Posts Tagged ‘Kindle’

This last year could have been titled the parade of iPad wannabes. We had a huge variety of Android-based products hit the market around the marginal Honeycomb “Vista” version of Amazon and only the Samsung Galaxy Tab did very well, which was because it was basically an iPad clone (so it became a litigation magnet). We had HP and the disastrous attempt to bring out the TouchPad, a product that clearly had potential, but may have contributed to getting Leo Apotheker fired. We got RIM’s Playbook, which seemed to be more of a gravestone for RIM than anything else. Now we have the Kindle Fire: Is it on fire or should Amazon just burn it? It is likely going to come down to how well Amazon builds demand for this product.

IDC estimates that about 17 million tablets shipped last year.

Amazon said that the Kindle Android app is the first Kindle app that can enables access to newspapers and magazines.

As the year is winding down, it is time to look at those technologies that succeeded shaped our lives for the better and those that failed and went the wrong direction. We are starting the series with the ten best technologies and services of 2010, chosen by our editorial team. Feel free to weigh in.

This one may be a hard sell: As successful as the Kindle is, the decision of publishers to price a boatload of books above their hardcover versions has brought up the Amazon customer base in arms. Is there more value in an eBook than in a hardcover? It may come down to perception and our perception is changing.

Pandigital has is offering a variant of its Novel eReader device, which is more than 30% lighter, has more memory and still costs $200. The new model is moving decidedly deeper into Kindle territory.

If you are too afraid finding out what may happen when you turn on your fancy e-reader for the first time, you can avoid that overwhelming experience by paying GeekSquad for it. Their agents will gladly turn on the device for you and charge just $30 for it.

I’m a big fan of the Kindle and have purchased every one they have brought out with the exception of the new one. That’s because the last Kindle I purchased is the new Kindle DX and it’s not even 2 months old yet. This most recent Kindle is so hot it sold out within hours of being available and if you want to buy one, you will now have to wait until September to get it. That is pretty amazing for a non-Apple product outside of a holiday buying season.  So what’s so great about the new Kindle?  Well, price does make a difference.

It appears that Amazon may have hit a home run with its latest generation Kindle as both the 3G and Wi-Fi versions are “temporarily sold out”.

Amazon has just announced a new Kindle, which can now be ordered for just $139, if you don’t need the 3G feature, which adds $50 to the reader. It may be the first time, ereaders are truly affordable for the mass market as they move away from the $200 mark and close in on $100, what is potentially the sweetspot for e-readers. Amazon refuels the pricewar in ereaders, while it also effectively defending itself against Apple’s move into ereaders with a substantially more expensive iPad. Which could work out well for Amazon, if it does not loose track of current trends and Apple’s strategy.

Amazon.com now sells more e-books than hardcover books. That was the company’s headline yesterday, designed to shock a few folks, and that it did. But let’s look a little deeper at the press release and see exactly what it’s saying — and what it’s not saying.

I’m a heavy book reader and my Kindle goes with me wherever I go.   I purchased the first generation Kindle, the second generation, and the original DX.  We noticed that the second gen Kindle had gone through a stealth upgrade recently when my wife’s second gen failed and Amazon replaced it by extending the warranty. That stealth upgrade showcased a vastly improved display similar to the new updated DX so, by combining the two, I can pretty much guess what the new DX, which launches this week, will be like without ever buying one. For me, it will be better than an iPad.