy a Kindle as soon as they give me a reasonable all you can eat plan. 9.95, 14.95, hell even 19.95 a month seems reasonable, all they would have to do is let me download a small file that was limited to my Kindle, whats the fear of allowing a subscriber to do that? I don't get it. Same thing goes with XBOX Lives video store. I love having instant access to HD video, but 5.95 to download a movie? Blockbuster mails actual disks to my house for 9.95 a month, and I get another movie when I return it to the store. I usually get 5 or 6 HD movies a month for 9.95, why can't MS give me something similar? Same with Amazon and the Kindle?
thanks much for running the topic from the kindle straight into the ground
Well this is cool, more people will know about be interested and hopefully it'll get a lot bigger a lot sooner.
Oh and that Tom Cruise joke was so funny and original! The media hasn't exhausted that topic for jokes at all!
I try to come to Engadget to avoid politics. and i dont think im alone. thanks for your views, but next time, I think everyone could do without them.
Nope I'm not patiently waiting for the next generation. Mainly because NO WHERE ELSE BUT THE US HAS IT! So the rest of the world is "patiently" waiting for version ONE!
Speak for yourself! The kindle is spreading like wildfire at my school. One of the teachers got it, then I got it, and now most of the english department wants one, a few have already ordered one, and they're thinking about making it a standard instead of textbooks.
I know amazon doesn't sell textbooks. Yet. But even considering how much space one would save by carrying around the kindle instead of 5 English books.....
sales from housewives just went up over 9000%
I hope it doesn't come with a free copy of Dianetics. That could get expensive.
It's over 9000!
You know, I am always keen to embrace "new" technology but there is something about holding an actual book in your hand.
Surely I'm not the only one?
Nope.
I can't seem to be able to get away from you people, actually.
Nothing wrong with that, BUT have you actually tried it? Give it a shot, you might just like it.
End Green Eggs and Ham lecture.
That's what I always said until I saw Sony's reader face to face. I went from "that's something I would never get" to "How many paychecks is this gonna cost?"
Me, myself, I still like a flaming torch better than a flashlight...
"You know, I am always keen to embrace "new" technology but there is something about holding an actual book in your hand."
I agree. It's not that the book is superior or should be the dominant format, but it does possess a pleasing aesthetic. The torch vs. flashlight comparison actually captures the same idea quite well. Similarly, incandescent/fluorescent lights vs. kerosene lamps. The new tech is far more convenient, and I would prefer to use it most of the time. But every once in a while, the old stuff is nice just for the way it _feels_. Why do you think people like to go camping (in a tent, not an RV)?
I'm very content with reading ebooks and .pdfs on my PSP with BookR.
You are very easily pleased, I'm guessing you also don't want a HDTV and bluray player because you can watch stuff on your PSP, in almost the same quality.
Actually...I'm with Chris on this one...
I read ebooks on my Color screen pda. Only problem is there's too much backlight at night
I hope you enjoy having to recharge that PSP every goddang night. And the doctor's bills when the PSP's backlight causes severe eyestrain after an hour or two of reading.
hope you enjoy reading in the dark. OH WAIT...
The Kindle has now officially become my least favorite thing.
haha
win
I wish Kindle would be availible in Brazil :(
I almost feel like this is fraud. This is a paid endorsement, not a true review of a well known INDEPENDENT gadget reviewer.
Uhhh nothing is being reviewed here...
This IS tech news. The Kindle, $50.00 off. That is one of the most sought after tech things, besides cool tech itself: cheep tech.
I do believe, however, that Engaged does sell posts... but I don't think this is one of them.
yea try the apple reviews if you want advertisements
I think he's talking about Oprah, not Engadget. Of course, Oprah is acting more as a celebrity endorser as opposed to a reviewer but I think that's what he was referring to.
BASICALLY Flashpoint loses at everything forever.
From that picture, it looks like Oprah's "new favorite thing" is steak.
New? Uhm, where to start.
I'll bet she's thinking "I wish this were an F'n sammich" in my hand. God almighty someone get her a bypass!
NOM NOM NOM NOM
Don't hate on the Oprah because she is fat. Hate her because she is an idiot.
what no car?
I hope it electrocutes her.
I wouldn't buy that big ugly unitasker if she gave me 90% off.
Hudreds of thousands of others do though, they sold out in no time when they released it first.
Did you ever try it at all? Ever seen one IRL? Read about the details on it?
Wwhat...you seem rather earnest in your defence of this this?
Shareholder?
Fanboy??!!
Amazon Astroturfer?
What gives...really?
@Wwhat,
True true, ive never actually seen a Kindle in real life.
I don't have one, and could not get one here if I wanted, but to dismiss the thing like that seems silly, it's a device that has its niche, it allows amazon users to comfortably (e-ink is less eyestrain) read their electronic versions of books and buy and have them delivered almost everywhere (in the US) wirelessly and instantly.
Surely anybody can see there's a use for that, that there are a group of people for whom it is very convenient and nice.
Personally I don't like that it's so tied to the mothercompany and that you have to convert anything you want to read not bought from them through their server, but that's a more legitimate complaint than presented by ford, to say it's a 1-use device is like complaining shoes are worthless because you only use them for walking.
I much prefer the Sony Reader. Never understood why people suddenly got excited when Amazon released its in-bred version, though I realise content is the driving force. Oh, for an open source reader.
"Never understood why people suddenly got excited when Amazon released its in-bred version, though I realise content is the driving force."
As a Sony PRS-500 owner I purchased a Kindle and prefer it over the Sony. The main reason being the whispernet. The convenience of being able to purchase a book or newspaper or even basic light web browsing on the fly resulted in me never using my Sony again.
Sure the kindle is function over form, but after getting into a book I don't pay much attention to its looks.
$300 for something that can only read books?
Sorry, I'm a bit stuck on my iPhone, with it's ability to read pdfs, and a whole lot more, for less.
The iPhone's battery lasts about six hours. The Kindle's lasts two weeks, and it doesn't give you eyestrain. Unless you've seen an e-reader (whether Sony's, or Plastic Logic's, or Amazon's), it's very easy to underestimate how much better it is for reading than anything that uses an LCD screen.
Plastic Logic's E-Reader leaves the Kindle in the dust. If it ever comes out...
oh and
@Greg ...reading on the iphone kind of sucks. I wouldn't want to read books off my computer screen or my iPhone screen!
Plastic Logic E-Reader will cost $700-1000 when it is released and will be targeted to executives for the first few years until the price drops. However it will be very impressive.
The Kindle's the best thing I ever bought, but I don't blame some of you techies for not seeing what's so great about it. It can't play videos, or play music, or make calls, or send e-mail or texts, or even display pictures in color. It doesn't even have a flashy design. Then again, with literally dozens if not hundreds of other devices to do those things for you, who needs yet another multifunction device?
The choice here is simple:
- If you read, buy the Kindle.
- If you don't read, don't buy it.
For those of you who DO read, if you buy the Kindle, you'll find yourself reading MORE. I have almost a hundred books on my Kindle since I bought it six months ago, and I've read almost all of them. That's a far cry from the one or two books every six months I used to manage before I bought them. The Kindle makes book reading almost as convenient as listening to music on an iPod.
Oh, it does do one other thing pretty well: it allows you to search Wikipedia wherever you are, as long as your Kindle has a wireless signal (it has free access to Sprint's EV-DO network, so there's wireless service pretty much anywhere).
Instant book downloads + instant Wikipedia access + expandable SD slot + over 100 books = reading bliss.
The ACORN doesn't fall far from the tree.
Besides "Kindle" being Oprah's "favorite new gadget," Jeff Bezos is one of Oprah's "favorite charity benefactors."
Given that Oprah and Bezos have a long relationship, and are involved with a number of charities together, I'm sure Bezos will "somehow" make it up to Oprah.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=oprah+bezos+charity
OMG an exposé about oprah, quick; everybody find some square midle-aged women that cares ASAP!
Oops. didn't think those women read engadget, sorry :x
Yes, there is no color screen, no backlight, no OS, nor is it able to play games... oh wait.. it's an ebook reader... it's meant to not cause eyestrain though epaper and.. wow.. allow the user to read books. Novel idea I realize, but there you have it. Some of us still enjoy reading, shocking I know, but it beats the heck out of carrying around 200 of my favorite reference books at any given moment. This has been beyond it's value to me in just the ability to have a library full of reference materials at my finger tips in the weight of a paperback. If you don't like it, don't buy one. But what is the point in slamming a product simply because you are ignorant of it's intended use?
No thanks. I'm waiting for the Readius due out in December.
http://www.readius.com/
What are you talking about? Why would anyone let a "retard" on their show? How did you go to form Oprah to Palin? By your post it seems you are jealous of Oprah?
Wait, so Kindle 2.0 is definitely not coming out this holiday season? What about those spyshots showing the new version from TheBoyGenius or whatever?? I mean, I know the new version does not look much better, but I'm all for upgrades! I really want a Kindle, but I want a version that at least is more user friendly/the next iteration up.
I'll pay the $50 extra if it means I can AVOID Tom cruise jumping on my desk. That would just be priceless.
Only $50 off? That cheap bitch.
How presumptuous is that woman. I think this is a wonderful example of Oprah: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQL9IKMWIWA
Was this really the way you planned on coming out of the closet? Hope it went well, asshole.
Oprah has nice tits..I liek the way her dresses fit..
Ahhh skeet skeet!!
your one freaken desperate dude,, can't you go look at someone who attually looks god\od
I thought today Flashpoint actually got high-ranked. I must have been hit on the head with a giant rubber mallet or something.
"Fusion Fuzo @ Oct 25th 2008 6:54PM
em i hate it dosent do much and FUGLY,
my eeepc has a colour screen and dose everything else the kindle dose better with more features and no oprah or mad people (cough 'tom cruise')
nobody will buy a kindle"
Of course YOU won't buy a Kindle. It's for people who read. With spelling and grammar skills like that you are obviously illiterate.
Kindle is great, if you're oprah and replacing your book collection isn't a big deal because amazon discontinues the server, or simply screws up a server.
What's wrong with her eyes ?
is it just me or has she been resembling curtis '50 cent' jackson more and more off late?
We need a caption contest for that picture!
"em i hate it dosent do much and FUGLY."
Well, I could say the same about you!
This is awsome, but make sense. Need to compete with Sony.
@High ranks make you sterile
i like your name...however, i hate your game
I looked under my chair and all I get is a lousy 50 buck coupon?!
Still way expensive, and books you can't reset or give away to someone else is just silly.
In fact with DRM you could in fact transfer books to other people in a secure way, but alas no good use seems to come out of drm.
This may sound old-time-ish, but for somebody who is encouraging going back to basics of reading books and in turn enhancing dwindling literacy in the country, endorsing such an expensive way of reading books is definitely not going to trickle down to the people she is trying to reach... or maybe she is reaching out only to the rich who inspite of their wealth are still illiterate. There's something about actual paper books that make reading more enjoyable and fruitful.
Damn you, Oprah! You're tempting me! I've sworn to wait until Kindle 2.0 releases...but a $50 savings is a very tempting thing.
However, like a previous commenter noted, this could all be a plot for Amazon to exhaust the rest of their Kindle 1.0 stock before officially unveiling 2.0. What to do, what to do?!
I was in the same boat as you... I planned on waiting, but I personally just placed my order. I honestly don't read much and I really do want to read more. I'm really excited.
If a new version comes out soon I'll survive, plus you know the new one will be back up to $400. I figure I just saved myself $100.
well, patrick, at least he's not becoming sterile like the rest of us ;)
Note to Oprah. Eat a salad.
idc what allot of people say, the kindle is quite nice and i do not care if its good looking. if i want looks i use a real computer, and seeing as the kindle is an e-reader, its not SUPPOSED to play games and have WiFi access. when you are reading, you shouldn't notice the shape or non color screen. also if you are reading a book, does one noice the cover if its ugly? NO! its facing away! as with the poster
Mike10010100 an eeepc is not good for reading for long periods of time, nor can it come CLOSE to the same battery life. you sir, obviously cannot or do not read.
is there some place where I can get to see a Kindle?
I wouldn't mind "test driving" one but I'm just not
ready to buy one yet....
does anyone here have one?
Stand up and defend your Kindle!
Who designed these things? I wanna see them give one to a total stranger and see how long it takes for them to figure it out.
oprah's favorite thing is probably much more naughty.
gotta say I really do not like Oprah. Everyone thinks that everything she says is gold...two weeks ago I bet she didn't even know what a freaking Kindle was...I mean come on!
a kindle for you, a kindle for you , a kindle for you, and a axe kick to the face for Oprah...from me.
Slate her as much as you like, she is still $6 billion richer than any of you :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3U_QQfTUmI
Does this thing or the Sony one let you read .pdf stuff that you can get from bittorrents? And does it do text only or can it display color images as well?
When will the $50 offer be available on Kindle again.
Thanx
Well this is cool, more people will know about be interested and hopefully it'll get a lot bigger a lot sooner.
Oh and that Tom Cruise joke was so funny and original! The media hasn't exhausted that topic for jokes at all!
http://www.2dayplaza.com Link >> http://www.2dayplaza.com/amazon-kindle/