Amazon

Amazon Upgrades the Kindle DX

fastcompany.com BY Kit Eaton Thu Jul 1, 2010

Kindle DX graphite It's a big news week for Amazon: They've announced an update to the big-screen Kindle DX e-reader in a week or so, with an improved e-ink display and lower price. Way lower--down $110 to $379. Is this Amazon's first response to iPad?

The new Kindle DX will come with a graphite body, partly to make it stand apart from earlier incarnations of the device and partly to demonstrate Amazon does take some elements of style seriously (and, we also wonder, partly because a dark gray enclosure may make the faintly grayish e-ink screen look whiter to the eye via an optical illusion). The 9.7-inch screen itself has been updated with newer electrophoretic technology so that its contrast ratio is said by Amazon to be 50% better--which is a huge bonus as contrast one of e-ink's last remaining benefits over competing display tech. Inside the electronics and software driving the Kindle have had a much-needed warm-over, and there's now Twitter and Facebook connectivity in the updated OS. The battery lasts a week of operating time with the wireless Whispernet system operating, and other features like the auto-rotation and keyboard are still there from the older model.

How Amazon is selling this upgrade is, however, pretty telling. It notes that Whispernet is free, that the e-ink display "reads like real paper" and "works in bright sunlight" unlike "backlit computer or LCD screens." Though this last phrase is slightly confusing (pretty much every portable device uses a back-lit LCD unit, as OLED tech is still pretty rare) we can forgive Amazon this as they've dropped the price of the device by $110 to $379--a 22% fall that's going to tempt many new customers to the Kindle platform. But all of these maneuvers are designed to combat Apple's iPad, which has a 9.7-inch screen but relies on LCD tech, its 3G service relies on paying a third party provider for access, and the base model with 3G capabilities is $629 which is a hefty $250 more. Amazon, in comparison to this limited description of the iPad, seems to be offering one heck of a deal.

Except it's not. The Kindle's e-ink tech may be more efficient power-wise, but only anecdotal evidence suggests it's easier to read e-books from than an LCD unit. The Kindle's battery life may be impressive, but the iPad can easily last a whole-day's worth of use. The new Kindle may deliver Twitter and Facebook integration, but the iPad's Twitter and Facebook interactivity, via Web browser or dedicated app, is significantly richer. And while the Kindle is cheaper, it's pretty useless for anything other than browsing e-books. Spending the extra cash on an iPad delivers a similar-sized platform that can let you play games, watch video, and compose content for work purposes. And you can get a free Kindle app for it that's fully integrated into Amazon's e-book ecosystem....

A Better Browser for Kindle

fastcompany.com BY Kit Eaton, 2010

Amazon is slowly stirring itself into action by improving its Kindle e-reader, just as I suggested it ought to if it's going to compete with the iPad and other tablet PCs. The first move: Improving the shoddy Web-browsing experience on the device.

We know Amazon is working on this thanks to a job opening in the company's Kindle division Lab126 seeking an engineer to develop an "innovative embedded Web browser." The engineer in question must have expertise in Java software development, experience working with Linux-based embedded devices, experience working with Browser Engines, and (score one for cross-platform compatibility) "familiarity with current Web standards." The job will be to develop and implement new features on the browser, support and improve existing browser versions and all the back-office documentation issues that go behind software projects like this.

Three things can be inferred from this job posting. First, Amazon is aware its current "experimental" Kindle browser is an embarrassing piece of naffness that barely functions even for static Web pages (and fails at displaying fast-updating content thanks to e-ink's slow refresh rate). Second, that old browser on older Kindles will remain, indicating Amazon may not be updating it and instead crafting a new browser for a newer Kindle--perhaps with features like speedier-updating that can't be supported on older hardware. Finally, and this is speculative but exciting, Amazon may be pushing to get this new gear on the shelves sooner rather than later. This comes from the text asking the job applicant to deliver "high quality work on tight schedules," which is seen pretty commonly...but with such seemingly long development cycles for the previous Kindle editions, you have to wonder if a "tight schedule" means Kindle 3 is on its way pretty soon....

Kindle-Hersteller PVI will iPad Konkurrenz machen

pressetext.deutschland

Neue E-Book-Reader-Generation mit Animations-Touchscreen geplant

Taipeh (pte/06.02.2010/06:00) -

Der Panelriese Prime View International (PVI) http://www.pvi.com.tw, der für Amazon den E-Book-Reader Kindle herstellt, hat angekündigt, neben farblich-flexiblen "electrophoretic" Displays auch touch- und videofähige Panels zu bauen. Wie das Branchenportal DigiTimes unter Berufung auf PVI-Konzernchef Scott Liu schreibt, sollen die Hochleistungsdisplays noch 2010 zum Einsatz kommen. Damit scheint ein weiterer Hersteller in dem durch Apple mit dem iPad eröffneten Tablet-Markt Fuß fassen zu wollen.

Hohe Nachfrage erwartet

"Es bleibt erst einmal abzuwarten, ob sich die Produkte von Apple, MSI und Asus tatsächlich langfristig am Markt etablieren können. Uneingeschränkte Euphorie wie damals beim iPhone war dieses Mal eher nicht zu spüren", unterstreicht ein Branchenbeobachter im Gespräch mit pressetext. Diese zurückhaltende Sichtweise teilt Liu naturgemäß nicht. Touchscreen-fähige E-Book-Reader werden sich in den kommenden Jahren ihren Platz am Markt erkämpfen und auch gegen das iPad signifikante Marktanteile erobern, lässt sich der PVI-Manager zitieren....

« Back »