# Amazon Unveils Kindle 2



## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

Jeff Bezos has unveiled Amazon's Kindle 2 -- a 0.36 inch-thick digital reader with 25 percent more battery life than the original. It will cost $359 and ships February 24. The new device will last two weeks on a single charge, hold 1,500 books, and keep a reader's place in-between readings.

The device also has a text-to-speech function, turning any e-book into an audiobook.

Links:

http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/web_tech/amazon_unveils_kindle_2_108123.asp

http://news.cnet.com/amazons-kindle-2-leaked/

http://www.mediabistro.com/mobilede...dle_2_ebook_reader_shipping_feb_24_108153.asp

http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/09/kindle-2-first-hands-on/ (w/pictures)

Amazon.com Demo: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=469548931&pf_rd_i=507846


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

I really like my (generation 1) Kindle, but it doesn't pencil out cost-wise. It's much more convenience than cost. I do wonder whether Amazon would be better served by dropping the price on the 1st gen unit because I wonder how many takers they will have at this price.


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## Tom Robertson (Nov 15, 2005)

Sounds like the shutdown production of model 1 to make room for model 2. (And I wonder how much they could save on model 1 costs anyway.)

At $359 still too expensive, I think. Now, if I could more easily read and reply on DBStalk via kindle...


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## Steve615 (Feb 5, 2006)

For Stephen King fans,Amazon also has a Kindle related angle with the author.  
He has a novella titled "UR",that is available for the Kindle.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001RF3U9K?ie=UTF8&tag=052379122979-20

Kindle price is $2.99,and includes wireless delivery via Amazon Whispernet.
That price is $1.00 ( 25% ) off of the Digital List Price on Amazon.


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

Easily, that's the thing. Kindle 2 supposedly lets you navigate to links directly (it's no fun on Kindle 1.) Either way, though, Whispernet isn't exactly a speed demon and you're better off with the DBSTalk mobile style.


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## Grentz (Jan 10, 2007)

I have always liked these ebook readers, the screens are amazing, almost look fake...which is a good thing cause it is easier to read like a book than a normal LCD much of the time.

Still too rich for my blood though, I just dont read enough books to justify it. If they could somehow get better textbook support, I could see it as being an awesome thing for college students.


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## paulman182 (Aug 4, 2006)

To me, it is much more convenient to carry around a $7 paperback that I can spill drinks on or even lose, than to constantly worry about dropping or scratching up the Kindle.

But that's just me.


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## Mike Bertelson (Jan 24, 2007)

I got to play with my sisters Kindle when I was home over Christmas.

It was incredibly cool. Small text was fairly easy to see even without my reading glasses. My only complaint is that I thought the screen could be brighter.

All I can say is I Bleepin' want one. 

Mike


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## Steve615 (Feb 5, 2006)

From Yahoo:
Legal "ruckus" between Amazon and the Author's Guild over Kindle 2's text-to-speech feature.

http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/121556


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

This is _very_ kool!

Today, Amazon unveiled a new, free iPhone application that
allows customers to read Kindle books on mobile devices...

More @ MediaBistro.com


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## Mike Bertelson (Jan 24, 2007)

My wife just pre-ordered the Kindle DX for my birthday; how cool is she. 

9.7" display, native PDF reader, Auto-Rotating Screen (accelerometer) so with a tilt of the unit it turns the page, and display auto-rotates from portrait to landscape as you turn it. 

Mike


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## Drew2k (Aug 16, 2006)

Totally missed this thread, so thanks for the bump.

I ordered the Kindle 2 in March and really like it, but really wish it had a better library or organization system. It can store up to 1,000 books, but the interface for scrolling the list of books is horrible.

I am doing a lot more reading now, so that's good, but having the Kindle is actually going to cost me more money because now I want to convert my entire physical library to digital, just like I started converting my SD DVDs to HD!


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

If only you could store a back-up copy online as you can do with books purchased
from Amazon. Should you ever do this, be sure to hold on to your hard copies!


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## ilgiampa (May 8, 2009)

Drew2k said:


> I am doing a lot more reading now, so that's good, but having the Kindle is actually going to cost me more money because now I want to convert my entire physical library to digital, just like I started converting my SD DVDs to HD!


Hi Drew, can't you upload your documents on your kindle? Is there a way to connect it to your PC via USB? 
That's not fair, if you bought a real book, you already paid the rights to the author!

ilGP


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## Drew2k (Aug 16, 2006)

ilgiampa said:


> Hi Drew, can't you upload your documents on your kindle? Is there a way to connect it to your PC via USB?
> That's not fair, if you bought a real book, you already paid the rights to the author!
> 
> ilGP


Sure, I can take Word documents, HTML docs, and PDF and upload them to my Kindle, but what I can't do is take my Isaac Asimov collection of physical books and generate electronic books from them, as much as I'd *really* like to! 

There are lots of free books in the public domain (Arthur Conan Doyle, Rudyard Kipling, Mark Twain, etc.) but most of my books don't fall into that category, so to get them on the Kindle I'd have to purchase the digital editions.


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## ilgiampa (May 8, 2009)

Drew2k said:


> There are lots of free books in the public domain (Arthur Conan Doyle, Rudyard Kipling, Mark Twain, etc.) but most of my books don't fall into that category, so to get them on the Kindle I'd have to purchase the digital editions.


mmmhhh... if there was a fairness, :icon_peac the editors of your books would give you a complete access to the electronic version of the books you already bought.
The problem is that we are so used to unfairness we don't claim our rights! :nono:


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

Drew2k said:


> Sure, I can take Word documents, HTML docs, and PDF and upload them to my Kindle, but what I can't do is take my Isaac Asimov collection of physical books and generate electronic books from them, as much as I'd *really* like to!
> 
> There are lots of free books in the public domain (Arthur Conan Doyle, Rudyard Kipling, Mark Twain, etc.) but most of my books don't fall into that category, so to get them on the Kindle I'd have to purchase the digital editions.


I agree. It would be an annoyingly long process to scan the pages and OCR them. Perhaps at some point Amazon will have a discount for those who choose to donate their physical books to the local library and purchase digital versions.


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## dmspen (Dec 1, 2006)

Drew2k said:


> ...but what I can't do is take my Isaac Asimov collection of physical books and generate electronic books from them, as much as I'd *really* like to!
> 
> Although you could scan/OCR them, it would take time. I did see a scanner with an auto feed. You could cut off the binding and do an auto scan!
> 
> ...


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## Drew2k (Aug 16, 2006)

ilgiampa said:


> mmmhhh... if there was a fairness, :icon_peac the editors of your books would give you a complete access to the electronic version of the books you already bought.
> The problem is that we are so used to unfairness we don't claim our rights! :nono:


I'm not so sure I could go along with that! Why should I be entitled today to a digital copy of a book I purchased 25 years ago? Should someone who purchased a cassette tape in the early 80's be entitled to get it in CD format because the analog copy was suddenly available in digital format? Even today, I don't see any reasonable expectation that a purchase of a physical book automatically warrants a fee copy of the same title electronically, either in eBook format or audio-books format. However, if any publisher chooses to offer eBook copies to physical book purchasers, I would be much more likely to buy books from that publisher.


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## Drew2k (Aug 16, 2006)

Stuart Sweet said:


> I agree. It would be an annoyingly long process to scan the pages and OCR them.


Something I would never even think to do - not for concerns about copyrights or anything like that, rather because I would never want to devote that much time to such an endeavor! 



> Perhaps at some point Amazon will have a discount for those who choose to donate their physical books to the local library and purchase digital versions.


I love this idea - that would be REALLY nice, both to the digital purchaser and the recipient of the donations! (I would just hope that book conditions don't totally matter - my "Battlefield Earth" paperback, "Citizen of the Galaxy", and almost all of my Asimov paperbacks are in VERY bad shape from extreme overuse!)


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## Drew2k (Aug 16, 2006)

dmspen said:


> Whatever happened to the rumor of a Foundation movie?


I never even heard that rumor, but sometimes movies just can't live up to expectations. I loved L. Ron Hubbard's "Battlefield Earth", but the movie was the most worthless piece of crap ever. The book would have been better offered as a miniseries, but instead we got a bad adaptation, bad acting, bad sets, bad directing, and pretty much a death knell for anyone ever considering to bring a better version of the book to the big or small screen in the future...

But that's what I mean about expectations. Read a book once and form an opinion of a character and you bring that character to life. Read that same book over and over again, and you then have a relationship with that character and your vision becomes the "true" vision and no other "imitations" will do.

That was actually a concern of mine when I first got the Kindle, that I would be divorced from the simple pleasures of turning pages of a book and immersing myself in the story, but my fears were quickly dispelled as even though the physical motion changed slightly, the books I've read so far have still been "page-turners" and I quickly forgot that it wasn't a "real" book. I've actually read more books on my Kindle since my purchase in March than I've read all of last year.


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## djlong (Jul 8, 2002)

In July of last year, a couple of ex-New Line Cinema guys said they were going to bring it to the screen:

http://www.reuters.com/article/filmNews/idUSN2926301220080729

Then, in January of this year, Sony said they got the rights:

http://www.toplessrobot.com/2009/01/asimovs_foundation_movie_will_be_worse_than_you_ca.php

http://www.movieweb.com/news/NEAE9CBJeABbDJ


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

Amazon.com has created a self-service method for bloggers to add their
content to the Amazon Kindle--offering writers a 30 percent cut of a
subscription price that Amazon will determine.










Any blogger with an RSS feed can participate after filling out an online
form--the blog should be available within 12 to 48 hours. Kindle users
can subscribe to the blog, and content will be automatically updated
via Amazon's wireless system.

MediaBistro.com
Amazon.com


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## ilgiampa (May 8, 2009)

Drew2k said:


> I'm not so sure I could go along with that! Why should I be entitled today to a digital copy of a book I purchased 25 years ago? Should someone who purchased a cassette tape in the early 80's be entitled to get it in CD format because the analog copy was suddenly available in digital format?


I think there two assets in every media: you pay something to the author for his creation, and you pay something to the publisher, for the CD or book or DVD... and some advertising and promotion. What if I do by myself a copy of a song I had in cassette format? I download it with bittorrent? Or I get it from my friend's CD? I already paid the author, the editor isn't supposed to do anything for me... what do you think?


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## Mike Bertelson (Jan 24, 2007)

My wife got me the Kindle DX for my birthday and it's supposed to ship today. 

As you can see it's quite a bit bigger then the Kindle 1/2.










It has native support for pdf files.

However, it's got a big price tag. AAMOF, if I were buying it for myself I'm not sure I would have gone with the DX because of the price difference. My wife's pretty awesome though so I'm gettin' the DX.

If I already owned a Kindle, I don't think I could justify the expense just to upgrade...then again..."Honey, the cat broke my Kindle" :lol:

If you have a Kindle would you consider upgrading to the DX?

Mike


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## djlong (Jul 8, 2002)

I have a Kindle 2 and won't be upgrading until a few more "revs" down the road. If I were buying my 1st one, I'd probably go the extra mile for the DX.


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## Drew2k (Aug 16, 2006)

MicroBeta said:


> My wife got me the Kindle DX for my birthday and it's supposed to ship today.


Congrats to you and your wife, Mike! I'm sure she'll be very happy with it!


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## Mike Bertelson (Jan 24, 2007)

Drew2k said:


> Congrats to you and your wife, Mike! I'm sure she'll be very happy with it!


She's not a big reader but she'll be very happy with it.

Now she won't have to complain about books laying around all the time...which is why I think she decided to get it in the first place. :grin:

Mike


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## Drew2k (Aug 16, 2006)

MicroBeta said:


> She's not a big reader but she'll be very happy with it.
> 
> Now she won't have to complain about books laying around all the time...which is why I think she decided to get it in the first place. :grin:
> 
> Mike


Don't forget to hit up all the free downloads that Amazon and other sites have for "public domain" books ... Mark Twain, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Rudyard Kipling, etc. LOTS of free books out there!


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## Mike Bertelson (Jan 24, 2007)

Drew2k said:


> Don't forget to hit up all the free downloads that Amazon and other sites have for "public domain" books ... Mark Twain, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Rudyard Kipling, etc. LOTS of free books out there!


Good info there, thanks. I forgot about the public domain stuff. 

I'll also have all the DirecTV First Looks pdf's downloaded onto it.

Since it will connect to and allow me to archive stuff on my PC I never have to worry about space. It has a few more supported formats also.

Mike


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## djlong (Jul 8, 2002)

If you life SF and/or fantasy, check out Baen books and the Baen Free Library. (www.baen.com)


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## Drew2k (Aug 16, 2006)

I posted this in the other eBook reader thread, but also check out MobileRead forums for links to free ebooks. There are a LOT of them out there.

Also consider installing Calibre on your PC. You can use it to copy those free books to the Kindle and can even schedule it to go to web sites like engadget, USA Today, Newsweek, etc. and create e-versions of the sites that you can send to your ebook reader daily or weekly.


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## Mike Bertelson (Jan 24, 2007)

Here's my Kindle DX.

As you can see in the picture, that’s the HR23-700 First Looks pdf. The DX reads pdfs in native format but if there’s a lot of graphics, like this first looks, it takes 6-8 to change pages.

Otherwise it’s pretty fast. My wife’s happy because there won’t be books laying around the house. (I suspect that was her plan all along)

I like how I can connect it to my computer and move books back and forth. Although it says it can store 3500 books that’s more then I would want to wade through to find a book. 

Mike


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## Grentz (Jan 10, 2007)

Awesome, looks great. No surprise on the time to turn pages...heck it even lags on my machine with those first look pdfs


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## Zellio (Mar 8, 2009)

I still don't get why people go gaga over a $349 ebook reader. I've read ebooks for years, from 1998 (franklin boookman) 2002 (audiovox maestro pda) and up, with a few other pdas.


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## Mike Bertelson (Jan 24, 2007)

Zellio said:


> I still don't get why people go gaga over a $349 ebook reader. I've read ebooks for years, from 1998 (franklin boookman) 2002 (audiovox maestro pda) and up, with a few other pdas.


I don't know about anyone else but I wouldn't say I'm gaga over it.

I like the convenience of having the books I'm currently reading in one location. My wife likes that I don't have books laying around all the time.

I've bought four books this weekend and it cost me <$30. I don't know how much you read but I probably saved ≈$20.

I don't buy the USAToday anymore because it sent to my Kindle daily saving me about $10/month. 

Just a couple of my reasons for a Kindle.

Mike


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## Grentz (Jan 10, 2007)

Zellio said:


> I still don't get why people go gaga over a $349 ebook reader. I've read ebooks for years, from 1998 (franklin boookman) 2002 (audiovox maestro pda) and up, with a few other pdas.


The display on the kindle and some of the newer more expensive readers is really nice to read on compared to a normal display. e-ink makes it an enjoyable experience.

I do not read enough to justify one, but if they get good solid textbook support I will get one in a heartbeat.


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## Drew2k (Aug 16, 2006)

MicroBeta said:



> Although it says it can store 3500 books that's more then I would want to wade through to find a book.
> 
> Mike


This is my biggest complaint about the Kindle - it doesn't have a "library system" or other way for the user to organize the books! I can search, or I can sort by title or author, but I can't sort by genre or what I really want, group books into my own folders. What good is having 1,000 titles on the Kindle 2 or 3,500 on the Kindle DX if you can't easily organize your own books?


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## Mike Bertelson (Jan 24, 2007)

Drew2k said:


> This is my biggest complaint about the Kindle - it doesn't have a "library system" or other way for the user to organize the books! I can search, or I can sort by title or author, but I can't sort by genre or what I really way, group books into my own folders. What good is having 1,000 titles on the Kindle 2 or 3,500 on the Kindle DX if you can't easily organize your own books?


That's my biggest complaint also.

While it does have a search function to find stuff it would be easier to some way to sort books. (e.g. by author or genre)

Mike


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## Drew2k (Aug 16, 2006)

MicroBeta said:


> That's my biggest complaint also.
> 
> While it does have a search function to find stuff it would be easier to some way to sort books. (e.g. by author or genre)
> 
> Mike


You can sort by author right now, just not by genre. Amazon definitely needs to add more options for us...


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## Mike Bertelson (Jan 24, 2007)

Drew2k said:


> You can sort by author right now, just not by genre. Amazon definitely needs to add more options for us...


I realized that after I wrote my post. :grin:

However, it's a simple list but think folders would be better. Some filters would be nice.

Has your Kindle, or anyone elses for that matter, had any firmware updates or is it what it is?

Mike


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## Drew2k (Aug 16, 2006)

I've gotten two firmware updates since I purchased my Kindle 2 early this year, but Amazon never reveals what has changed in each update. There's been lots of speculation that one update disabled the text-to-voice feature on certain titles based on publisher, but that's been about it - speculation only.


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

Is a Kindle Killer on its Way?









*Image courtesy of Amazon.com*

By Todd Ogasawara, *MediaBistro.com*

I've long said that my "magic" price point for Amazon's Kindle ebook reader is $199. But, I have to admit that I'm very tempted to buy a Kindle 2 at its new lower $299 price. But, honestly? I'm still not convinced that I read enough books per year to justify a Kindle even at its new lower price. After all I spend most of my "sitting still" time either at work or writing this blog. In other words, I spend a lot more time writing than reading 

Tell you what, Amazon. How about meeting me in the middle with a drop to a $249 price point by this fall? I would definitely give it a strong purchase consideration at that price. And, if it gets to the $199 area, the order button may be pressed.

But, tell you what, Amazon... If you wait too long, a firm like Apple may come along with a product that redefines both the netbook and ebook reader market and the Kindle may be kindling. The window of opportunity for grayscale ebook readers may be shorter than you think.

.


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

*Amazon mulls in-book advertising on Kindle
*
From RevolutionMagazine.com


> LONDON - Amazon is hoping to further monetise content on its Kindle ebook reader, revealing plans to place ads within the electronic books it publishes.
> 
> The ecommerce giant has filed a patent for technology that will place contextual ads within the content a consumer downloads to their reader.
> 
> ...


More @ RevolutionMagazine.com


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## Drew2k (Aug 16, 2006)

I will NEVER opt-in to ads for my Kindle e-books... No way, no how.


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## SayWhat? (Jun 7, 2009)

> Owners of Amazon's Kindle electronic book reader have received a nasty surprise, after discovering that copies of books by George Orwell had been deleted from their gadgets without their knowledge.
> 
> The books - downloaded from Amazon.com by American Kindle users - were remotely deleted after what the US company now says was a rights issue regarding the publisher, MobileReference.com.
> 
> ...


http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/jul/17/amazon-kindle-1984


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## Drew2k (Aug 16, 2006)

SayWhat? said:


> http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/jul/17/amazon-kindle-1984


A lot of news outlets have been ignoring one key factor in why Amazon deleted the titles: The publishers violated copyrights by releasing the titles electronically, as those publishers did not own the rights. Amazon is refunding customers the price paid (I believe it was 99¢ for "1984"), but where Amazon really screwed up was not explaining the real reason for removing the titles: Copyright violation. Instead they said something like, "a problem was found with the title". They didn't want to own up to hosting an illegal work in their store...


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## SayWhat? (Jun 7, 2009)

But the key point of the article was that once you buy it, they shouldn't be able to delete it, refund or not. Delete it from their store so no one else could buy it, sure, no problem there.

Suppose you bought a hard copy from Amazon and they later found that a batch was printed by a printing company that didn't have the proper licenses. Would they be able to come to your house and take the book off your shelf and hand you a refund?


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## djlong (Jul 8, 2002)

Being the owner of a Kindle 2, I have to say, I'm glad that this 'feature' came out this way.

Now part of me has no problem with the IDEA of 'the authorities' doing the equivalent of "recovering stolen merchandise". I mean, if you buy a car from someone and it turns out the car was stolen, you don't get to keep the car. Not only that, but you're USUALLY out the money you spent. Here, at least Amazon refunded the money.

The other part of me, however, doesn't like the idea that this is possible because of the possibility of misuse.

I would much rather this have come out this way - enforcing copyright on someone that was basically illegally offering the books - that to have it be something "mysterious" that was happening "intermittently" to "a few people".


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## bobukcat (Dec 20, 2005)

I just gave my wife a Kindle 2 for her birthday this weekend and so far we are both very impressed with it. I'm still shocked at how easy it is to read in the bright sun but a little dissapointed there isn't a backlight for night reading. I know that would eat up battery life but so what?

I'm also impressed with how good the "whispersync" coverage is, it works inside the house very well.

One final nod to Amazon for their excellent customer service - I ordered it for $359 and six days later they dropped the price to $299. I sent one quick note to them and had the difference refunded to my card within 30 hours! Just one more reason why I would buy just about ANYTHING from Amazon!

The only big dissapointment so far was finding out the Harry Potter books are not available on it - I was shocked that something that popular wouldn't be on the Kindle store!


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## njblackberry (Dec 29, 2007)

I've had my Kindle 2 for about 6 weeks now, and I love it. I travel (for work) quite a bit an I love having newspapers, magazines and books available. 

Not sure if this has been mentioned before, but there is an excellent piece of software called Calibre out there, which takes publically available content (internet newspapers), formats and uploads the content to the Kindle.


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

bobukcat said:


> I just gave my wife a Kindle 2 for her birthday this weekend and so far we are both very impressed with it. I'm still shocked at how easy it is to read in the bright sun but a little dissapointed there isn't a backlight for night reading. I know that would eat up battery life but so what? ...


If night reading is an issue, there are numerous battery-powered, clip-on "book lights" on the market. Amazon offers a few specifically for the Kindle and one of them will most certainly suit your needs.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_g...s&field-keywords=clip-on+book+light&x=10&y=22


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## djlong (Jul 8, 2002)

bobukcat: The reason there's no "official" Potter on the Kindle is because Rowling won't allow it. She refuses to release "electronic rights" to her works.


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

Sony has unveiled two new e-readers, poised to compete with Amazon Kindle and more affordable digital book readers like the Cool-ER device.

In the *NY Times*, the company introduced a $199 Reader Pocket Edition and a $299 Reader Touch editions of the Sony reader. The Pocket Edition can hold up to 350 standard digital books. Many of the new and bestselling digital books on the device will now be sold for $9.99--matching one of the most controversial price points in publishing.

Here's more from Sony's Digital Reading Business Division president, Steve Haber, quoted in the article: "We are focusing on affordability ... We have to offer value. It's clear e-books should be less expensive than regular books, with the savings on printing and logistics getting passed on to the consumer."

Source: MediaBistro.com


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## Mike Bertelson (Jan 24, 2007)

Nick said:


> Sony has unveiled two new e-readers, poised to compete with Amazon Kindle and more affordable digital book readers like the Cool-ER device.
> 
> In the *NY Times*, the company introduced a $199 Reader Pocket Edition and a $299 Reader Touch editions of the Sony reader. The Pocket Edition can hold up to 350 standard digital books. Many of the new and bestselling digital books on the device will now be sold for $9.99--matching one of the most controversial price points in publishing.
> 
> ...


And so it starts....

Now all the various manufactures are trying to keep pace and that means price reductions. 

Mike


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

Amazon's Kindle and Sony's Reader have gotten lots of media attention, but a survey shows that consumers are not yet sold on the devices.


> By Antone Gonsalves
> *InformationWeek*
> August 6, 2009 04:15 PM
> 
> ...


More @ *InformationWeek.com*


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## Hansen (Jan 1, 2006)

Nick said:


> Amazon's Kindle and Sony's Reader have gotten lots of media attention, but a survey shows that consumers are not yet sold on the devices.More @ *InformationWeek.com*


I recently purchased a Kindle 2 for my wife, who is a big time book lover and has filled up our entire library. She absolutely loves the Kindle. I think it's one of those things that at first people are not sure about but once they see it in operation, how pleasing and real book like the pages are displayed and realize the potential, they get on board quickly with the concept. The price is still a bit steep but worth it. There are some trade offs in terms of not being able to loan a relative or friend a good book you read...unless they too have a Kindle. All in all, an excellent product and purchase.


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## djlong (Jul 8, 2002)

I don't use my Kindle 2 as much as I thought I would but I love having it. I've had some ideas on how to get more use out of it but just haven't had the time to implement them.


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## Chris Blount (Jun 22, 2001)

I should be getting my Kindle 2 today. A friend of mine purchased it 3 months ago but has decided he doesn't use it much. He sold it to me for $200 including the $30 leather case.

I've had my eye on one of these for a long time but $300 is just too expensive. 

I use Kindle on the iPhone but am looking forward to having the "real thing".


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## Chris Blount (Jun 22, 2001)

OK, got the Kindle yesterday. So far I like it. I forgot about the web capabilities. DBSTalk looks pretty good. 

I'm going to have to use it more but so far I've already noticed how easier it is on the eyes. It's kind of slow turning pages but no biggy.

They really need to lower the price on these things to get any kind of mass market appeal.


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## bobukcat (Dec 20, 2005)

Chris Blount said:


> I should be getting my Kindle 2 today. A friend of mine purchased it 3 months ago but has decided he doesn't use it much. He sold it to me for $200 including the $30 leather case.
> 
> I've had my eye on one of these for a long time but $300 is just too expensive.
> 
> I use Kindle on the iPhone but am looking forward to having the "real thing".


It's pretty cool, I gave my wife one and then registered my Ipod Touch on her Kindle account and now we can both read the book at the same time. Or, if she's feeling generous and let's me use it for a few minutes I can read part of a book on the Kindle and go back to reading it (while keeping my spot) on my Ipod. Pretty cool stuff! The only thing that she won't use it for is magazines because she's a foodie and all those pictures of food don't look nearly as good in greyscale as they do color!

I love finding a book you want to read and being able to start reading it in seconds rather than ordering it or going to the store for it - very convenient! I'm also impressed how well it works in bright sunlight.


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## Chris Blount (Jun 22, 2001)

bobukcat said:


> It's pretty cool, I gave my wife one and then registered my Ipod Touch on her Kindle account and now we can both read the book at the same time. Or, if she's feeling generous and let's me use it for a few minutes I can read part of a book on the Kindle and go back to reading it (while keeping my spot) on my Ipod. Pretty cool stuff! The only thing that she won't use it for is magazines because she's a foodie and all those pictures of food don't look nearly as good in greyscale as they do color!
> 
> I love finding a book you want to read and being able to start reading it in seconds rather than ordering it or going to the store for it - very convenient! I'm also impressed how well it works in bright sunlight.


I agree. We use the Kindle app on 2 iPhones and an iPod touch, and now the Kindle. It really is cool.

I was reading up on how it works and I didn't realize that the Kindle is NOT a LCD display. It uses actual black and white ink. Kind of interesting. I know the "e-ink" technology has been around for a while but I didn't know it was actually ink (which is why it works well in bright sunlight).


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## bobukcat (Dec 20, 2005)

Chris Blount said:


> I agree. We use the Kindle app on 2 iPhones and an iPod touch, and now the Kindle. It really is cool.
> 
> I was reading up on how it works and I didn't realize that the Kindle is NOT a LCD display. It uses actual black and white ink. Kind of interesting. I know the "e-ink" technology has been around for a while but I didn't know it was actually ink (which is why it works well in bright sunlight).


Yeah, I wondered why there was a picture on the screen even when it's turned off and read that it uses absolutely no power to display the screen once it's written. It takes power to write the screen but it can be displayed indefinitely without using power. Neat stuff indeed!


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

Yes, it's a completely different display technology from the ones used for video displays.


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## Mike Bertelson (Jan 24, 2007)

bobukcat said:


> Yeah, I wondered why there was a picture on the screen even when it's turned off and read that it uses absolutely no power to display the screen once it's written. It takes power to write the screen but it can be displayed indefinitely without using power. Neat stuff indeed!


E-ink/electronic paper.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E_Ink

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_paper

Mike


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

_"There is ongoing competition among manufacturers to provide full-color capability."_


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