Posted by The Blogging Desk on Thu, May 26, 2011
This is my next:
Barnes & Noble just announced its all-new Nook, with an E Ink screen and zero shenanigans. It’s being subtitled “The Simple Touch Reader,” with a single 6-inch black and white touchscreen. There’s obviously no physical keyboard, which shaves off 10 percent of the “bulk” in comparison to the Kindle 3. Barnes & Noble also made sure to drive other points of comparison home, like “80 percent less flashing” (that black screen flash that you get during E Ink page turns) and double the battery life (two months). The touchscreen works with IR technology, which should hopefully mitigate some of the problems with E Ink touchscreens and decreased readability — in fact, B&N promises a 50 percent improvement over the original Nook. For storage there’s 2GB built-in and a microSDHC slot for swapping in your copy of Proust, with a WiFi connection for snagging new titles (but no 3G). Under the hood there’s a 800MHz TI OMAP3 processor, running Android 2.1. — or your custom mod of choice once the hackers get ahold of this.
Barnes & Noble looks to be finally ahead of Amazon in the eBook hardware game. The Kindle 3 was released nearly a year ago and has gotten long in the tooth. It seems like B&N has now taken the top spot thanks to this hardware revision.
This verion of the Nook ditches the convoluted double screen of a previous model and also has no colors. But, it also adds touch capability.
I recently purchased a Kindle 3 for my bookworm of a mother. I had a few days to set it up for her and was amazed at how great the weight of the Kindle was. It was incredibly light when compared to reading on my iPad. I made a mean kielbasa dinner while reading a book on the Kindle. Both were equally delicious. PDF rendering was also smooth. So smooth that more enterprise companies should be handing these bad boys out on a regular basis.
My guess is Amazon has a whole slew of form factors coming down the pike. I would imagine a redesigned Kindle, but also a color tablet running a modified version of Android. Either way, readers win.
Posted by The Blogging Desk on Thu, Mar 24, 2011
Dan Frommer:
While the company is still only selling simple Kindle e-readers, Amazon has quietly built all the tools it needs to compete against Apple and the other tablet makers with its own Android-based tablets.
Amazon just launched its Android app store today. It could easily end up better than Google's built-in Android Market. Why? Because Amazon cares about building a better storefront than Google. And because Amazon has better e-commerce tools and vision than just about anyone.
Amazon's music store and video streaming service are as close to Apple's iTunes as it gets. That's one of the big problems with the Motorola Xoom, for example -- nice, big screen, but no legit source of movies to stream. Amazon tablets would have an answer. Amazon Prime members can stream unlimited movies and TV episodes from a small (but inevitably growing) library of content. That sounds like a great bonus feature for Amazon tablets.
Would Amazon be able to make a play in the tablet space? Their new Amazon Appstore is a curious move for the company unless they're indeed planning a tablet. Amazon is the only competitor to Apple that would be able to compete with movies, music, and apps all at the same time. Google has proven unreliable when it comes to offering similar media. Their own App Store is a muddled mess of spam or apps that seem to rip each other off. Some with exactly the same icons.
The Kindle has been slowly dropping in price ever since it's been released, and some have speculated that in you follow the pattern, it will become free this November. My guess is that the current form Kindle will become free when signing up for an Amazon Prime account. Then, Amazon will reveal their Android tablet, specially customized with their Appstore built-in. You'd be able to seamlessly buy Kindle books via the tablet, and also peruse their Appstore without having to go through the convoluted process that you need to when installing on an Android phone now. Also, you can't even install the Amazon Appstore on an AT&T Android phone.
The Xoom has been released but doesn't look like it can complete. An Amazon tablet could very well be the answer.
Posted by Matt Kolowski on Mon, Aug 02, 2010
You remember the Amazon Kindle, don’t you? You buy books on Amazon’s website, sync them to your little e-ink reader and then you’re on your way. The battery lasts for days and days.
If you enjoy reading books, friend, you’re in luck. The newest models just announced are $139/WiFi, $189/3G and the battery is listed to last a month without wireless turned on. 10 days with it enabled. Yowza.
The prices are almost in direct correlation to how the iPad, one of the best IT Mobility Solutions, is priced. $499 not only gets you a color e-reader, but also an amazing browser, video/audio playback, gaming, and pseudo-word processing. Oh, and pretty much the best comic reader ever created by humans.
Amazon realized this, and cut their pricing quick. I have not met person that would buy a Kindle over an iPad. It could be my age bracket, though. I’m a young buck, under 30. No geezers around these parts.
I can see Mother Dearest enjoying one of these. Relaxing after a long day of gardening, sipping some wine and enjoying the latest crime novel that is shooting up the best sellers list.
But, how will I ever topple her in Words with Friends..?