Kindle DX now with global wireless?
By Thomas Ricker 
posted January 5th 2010 3:36AM
posted January 5th 2010 3:36AM
[Thanks, Brad]
posted January 5th 2010 3:36AM
A look back on popular stories from today in a specific year.
Now that we've thrown 'em off the trail, use the form below to get in touch with the people at Engadget. Please fill in all of the required fields because they're required.
I want to see how they are going to innovate their next Kindle offering. Adding global isn't doing it.
@Synergi How about it being more like Skiff? That thing looks awesome.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/04/skiff-reader-is-largest-reader-yet-will-be-hitting-a-sprint-sto/
@joshl
The skiff does look amazing. With everyone and their brothers sister coming out with ebook readers, Amazon needs to innovate. I saw another nice one on here the other day with a wacom pen so you could write notes in your books. That was pretty nice also.
Next month is a year since K2 came out so I'm hoping we see something soon from them. The features a lot of the competition are adding on are really nice. Amazon having whispernet is no longer the innovating feature it use to be and with DRM formats, people are looking for more open sources.
And can we get organization the next go around please?
@Synergi
Actually, since Amazon has the biggest online store in the world, they kinda, don't really need to worry about anybody else. Even Apple doesn't have the Amazon's gigantic library.
Oh yea, Apple has the media store. But if the Tablet is gonna be a Kindle killer, its gotta have books. Oh yeah, and the Kindle software will run on the Tablet too...so... either way AMZN wins.
@Wesscoast
That's true. Don't get me wrong I love my K1 but right now Kindle looks like every other knock off reader. They really need to go back and work on aesthetics so that it actually looks like the king of readers that everyone else has copied. They should take a note from Apple on that.
They did have the largest book store. Now that BN has bought Fictionwise, I'm not sure thats true of electronic books anymore.
You comment about itunes is true, except, Apple is making the publishers a deal that will net them a lot more profit from sales. Publishers will probably be lining up to sign on with them. I guess we'll have to sit back and see how it plays out.
They have the DXs in the Serpentine Gallery in London, they're really fantastic, shame they cost £300 :(
Time to add this to my gdgt want list? I keep on waiting for an international Nook or at least one that lets me use my wi-fi without some arbitrary restrictions.
Of course, I could just continue to hold my breath until the 27th and see if someone makes unicorns with frickin' laser beams on their heads.
I honestly don't see the applications for expensive e-readers, I mean come on. all people nowadays have laptops with better, larger and higher resolution displays than these "e-readers" not counting better connectivity, (WiMAX, WWAN, WLAN, etc.) I don't see myself getting one of these anytime soon, especially that the next big thing is going to be tablets, (I am most excited to get an ASUS tablet). What do you guys think?
@Ziyad B
Dude, seriously, stop comparing e-readers to laptops. It's not about connectivity or features, it's about being able to sit down and read for hours without getting an aneurism. If you want a computer, get a laptop, if you want a reading device, get an e-reader.
They are not the same!
@peirix - wholeheartedly agree. I want something that I can stare at for hours without the eye strain I get from looking at back-lit screens for several hours per day.
@Ziyad B
I think laptops and the like are nothing like ereaders and you need to realize this. Pretty screens are nice for games and movies but destroy your eyes with extensive reading.
@Ziyad B Look at a eReader and you won't be saying what you are saying. Seriously. Just read on it for 10 minutes.
Go on. I dare ya.
I thought about buying it this holiday, but since I read books mostly when I am flying and the new security measures prohibit any use of electronics on board, this thing will be useless for me.
@sheikhness "the new security measures prohibit any use of electronics on board" is not quite right, is it?
@kevinnugent wellz, not yet, but after Al-Qaeda let loose the rectal cavity bomber who activates his charge through iPhone app using hacked Bluetooth chip on iPod touch, we will hope it's the only thing the TSA do :)
Amazon is learning from Apple. They release changes incrementally to keep people purchasing each piece of shit that comes out.
@airmikee I sense a little hate there, calm down sir! Just because some people like to snatch up every new revision doesn't mean you have to. Nor should it bother you. You're welcome to buy whatever products you like and ignore whatever products you like. If Apple revises the iPod each year, you don't have to rush to buy one, but there is obviously demand for those that do want the newest and greatest every year.
Buy what you like, no need to harp on others because their purchase decisions don't gel with your own.
I agree it's all about the store. Other devices may be more innovative, but I really like the fact that I can just purchase books on the device. With my low vision ebook readers have never been totally usable, but the DX's large screen and large font size options definitely have my interest. If they do indeed go global I'd be happy to buy one up here in Canada.
My Mother's been using eBook readers for years now. She started with the Gemstar (RCA made) REB 1100. This device was eventually bought out by eBookwise / Fictionwise Inc as the other companies went out of business. Fictionwise acts like the Kindle, in that you buy books directly and access them on the device. However this requires USB connectivity via PC or Mac. 5-6 years ago you could use some dated looking software (Win95 era) to get other file formats onto the device, but they were nowhere near as svelte as the modern devices.
Fictionwise has now embraced the iPod touch/iPhone market with an app that gives you instant access to the books. Mom has gone this route and to my amazement happily sits for hours reading books on her iPod touch.
I'm not 100% sure, but a lot of the devices seem to be US centric/exclusive with US only retailers (the Nook is tied to Barns and Noble correct?).
If the Kindle DX goes Global it'll be a pretty good contender to get me back into reading again.
- D
And yes I'm also waiting for the 27th to see what Apple brings. Interesting times indeed!
So the big contenders are:
- Amazon Kindle 2 / Kindle DX
- Nook (locked to B&N)
- Sony eReader (is this locked to anything? Sony store I assume?)
- Apple's Unicorn (we'll see)
Did I miss any?
- D
@Daphoid
Not quite right, in that the Nook isn't "locked" to B&N, but does in fact have support for ePub as well as B&N / Fictionwise / eReader. Sony also supports ePub.
If only Amazon would commit to supporting ePub as well, I'd likely snap one of these up.
What about the Kindle with a color screen? This would improve reading magazines.
And what about a translator function?
If you read books, magazines, newspapers in a foreign language, this function would be very useful.
Imagine a trip to a foreign country. You have your Kindle with you and read a travel book with foreign expressions. One klick to translate the foreign expression would be very convenient. Or you are sitting in a restaurant in a foreign country and would like to order a meal. You wouldn't have to bring your dictionary, too.
If Kindle managed to get a full web browser working (in the UK, unlike currently) with video either flash or mp4s or both playable id be very happy, even just in black until colour e-ink is a reality.
For me that would maybe be more tempting than the 1st gen iPad. Would actually be quite a 'novel' (!) approach to viewing all web pages & vids just in black & white!