$399 (and free 2 day shipping) with access to 88,000 books including 100 of the 112 New York Times best sellers. No WiFi here, Amazon's Whispernet service is FREE and based on Sprint's EVDO: "Amazon pays for Kindle's wireless connectivity so you will never see a monthly wireless bill for shopping the Kindle Store." Whispernet allows Kindle owners to wirelessly shop the Kindle Store, dowload and receive content -- and it works out the box, no setup required. All new release books cost $9.99 as do books found on the NYT best sellers list. Newspaper subscriptions cost $5.99 to $14.99 per month and Kindle Magazines cost between $1.25 and $3.49 per month -- each is available for a free 2 week trial. Oddly, blogs will cost you $0.99 per month to subscribe. All purchased content is stored as a backup on Amazon's site. Running down the specs again: internal storage for 200 titles (more via SD expansion), battery that lasts for days (2 hour recharge), 10.3 ounces, built-in dictionary and Wikipedia, and plenty more. While the reader itself could be mistaken for a Handspring device from the 90s, the service itself certainly makes for a compelling proposition.
RE:Rediff get the whole data
by Shankar on Nov 21, 2007 09:17 PM Permalink
Thanks for the info, Prav. The battery life (with WiFi off) sounds unbelievable. I hope Amzn will stay the course and not entertain the doubters.
RE:Rediff get the whole data
by sushi on Nov 20, 2007 03:51 PM Permalink
I think it's a great start - and definitely outsmarts Sony.
What I'd like however are: (a) A larger screen and stylus / handwriting recognition instead of a key board (b) Support for native PDF files (now you need to convert to Doc and send it to Amazon who sends a converted proprietary file to your device).
That's all I need. And oh yes, the price needs to be lower too. $200 will just about cut it; $100 will be a blockbuster device.
E book readers have been around for quite a few years and each model has been trying to imitate the book (and not the computer) in an effort to make the reading experience truly real. Now all the biggies are getting in to producing similar devices. but the price range is almost the same (10-15K INR) someday these devices will be voice enabled, read-alouds, MP# player, etc a scan and store too. It is important to know what type of files are compatible for the reader. It is also important not to get stuck in a 'proprietary' technology. Please read well before you buy.
A number of people do not understand what an eBook reader is. It has one HUGE difference from a laptop or a palm: e-Ink.
The screen of an eBook reader is not lit, there is no refresh rate, it looks and feels exactly like paper. Like paper, the brighter the ambient light is, the easier it gets to read an eBook reader. Therefore, unlike reading from a laptop or Palm, reading from an eBook reader does not tire your eyes (ever tried reading a novel from your laptop?).
If you have not experienced an eBook reader, do so - Sony's failed eBook reader has been around for a year. I would not recommend you buy one yet - these first generation devices cost too much. Am waiting personally for the $100 device, or the iPod equivalent.
Hope this clarifies. (The article above adds to the ignorance.) BTW, the Kindle is not available outside the US. And among its key failings is lack of native PDF support. Can be easily sorted out in v2.
Ebooks will definitely become popular if they can be read using a handheld device. Should be portable and should be so light that you can actually hold it like a book while lying down. Contrast and brightness is another factor that would determine what sells. Hope some chinese manufacturer comes up with a Rs.5000 model in which one can load up any book.
Ebooks will definitely become popular if they can be read using a handheld device. Should be portable and should be so light that you can actually hold it like a book while lying down. Contrast and brightness is another factor that would determine what sells. Hope some chinese manufacturer comes up with a Rs.5000 model in which one can load up any book.
