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Amazon offers to give back your Kindle's copy of Nineteen Eighty-Four
Poor Amazon -- ever since the company remotely deleted illegally sold copies of George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four -- they've faced an uphill PR battle. First, the company issued an apology, and tried to explain what went down. That didn't really stop people from being rightfully upset about the incident, and its implications -- and at least one student has sued Amazon, claiming they were unable to do their school work once the e-book had been deleted. Now, they've contacted affected customers again, letting them know that they now have the option to either have their copy of Nineteen Eighty-Four -- complete with notes -- re-delivered, or, alternatively, Amazon will cut them a check for $30. Fair warning, though -- if you made any anti-Bezos notes in the margins, they've definitely been [redacted]. We kid! Full text of the letter after the break.[Thanks, Paul]
Jeff Bezos issues humble apology over pulled Kindle title
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos wants you to know he's really, really sorry for pulling Nineteen Eighty-Four off of our Kindles. In fact, the guilt expressed in this public apology is comparable to a modern day Dimmesdale -- he may have even seared a mark into his flesh for all we know. The short message calls the company's "solution" to what happened "stupid, thoughtless, and painfully out of line with our principles," adding that he and the company "deserve the criticism we've received." Look Jeff, we're still gonna be appalled by these beyond the pale actions even if you say it won't happen again... but if you really need a hug, we'll be here.[Via New York Times]
Bezos suggests Kindle books will appear on more devices, compete with Kindle readers
Amazon already sent a pretty clear signal that it has grander plans for Kindle than just its own devices when it launched its iPhone app earlier this year, but Jeff Bezos has now made those intentions clearer than ever, and dropped a few hints of things to come. Speaking at a Wired-sponsored conference yesterday, Bezos all but confirmed that Amazon sees Kindle books and Kindle readers as two separate businesses, and he even went so far as to say that "we are going to give the device team competition" by making Kindle books available on "mobile devices and other computing devices, although he obviously didn't specify other e-book readers. Interestingly, Bezos also confirmed that Amazon had considered selling the Kindle with a monthly subscription plan to lower the cost, or require a minimum number of books purchased, but said that he preferred the simplicity of providing one flat up-front cost, which he says has helped account for the Kindle's success.
A color Kindle is years away, buyers remorse here to stay
Hey, Kindle 2 owners, remember when Amazon made the device official and you thought: "Well, it took them a year and a half to replace the old one, so I can buy this one without fears of immediate obsolescence." And then remember how three months later they announced the Kindle DX and you thought: "Oh." Well, if you're now fearing a color Kindle will come sauntering along in a few months to make everyone jealous, fear not, as Jeff Bezos is saying the tech is still "multiple years" away, adding "I've seen the color displays in the laboratory and I can assure you they're not ready for prime time." From the few prototypes we've seen we'd tend to agree. So, anyone still on the fence about a Kindle, go ahead and buy now with confidence, as your devices won't be made to look quaint any time soon -- at least until that pizza box-sized reader Amazon's been working on in secret is announced in July. Did we mention it actually cooks pizza?
Jeff Bezos chats up the Kindle 2 with Jon Stewart
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos showed up at Jon Stewart's pad the other day to discuss the Kindle 2, and Jon seemed fairly unimpressed. They were just finally getting into a groove when Bezos dropped the price bomb, and then their fleeting segment was over. It's embedded after the break. Amazon VP Ian Freed has also been chatting up the device, but in a more technical nature. On designing the Kindle he reiterates the "invisibility" design ethic surrounding the device, about making it "disappear" for the user. They also improved the cellular modem for improved reception, and also fended off features like a color screen that would shorten battery life, up the price and cause the device to generate more heat and make its presence known. As far as text to speech goes, he thinks it's good for short stretches of reading, and notes that it covers the vast majority of titles that aren't available in an audio format, but didn't speak specifically to the possible infringement of author rights. Read - Jeff Bezos on The Daily ShowRead - Designing the Kindle 2
Live from Amazon's Kindle 2 press conference
9:20AM We're at Morgan Library for Amazon's totally secretive, unpredictable press event. We're out in the cold waiting for the doors to crack, so hold tight for updates!
Amazon Kindle 2 launching on Monday -- we'll be there live!
There's not much of a surprise in store now, seeing as we've already seen official photos of Amazon's newest iteration of its e-book reader (and gotten a handful of info on price and release date). Still, we'll be there liveblogging and blowing it out Engadget style come 10AM ET Monday morning -- and who knows, maybe Bezos will announce some other colors.
Amazon to host press event at library, innocently whistling when asked about the Kindle 2
It could mean anything that Amazon is hosting a press event Monday morning, February 9th at the Morgan Library here in New York City. Maybe they just want to talk about how much they enjoy huge archives of original manuscripts and the smell of aged paper. Whatever the case may be, the last time we went to an Amazon event, they ended up launching the Kindle, so it's not crazy to speculate that we very well could see the introduction of a new iteration of the successful e-book. We've pinged the company for more solid word, but it's been radio silence thus far. Of course, we'll be there live covering any news as it breaks, so just plan on being here... or being square.
New Kindle rumor revived, this time with a collegiate twist
Just last month we heard that Amazon could be cooking up a new pair of Kindles for the future, and now we're seeing another report that adds a bit of legitimacy to the claim. According to McAdams Wright Ragen analyst Tim Bueneman, "there are already several new, improved versions of the Kindle in the works," and while an MP3 version (saywha?) isn't in the cards, one with an "improved interface" is. Furthermore, Amazon could be aiming at least one of the new Kindle(s) at college students, though no details were given on what exactly that meant. Wait, do university attendees even read anymore?[Via CNET]
Bezos: second Kindle is "not that near," Amazon to launch paid streaming VoD
At All Things D today Mossberg and Amazon's Jeff Bezos had a little discussion about digital media, which had a couple of decent nuggets. Check it out: On Kindle 2: "There will be a second version, a third version, a tenth version. ... but a second version is not that near." According to Bezos, on a title-by-title basis of the 125,000 titles available both in print and on Kindle, Kindle's sales represent 6% of total sales. We have no idea how significant that actually is (or what that means in dollars), but Bezos seemed to be fairly impressed with that number. Still, "Books won't go away just as horses won't go away -- they're still around." Talking about whether the Kindle was built to work on non-CDMA networks (read: networks other than Sprint). Bezo said: "we're gonna -- we need to be thinking globally about the device, which we are." He almost slipped there and said "We're gonna launch internationally," but caught himself. Bezos also announced a new, for-pay, streaming video-on-demand service for Amazon, which will be released in the next couple of weeks. The video should start playing "instantly," but we don't have any further details (like number of titles, library, price, etc.).
Jeff Bezos says Kindle is "outpacing our expectations"
While we're guessing you haven't seen too many of 'em pop up at your local coffee shop, Amazon's Jeff Bezos nonetheless seems to be quite please with the performance of the company's prized Kindle e-book reader, with him recently saying that "the Kindle, in terms of demand, is outpacing our expectations." That demand has also apparently caused Amazon to "scramble" on the manufacturing side, resulting in a notice on the Kindle order page that the device temporarily sold out due to "heavy customer demand" (again). Of course, expectations and hard sales numbers are entirely different beasts, and you can probably draw your own conclusions given that Amazon is focusing considerably more on the former than the latter.
Bezos tests first prototype rocket, not available with "one-click"
Amazon's Jeff Bezos has been keeping his Blue Origin space venture under tight wraps since its founding in 2000, but the company has now finally decided to show its progress off to the public, announcing that its first prototype rocket recently underwent a successful test flight and providing the pics and video to prove it. The craft, dubbed Goddard, took off from Blue Origin's launch site in Texas on November 13th, with the entire flight lasting less than a minute but apparently going off without a hitch. Bezos also seems to be hoping this latest development will fuel another recruiting drive, with the company taking the opportunity to announce that it has about 15 new job openings to fill. Check out another pic of the craft in mid-flight after the break, then click through on the link below for the grin-inducing video. No word if Bezos and crew engaged in a life-sized game of Lunar Lander after everybody else went home.[Via CNET]
