Kindle Sony Nook » Apple iPad

Missing Manual Maven Alights on Fire

bill — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 21:40:09 +0000

D Streitfeld, in a f/u to his previous article on the faults of the Kindle Fire, ran the cricisms by computer how-to author Peter Meyers. His comments: The Fire suits its target audience of non iPad users/nontechies admirably well, albeit it needs fixing and further refinement. It would not, per Mr Meyers, have passed Apple [read: Steve Jobs'] muster to make it to the market in its current form. He also makes a nice nod to the B and N Nook, but would take a pass on passing over the Fire for it, because of Amazon’s “…broader and better integrated content…”. [The Kindle Fire and a Debate on Tablets, NYT 19.12.11 pB8].

Apple’s new App Store rules affect Amazon’s Kindle

admin — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 19:51:25 +0000

Apple today unveiled the details of its App Store subscription plan, and confirmed that it will demand its usual 30% from publishers who sell content within their apps. To meet Apple’s guidelines, Amazon must remove its “Shop in Kindle Store” link from its Kindle application. That link, which opens the iOS browser and displays Amazon’s Web-based e-bookstore, is currently the easiest way for Kindle app users to purchase new books.

Source: ComputerWorld

Apple’s New Subscription Model & What it Means for Publishers (mashable.com)

Why the Kindle, not the iPad, is the booklover’s choice

admin — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 17:29:05 +0000

Any booklover would recognise this dilemma. I spent the rest of the holiday (and huge amounts of Euros) seeking out shops selling English language books. The choice was limited, so I was forced to try out writers which I wouldn’t normally (the John Grishams were fab, thanks for asking, but the Victoria Hislop less so). I even bought a chick-lit novel for a ridiculous 10 Euros, partly on the basis that the author was a Scottish journalist and I vaguely knew her brother.

Anyone who doesn’t know my husband, by the way, might ask why I didn’t tap into his holiday reading. Alas, abstruse texts of Scottish history – his idea of relaxation – aren’t really my thing.

The Kindle started to look attractive. Just think, instead of packing up to ten hefty tomes (I’m a bit of a hardback fiend) I could carry thousands of books in the equivalent of one slim volume.

Meanwhile, I found myself having to justify the purchase to those who are in thrall to Apple. Why get the Kindle, which, let’s face it, is a bit of a one-trick pony, while tablets do so much more? Well they also cost so much more is one answer. One aforementioned techie friend seemed to take it as a personal insult (almost) that I wasn’t swelling the coffers of Mr Jobs. He even tried to tempt me (how well he knows me) by demonstrating how to play Scrabble on the iPad.

Okay, so it was quite impressive but that’s hardly the point. For reading, for me, it simply wasn’t up to the job. It was too heavy to hold comfortably and the backlit screen just isn’t like reading a book. Yes, it’s in colour, yes, the graphics are pretty, and yes, it’s nice to turn a page with a sweep of the finger, but even reading it for a short time is pretty hard on the eyes. It’s a great gadget I’m sure, but not for a reader.

In complete contrast, when my Kindle finally arrived, it really felt like curling up with a book (the cover helped, I must say). The print is very easy on the eye, the screen is a decent size and it’s so light that anyone could sit and read it quite happily for hours – much like a book.

And there’s another advantage and that’s the speed with which one’s chosen reading matter is delivered. I had fondly imagined that there was so much free material to choose from that there would be no need to go to the Kindle store. Hmm, not so, sadly, and that’s how they get you.

I had started reading (in paperback) a jolly detective series set in the Cotswolds – there are masses of them and they are really quite addictive. Previously, similar obsessions would be tempered by having to travel to a bookshop or wait several days for Amazon to deliver, but not now. Each and every one is available in a Kindle edition which can be delivered to my device in under a minute apiece. It’s as (dangerously) easy as that. They’re never out of stock. And it’s saving on valuable shelf-space.

Read the full story on Caledonian Mercury

Top 10 Kindle differentiators (ireaderreview.com)
Amazon Kindle gets its first premium app: Scrabble (engadget.com)

19 July 2010: E-Day!

bill — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 03:13:53 +0000

The NYT announced on July 20th that Amazon.com revealed that they now sell more e-books than hardcovers, at a ratio of about 3:2 (& rising). This has happened in the under three years that Amazon has been in the e-book business.
Amazon is aided in this by the ability of owners of other ‘readability’ devices,ie Smart Phones and Apple’s iPads, to read Kindle-sold books on these platforms, but not vice versa. Also, after the initial iPad buzz & buying frenzy, many of the reading public prefer the Kindle for reading, reserving the ‘iPod Touch-on-steroids’ for its other uses. The falling prices of e-readers as a class also contributed to this milestone in the history of the written word.

Kindle vs. Nook vs. iPad: Which e-book reader should you buy?

admin — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 17:06:11 +0000

If you’re in the market for an e-book reader, the past couple of weeks have considerably changed your options, and for the better. Barnes & Noble’s and Amazon’s new products and price drops have made their e-book reader hardware considerably more affordable, and you now have excellent options available in the $149 to $199 price range. Also, a flood of new reading-centric apps continues to solidify the Apple iPad’s position as the premium media tablet of choice.

Cnet posted 5 questions to ask yourself to help you decide which one to buy:

How much are you willing to spend?

How large of a screen (and weight) do you want?

What’s your screen preference: e-ink or backlit LCD?

Do you need always-on wireless data?

Do you need access to your e-books on additional devices?

Final thoughts: Currently, the Nook, Kindle, and iPad are our top e-book reader picks; however, this isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer. Depending what features are important to you–color versus black and white screen, backlight versus readability in the sun, touch screen versus not, cheap versus expensive, lightweight versus heavy–the device you prefer may be different from ours. However, there’s no arguing that the range of choices for e-book readers is better now than it ever has been.

Read the full story on Cnet.

Amazon Kindle Pays For Ads, Apple iPad Doesn’t

admin — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 17:16:20 +0000

The Colbert Report

Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Stephen Gets a Free iPad

www.colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor

Health Care Reform

iPad vs. a 5-Year-Old [Video]

admin — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 18:20:56 +0000

Write text here…

“Amazon Loses Some Customers in Apple iPad Line” and related posts (mediabistro.com)

Kindle Owners Already Wishing They Had An iPad Instead

admin — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 20:57:51 +0000

A new report from ChangeWave Research reveals that less than half of the people who own an e-reader would have bought that same e-reader if the iPad was already on the market.

That’s an ugly stat for Amazon, since the Kindle is the undisputed king of the e-reader market, at least today.

Source: Business Insider

Kindle, You Are So Dead [Ipad] (gizmodo.com)

Kindle vs. iPad: Far from over

admin — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 16:51:42 +0000

In the matchup between the iPad and the Kindle, some say it’s game over for Amazon’s e-Reader. But according to industry watchers, it’s still only the first quarter.

In Amazon’s earnings release, Bezos threw a spotlight on the “millions of people” who own the e-Reader, adding, “When we have both editions, we sell 6 Kindle books for every 10 physical books.”

But when asked about competition from new devices during Amazon’s earnings call, CFO Tom Szkutak would only say, “We believe that readers deserve to have a dedicated device.”

Meanwhile Amazon is not lying idle with its technology. The company is in the process of buying touch-screen technology startup, Touchco, according to reports from The New York Times. The acquisition could mean touch capability in a future generation of the Kindle.

Job openings at Amazon’s hardware division, Lab126, offer further evidence of plans to upgrade the device. More than half of the 50 positions were posted within the past month, while a listing for a “Hardware display manager” reads, “You will know the LCD business and key players in the market.”

Citigroup analyst Mark Mahaney also sees improvements like color and touch functionality in Kindle’s future, as well as a drop in price. “The price of e-Readers has to come down over time and so far they have,” he says. And despite pressures from the publishing community, Mahaney still sees flexibility in e-Book pricing, wherein Amazon could use profits on bestsellers to slash prices on other books.

Read the full story on CNN Money

iPad vs. Kindle

admin — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 19:52:25 +0000

TUAW has a review comparing the iPad to the Kindle. Here are some of the highlights:
First off, if you were thinking of buying a Kindle DX, I’d say forget it. The iPad is a knockout punch to that device. At just ten dollars cheaper than the low end iPad, there just is no contest. The two devices are the same size (both are 9.7″), but the iPad has a color screen and can do a lot of things that Kindle just can’t do.
…
OK, on to the standard issue Kindle at U.S. $259.00. This decision is a bit trickier. It’s about half the cost of the low end iPad, has a smaller screen, but does have built in no-charge 3G. That’s mainly for buying books, as web browsing is pretty painful. Once again, books seem a bit cheaper on the Kindle at this stage, but I’ve noticed prices creeping up. Battery life with wireless off is about 2 weeks, and the iPad can never touch that.

For the immediate future, Amazon has far more books on offer, but that will likely change over time. If you have the smaller Kindle, I would not have anxiety about the iPad if you are mainly a reader. If you have the DX, I’d feel a bit queasy.
…
In the short term, these gradual changes will be invisible, and I’ll happily keep using my Kindle. In the long term, devices like the iPad will win us over and evolve our relationship with our media, just as the iPod did.