Posts Tagged Kindle 2
Amazon Enjoys A Great Year -Thanks To The Kindle Reader
Posted by 0845 Telephone Numbers in General on December 12th, 2009
When Amazon’s management team get together to review the company’s annual results this year, they will have plenty justification to feel content – but not smug. It’s been a very good year for the internet retail giant – and a lot of the credit must go to the Amazon Kindle ebook reader.
Amazon released the Kindle 2 in February of 2009. It was widely perceived as a step in the right direction. Amazon had obviously paid close attention to customer feedback on the original Kindle, released in 2007. Wireless connectivity and the huge choice of Kindle books remained and faster pages changes, longer battery life and increased storage capacity were among the improvements which were introduced.
Best selling author, Stephen King wrote a special novella to mark the launch and the Kindle 2 rapidly became the “must have” gadget amid a blaze of publicity.
In June of 2009, just a few months later, Amazon launched the Kindle DX. The DX featured a larger display and was developed dpecifically for readers of magazines, newspapers and academic textbooks. Somewhat surprisingly perhaps, it was the staid world of academic publishing that helped to gain the DX a lot of publicity.
The academic community was quick to realise the potential benefits the Kindle offered. Not only would it be very much easier to update textbooks but interactive eduction – pop quizzes and tests for example – would be possible. As well as saving money by using electronic textbooks, academic bodies would also be more environmentally friendly – a very important factor for these institutions which have both financial budgets and environmental targets to meet today.
As well as establishing partnerships with a number of colleges and universities, Amazon benefited from a lot of publicity generated by political bodies such as the New Democratic Leadership Council and Californian Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger – both of whom waxed lyrical on the educational potential of e-book readers in general and the Amazon Kindle in particular.
Nevertheless, although things were looking bright for Amazon, there were some early signs that trouble was looming. Competing manufacturers, having watched Amazon develop the e-book reader market, were now becoming aware of the huge potential of this nascent sector. A long list of competitors, including such names as Microsoft, Apple, Sony and Barnes and Noble, wanted their share – and suddenly they all had readers of their own under development.
In a way, it’s a huge compliment to Amazon that almost every ebook reader under development which shows the slightest promise is immediately given the title of the “Kindle Killer”. Nevertheless, right now, in spite of all the development work by other manufacturers, the Kindle is still pretty much the only show in town. The Nook reader from Barnes and Noble and Sony’s Daily Edition reader have both had their releases dates shifted back. To tell the truth, it begins looks increasingly probable that the most likely source of the long awaited Kindle Killer is, in fact, Amazon itself. The Kindle 4 is the most probable contender. Will we see it in 2010?
When Will We See The Kindle 4?
Posted by 0845 Telephone Numbers in General on December 9th, 2009
2009 has been an important year for e-book readers – substantially as a result of the efforts of Amazon. The Kindle 2 was launched by Amazon in February 2009, which was an improved version of the first Kindle, originally launched in November 2007.
Amazon followed up with the Kindle DX in June of 2009, which was a large format version of the Kindle 2. It was specifically targeted at readers of newspapers, magazines and academic textbooks – and it created a bit of a stir.
The possibilities in the academic world – from interactive textbooks to constantly updated texts, and not forgetting the opportunity afforded to academic bodies to save a good deal of money – attracted a good deal of attention. In addition to entering into partnership with various colleges and universities, Amazon received plenty of free publicity from the political scene – such as the New Democratic Leadership Council and Arnold Schwarzenegger, in his capacity as Governor of California.
Thanks to Amazon’s foresight and innovation – helped by all the free publicity – the Kindle reader has now become Amazon’s top selling product. The Kindle currently has an incredible 60% share of the U.S. e-book reader market and recently brought out an international version. The Kindle has, to all intents and purposes, become synonymous with e-book readers.
It’s probably worth pointing out that Amazon didn’t enter the e-book reader market until fairly late in the day. The first e-book reader, the Franklin eBookman, was launched in 1999 – a decade ago. The Sony PRS reader was launched in 2007, before the launch of the original Kindle.
Amazon may not have been first to launch – but by combining clever marketing with technical innovation and addressing customer needs, Amazon has secured its current number one position. The vast choice of books available for the Kindle on Amazon’s website (360,000 titles at the last count and growing daily) and the wireless connectivity (with no monthly fee) were every bit as critical to the success of the Kindle as were the technical aspects of the device.
However, now that Amazon has – practically single handed – established the market, it seems that there are a whole bunch of other manufacturers who all want their share. Sony, Microsoft, Apple, Barnes and Noble, iRex, Plastic Logic, Asus – the list goes on – all have their own readers ready for launch or in the final stages of development.
Amazon’s current unique selling point – wireless connectivity – will become the norm and Barnes and Noble will allow users of their new Nook reader the choice of over 1,000,000 titles. Sony’s new Daily Edition reader will allow users to download e-books on loan from participating lending libraries. 2010 will probably see some industry standard e-book format agreed upon, which will allow users to lend e-books to family and friends or move them over to other readers if they wish.
Currently, a lot of industry analysts are checking out the line up of new readers and trying to predict which of them is the Kindle Killer. Neverthelss, Amazon has been commercially aware up until now, so they won’t surrender their leadership position without a fierce struggle. It took them less than a year and a halft after the launch of the original Kindle to release the much improved Kindle 2. The DX was launched just a few months later. Amazon almost certainly has big plans for the further development of their e-book readers. Could it be that the Kindle killer will actually be the Kindle 4 and that could we see this sometime in 2010?
Kindle DX V Kindle 2 - Which Is Right For You?
Posted by 0845 Telephone Numbers in General on July 9th, 2009
The latest in Amazon’s Kindle ebook reader family – the DX was announced in early May, just a few weeks after the launch of the Kindle 2 in February. Ever since then Kindle owners and potential owners have been speculating about just how big the changes and enhancements in the DX when compared with the Kindle 2 really were. If you’re an existing Kindle owner or if you’re an avid reader wondering which of the two devices would be the best for your needs, then check out the comparison below:
Display
The Kindle DX has a 9.7" display (measured from corner to corner, across the diagonal) - which is two and a half times larger than the Kindle 2's 6" screen. Apart from the obvious size advantage, the DX screen has an auto-rotate feature which lets you switch from the standard portrait mode to landscape mode simply by turning the reader on its side. This makes the DX better suited for reading newspapers, magazines and other publications which contains graphics.
Overall Device SizeThe DX has overall dimensions of 10.4″ X 7.2″ X 0.38" and weighs 18.9 ounces. The Kindle 2 has overall dimensions of 8" X 5.3″ X 0.36″ and a weight of 10.2 ounces. So, although the Kindle DX certainly isn't too cumbersome to carry around, the Kindle 2 is the more portable of the two readers.
On Board Memory Storage Capacity
The DX has 4 GB of internal memory – which equates to storage for approximately 3,500 books. The Kindle 2 has 2GB of onboard memory, good for about 1,500 books - pretty good really, and enough to keep most people supplied with reading material for a long while, but still less than the DX.
PDF Support
The Kindle 2 can read pdf files – but only after you e-mailed them to Amazon for conversion. There is a fee - albeit fairly nominal - for the conversion. All things considered, a bit of a hassle. The DX on the other hand has pdf support built in so you can just load up your pdf files and read them with no conversion, no fee and no fuss.
Price
The Kindle 2 is currently available for $359. When the DX ships on June 10th it will cost you $489. It's hardly surprising that the price is somewhat higher than the Kindle 2, the larger screen is one of the most expensive items in the device so a higher price point is to be expected. If you compare the DX's $489 ticket price with the $859 of the iRex Illiad - a similar 10" ebook reader - the DX doesn't look quite so expensive anymore.
Final Analysis
Although the Kindle 2 is relatively new, and was itself a big step forward in comparison with the original Kindle, the DX offers significant further enhancements. The bigger display and the ability to handle pdf files is enough to justify you spending a little extra - especially when you compare the prices of other similarly sized ebook readers on the market. Unless Amazon drop the price of the Kindle 2 following the launch of the DX, go for the DX option.