kindle | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net KitGuru.net - Tech News | Hardware News | Hardware Reviews | IOS | Mobile | Gaming | Graphics Cards Tue, 22 Mar 2016 16:12:36 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cropped-KITGURU-Light-Background-SQUARE2-32x32.png kindle | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net 32 32 Old Kindles require an urgent software update to stay connected https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/old-kindles-require-an-urgent-software-update-to-stay-connected/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/old-kindles-require-an-urgent-software-update-to-stay-connected/#respond Tue, 22 Mar 2016 16:12:36 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=287617 Amazon announced over the weekend that those using a number of older Kindle e-readers will need to download an urgent software update today in order to continue accessing books from the cloud and the Kindle Store itself. If you own a Kindle from before 2013, then this update is critical to keeping it connected to …

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Amazon announced over the weekend that those using a number of older Kindle e-readers will need to download an urgent software update today in order to continue accessing books from the cloud and the Kindle Store itself. If you own a Kindle from before 2013, then this update is critical to keeping it connected to the internet.

Failing to update one of the affected Kindles by the end of today will result in the following error message: “Your Kindle is unable to connect at this time. Please make sure you are within wireless range and try again. If the problem persists, please restart your Kindle from the Menu in Settings and try again.”

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If you end up with this message then don't worry too much as you can still install the update manually by going to the Fire&Kindle page, finding your specific model and following the instructions provided by Amazon.

Here is the full list of affected Kindles:

  • Kindle 1st Gen (2007)
  • Kindle 2nd Gen (2009)
  • Kindle DX 2nd Gen (2009)
  • Kindle Keyboard 3rd Gen (2010)
  • Kindle 4th Gen (2011)
  • Kindle Touch (2011)
  • Kindle 5th Gen (2012)
  • Kindle Paper White (2012)

KitGuru Says: Amazon didn't specify exactly why this update is needed but if you or someone you know has an older Kindle, then let them know otherwise they may lose access to the Kindle Store and Cloud. Doing the update manually shouldn't be too much of a problem if they do not update in time though. 

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Amazon wants to pay book authors based on how many pages are read https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/amazon-wants-to-pay-book-authors-based-on-how-many-pages-are-read/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/amazon-wants-to-pay-book-authors-based-on-how-many-pages-are-read/#comments Mon, 22 Jun 2015 15:57:20 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=255670 Amazon has been causing a stir in the ebooks scene for years now and it doesn't seem to be slowing down. Now the retailer has plans to introduce a new payment system that will make it so that some authors are paid based on how many pages of a book their customers actually read. Usually …

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Amazon has been causing a stir in the ebooks scene for years now and it doesn't seem to be slowing down. Now the retailer has plans to introduce a new payment system that will make it so that some authors are paid based on how many pages of a book their customers actually read.

Usually when an author releases a book, they get paid a percentage of the sales, whether or not the customers are actually reading their books or not. Now, that may change, although Amazon's new system will be fairly limited to begin with but may expand over time.

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Amazon's new pay per page method will apply to a fraction of the authors whose books are found through the Amazon Lending Library or Kindle Unlimited subscription service. Right now, it seems to be self-published authors mainly enrolled in this new payment system, rather than those who belong to larger publishers.

Right now, writers who have works available in the Kindle Unlimited or Lending Library services get paid a percentage of the subscription revenue, presumably everyone gets an equal cut. However, this payment system means an author's percentage will be determined by how many pages were viewed per book.

Amazon also has safe guards in place to stop authors from bumping up the front size in order to squeeze a couple of pages in to a book. The Kindle has a normalized page count template, which defines exactly what counts as a full page. Quickly flicking through a page won't count as a view either.

You can read more on this at Amazon's official page, HERE. 

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Right now, this new method of paying authors only applies to a few enrolled in Amazon's subscription services via direct publishing. It is certainly a different way of going about paying authors, I imagine it will be a little polarizing for some. 

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Kindle Convert allows you to digitize your library https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/apps-software/brendan-morgan/kindle-convert-allows-you-to-digitize-your-library/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/apps-software/brendan-morgan/kindle-convert-allows-you-to-digitize-your-library/#respond Tue, 03 Feb 2015 22:31:10 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=233791 Amazon have released a PC application that you can use to turn your dusty old physical books, into Kindle ebooks. The app will allow you to scan any book while running text recognition to properly digitize the text and preserving any notes and pictures as well. These ebooks can then be uploaded to the Amazon …

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Amazon have released a PC application that you can use to turn your dusty old physical books, into Kindle ebooks. The app will allow you to scan any book while running text recognition to properly digitize the text and preserving any notes and pictures as well. These ebooks can then be uploaded to the Amazon cloud drive so that you can access them on any of your devices.

The software is unfortunately not free to Kindle owners, but it is currently on sale for $19 ($49 at full price) and you will need a PC running Windows 7 or 8 as well as a flatbed scanner to get up and running. It will guide you through every aspect of the digitization, from the title and cover of the book, to making sure every page is correctly converted. Also bizarrely the application is only available to US customers for now.
Kindle convert
Unfortunately it seems that while the software does what it says, it can be pretty slow and hard to use. Obviously every single page of each book you want to scan has to be scanned individually, text recognition errors have to be corrected and photos have to be cropped out. This does mean that Kindle Convert will not be for everyone, only those that really need to move their out of print, or personal collection of books to the Kindle platform.

While digitizing a book in this way does have some advantages, there are also other ways of doing so, such as by using the PDF format and scanning each page, but this does not necessarily do text recognition, requires an eReader that can view high-resolution PDF files and the files themselves can be quite large. Then again there are many Kindle owners who would not even want to move their old books to their Kindle, preferring to keep some physical books around. At the end of the day if Kindle Convert made digitizing too easy to do, this then it might impact on Kindle sales and that is obviously something that Amazon is keen not to see happening.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: I'm not sure many Kindle users will have the time or the patience to digitize a full book, but then again some shorter books could be done pretty easily. I guess it depends how much you use your Kindle and how much you value having some of your older books on it. Does anyone have any interest in trying this out?

Source: Kindle Convert

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Amazon invests $55 million in ‘secret’ R&D facility https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/anton-shilov/amazon-invests-55-million-in-secret-rd-facility/ https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/anton-shilov/amazon-invests-55-million-in-secret-rd-facility/#respond Wed, 24 Sep 2014 22:42:16 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=213400 Amazon plans to invest $55 million in its Lab 126 research and development facility in California and increase the headcount of R&D staff to over 3700 by 2019. The expansion of the “secretive” laboratory reaffirms Amazon’s plans to continue designing its own hardware, address new markets and become closer to its customers. “We will continue …

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Amazon plans to invest $55 million in its Lab 126 research and development facility in California and increase the headcount of R&D staff to over 3700 by 2019. The expansion of the “secretive” laboratory reaffirms Amazon’s plans to continue designing its own hardware, address new markets and become closer to its customers.

“We will continue to invent and create new features, services and products, and to support this innovation. Lab 126 is also growing very quickly,” said Kinley Pearsall, an Amazon spokeswoman.

According to the agreement Amazon has signed with the state of California in June, it will invest $55 million on hiring additional personnel for A2Z Development Center, the official name of Lab126, in exchange for $2.1 million in tax breaks, reports Reuters news-agency. At present the facility employs nearly 3000 full-time workers.

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Amazon’s Lab 126 is “responsible” for Kindle e-book readers, Kindle Fire tablets, Fire set-top-box and Fire smartphone. Going forward the R&D arm of Amazon is expected to design wearable computing devices, smart-home appliances and other products that the company finds important for its online businesses.

While it took Lab126 four years to develop the Amazon Fire smartphone, the device received lackluster sales and reviews, which confirms that Amazon needs to boost its spending to get its devices right.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: $55 million is a lot of money, hopefully, it will result in creation of fine new products. The biggest problem of Amazon's Lab126 is not the lack of innovation or vision, but the fact that Amazon wants its devices to help sell things to people. When Apple or Samsung design electronics, they want to earn on hardware and software, which is why they try to make devices that people will want to buy. For Amazon, it is important how people will use its products and how will they help people to buy from Amazon. As a result, Amazon's Fire smartphone got an auto-stereoscopic 3D display and Firefly functionality in addition to all services from Amazon, but did not get enough modern capabilities people expect from 2014 handsets.

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Amazon launched eBook subscription service in the UK https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/amazon-launched-ebook-subscription-service-in-the-uk/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/amazon-launched-ebook-subscription-service-in-the-uk/#respond Wed, 24 Sep 2014 13:30:42 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=213342 Amazon has officially launched its eBooks and audiobooks subscription service in the UK. The service is called ‘Kindle Unlimited' and allows customers to pay a monthly fee for unlimited access to a pre determined library. In the UK, the service will cost £7.99 a month, Amazon Kindle EU Vice President, Jorrit Van der Meulen, gave a …

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Amazon has officially launched its eBooks and audiobooks subscription service in the UK. The service is called ‘Kindle Unlimited' and allows customers to pay a monthly fee for unlimited access to a pre determined library.

In the UK, the service will cost £7.99 a month, Amazon Kindle EU Vice President, Jorrit Van der Meulen, gave a statement regarding the launch:

“With Kindle Unlimited, you never have to think twice about what book you want to read or listen to. With unlimited access to hundreds of thousands of titles, Kindle Unlimited offers by far the simplest and most cost-effective way to explore and discover eBooks and audiobooks together, and you can even switch from reading to listening without losing your place.”

kindle-unlimited-100358732-orig

“Our US customers have shown us how much they love the opportunity to discover new authors and genres, and now we're delighted to offer the same freedom to our customers in the UK.”

So far, the Kindle store contains around 650,000 books, many of which are supported by a new ‘read along' feature. The service launched in the US earlier this year for $9.99 a month. Since the service is expanding, its safe to assume that it is doing fairly well.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: It seems subscription services are becoming rather popular thanks to the likes of Netflix. Do any of you guys ever read eBooks? Would you be interested in paying a monthly fee for unlimited access? I don't think I could read enough books in a month to really make this service worth it for me but I know plenty of people that would enjoy it.

Source: The Inquirer

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Amazon: lower prices of e-books benefit authors and publishers https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/anton-shilov/amazon-lower-prices-of-e-books-benefit-authors-and-publishers/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/anton-shilov/amazon-lower-prices-of-e-books-benefit-authors-and-publishers/#respond Wed, 30 Jul 2014 02:34:27 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=205183 Although electronic books are easier to make and sell than printed books, they sometimes cost similar or even the same amount of money as printed books. Lagardere SCA's Hachette Book Group, which is one of the top U.S. publishers, disagrees that e-books should be more affordable and wants to continue charging up to $19.99 per one e-book. …

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Although electronic books are easier to make and sell than printed books, they sometimes cost similar or even the same amount of money as printed books. Lagardere SCA's Hachette Book Group, which is one of the top U.S. publishers, disagrees that e-books should be more affordable and wants to continue charging up to $19.99 per one e-book. Meanwhile, Amazon, which is the world’s largest seller of e-books, believes that they should get cheaper.

“With an e-book, there's no printing, no over-printing, no need to forecast, no returns, no lost sales due to out-of-stock, no warehousing costs, no transportation costs, and there is no secondary market – e-books cannot be resold as used books,” the Amazon Books Team wrote in a blog post. “E-books can be and should be less expensive.”

Amazon claims that that e-books are highly price-elastic, which means that when the price goes down, sales increase significantly. The online retailer asserts that for every copy an e-book would sell at $14.99, it would sell 1.74 copies if priced at $9.99, which means significantly higher total revenues when sold in mass quantities, which is good for everyone, including the author, the publisher and the reseller. Amazon proposes that all new e-books, except a small number of specialized titles, should cost $9.99 in the U.S.

amazon_kindle_family

“Keep in mind that books don't just compete against books,” the representatives for Amazon wrote. “Books compete against mobile games, television, movies, Facebook, blogs, free news sites and more. If we want a healthy reading culture, we have to work hard to be sure books actually are competitive against these other media types, and a big part of that is working hard to make books less expensive.”

But while Amazon gives reasons why e-books should get more affordable, Hachette wants to continue with the current policies and prices. The online retailer and the publisher have been battling over a new e-book contract since early May, reports the Wall Street Journal. Amazon tried to raise pressure on its partner, it removed the pre-order buttons from some titles, it slowed the shipment of some Hachette books and cut-down the discount it offers.

The publisher and the authors claim that while it is cheap to make an e-book, if sales of the electronic versions decrease sales of hardcover books then the revenue of publishers and the authors will also drop.

“Lower e-book prices aren't necessarily the best thing for writers,” said Roxana Robinson, president of the Authors Guild. “We get a percentage of the price as a royalty. You also have to take into consideration the price of the hardcover. Yes, it's cheap to make a digital book but it's expensive to present a book in hardcover.”

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: While it is clear that inexpensive e-books could hurt sales of paper books, the problem is that the content consumption in general is rising because of digital sales (hence, almost any declines could be offset by gains). Moreover, many people cease to buy CDs/DVDs/paper books and buy electronic versions of content instead, hence, the decline of paper books is inevitable. Keeping e-books high in this case does not seem to be wise…

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Amazon expects to lose half a billion dollars next quarter https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/amazon-expects-to-lose-half-a-billion-dollars-next-quarter/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/amazon-expects-to-lose-half-a-billion-dollars-next-quarter/#respond Fri, 25 Jul 2014 12:15:18 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=204650 Amazon may have spent a little too much money developing new services and acquiring companies as the Online retail giant is expected to report a $500,000,000 loss over the next quarter. Amazon's earning reports have been relatively stable over the last few years with big increases in revenue but little gains in profit. This in …

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Amazon may have spent a little too much money developing new services and acquiring companies as the Online retail giant is expected to report a $500,000,000 loss over the next quarter.

Amazon's earning reports have been relatively stable over the last few years with big increases in revenue but little gains in profit. This in turn helped keep share prices on a steady climb but things might be about to take a turn as Amazon announced its Quarter 3 earnings today and losses were almost double what analysts were expecting.

Kindle-Fire-With-Amazon-Logo-600x337

Amazon has predicted that its losses for the fourth quarter could reach as high as $810 million or as low as $410 million- as you can see neither result is desirable. Michael Pachter of Wedbush thinks that he has an explanation for the growing losses, citing the recently launched Fire Smartphone as the primary reason:

“It costs a lot to launch a smartphone. It isn’t anything more sinister than that, although it’s possible that they are going to spend a lot more on content and offer a more comprehensive entertainment offering of  books, movies, games, music, and television.”

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Amazon has had varied success with its Kindle tablets and e-book readers so investing so much time and money in to a smartphone may not have been the best idea. The Amazon Fire Smartphone isn't going to hold up well against competition from HTC, Samsung, Apple or LG- it's a tough market to succeed in and it looks like the company is going to suffer a little bit as a result. 

Source: The Verge

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Amazon launches unlimited eBook subscription service https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/amazon-launches-unlimited-ebook-subscription-service/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/amazon-launches-unlimited-ebook-subscription-service/#respond Fri, 18 Jul 2014 14:54:42 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=203629 If Amazon wasn't already considered in all out war with the traditional book sale industry, it is now. Extending its Kindle dominance over eBooks even further, Amazon has now launched a subscription service for the platform, offering some half million plus digital books for unlimited viewing, for just $9.99 a month. The service is called …

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If Amazon wasn't already considered in all out war with the traditional book sale industry, it is now. Extending its Kindle dominance over eBooks even further, Amazon has now launched a subscription service for the platform, offering some half million plus digital books for unlimited viewing, for just $9.99 a month.

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The service is called Kindle Unlimited and users will be able to read the freely available eBooks on Kindle devices, as well as any others that support the Kindle app. In total, users will have access to 600,000 eBooks, as well as over 2,000 full length audio books.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCChiNT14KY']

As the above video shows, some of the world's most popular books like Life of Pi, the Harry Potter series and the Hunger Games saga are all available through the new scheme. Books that have both eBook and audiobook options, will give users the chance to switch between reading and listening with the tap of the screen.

The real question surrounding this however, is how Amazon will deal with any fallout from book publishers over royalties. Presumably it has an arbitrary system set up in the back end to handle it, but it will be interesting to see if anyone kicks off, as Amazon's relationship with publishers has been tenuous at best for years.

KitGuru Says: If I didn't own a competing eBook reader, I'd blatantly take advantage of this. 

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Amazon unveils Fire smartphone: an ultimate tool to sell you things https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/anton-shilov/amazon-unveils-fire-smartphone-an-ultimate-tool-to-sell-you-things/ https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/anton-shilov/amazon-unveils-fire-smartphone-an-ultimate-tool-to-sell-you-things/#respond Thu, 19 Jun 2014 04:10:23 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=198932 Amazon on Wednesday unveiled its long-awaited smartphone. The device is called Fire and it comes with free cloud storage for photos, an auto stereoscopic 3D screen, the Dynamic Perspective software that allows to control the smartphone without touching it as well as the Firefly application that recognizes everything the owner sees or hears and allows …

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Amazon on Wednesday unveiled its long-awaited smartphone. The device is called Fire and it comes with free cloud storage for photos, an auto stereoscopic 3D screen, the Dynamic Perspective software that allows to control the smartphone without touching it as well as the Firefly application that recognizes everything the owner sees or hears and allows to buy it if possible.

The hardware specifications of Amazon’s first smartphone are exactly as expected. The handset is based on the quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 application processor with 2.20GHz clock-rate and Adreno 330 graphics engine as well as Amazon’s Fire OS 3.5 operating system (a significantly redesigned Google Android). The device comes with a 4.7” auto stereoscopic 3D display with 1280*720 resolution, 2GB of LPDDR3 memory, 32GB or 64GB NAND flash storage, Wi-Fi 802.11ac (with Miracast support), Bluetooth 4.0 LE, NFC, global 3G/4G connectivity, GPS/GLONASS/A-GPS, gyroscope, accelerometer, magnetometer, barometer, proximity sensor, ambient light sensor as well as stereo speakers with Dolby Digital Plus. The device weighs 5.64 ounces (160 grams). The Fire smartphone is made of aluminium, but has a rubber frame in order to make it more comfortable to hold.

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The smartphone is equipped with a custom-tuned 13MP rear-facing camera with backside illumination, LED flash, 5-element f/2.0 lens, optical image stabilization (OIS), and high dynamic range (HDR) capabilities. The Fire smartphone includes a 2.1MP front-facing camera. The handset also features four ultra-low power specialized cameras, four infrared LEDs built into the front face of Fire, a dedicated custom processor and advanced real-time computer vision algorithms to track what the owner of the smartphone is looking at (on the screen) and either control the device or adjust the image/stereo 3D image automatically.

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The Amazon Fire smartphone supports all technologies and content services from Amazon, including huge library of books, music and movies, a dedicated app store, Amazon Prime service and so on. Basically, the Amazon Fire offers everything available from Amazon Kindle Fire tablets. However, there are two exclusive technologies, which will be supported solely by the Fire handset:

  • The Dynamic Perspective – uses the specialized cameras and IR sensors to allow auto-scroll, tilt, swivel and peek for quicker, easier navigation in the smartphone and easier usage of maps while driving. Many functions of the smartphone can now be accessed without even touching the screen, other functions require only one-hand gestures. The Dynamic Perspective also contains various context-based optimizations that make it easier to access the information needed right now.
  • The Firefly – uses the advanced imaging capabilities of the Fire smartphone as well as a special catalogue of images and sounds to automatically recognize web and email addresses, phone numbers, QR and bar codes, plus over 100 million items, including movies, TV episodes, songs, and products. Later this year, Firefly will include artwork recognition, foreign language translation, and wine label recognition powered by Vivino. The Firefly SDK is available to developers who are interested to invent new ways to use the capabilities of the program. The app can be launched by pressing a special key on the device.

“Fire Phone puts everything you love about Amazon in the palm of your hand – instant access to Amazon’s vast content ecosystem and exclusive features like the Mayday button, ASAP, Second Screen, X-Ray, free unlimited photo storage, and more,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com founder and CEO.

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The Amazon Fire will ship on the 25th of July and will be available exclusively on AT&T in the U.S. The Fire with 32GB is available for $199 with a two-year contract, or for free for $27.09 a month from AT&T on Next 18. Fire is also available with 64GB for $299 with a two-year contract or starting at $31.25/month from AT&T on Next 18. The smartphone will also be available directly from Amazon for $649 for the 32GB version and for $749 in case of the 64GB model. It is unclear when the product is set to be available in the U.K. and Europe.

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Customers can take advantage of an introductory, limited time offer – buy the Amazon Fire and get 12 months of Amazon Prime (free two-day shipping, unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows with Prime instant video, unlimited, ad-free streaming and downloading of over a million songs and hundreds of playlists, and over 500,000 books to borrow from the Kindle libabry). Existing Prime members get an additional 12 months added to their account.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: The new Fire smartphone from Amazon not only completes the company’s mobile/multimedia platform, but brings a new set of tools that will allow Amazon's customers to easier get products and services from Amazon. For example, it is now possible to go to a store, choose an item that suits you best, simply show it to the Fire smartphone and buy it cheaper from Amazon right away thanks to the Firefly. It is also easy to discover movies, music tracks and other things using the technology. In general, the Fire smartphone is an ultimate business tool for Amazon.

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Final look of Amazon smartphone unveiled https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/smartphone/anton-shilov/final-look-of-amazon-smartphone-unveiled/ https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/smartphone/anton-shilov/final-look-of-amazon-smartphone-unveiled/#comments Fri, 02 May 2014 19:47:15 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=190859 Amazon is rumoured to reveal its first smartphone only sometimes in June, but we already know what is inside it and how does it look thanks to a publication of its alleged image in a media report. Based on the first look on what is claimed to be the final rendering of the Amazon smartphone, …

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Amazon is rumoured to reveal its first smartphone only sometimes in June, but we already know what is inside it and how does it look thanks to a publication of its alleged image in a media report. Based on the first look on what is claimed to be the final rendering of the Amazon smartphone, it seems that the company mainly worked on the insides of the phone rather than on its design.

The Amazon smartphone does not feature a very distinctive appearance: it looks similar to tens of various Google Android-based models available widely. But despite of the lack of distinctive design, the handset looks very stylish, it has a lot of small very well-thought details (e.g., slayed corners on the front side, elegant shape of buttons, concealed sensor openings and so on) that differentiate a cheap gadget from a desired device. It seems like the smartphone is made of both metal and plastic, which should ensure durability, nice look and low weight.

The Amazon smartphone, which could carry Kindle, Fire or Kindle Fire brand names, features micro-USB connector, one “Home” button on the front panel, volume buttons on the left side as well as an unknown button adjacent to them. There is a camera sensor, a flash and a microphone on the backside of the device.

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Final rendering of Amazon smartphone. Image first published by BGR.

As previously reported, Amazon’s first smartphone will be based on a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon application processor, will sport 2GB of RAM as well as 4.7” auto stereoscopic 3D display with 1280*720 resolution. The device is projected to feature four low-power sensors that will track owner’s retina position on the front-side as well as a 13MP camera on the backside of the device.

According to BGR, the smartphone is bit bulky, but is “reasonably comfortable to use with one hand”. It is reported that Amazon’s user interface that relies on gesture controls was designed in part to make one-handed operation of a large phone as easy as possible.

As reported, the smartphone from Amazon will almost certainly run on a new version of the Fire OS, which already powers Kindle Fire tablets and Fire TV set-top-box. The Fire OS is based on Google Android, so it is simple for developers to port their services and games over to the smartphone from Amazon. Moreover, most likely many apps for Kindle Fire tablets will also run on the handset.

In addition to auto stereoscopic 3D display, one of the smartphone’s key selling points will be a special data plan called “Prime Data”, which specifics are a mystery now.

Amazon did not comment on the news-story.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Although it seems like we already know a lot about the Amazon smartphone, in reality we still have almost no information about the most important things: peculiarities of its operating system, graphical user interface (and gesture controls), data plan as well as auto stereo-3D technology.

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First photos and specs of Amazon smartphone revealed https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/anton-shilov/first-photos-and-specs-of-amazon-smartphone-revealed/ https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/anton-shilov/first-photos-and-specs-of-amazon-smartphone-revealed/#respond Tue, 15 Apr 2014 22:59:17 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=187583 Amazon is expected to formally announce its highly-anticipated smartphone only in June, but the first details as well as pictures of the device were revealed already on Tuesday. The final specs and design of the handset are unknown, but from what we do know, it seems that the product will be a decent one, yet, …

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Amazon is expected to formally announce its highly-anticipated smartphone only in June, but the first details as well as pictures of the device were revealed already on Tuesday. The final specs and design of the handset are unknown, but from what we do know, it seems that the product will be a decent one, yet, do not expect a lot of real breakthroughs in addition to auto stereo-3D display.

Based on the information from a BGR report, which cites multiple sources, Amazon’s first smartphone will be based on a Qualcomm Snapdragon application processor, will sport 2GB of RAM as well as 4.7” auto stereoscopic 3D display with 1280*720 resolution. The device is projected to feature four low-power sensors that will track owner’s retina position on the front-side as well as a 13MP camera on the backside of the device.

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BGR claims that this is the first photo of the upcoming smartphone from Amazon

Amazon has already supplied its smartphone to select software developers to ensure that they build programs that support the new device and its operating system.

The current prototypes of the Amazon smartphones are sheltered in a special polycarbonate case that is supposed to hide the actual design and further protect the device which was probably made in limited quantities. Based on what can be seen on the photos, the Amazon smartphone will be pretty slim and will likely resemble Sony Xperia handsets. It is also likely that it will be made of metal or an alloy.

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The smartphone will feature a TRRS connector, a speaker, an on/off button on top, volume control buttons on the left side and an unknown button on that side as well (it can be used to take pictures or for some other things). The SIM card will be installed into a special tray on the side of the phone as well, which may mean that the phone will be completely sealed like Apple iPhone and it will be impossible to change its battery.

amazon_smartphone_kindle_fire_1

As reported, the smartphone from Amazon will almost certainly run on a new version of the Fire OS, which already powers Kindle Fire tablets and Fire TV set-top-box. The Fire OS is based on Google Android, so it is simple for developers to port their services and games over to the smartphone from Amazon. Moreover, most likely many apps for Kindle Fire tablets will also run on the handset.

Amazon did not comment on the news-story.

KitGuru Says: In case the images truly depict the forthcoming handset from Amazon, then chances are high that the device will indeed be announced this June and will start shipping in late September, as reported late last week. In general, the handset looks okay, but apart from its auto stereo-3D screen, it is nothing special, just an ordinary smartphone. Still, nowadays software determines the fate of hardware, not otherwise…

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Amazon to unveil smartphone in June, begin shipments in September https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/smartphone/anton-shilov/amazon-to-unveil-smartphone-in-june-begin-shipments-in-september/ https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/smartphone/anton-shilov/amazon-to-unveil-smartphone-in-june-begin-shipments-in-september/#respond Fri, 11 Apr 2014 23:01:32 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=187101 The world’s largest e-tailer Amazon is on the finish line with its long-awaited smartphone, a media report citing people familiar with the matter claims. The company reportedly intends to unleash the smartphone and services associated with it in June and plans to start shipments in late September. Unfortunately, it is unclear whether the hardware of …

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The world’s largest e-tailer Amazon is on the finish line with its long-awaited smartphone, a media report citing people familiar with the matter claims. The company reportedly intends to unleash the smartphone and services associated with it in June and plans to start shipments in late September. Unfortunately, it is unclear whether the hardware of the device has been finalised and it is ready for production.

Various versions of the smartphone from Amazon, which features auto stereoscopic 3D display, were shown to software developers in San Francisco, California, in the recent weeks. Certain sources revealed to the Wall Street Journal that the phone would feature retina-tracking technology embedded in four front-facing cameras to make some images appear to be 3D, similar to a hologram. A feature like this is not available on any smartphone nowadays.

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An LG smartphone featuring a stereo-3D display

The smartphone from Amazon will almost certainly run on a new version of the Fire OS, which already powers Kindle Fire tablets and Fire TV set-top-box. The Fire OS is based on Google Android, so it is simple for developers to port their services and games over to the smartphone from Amazon. Moreover, most likely many apps for Kindle Fire tablets will also run on the handset.

The first rumours about a smartphone from Amazon emerged back in 2011. Since then, the company probably has been trying to invent something that would differentiate it on the market that is dominated by Apple and Samsung. Automatic stereoscopic 3D as well as retina tracking technology could be Amazon’s “killer feature”, especially if software developers learn how to take advantage of it. However, since smartphones are used for making calls, surfing the web, emailing and other tasks, many people will consider the quality of that basic functionality first.

Amazon needs a smartphone in its lineup of products to sell more digital content in a bid to offset dropping sales of packaged media. In addition, its own smartphone will allow Amazon to enter the market of various other services, which will boost its revenues.

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Amazon Kindle Fire HDX media tablet

The price of the smartphone as well as its specifications are currently unknown. In theory, an automatic stereo-3D display as well as retina tracking technology could make the handset more expensive than Apple iPhone or Samsung Galaxy S. Traditionally, Amazon sells its gadgets at or below their actual cost and then earns on selling software, services and content.
It is also indefinite whether Amazon plans to offer its smartphone outside the U.S.

Keeping in mind that all the information is unofficial, Amazon's plans may change and availability schedules will shift as well.

Amazon did not comment on the news-story.

KitGuru Says: Amazon Kindle Fire family of tablets are popular in the USA because of high performance, high-quality screens, advanced applications and relatively low price. In a bid to make the Amazon smartphones popular (and this market is much more crowded than the market of tablets in 2011 – 2012), the company will have to maintain the same set of advantages. While it sounds like a hard thing to do, Amazon is a company that knows how to efficiently solve hard problems, so its smartphone could indeed be a product to watch.

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Amazon unveils Fire TV: easiest way to enjoy movies, games and music https://www.kitguru.net/peripherals/anton-shilov/amazon-unveils-fire-tv-set-top-box-easiest-way-to-enjoy-movies-games-and-music/ https://www.kitguru.net/peripherals/anton-shilov/amazon-unveils-fire-tv-set-top-box-easiest-way-to-enjoy-movies-games-and-music/#comments Wed, 02 Apr 2014 18:51:17 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=185533 Amazon on Wednesday introduced its first set-top-box, the Amazon Fire TV. The new STB combines powerful hardware with one of the world’s richest collections of digital content and video games. The STB supports an external gamepad controller to make it more appealing to gamers. The novelty will cost $99 in the U.S. (the U.K. price …

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Amazon on Wednesday introduced its first set-top-box, the Amazon Fire TV. The new STB combines powerful hardware with one of the world’s richest collections of digital content and video games. The STB supports an external gamepad controller to make it more appealing to gamers. The novelty will cost $99 in the U.S. (the U.K. price is unknown) and in many ways it will redefine what customers expect from STBs.

Amazon Fire TV is based on Qualcomm Snapdragon 8064 application processor (four Qualcomm Krait 300 cores at 1.70GHz, Qualcomm Adreno 320 graphics engine, LPDDR2 memory controller, etc.) and is equipped with 2GB LPDDR2 RAM, 8GB solid-state storage, Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n (dual-band, dual-antenna), Bluetooth 4.0 and so on. The set-top-box features one HDMI 1.4b output w/HDCP, optical audio (TOSLINK) 10/100Mb/s Ethernet as well as USB 2.0 Type A connectors. The Fire TV comes with a simplistic remote controller with voice search capability.

amazon_kindle_fire_tv_4

The Fire TV STB supports video content in such formats as H.263, H.264, MPEG4-SP and VC-1 as well as multi-channel audio in Dolby Digital Plus, AAC, AC-3, E-AC-3, HE-A, PCM and MP3 formats. The set-top-box can output video in 720p and 1080p resolutions at up to 60fps.

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Fire TV runs the latest version of Fire OS “Mojito,” which is based on Google Android, so it’s simple for developers to port their services and games over to Fire TV. Customers can use Fire TV with their Kindle Fire-series media tablets to view content and apps on larger screen (some of the cross tablet-STB functionality will be compatible with Apple iPad and some other smartphones and slates).

Fire TV comes with instant access to all of the most popular subscription video services, including Netflix, Prime Instant Video, Hulu Plus, WatchESPN, VEVO, SHOWTIME, Crackle, YouTube, and more, with additional services like WWE Network, MLB.TV, Watch Disney Channel, Watch ABC, and Twitch coming soon. In addition, Fire TV is seamlessly integrated with Prime Instant Video, Amazon’s subscription streaming service. With tens of thousands of movies and TV episodes. With Fire TV, users can listen to music from popular streaming services like Pandora, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, and watch music videos from Vevo.

amazon_kindle_fire_tv_stb_3

Unlike other set-top-boxes, Amazon Fire TV not only supports video and music services, but also has proper support for video games. The unit not only comes with advanced Adreno 320 graphics engine, but is compatible with Amazon Fire game controller (a wireless Bluetooth game controller with up to 55 hours of battery life) that has one D-pad, two analogue sticks, shoulder buttons, analogue buttons, media controls and so on. The controller costs $39.99 in the U.S.

amazon_fire_controller

Amazon worked with game developers like EA, Disney, Gameloft, Ubisoft, Telltale, Mojang, 2K, and Sega to bring their games to Fire TV. Games available starting today over 100 games are available and optimized for Fire TV, with thousands of additional games coming next month with the Fire TV app, which brings controls for touch-enabled games. The average price of paid games is $1.85, but there will be titles cheaper than that as well as free games.

amazon_fire_tv_comparison

The Amazon Fire TV will cost $99 and will compete against Apple TV, Roku and other set-top-boxes in the U.S. The European plans concerning the Fire TV services are presently unknown, just like the prices of the set-top-box in Europe and the U.K.

KitGuru Says: Amazon Fire TV looks rather good on paper. It supports multitude of services, has proper support for video games and applications. It also comes with full-HD video support and proper multi-channel audio support (still, DTS support could be a good addition to Dolby Digital Plus). Finally, its price is no higher compared to its rivals, but it has significantly more advanced application processor and thus should support more sophisticated apps and provide better experience overall.

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Amazon is working on a game console – rumour https://www.kitguru.net/desktop-pc/gaming-rig/anton-shilov/amazon-is-working-on-a-game-console-rumour/ https://www.kitguru.net/desktop-pc/gaming-rig/anton-shilov/amazon-is-working-on-a-game-console-rumour/#comments Tue, 28 Jan 2014 23:25:41 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=174874 The mysterious “V1” device which Amazon reportedly demonstrated late last year behind closed doors may be its video game console, which is due later this year, according to unofficial information. In case the information is correct, then Amazon may become an arch-rival for Microsoft Corp., Nintendo and Sony Corp. later this year. The world’s largest …

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The mysterious “V1” device which Amazon reportedly demonstrated late last year behind closed doors may be its video game console, which is due later this year, according to unofficial information. In case the information is correct, then Amazon may become an arch-rival for Microsoft Corp., Nintendo and Sony Corp. later this year.

The world’s largest online retailer is working on “a dedicated games and entertainment device” that will be available this year and priced below $300 (£181), reports VG247. The console will run Google Android operating system and will be compatible with popular titles for smartphones and media tablets. It is also likely that the system will support games designed specifically for it.

At present Amazon is demonstrating the prototype of the console to publishers. It is reported that the device is about the size of the PSone, oblong in shape and with sharp edges. The final version will most likely be different from the prototype.

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It is believed that Amazon’s console will be based on a Qualcomm Snapdragon system-on-chip, which should provide decent performance for games originally designed for Android or iOS platforms, but do not expect it to be comparable with the PlayStation 4 or Xbox One. In case the console supports dedicated/proprietary games, it will successfully compete against such consoles as Gamestick and Ouya.

Quite naturally, the new console will support not only games, but also music and video delivery services that Amazon offers. Given the market situation and the nature of game console business, it is logical to expect the device to offer ultra-high-definition video playback and output, plenty of graphics processing horsepower and other capabilities expected from a gaming device.

Amazon did not comment on the news-story.

KitGuru Says: It is rumoured that Amazon is working on a product that is bigger than Kindle. But will a game console be actually bigger than Kindle Fire HD tablets that also support video, audio and gaming?

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Amazon working on a project that is ‘bigger than Kindle’ https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/anton-shilov/amazon-working-on-a-project-that-is-bigger-than-kindle/ https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/anton-shilov/amazon-working-on-a-project-that-is-bigger-than-kindle/#comments Mon, 13 Jan 2014 23:59:55 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=171874 Amazon, the world’s largest online store, is working on a new hardware project that is supposed be a bigger revolution than Kindle e-book reader or Kindle Fire media tablet. What will it be? The only thing known is that it will deliver media content to Amazon’s customers and is currently code-named “V1”. Previously Amazon was …

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Amazon, the world’s largest online store, is working on a new hardware project that is supposed be a bigger revolution than Kindle e-book reader or Kindle Fire media tablet. What will it be? The only thing known is that it will deliver media content to Amazon’s customers and is currently code-named “V1”. Previously Amazon was reportedly working on a smartphone, a set-top-box and some other projects.

“We are working on a new revolutionary V1 product that will allow us to deliver Digital Media to our customers in new ways and disrupt the current marketplace,” Amazon wrote in an exclusive event invite at the end of 2013 that was republished by Boston.com. “We believe this new product will be even bigger than Kindle!”

Being one of the world’s largest suppliers of media content in general, Amazon could theoretically benefit from almost any hardware product that has access its vast library of books, music tracks, movies, video games and other. Since the company needs to offset declining sales of packaged media, it may offer various types of hardware that simplify purchase of digital content. A logical product for the company is a smartphone, which has long been rumoured, but in the current case, the code-named “V1” product does not seem to be a handset.

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As reported last year, the rumoured smartphone is essentially a tip of an iceberg since the company has the so-called Alphabet Projects, under which it is developing projects A (smartphone), B (set-top-box), C (audio-streaming device) and D (high-end smartphone with stereo-3D display). It is logical to expect Amazon’s mysterious Lab 126 to work on other projects like E, F, G, which may be completely unexpected pieces of hardware.

Amazon did not comment on the news-story.

KitGuru Says: Amazon is becoming a company that is more mysterious than Apple. When Steve Jobs was chief executive of Apple, almost no details leaked about the company’s products until their release, which added “magic” to introductions. Looks like Jeff Bezos follows a similar approach, which helps to generate a lot of interest (and even legends!) around the company. The only problem here is that Amazon continues to sell only e-book readers and tablets two years after the first Amazon smartphone-related rumours emerged…

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Amazon CEO buys the Washington Post for a cool $250m https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/henry-butt/amazon-ceo-buys-the-washington-post-for-a-cool-250m/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/henry-butt/amazon-ceo-buys-the-washington-post-for-a-cool-250m/#comments Tue, 06 Aug 2013 10:00:36 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=146056 In an unexpected move, Amazon's CEO Jeff Bezos has purchased for the Washington Post and associated publications for $250 million.  It is noted that Bezos will become the sole owner of the newspaper when the deal has been completed and that the newspaper will not be affiliated with Amazon itself. The Washington Post is a …

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In an unexpected move, Amazon's CEO Jeff Bezos has purchased for the Washington Post and associated publications for $250 million.  It is noted that Bezos will become the sole owner of the newspaper when the deal has been completed and that the newspaper will not be affiliated with Amazon itself.

The Washington Post is a large and influential newspaper in the United States and has previously broken a number of big stories including the Watergate scandal and the NSA's surveillance program.

Over the last decade, the Post “has been unable to escape the financial turmoil that has engulfed newspapers and other “legacy” media organisations”.

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The Post's Chief Executive remarked in an interview that ‘The Post could have survived under the company's ownership and been profitable for the foreseeable future. But we wanted to do more than survive”, hinting that Jeff Bezos will be looking to monetize the paper in different ways in the future, perhaps in conjunction with the Kindle division of Amazon.

However, it doesn't appear that Bezos will be making any big changes soon, saying that “There would be change with or without new ownership, but the key thing I hope people will take away from this is that the values of The Post do not need changing. The duty of the paper is to the readers, not the owners”.

KitGuru says: We imagine the future for the Post will be more evolutionary than revolutionary, but either way we look forward to seeing what the future holds in the hands of Bezos.

Source: Washington Post; Image: Good Ereader

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Kindle worlds could have us all selling fan-fiction https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/kindle-worlds-could-have-us-all-selling-fan-fiction/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/kindle-worlds-could-have-us-all-selling-fan-fiction/#respond Fri, 24 May 2013 09:00:14 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=135838 One of the reasons that big franchises like Star Wars are still so popular today, is because of their fans and more specifically, the content that those fans create. You have fan films, fan art, fan costumes and of course, fan fiction. Delving into the world of the latter can leave you bewildered at the …

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One of the reasons that big franchises like Star Wars are still so popular today, is because of their fans and more specifically, the content that those fans create. You have fan films, fan art, fan costumes and of course, fan fiction. Delving into the world of the latter can leave you bewildered at the varying quality (not often great) and the fact that it's sometimes out-of-the-blue sexualised (regardless of genre) but it helps continue the love of a specific bit of fiction and that's great. Now though, Amazon is looking on how to monetise this mass of fan created content, by teaming up with several companies to sell fan-fiction to consumers, while giving the original creators a taste of the action.

It's called Kindle Worlds and it could open up a whole new audience for authors and help promote franchises by highlighting the best of the expanded fiction that fans have to offer.

However don't go expecting your Star Wars, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, My Little Pony crossover graphic novel to make millions just yet, as so far Amazon has only teamed up with Warner Bros. Television Group's Alloy Entertainment. This gives them permission to sell fan fiction surrounding the shows: Gossip Girl, Pretty Little Liars and the Vampire Diaries.

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Royalty rates have already been sorted out, with works over 10,000 words netting you 35 per cent of total sales. However, if you're doing a short story – between 5,000 and 10,000 words – expect only a 20 per cent cut. You'll also be giving all rights to your work to Amazon, so should that story be optioned by a publisher in the future, or if the original creators of the TV show/movie decide they want to use your characters or work, it's unlikely you'd have any claim to further payment. There also won't be any print options for your work, it'll be Kindle only and pricing is fixed between $0.99 and $3.99.

So just bear that in mind. If you submit work to this, you are getting completely bent over a barrel creatively. The price you pay for being able to sell work based around established characters, is that you have zero rights as the creator of new, but related content.

KitGuru Says: Personally I'm hoping Amazon do a deal with Games Workshop (though it'll never happen) and then I could publish by Ork epic that got a flat zero from Black Library's submission process. 

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Book pricing on Amazon can penalise Kindle users https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/jules/book-pricing-on-amazon-can-penalise-kindle-users/ https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/jules/book-pricing-on-amazon-can-penalise-kindle-users/#comments Sat, 24 Nov 2012 09:41:37 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=116543 It's not hard to see where the real costs are incurred by book publishers. You have trees to cultivate, chop,  transport, mill, form into paper, transport again, inks to make, covers to design, writers-editors-publishers to pay and, at the end of all that, you still need to ship a heavy product across the world in …

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It's not hard to see where the real costs are incurred by book publishers. You have trees to cultivate, chop,  transport, mill, form into paper, transport again, inks to make, covers to design, writers-editors-publishers to pay and, at the end of all that, you still need to ship a heavy product across the world in order to take your money. Kindle must be cheaper. Surely. KitGuru gets a nasty surprise in bed on a cold Saturday morning.

Go back just one generation and the sure fire sign that a bloke had forgotten to buy his nearest and dearest something special for a holiday or other celebration, was all around you at the local petrol station. Cheap chocolates, dying flowers, rash-inducing perfume and a host of nasty novelty gifts were everywhere – every time you went to pay for your freshly pumped benzine products.

But you only noticed them when, in a blind panic, you realised it was Christmas or Valentines or her birthday and you had nothing.

In the modern era, we can look to Aria, eBuyer and Amazon for last minute gifts (with varying degrees of technology involved). Add in the Amazon Kindle and you are ‘in the zone' when it comes to buying presents. Download-city awaits your credit card details and a valid delivery address.

When it comes to books, Kindles have done away with the need for mass-tree-slaughter and all the oil/gas/chemicals that go into making hardbacks etc, so not only is the Kindle more convenient – it's also very much cheaper. So downloading a Kindle book will only be a fraction of the price of a paperback – and a hell of a lot less than a brand new hardback.

Or so you would think.

It's hard to see why a hardback version of a book would be almost 10% cheaper than its Kindle equivalent – but that is exactly the kind of profiteering we have seen this morning. We're going with the word profiteering, because there's no way on earth that the Kindle version being more expensive does anything more than penalise those who would prefer to be nice to the planet and have their product delivered quicker – direct to their reading device.

If you add in the fact that once you've read a book, it has a re-sale value, then the economics get even worse.

Congratulations to whichever genius is setting this pricing: Your planet thanks you.

KitGuru says: That's just one example. There are others. We can't think of a single justification – can you?

Comment below or in the KitGuru forums.

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Apple pulls in iPad mini for October announcement https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/apple/harrison/apple-pulls-in-ipad-mini-for-october-announcement/ https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/apple/harrison/apple-pulls-in-ipad-mini-for-october-announcement/#respond Tue, 09 Oct 2012 07:27:33 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=111235 The best football teams in the world not only play their own game, they also mark the opposition off the pitch – preventing them from playing THEIR game. While Apple's initial plan was to push the iPad Mini into stores for 12th December, that date has moved ahead of announcements from Amazon and Microsoft. KitGuru …

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The best football teams in the world not only play their own game, they also mark the opposition off the pitch – preventing them from playing THEIR game. While Apple's initial plan was to push the iPad Mini into stores for 12th December, that date has moved ahead of announcements from Amazon and Microsoft. KitGuru takes 3 tablets.

While phone screens are too small to share, the present iPad ‘3' design is too big to hold in both hands and type with your thumbs. Steve Jobs was unconvinced that there was a market for a smaller iPad, but with Apple's founder dead and buried for a year – the company's new bosses are looking at the market and deciding that, maybe, the old man was wrong.

Although Microsoft should provide a threat with Surface, its lack of content provision means that it barely registers as a threat for Apple's board. Amazon, on the other hand, is a completely different animal – with a vast array of post-hardware-sell-ins available.

Initially, Apple was going to launch the iPad Mini on 12th December around the £190 mark. Now, having seen the Kindle Fire preparations – as well as the huge sell through on iPhone 5 – Apple has decided to (a) announce the new product next week in order to completely steal Amazon's fire – with full scale production ramping up ahead of an in-store launch for the second week in November.

Pricing will now be closer to £239.

Although the info we have seen indicates that the product will be Wi-Fi only, the advent of brand new 4G and hugely improved 3G means that if Apple did decide on phone connectability, buying from the App Store and iTunes would be a very easy/cool experience.

Can the iPad Mini prove appealing enough at £230 to make people NOT want to spend the additional money for an iPad 2 or go with an iPhone 5 contract?

KitGuru says:Any children with parents whose combined annual salary passes £50k will be in danger of getting one of these for Xmas. But can Apple make an argument for a product that, effectively, splits the ‘free' iPhone 5 (on contract with a SIM) and a brand new iPad 2 for £329. We're going out on a limb to say that this new market is not that big, but that the iPad Mini will provide ample ‘blocking' against the Surface and Fire assaults of its rivals.

Comment below or in the KitGuru forums.

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Kindle ‘Paperwhite’ images leak online https://www.kitguru.net/channel/carl/kindle-paperwhite-images-leak-online/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/carl/kindle-paperwhite-images-leak-online/#respond Fri, 31 Aug 2012 06:58:57 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=106602 Amazon are expected to announce a new Kindle next week however images of an upcoming tablet have leaked online, courtesy of The Verge. The images highlight the new device which looks very similar to older devices from Amazon. The button below the display has been removed and the bezel is now much darker. The device …

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Amazon are expected to announce a new Kindle next week however images of an upcoming tablet have leaked online, courtesy of The Verge.

The images highlight the new device which looks very similar to older devices from Amazon. The button below the display has been removed and the bezel is now much darker. The device is said to promise ‘higher contrast, high resolution, eight weeks of battery life and integrated lighting'.

The images are said to be part of a promotional campaign for the French audience. The device is being referred to as the ‘Kindle Paperwhite' which would seem to focus on the added contrast between device and screen text. Whether this will be the final retail name is not yet confirmed.

The screen is using a new Pearl E Ink display with blacker text and a whiter background.

Kitguru says: We know this will be competitively priced and surely a big seller for Amazon, as people upgrade to the new model.

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Amazon can Kindle brain development https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/tablet-pc/jules/amazon-can-kindle-brain-development/ https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/tablet-pc/jules/amazon-can-kindle-brain-development/#respond Mon, 02 Jan 2012 09:12:25 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=72151 The science of persuading people to buy a product, is both established and well understood. How you beat off an opponent that can afford as much of that marketing stuff as you can, is something else. Now, it seems, Amazon has science on its side. KitGuru prepares to generate some neural pathways. Boffins working at …

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The science of persuading people to buy a product, is both established and well understood. How you beat off an opponent that can afford as much of that marketing stuff as you can, is something else. Now, it seems, Amazon has science on its side. KitGuru prepares to generate some neural pathways.

Boffins working at Washington University in St. Louis have discovered that human brains actually weave written material into a complex tapestry of memory. The written word actually stimulate our brains to recall experiences, working the old noggin far harder than we might have thought.

This reading-induced synthesis actually creates new neural pathways of its own.

The Kindle Fire - taking the budget tablet sector by storm

This interweaving of our own experiences with the situations and, more importantly, characters found in a book – actually make us more empathic as people.

This tendency to an increase in empathy is in direct opposition to the dramatic fall in empathy that scientists are finding across developed Western cultures with a high degree of computer use.

The conclusion of this research seems clear. Downloading and reading books on a device like a Kindle, could actually help improve us as human beings. Apparently.

KitGuru says: We're left wondering if all downloads are equal, so could a deluge of porn from Amazon also improve us, as a species? We'll give Amazon a ping on this and see if they care to comment.

Comment below or in the KitGuru forums.

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Amazon to lose $10 on every Kindle Fire sale https://www.kitguru.net/channel/slyvia/amazon-to-lose-10-on-every-kindle-fire-sale/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/slyvia/amazon-to-lose-10-on-every-kindle-fire-sale/#respond Mon, 17 Oct 2011 07:34:01 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=63578 Amazon are set to launch an attack on the iPad 2 very soon, by releasing their new Kindle Fire at $199. Less than half the price of Apple's flagship product. According to IHS however Amazon will be losing $10 on every sale of the new product. Challenging the iPad has been a problem for every …

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Amazon are set to launch an attack on the iPad 2 very soon, by releasing their new Kindle Fire at $199. Less than half the price of Apple's flagship product. According to IHS however Amazon will be losing $10 on every sale of the new product.

Challenging the iPad has been a problem for every company who have tried so far. Amazon have probably the best chance of success, as they have a class leading store infrastructure already in place and customers have faith in the organisation to support and enhance the device after a purchase.

Amazon are estimated to sell 4.5 million Kindle Fire tablets in the fourth quarter alone. The faith in the company brand and the low pricing are sure to attract a huge audience who have yet to adopt a tablet.

The Kindle Fire has a 7 inch screen, which is almost 3 inches smaller than the iPad 2 (9.7 inch). It will run a special modified version of Google Android and will have full Wi-Fi connectivity and a dual core processor to power it all.

Kitguru says: We don't think they will be able to knock Apple from the top spot, but at that price there is a good chance they can claim the number 2 position within a very short time.

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Will Amazon Kindle ‘Fire’ force tablet prices down? https://www.kitguru.net/channel/slyvia/will-amazon-kindle-fire-force-tablet-prices-down/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/slyvia/will-amazon-kindle-fire-force-tablet-prices-down/#comments Thu, 29 Sep 2011 07:27:17 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=61765 Amazon have announced their new Kindle Fire tablet, which is set to launch at a low price point of only $199. This extremely competitive price point is lower than initial expectations and follows the Amazon strategy of allowing the audience to buy the hardware at a cutthroat price, only to make money later from application …

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Amazon have announced their new Kindle Fire tablet, which is set to launch at a low price point of only $199. This extremely competitive price point is lower than initial expectations and follows the Amazon strategy of allowing the audience to buy the hardware at a cutthroat price, only to make money later from application and book sales. Amazon have one of the best store infrastructures, so it is possible they will be a success where other Android tablet makers have failed.

When Amazon announced the price it caused a ripple in the industry and other manufacturers may be forced to drop their hardware prices to the public. Reuters claim that many Asian technology companies are already facing pressure to drop their prices to compete.

While Amazon's strategy seems daring, they have been successful with their Kindle e-reader device, generating many millions in revenue from book sales. To mount a serious attack on Apple, the price certainly has to be kept as low as possible – a point that many other manufacturers seem to be missing. In fact if we look around the e-tailers today in the UK, many other tablets are exactly the same price as the iPad 2. With consumer faith so strong for the Apple tablet, we see no reason why sales for other tablets would be strong – not with current pricing.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos with new cut price 'Kindle Fire' tablet. Photograph: Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

This is how Amazon will quickly build a strong user base, by making very little, if any profit from the Fire tablet. Money will be made via their comprehensive store system and the purchase of software.

Analysts are already saying that Samsung will be knocked from the Number 2 perch by Amazon. Samsung also face legal issues from Apple, with their devices being blocked from sale due to patent infringement.

Adam Leach, analyst at research firm Ovum, told Reuters “The pricing is critical to gain traction in the tablet market… Rival manufacturers have failed to attract consumers as they have matched the iPad's price point without matching its content offering. Amazon's retail-based business model allows the company to subsidize the device on the premise that consumers will buy more from Amazon, be that physical goods or its digital content.”

Kitguru says: Amazon Fire to claim the number 2 spot? We think it is a very strong possibility.

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Amazon set to release low cost tablet for end of year sales https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/tablet-pc/slyvia/amazon-set-to-release-low-cost-tablet-for-end-of-year-sales/ https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/tablet-pc/slyvia/amazon-set-to-release-low-cost-tablet-for-end-of-year-sales/#respond Mon, 26 Sep 2011 07:37:38 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=61438 Challenging the iPad hasn't been easy. Many well known companies have tried, and failed. The Motorola Xoom is a great tablet, but sales haven't been phenomenal. Other products such as the BlackBerry Playbook have failed to excite the public. The HP Touchpad was a complete flop, dying before it even had a chance. With Amazon …

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Challenging the iPad hasn't been easy. Many well known companies have tried, and failed. The Motorola Xoom is a great tablet, but sales haven't been phenomenal. Other products such as the BlackBerry Playbook have failed to excite the public. The HP Touchpad was a complete flop, dying before it even had a chance.

With Amazon about to release their new tablet in time for end of year sales, will they be able to claim some of the market?

The Kindle has been a great success, the price point is perfect and the online store support is first class. Amazon will have a lot riding on the success of their upcoming colour tablet, because for them, it is a new and competitive market. Launching a successful e-reader was no problem for Amazon, but a ‘jack of all trades' tablet is a completely different ballgame.

The strategy for Amazon should be simple. Keep the pricing competitive, and ensure that the online store system is loaded with downloadable content to keep the punters happy.

Amazon work in a similar way to Apple, they keep all their cards close to the chest. This means that little information has leaked for the upcoming launch, although they do plan on holding a news conference in Manhattan in a few days time. Rumour is that they will detail the product at this event.

Can Amazon recreate the Kindle success story?

While no details have been confirmed, the general consensus from analysts and experts so far is that Amazon will sell their tablet for $250, this should hopefully translate to £200 in the UK. This means it is half the price of the iPad, which is already a good start.

The Amazon tablet should be launched with a 7 inch model, compared to the much larger iPad. It will be a similar touch screen design and a larger model will be due for release the following year. No pricing information has been discussed for this, but it will cost more than the 7 inch model.

Amazon will probably break even with the sales of their tablet. Their strategy is to make money long term on the sale of software from their store. No other company has a strategy like this, and it might prove a tipping point in the battle against the iPad. That is, obviously if the hardware is good.

Research has shown that many people use a tablet for light weight duties, such as email and surfing. Purchasing apps online falls in behind. Amazon will most certainly have these bases covered, right at launch as they have such a strong store infrastructure in the USA and Europe.

Amazon have already proven they can make a loss on selling hardware, while generating revenue over the months. Their Kindle device for instance sells for £111 (Wi-Fi) and £152 (3G) in the UK. They made healthy profits by simply selling books directly from their own website.

Analysts reckon that the Amazon tablet will not cause too many problems for the iPad, but the wealth of Android tablets will surely suffer the most as they all scramble to take a very small percentage of  the market.

Kitguru says: Can Amazon do it? We reckon they will be one of the few success stories in the tablet sector.

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Amazon release web based Kindle reader https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/tablet-pc/slyvia/amazon-release-web-based-kindle-reader/ https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/tablet-pc/slyvia/amazon-release-web-based-kindle-reader/#respond Wed, 10 Aug 2011 08:43:11 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=55520 Amazon have released a web based application which allows the end user to read Kindle books directly from Safari and Chrome browsers, which includes the version of Safari which is used on the Apple iPad. TechCrunch have reported on the software – called the Kindle Cloud Reader, however Amazon have kept it surprisingly low profile. …

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Amazon have released a web based application which allows the end user to read Kindle books directly from Safari and Chrome browsers, which includes the version of Safari which is used on the Apple iPad.

TechCrunch have reported on the software – called the Kindle Cloud Reader, however Amazon have kept it surprisingly low profile.

Making such a move makes good business sense, because the application will let the end user read and buy books online which having to pay Apple a 30% fee for every book it sells via the application. Users can even download the books for offline reading later.

Amazon also changed their Kindle program for the iPad and iPhone which moves the user to the browser rather than buying directly from the software. This means they can forfeit the 30% charge.

We haven't tried the software yet ourselves, but MG Siegler at Techcrunch says that it ‘works great'.

Kitguru says: A clever way for Amazon to stop paying Apple fees.

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Amazon aim to release colour Kindle Q2/Q3 https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/tablet-pc/dragan/amazon-aim-to-release-colour-kindle-q2q3/ https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/tablet-pc/dragan/amazon-aim-to-release-colour-kindle-q2q3/#respond Tue, 03 May 2011 11:35:44 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=43983 Rumors are circulating that Amazon are planning to release a color Kindle within the next couple of months. The Kindle has been a big seller for the online giant superstore, with the group claiming it is actually their biggest selling product ever. The Kindle has had little competition in the reading sector, with other companies …

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Rumors are circulating that Amazon are planning to release a color Kindle within the next couple of months. The Kindle has been a big seller for the online giant superstore, with the group claiming it is actually their biggest selling product ever.

The Kindle has had little competition in the reading sector, with other companies struggling to get market share. The release of a color Kindle could actually cause some problems for Apple, if Amazon do it right. There is very little need for a color tablet just for reading books, so there is a good chance the software on the upcoming tablet will have a fully blown, capable browser, and even email support. Our guy in the Far East Yong Lei has said that local suppliers have taken huge orders for touch panels and other components to build a color handheld tablet.

Quanta are being brought in to assemble the units, with colour touch panels from E Ink Holdings featuring Fringe Field Switching (FFS) LCD technology. Quanta are ideally capable of pushing Amazon into the tablet market, as they are already building handhelds and computers for Sony and Research in Motion.

Many people should be holding fire on purchasing a new Kindle, until the rumor is either dismissed or verified, but we feel it won't be long before Amazon announce the upcoming product, possibly later this month or June. From our point of view it will be interesting to see how they enhance the current version, as many people have already commented that there is no need for a color capable panel for reading novels. With the obvious exception being high color,. interactive books for kids.

KitGuru says: Amazon have always kept the pricing very low on the Kindle, but the price will rise with color panel technology. No doubt about it.

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Amazon selling Kindle ‘special offers’ with ads for $114 https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/tablet-pc/jules/amazon-selling-kindle-special-offers-with-ads-for-114/ https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/tablet-pc/jules/amazon-selling-kindle-special-offers-with-ads-for-114/#comments Tue, 12 Apr 2011 08:18:28 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=41591 Amazon have dropped the price of the WiFi Kindle by $25 more dollars by offering a version which includes advertising. This new Edition is dubbed the ‘Kindle with Special Offers‘ has two differentiating functions. It can use Amazon to deliver special offers to you, and it pops up ads as screensavers, in place of the …

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Amazon have dropped the price of the WiFi Kindle by $25 more dollars by offering a version which includes advertising.

This new Edition is dubbed the ‘Kindle with Special Offers‘ has two differentiating functions. It can use Amazon to deliver special offers to you, and it pops up ads as screensavers, in place of the current author drawings.

Example of offers so far include:

  • $10 for $20 Amazon.com Gift Card
  • $6 for 6 Audible Books (normally $68)
  • $1 for an album in the Amazon MP3 Store (choose from over 1 million albums)
  • $10 for $30 of products in the Amazon Denim Shop or Amazon Swim Shop

A full list of current offers will be accessible from the new Kindle's main menu and the company say that while the first wave of deals are for their own store, that there will be deals outside Amazon presented in the coming months, once other partners join the advertising scheme.

While it sounds like a hideous system, Kindle owners are already Amazon customers with an account, so it might not annoy them that much, especially if they are saving some money on the cost of the device. There is still no UK version of this advertising enabled version, but we suspect it won't be long before UK buyers can save some money for the advertising equipped version.

Launch partners in America include Olay, Visa, Buick and Chase. Many people are complaining that the reduction is so small however, after all there is potential to offer the Kindle with advertising for much less as people buying one are already dedicated Kindle customers who will be buying books, so it opens advertising up to a whole new demographic. Perhaps down the line it might be possible to give the Kindle away for almost nothing, knowing that customers will be buying books and other products, from their new shiny toy.

Will this idea eventually take off? Will Apple offer an iPad at a later date with reduced pricing complete with advertisements?

KitGuru says: Are you interested in a very cheap version of the Kindle with ads? Is the price of this version tempting or not?

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Kindle sales grow – AT&T to sell instore in US https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/tablet-pc/yong-lei/kindle-sales-grow-att-to-sell-instore-in-us/ https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/tablet-pc/yong-lei/kindle-sales-grow-att-to-sell-instore-in-us/#respond Tue, 01 Mar 2011 08:44:11 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=35715 AT&T have announced that it is going to start selling the Amazon Kindle e-reader in its retail stores starting this Sunday. The sales of Amazon's Kindle have been phenomenal and while many people just focus on the iPad, the sales figures for the latest Amazon tablet have been continually growing. While Amazon won't reveal exact …

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AT&T have announced that it is going to start selling the Amazon Kindle e-reader in its retail stores starting this Sunday. The sales of Amazon's Kindle have been phenomenal and while many people just focus on the iPad, the sales figures for the latest Amazon tablet have been continually growing.

While Amazon won't reveal exact sales figures, they say that this unit is the best selling item ever on the Amazon store. The £152 ($189) reader downloads e-books over 3G connections in the UK, or over AT&T's 3G network in the US and they want to offer the product to their physical store customers. Additionally, unlike smart phones or tablet computers, people can buy the Kindle from AT&T without having to commit to a monthly data subscription. Once people buy the Kindle they can surf the web and download books as often as they wish, with Amazon handling the bandwidth data fees from sales of books.

For those who find the 3G capable version too expensive, then the Wifi only version is significantly cheaper at £111 inc vat. You can connect to the Kindle store for purchases, across your local network.

KitGuru says: Have you bought a Kindle recently? share your views with a comment or in our forums.

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New Nook Color threatens Kindle dominance https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/carl/new-nook-color-threatens-kindle-dominance/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/carl/new-nook-color-threatens-kindle-dominance/#comments Mon, 31 Jan 2011 09:04:04 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=31671 I read a lot of books, and I admit to owning five ereaders – my favourite is the Kindle DX – the larger of the last generation with E Ink Pearl technology. Recently I have been playing with the new Barnes & Noble Nook – the Nook Color, taking the name from the fact that …

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I read a lot of books, and I admit to owning five ereaders – my favourite is the Kindle DX – the larger of the last generation with E Ink Pearl technology.

Recently I have been playing with the new Barnes & Noble Nook – the Nook Color, taking the name from the fact that it has a full colour screen, the first to be found in an e-reader. While this is the main talking point, they have caught up with Amazon in a variety of other areas.

The Nook Color can connect to the internet over a Wi-Fi connection and it includes a store application which allows the customer to purchase books, magazines and newspapers directly to the device. With the onboard flash memory there is enough space to store a whole collection of reading materials.

The colour screen is fantastic, and I was dubious when I first heard out about it – do we really need a colour screen on an e-reader? As many of you will know, all the other readers at this point are based around monochromatic e-ink technology. This is fantastic for displaying text, but not great for images. It also can't refresh fast enough to display anything close to moving video.

My young children all want to use the Kindle for their own illustrated books, but again, the current platform is not ideal for this either. The Nook Color is based around LCD technology which will shock many e-reader aficionados – surely this is much harder on the eyes? In fairness, it is, and its also harder to read in direct sunlight – although in the UK right now the chances of that happening are beyond slim. The screen has some upsides, like the iPad it is touch sensitive which will appeal to a wide audience, not keen on dealing with physical buttons on the chassis.

Barnes and Noble are using the Android Operating System which has been doctored to focus on e-reading. On the home screen for instance there are books and other reading materials, rather than applications. They have even included some games for the kids in the family, and they say that they are going to offer some Android applications for the Nook Color in their online store. Magazines are much more intuitive to read on the Nook Color, due to the full colour images and interactive screen. A full web browser means you can use it to visit websites when you want a break from books. ePub format is also supported which is a standard for the industry, supported not only by Barnes and Noble, but from Google's ebookstore. Sadly as it runs an older version of Google Android, there is no support yet for Flash media.

Downsides include higher levels of eye fatigue, and battery life is severely compromised. Between a full charge you will be lucky to get 8 hours of reading which means taking the device with you on holiday means you are going to need to recharge it daily. The Kindle devices in comparison can last for weeks between a charge.

The weight is also noticeable, being more than twice the weight of the third generation Kindle, so long term it can prove more fatiguing to hold.

Would it replace my Kindle DX? No, I find LCD technology much less usuable long term for reading books as it hurts my eyes, but there is no doubting that Kindle need to start looking into releasing a competiting product, offering a full colour screen with more media options.

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Technology killing paperbacks https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/carl/technology-killing-paperbacks/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/carl/technology-killing-paperbacks/#respond Mon, 31 Jan 2011 08:42:13 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=31665 I fondly remember as a kid, getting a new book and wondering what cool and exciting adventures lay within. The smell of the paper, the feel of the pages on my fingers as I flipped them over.  It appears as if the charms of a paperback are dwindling, as electronic books are outselling their physical …

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I fondly remember as a kid, getting a new book and wondering what cool and exciting adventures lay within. The smell of the paper, the feel of the pages on my fingers as I flipped them over.  It appears as if the charms of a paperback are dwindling, as electronic books are outselling their physical counterparts.

It really is to be expected, technology is advancing at a never ending rate and according to Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder electronic Kindle books “have now overtaken paperback books as the most popular format on Amazon.com.”

For every 100 paperbacks sold now, customers are downloading 115 Kindle downloads. This really isn't such a revelation however, because Bezos has been highlighting the Kindle momentum for many months. Even in July of 2010, the sales ratio against hardbacks stood at 143 in favour of ebooks, this has risen to 300 Kindle sales now against 100 hardbacks.

The third generation Kindle has now become Amazon's biggest selling product ever, even pushing past the final Harry Potter novel.

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