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Topic: E-Commerce

Amazon plotting new Kindle Feb. 9?

Summary: Amazon is planning a press conference Feb. 9 in New York City and the location screams Kindle.

Larry Dignan

By for Between the Lines |

Amazon is planning a press conference Feb. 9 in New York City and the location screams Kindle.

The e-tailer's powwow is being held at The Morgan Library & Museum. Hmm.

Let's connect a few dots:

Needless to say I RSVPed. May the speculation begin.

Topics: E-Commerce, Amazon, Browser

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38 comments
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  • Kindle 2

    I hope that the new and improved Kindle - whenever it makes an appearance - allows access to more magazines that the Kindle does. Without that feature, it will not set itself enough apart from the competition.
    ltabcats
    Reply Vote

  • RE: Amazon plotting new Kindle Feb. 9?

    Access to more magazines is needed in the new Kindle
    ltabcats
    Reply Vote

  • RE: Amazon plotting new Kindle Feb. 9?

    Something cheaper, that doesn't rely on subscription services, able to read pdf, word and other poular formats, color digital ink, full letter size (8.5 x 11), thin and light would collectively make it a student's dream resource!!!
    jivester
    Reply Vote

    • Definitely make it full letter size!

      That's one reason I haven't considered the Kindle in the past- tiny screen that I would have to scroll around on to read everything. Plus, we baby-boomers have eyes not up to reading teeny-tiny text. Full-size Kindle for me, or none at all.
      dougbrunelle@...
      Reply Vote

      • Full letter size

        Doug,

        You should check your facts. There is no scrolling around, and there is no teeny tiny text on the Kindle. Indeed you can choose from six font sizes. The page just contains as much info as will fit on the screen, and then you click to the next. There are no real page numbers or pages.

        Indeed the KIndle is great for those who cannot handle small type.

        John Winske
        jwinske
        Reply Vote

      • Kindle too small / hard to read

        Please let me disagree. I've got the Sony PRS-505 with the same screen. In fact, when reading text, even the smaller size 2007 series readers (Kindle, Sony 505, Cybook) are easier for old eyes than paper books. The text flows to fit the page (no scrolling needed) so you just go from page to page to page. The text size can be adjusted. Mine is easier to read, even in extremely low light, than any paperback and matches or exceeds readability of hardbound books.
        EdinPeoria
        Reply Vote

    • more formats

      Absolutely. Backlit would be nice, but the best would be more formats, including the Sony format LRH. Let's hope. If they do that I'll get a new one, even though mine is only a few months old.
      imissmyson
      Reply Vote

    • Letter Size? Absolutely not!

      Trade paperback is big enough. Approximately 5x8 for the text area, so a screen with those dimensions would be welcome.

      But I would like to see a 64k colors capability, as well as CF and SD card slots, and the possibility of adding a keyboard (Bluetooth or USB plugin). And a USB connection if there isn't one. (I don't remember if there is that capability or not, and I don't have the specs in front of me right now.) And if it isn't yet, I hope the firmware is upgradable; today it's a necessity.

      As for the capability of reading other formats, I'm with you 100%. I am currently reading my books on my old laptop and translating, as I read, all the book files to .odt (OpenOfficeOrg Writer) in 32kai format (approx. trade paperback size).

      And bring the price way down. If Amazon is going to keep the monochrome screen, bring the price down to 50 bucks if you want widespread adoption of this nifty thing. You'll make the money back on the books you sell real fast. Oh, and make the books save-able to SD cards for safekeeping. (Perhaps a book credit which would bring the final price to the 50 dollar range, by letting the consumer have books at up to half off (new books would have less off, of course), would be nice if they can't bring the offered price to $50.)

      Otherwise when I upgrade to a palm-size device, I'll get an HP iPaq210 or 211. Yes it costs more, but look at all what else it can do!

      bart001fr
      Reply Vote

  • RE: Amazon plotting new Kindle Feb. 9?

    I have to agree that cheaper would be the way to go. At
    present they almost have you as a captive audience for
    downloading books and are making a fortune that way,
    bringing the price down on the reader would definitely help
    it's sales. Especially, in this economy.
    I think of it akin to the printer. You can get a great printer
    for less than $200 but it's the ink that makes the companies
    money in the end.
    Amonra
    Reply Vote

  • RE: Amazon plotting new Kindle Feb. 9?

    As one of those having purchased before Christmas 08 and waiting for a Kindle of any kind, I would hope a new Kindle would be announced. That would be very nice. So would a reduction in price.

    Calling for an announcement and just announcing a zillion new books would be good but a general press release would do that one well. Amazon.com already has the lead on the number of books available at a reasonable price.

    So, my hope is a NEW Kindle. I would love to get a new one when my delivery is scheduled to take place. Between Feb 25 and Mar 6. Jeez, I've been waiting for 2 months and have another month to go already.

    Seriously though, it would be an appropriate compensation for waiting. (Grin, grin, wink, wink -- Know what I mean?)

    Russell
    Sodbuster27
    Reply Vote

  • RE: Amazon plotting new Kindle Feb. 9?

    I hope it is a new Kindle that can be bought by customers outside the USA (just like me)
    fsantos@...
    Reply Vote

  • RE: Amazon plotting new Kindle Feb. 9?

    I'd like to be able to change type styles, not just font sizes, for variety's sake, and I'd like a very light tan display, the shade of book paper. After that I'd like what most everyone else seems to want -- a redesigned case; it's awfully hard to hold while reading and not inadvertently punch. Still, I bought it without any of those things and I'll keep using it without them. Never leave home without it.
    rttedrow@...
    Reply Vote

  • RE: Amazon plotting new Kindle Feb. 9?

    Wow, no one is asking for a backlit screen? I'd say that's the biggest weakness of the Kindle at the moment. That and the ridiculously high price.
    SDJack
    Reply Vote

    • backlit -- naaa

      books aren't backlit. The kindle replaces books. Backlighting sucks battery. E-Paper does NOT suck battery, kindle charges last for days or WEEKS. Backlighting, no-thank-you-very-much.

      boatright@...
      Reply Vote

      • The latest technology... on/off switch

        I won't get a Kindle until it sports a backlit screen... maybe even with an on/off switch, eh? I'm sure there's an e-book reader in the works with this technology... it's only been around for about 15 years...
        SDJack
        Reply Vote

        • Backlit screens

          You will never see a backlit screen. The technology doesn't support it, and e-ink displays are the reason why the unit has battery life sufficient to make it work like a book and not like a gadget. This is over and above how much easier on the eyes the reflective display is versus backlit. It. Isn't. Even. Close.

          One of the most serious problems with reading on your Palm or iPhone/iPod or laptop (I have used palmtops for this task since 1998, I have read hundreds of e-books that way, so I really know what I'm talking about here) is that the batteries on those things might last for six hours. It takes longer than that to get across the country, and you probably want enough charge when you get there to be able to use the device for its intended purpose.

          The devices with e-ink displays run for days on end. I never turn mine off because I don't have to. At worst it delivers two full days of constant-on. Turn off the cellular link and it runs for *six days* straight. That's about a factor of twenty better than an iPod touch, which is otherwise the hands-down winner in longevity.

          It was always a mystery to me why Amazon didn't provide a click-in booklight for the Kindle, it was such an obvious thing; no idea if 2.0 will fix that, but when it comes down to it an inexpensive booklight has worked just as it always did with paper. Airplanes even come with their own reading lights. Meanwhile the backlight on my iPod touch sucks the life out of it in only a few hours.

          YMMV, but I'll take e-ink over a backlight any day.

          jim frost
          jimf@frostbytes.com


          jim frost
          jimf@frostbytes.com
          jimfrost
          Reply Vote

          • Battery life - Palm Z22

            I have been reading ebooks on my Palm Z22 for the past two years. I have read well over 100 books on it so far. Battery life has never been a problem. I top it up once a week or so, and it rarely goes below 50%. I do turn it off when I'm not reading it, and it automatically shuts off after two minutes of inaction. I use the other PDA functions, but not so many color games with audio. Maybe that's the difference.

            Frank Eskridge
            Marietta, GA
            Pokeyman2
            Reply Vote

          • Probably different usage scenarios

            The old monochrome LCD Palms had excellent life -- my 5000 and V would run for a week of reading on the bus and whatnot. But the flip to color screens killed that, the earlier units like my (Sony) Clie could pull four hours of reading, maybe one day of commuting and bedtime reading, and one leg of a cross-country flight. The Palm T|X did little better, the iPod Touch gets about 6 hours (interestingly, it gets more than 5 hours playing movies ... remarkable).

            If you don't read a whole lot every day this is fine, but if you do you'll find yourself always attached to the charging cord (I ended up putting a charging cradle at work just in case I forgot to charge it overnight). The shortest time to dead I ever got out of my Kindle was 46 hours. If I turned it off it would go a lot longer, but it would increase the get-going time to about 15 seconds from 3. And if you don't use the cell modem you can realistically take a week-long vacation without ever recharging it.

            That kind of battery life is a game changer in my book, and reading on a reflective screen is much nicer to boot.

            jim frost
            jimf@frostbytes.com
            jimfrost
            Reply Vote

          • Re: Booklight

            A booklight?

            Now that would be worthwhile except that even if you use a LED, it will drain the battery very fast, unless you give it a separate battery. I agree it would be a nice thing to have for when you read in the dark, though.

            As for the backlighting mentioned by the others above you, they have not realized that the screen of this machine is actually like paper in its reflective properties, though I hope it is more off-white rather than the pure white of an LCD screen.

            I turn my computer's reading area background to some off-white tint when I'm reading. The rest of the screen is wallpaper, usually a nice image.

            bart001fr
            Reply Vote

          • Palm IIIc is a colour screen

            I can read ebooks for a week before I bother to put it onto a cradle to recharge. As I said earlier, I only use it to read ebooks, but to save power, I reverse the screen, so that the background is black and the text is white. What's nice about this is that I can read it in bed, lights out and not disturb my wife, and not need a book light or not get eyestrain. Best of both worlds, eh? I've been reading using IIIc's for about 10 years now, and probably have over 300 books in my eBook collection.
            Edouin
            Reply Vote
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