Slim Amazon Kindle 'Shasta' to be first with WiFi?
By Thomas Ricker 
posted May 31st 2010 8:41AM
posted May 31st 2010 8:41AM
Oh, and here's an interesting footnote: the original Kindle was apparently codenamed "Fiona" after Fiona Hackworth in Neal Stephenson's novel The Diamond Age. Many of the names in the device list above -- Nell (the protagonist), Miranda (mother figure to Nell), and Turing (i.e., Turing Machines) -- are all related to that very same story. What we can't figure out is how the word "Shasta" fits into all this so lay it on us Cyberpunks if you know.
Update: Freddo411 seems to have nailed it in the comments: Shasta, Lassen, and Mazama are all volcanoes in the Cascades.
I would of never guessed it didn't have wifi.
@RLBurkes
crap! i just shast my pants
The code names Fresca and Tab must have been taken already...
@Maeztro
in urdu 'Shasta' means cheap and not just the cheap cheap but the ultra cheap kind. i laughed straight for like 4 minutes with visions of people walking around with completely striped down version of the kindle..
ah man even Wifi could't save the kindle visions. But none the less the kindle has done its part and started the digital reader generation. It has its respect
I guess the Wifi option would be nice when in other countries and out in the boonies and such, but it's almost pointless as you don't pay for 3G.
@bravokiloromeo Yeah and the fact that a lot of times 3G gets flaky in apartments or other building like universities.
@bravokiloromeo In many countries (i.e. Canada), the 3G capabilities are limited. (Thanks, Rogers, for being too expensive for Amazon!) We can download books and query Wikipedia, but not browse the web, for example. WiFi would be welcome here.
"In August 1987, believers in the spiritual significance of the Harmonic Convergence described Mount Shasta as one of a small number of global "power centers".[18] Mount Shasta remains a focus of "New Age" attention,[19] and a number of New Age-themed bookstores and meditation centers can be found in nearby towns.[20][21]"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Shasta
Maybe unrelated but:
Neal Stephansons Diamond Age is one of the bestestest books ever ;)
Any chance the Shasta WiFi is WiFi-only, and therefore cheaper?
@mondeca I'm hoping for that
@mondeca
There's only two ways for this to be positioned:
WiFi+3g: Will be slightly more expensive (relative to the non-wifi version) and aimed at customers who lack 3g coverage.
WiFi only: Will be slightly cheaper (relative to 3g version) and aimed at getting costs as low as possible.
Strategically, neither makes a whole lot of sense. Instead of WiFi, wouldn't it make more sense to make a 2G version? Unlike tv shows and movies, a book is a long-term engagement and most wouldn't mind waiting 20 minutes or so to get their book.
As a cost-cutting measure, the cost/benefit ratio seems out of whack. The loss of anytime, anywhere access doesn't appear to be justified by a $15 price drop (Note: that number is based upon an assumption that 3G modules have decreased from $30 to $20 over the past year, and that the cost of a wifi module would be $5. The wild card here is the fee paid to Sprint for use of their cellular network. If that's $25/kindle, then suddenly we're probably looking at an effot to get the price of the entire thing below $200).
@Heelo
An under $200 price point is exactly what I'm hoping for.
@mondeca
What'll be really interesting will be to see what happens when Amazon is bound by publisher-dictated pricing.
My understanding has been that Amazon has been subsidising the Kindle books in an effot to keep them below $10 (i.e., they're paying a fixed price for them and sacrificing margin in an effort to get to $9.99). The publishers don't like this becaus they think it threatens to lower consumer expectations regarding what a book should cost, and they used the iPad and iBooks as leverage to break Amazon's will on the subject.
Now there has been a move to the Agency Model, whereby the publisher sets the price and Amazon gets a fixed cut. This means that Amazon's profit margin on the books will be much higher than it was. According to isuppli, the original Kindle 2's material cost was $185, with an initial retail price of $360. Unless Amazon sunk an ungodly amount of money into R&D/advertising, they were making well upwards of $100 on each Kindle sold. Now that their margin on Kindle books will be much higher, they will likely be willing to accept much thinner margins on the hardware itself.
I think a sub-$200 priced Kindle is virtually guaranteed. Amazon needs to get the price of entry for a Kindle as far away from the iPad's $500 entry price as possible, and they know it.
The only question in my mind is whether that will be the upper price.
@Heelo 20 minutes on 2G to download a book??!! Come again man it would be way quicker than that
Shasta, a broadband routing node sold by Nortel Networks for use in telecommunications networks
Shasta, Lassen, Mazama are all cascade volcanoes, not far from Seattle.
@freddo411
While technically correct, "not far" is not very accurate.
Both Shasta and Lassen are in nothern California (I see both of them from my house), and Mazama in southern Oregon. None of them are anywhere near Seattle. :-)
# Shasta (Narnia), the main character in the 1954 C. S. Lewis novel: The Horse and His Boy
I still don't understand how it could be thinner. I think the current thickness is fine as it gives you something solid to hold onto without being uncomfortable. I think the current thickness is fine until they can produce the concept e-ink displays that are basically a bendable sheet of paper. If they wanted to remove the keyboard or improve it in some way... well, the could cut down on some of the size.
I don't get all of these tinkerings and changes people aren't asking for? Thinner? It's already about as thin as you can get, and there's probably such a thing as too thin. WiFi? Why? It has free 3G, why would anyone want or need WiFi?
They should stop wasting time on these useless features and add things like getting rid of the dumb location system and use real page numbers, improve the page refresh rate (admittedly it doesn't bother me, but it does others) things like that. The kindle doesn't need to be junked up with Apps, WiFi, etc. It does it's main function - eReader extremely well.
It'd be nice to have a better browsing experience - doesn't even have to be in color - but I would like a decent email interface and maybe a way to access my Google Calendar. But that's all I need.
@malexandria1 Oh, and definitely a backlight. I'm finding out that I really can't read on my iPad, I keep thinking I'll get used to it, but it does give me a minor headache.
@malexandria1 : Once again, I remind the masses that a backlight is useless for E-Ink because it is opaque.
@radarskiy No, a backlight isn't useless, there are numerous instances when I've need a backlight - in a movie theater, I arrive early and like to relax before the show starts but it's always too dark to read my Kindle, or on an night Flight, or train trip I'm forced to use the overhead light and disturb my seat mates and I hate those attachable lights. All I want is a nice ambient backlight.
@malexandria1 You're missing the point of his comment. 'opaque' means that it isn't see through. Backlighting a kindle screen will do as much good as backlighting a brick wall. It will stay dark.
The only option to keep the e-ink display and have it lit up is a little led light such as on the thinkpad. But given the tablet form, you'd have to put them on arms, which is just ugly.
@malexandria1
There's no such thing as free. Your 3G data plan is built into the purchase price of the Kindle. If a WiFi-only version costs less than the 3G version, that's a good thing.
If it turns out to be WiFi+3G, then I don't see the point, either.
@solomonrex No, check out the Sony eReader, I like how it handles the lighting issue. It doesn't ruin the eInk display at all. I don't want it 100% backlit and in color like on an iPad. I actually find it difficult to read and find a good font size that doesn't force me to keep swiping my fingers.
@mondeca I know the 3G is built into the price of the Kindle, that's why I don't have a real issue with the $250 price point. I LOATHE, absolutely DESPISE WiFi and most WiFi only devices. It's never available when I need it to be (I don't waste my time at Coffee shops or bookstores), and then when it is, it's RIDICULOUSLY expensive ($15 a day at hotels and airports) and almost completely useless anyway. So no, I don't see any benefit to adding WiFi to the Kindle. I doubt it'd lower the price because then they'd need to add a WiFi attena to the WiFi Kindle.
@malexandria1 That version of the Sony reader had "sidelighting" where the light came from LEDs in the bezel. There were a lot of complaints that the lighting was uneven. AFIK that model has been discontinued.
E-Ink is opaque and a true backlight is not physically impossible. What is possible is a built-in popup light. thought that can add bulk. Lots of people like some of the better clip-on lights.
I disagree with these suggestions:
Eliminate the keyboard? Then you have no way to enter contact info if it is found, nor can you go to location numbers or search. That makes no sense at all
Backlight:
If the iPad gives you a headache reading, then the same will happen with a backlit Kindle.
"Real" page numbers. Why do you need these? I've had a Kindle for almost 2-1/2 years now and there was never a time I "needed" page numbers. These would change depending on the font, just as large print editions of print books have different page numbers. Likewise the paperback versus the hard cover. Knowing the percentage read is really all that is needed.
Wi-fi would be excellent for all of those who currently have little access to the cellular network, such as those in Canada or rural areas of the U.S.. And it would make access to the limited internet functions of the Kindle easier. I don't use these myself but many do.
@marygoblue I want real page numbers so I'll know exactly where I am in a book, or exactly how to get back to a page without bookmarking everything - which slows it down.
I never said I don't want a keyboard. The iPad hurts my eyes because a) it's big, b) it's really bright (even on low settings) a backlight doesn't mean I want the entire thing lit up like a christmas tree, just some ambient lighting around the sides.
@malexandria1 - Page numbers won't work because the files will be viewed either on different size screens, or using different font sizes. Amazon have come up with their "absolute" page numbers at the bottom - I simply look at that reference and use Go To - which is what I would have to do with a page number anyway.
The only reason I can see for page numbers is to be able to refer someone else to the same point in the book. Unfortunately the only way to use page numbers themselves would be to break up the text - every 50 lines or so have a break with a number. I think most people would find this frustrating. I know I have when I have converted an existing e-book to the Kindle
Just wanted to mention, Klamath, Shasta, and Redding are all cities in northern California and southern Oregon. There's also a volcano nearby Klamath, I believe, or at least the lake by it was created by one.
Anyone remember Shasta McNasty?
Time to break out the Shasta cola and partay!
Amazon suite one: "What is a generic soda that will conveys low price and slight tastiness?"
Amazon suite two "Sam's? RC Cola? .... Shasta?"
Amazon suite one "Perfect."
Next time around they will use a cheap shitty shoe: Voit.
I am not sure the reference is to the volcano. There is a cyberpunk detective novel from about 10 years ago - it is killing me that I can't remember the name - that has a cybernetic snake type thing that is part of the police surveillance system and buddies up with the female cop. The snake thing is called Shasta. As soon as I remember the name of the book I'll post - can anyone help with the title before I go mad?
@csg77
Whoops - just saw the other volcanoes in the list. Ignore me! (But if anyone can help on that book title...)
I wouldn't say "close" to Seattle since two of them are in California and one in the middle of Oregon. Klamath is a national forest in Northern California and Redding is a city in the same general vicinity.
Shasta, Lassen and Mazama are volcanos. Shasta and Lassen are in Northern California and Mazama is in Oregon. It has a beautiful lake in it's crater top called Crater Lake (oddly enough.) Redding is a city in Northern California, and there are a lot of things in that area called Klamath; a major river, a national forest, a lake and a city (Klamath Falls OR.)
"Shasta" is a Bengali / Hindi Word which means "CHEAP". May be the name came from the Indian ( chennai ) development centre. I have a friend there, will ask him about it.