Welcome to the BlogKindle.com weekly news round-up!

Every Sunday we compile a list of our favourite stories from the past week, we also bring to you our selection of Kindle and Amazon related links from around the web. Compiled from blogs, magazines, main stream media and other sources, we hope these links will give you a definitive overview of what’s happening regarding the Kindle and what the Kindle community is talking about.

Amazon eyeing up the textbook market? About time – ZDNet

Here Comes Kindle 2.0 – Business Week

Amazon’s Kindle Goes to College – PC World

New Kindle an iPod mini-level design leap? – Electronista

Citigroup Analyst Eligible for Remedial Kindlegarten? – Digital Daily

Amazon Relies on Customers to Pimp the Kindle – Wired

Amazon: Kindle Isn’t *That* Big A Hit; College Edition In The Works – Silicon Ally Insider

How to avoid becoming a Kindle nerd-bore – The Atlantic

Amazon Confirms Student Version of Kindle – Seeking Alpha

Amazon’s Kindle May Go Back To School – Information Week

5 Joe Wikert – The Kindle Chronicles [podcast]

Discounted Kindles Tell a Story – The Motley Fool

If Amazon Really Wants To Get Serious About The Kindle… – TechCrunch

Amazon To Offer New Versions of Kindle e-Book Reader – Sci-Tech Today

Taking chances on Amazon’s Kindle – Byte-Sized

Rumor: Thinner, Stylish, Cheaper Kindle Coming Soon – Wired

Don’t believe the Kindle sales numbers … Amazon doesn’t – Used Book Blog

It’s Official: Kindle 2.0 Out Before Year’s End – K.indled

Guitar Tablature on the Amazon Kindle? – Fretbase

Amazon Kindle – glishara @ livejournal

Kindle Avantgarde case ready for pre-order 27th of August – stylzworld

Kindle Your Reading Habits – Doug Geivett’s Blog

Can a Polarizing Kindle Go Mainstream? – Decoding the Kindle

Amazon with more Kindles in the pipeline – definitely smaller, hopefully cheaper – Tech Digest

Photo by LostInBrittany

If you have an image that you would like to submit for Kindle Photo of the Day, then please get in touch! you can send the image via email to – please make sure you include your name and a link to your site.

The Sony Reader is a worthy opponent to the Kindle, however Sony has made some fundamental mistakes which will ultimately mean it will lose the battle for the e-book.

Sony’s chief executive, Sir Howard Stringer, noticed how Apple integrated is software and hardware to create a better customer experience, he added that Sony wants to make it as easy as possible to download or stream music, films and electronic data to all Sony electronic devices, from the PlayStation 3 to the Bravia Televisions. Sir Howard Stringer wants 90% of Sony devices to by wirelessly networked within 2 years.

However, Sir Howard Stringer vision seems to have fallen on deaf ears in the Sony Reader division. The Sony PRS-500 Reader had a commanding lead in the e-reader industry, but last November the Kindle was unveiled by Amazon. Amazon had done exactly what Sir Howard Stringer wanted to do with the Sony Reader, the Kindle was wirelessly networked to the Amazon book store, the hardware and software acting as one. Most importantly however, it made it easy for the consumer to buy books, something the Sony Reader never really achieved with its reader.

Back in 2006 when the Sony Reader was launched, Sir Howard wanted to let world know that this is sort of device that the new Sony wanted to make: both innovative and well-connected, but it was Amazon that showed them how it was really done.

Book selling is at the core of Amazon’s business, this is another advantage that Amazon has over Sony, it can leverage publishers to release books on its platform before any other, that’s something Sony would find very difficult to do. There are currently over 145,000 titles in the Kindle bookstore, the Sony bookstore has 45,000, that’s another area where Sony falls short.

The Kindle also offers so much more than the Sony Reader, daily newspapers, blogs, RSS subscriptions all without the need for a PC, with hacks you can even turn the Kindle into an email reader, an instant messenger and a web browser. You can buy a book any time and anywhere as long as you have a wireless connection, you cant do that on the Sony Reader.

Sony has consistently declined to release sales figures, which just might tell you something. Whilst Amazon hasn’t exactly been forthcoming with sales figures wither, we have learned that in its first 10 months the Kindle has sold over 240,000 devices, which isn’t a figure to be ashamed of, in-fact it blew most analyst estimates out of the water. To put it in context, the iPod first-year sales came to 360,000 devices, the Kindle is on course to match that figure.

Sony is now playing catchup, Sony’s Steve Haber has said that Sony is “open” to the idea of making the Reader a wireless device, but if you ask me, it may already be too late for them. Unless Sony’s next e-book reader is radically different to the current model and offers the same functionallity of the Kindle, im afriad its goodbye Sony Reader.

Anna is the jewel of St. Petersburg society until she leaves her husband for the handsome and charming military officer, Count Vronsky. They fall in love, going beyond High Society’s acceptance of trivial adulterous dalliances. But when Vronsky’s love cools, Anna cannot bring herself to return to the husband she detests…

Excerpt:

Chapter One

They were all in this business–Dick Allenby, inventor and heir-at-law; Jerry Dornford, man about town and wastrel; Mike Hennessey, theatrical adventurer; Mary Lane, small part actress; Leo Moran, banker and speculator; Horace Tom Tickler–alas, for him!–was very much in it, though he knew nothing about it.

Mr Washington Wirth, who gave parties and loved flattery; old Hervey Lyne and the patient Binny, who pushed his invalid chair and made his breakfast and wrote his letters–and Surefoot Smith.

There came a day when Binny, who was an assiduous reader of newspapers that dealt with the more picturesque aspects of crime, was to find himself the focal point of attention and his evidence read by millions who had never before heard of him–a wonderful experience.

Mr Washington Wirth’s parties were most exclusive affairs and, in a sense, select. The guests were chosen with care, and might not, in the manner of the age, invite the uninvited to accompany them; but they were, as Mary Lane said, ‘an odd lot’. She went because Mike Hennessey asked her, and she rather liked the stout and lethargic Mike. People called him ‘poor old Mike’ because of his bankruptcies, but just now sympathy would be wasted on him. He had found Mr Washington Wirth, a patron of the theatre and things theatrical, and Mr Washington Wirth was a very rich man.

He was also a mysterious man. He was generally believed to live in the Midlands and to be associated with industry.

His London address was the Kellner Hotel, but he never slept there. His secretary would telephone in advance for the Imperial suite on a certain day, and on the evening of that day, when supper was laid for his twenty or thirty guests, and the specially hired orchestra was tuning up, he would appear, a stout, flaxen-haired man in horn-rimmed glasses. The uncharitable said his flaxen hair was a wig, which may or may not have been true.

He was perfectly tailored. He spoke in a high, falsetto voice, had a trick of clicking his heels and kissing the hands of his lady guests which was very Continental.

His guests were hand-picked. He chose–or Mike chose for him–the smaller theatrical fry; members of the chorus, small part actresses, an obscure singer or two.

Once Mike had suggested a brighter kind of party. Mr Wirth was shocked.

‘I want nothing fast,’ he said.

He loved adulation–and had his fill of it. He was a generous spender, a giver of expensive presents; people living on the verge of poverty might be excused a little flattering.

You could not gate-crash one of Mr Washington Wirth’s parties, invitations to which came in the shape of a small oblong badge, not unlike the badge worn by the ladies in the Royal Enclosure at Ascot, on which the name of the invited guest was written. This the recipient wore; it served a double purpose, for it enabled Mr Wirth to read and address each of his guests by her name.

Mary Lane was well aware that the invitation was no tribute to her own eminence.

‘I suppose if I had been a really important guest I shouldn’t have been invited?’ she said.

Mike smiled good-naturedly.

‘You are important, Mary–the most important person here. The old boy wanted to know you.’

‘Who is he?’

Mike shook his head. ‘He’s got all the money in the world,’ he said.

She laughed. Mary Lane was very lovely when she laughed.

She was conscious that Washington Wirth, albeit occupied with the cooing attention of two blonde lovelies, was watching her out of the side of his eyes.

‘He gives lots of parties, doesn’t he?’ she asked. ‘Dick Allenby told me today that they are monthly affairs. He must be rich, of course, or he wouldn’t keep our play running. Honestly, Mike, we must be losing a fortune at the Sheridan.’

Mike Hennessey took his cigar from his mouth and looked at the ash. ‘I’m not losing a fortune,’ he said. Then, most unexpectedly: ‘Old Hervey Lyne a friend of yours, Mary?’

She denied the friendship with some vigour. ‘No, he’s my guardian. Why?’

Mike put back his cigar deliberately.

The orchestra had struck up a waltz. Mr Wirth was gyrating awkwardly, holding at arm’s length a lady who was used to being held more tightly.

‘I had an idea you were connected,’ he said. ‘Money-lender, wasn’t he? That’s how he made his stuff. Is Mr Allenby related to him?’

There was a certain significance in the question, and she flushed.

‘Yes–his nephew.’ She was a little disconcerted. ‘Why?’

Mike looked past her at the dancers.

‘Trying to pretend they enjoy it,’ he said.’ They’re all getting gold-mounted handbags tonight–you’ll get yours.’

‘But why do you ask about Mr Lyne?’ she persisted.

‘Just wondering how well you knew the old man. No, he’s never lent me money. He wants gilt-edged security and I’ve never had it. Moran’s his banker.’

Mike was one of those disconcerting men whose speech followed the eccentric course of their thoughts.

He chuckled.

‘Funny, that, Mary. Moran’s his banker. You don’t see the joke, but I do.’

She knew Leo Moran slightly. He was by way of being a friend of Dick Allenby’s, and he was, she knew, a frequent visitor to the theatre, though he never came ‘back stage’.

When Mike was being cryptic it was a waste of time trying to catch up with him. She looked at her watch.

‘Will he be very annoyed if I leave soon? I’ve promised to go on to the Legation.’

He shook his head, took her gently by the arm, and led her up to where Mr Wirth was being delightfully entertained by three pretty girls who were trying to guess his age.

‘My little friend has to go, Mr Wirth,’ he said. ‘She’s got a rehearsal in the morning.’

‘Perfectly understood!’ said the host.

When he smiled he had white, even teeth, for which no thanks were due to nature.

‘Perfectly understood. Come again, Miss Mary Lane. I’ll be back from abroad in three weeks.’

She took his big, limp hand and shook it. Mike escorted her out and helped her into her coat.

‘Another hour for me and then I pack up,’ he said,’ He never stays after one. By the way, I’ll bring on your gift to the theatre.’

She liked Mike–everybody liked Mike. There was hardly an actor or an actress in London who had not agreed to take half-salary from him. He could cry very convincingly when he was ruined, and he was always ruined when hard-hearted people expected him to pay what he owed them.

Download “The Clue of the Silver Key” by Edgar Wallace for your Kindle:

“The Clue of the Silver Key” by Edgar Wallace [.azw file]

Amazon.com has partnered up with Chase in a rare limited time offer where you can get up to $100 off the Kindle paying a total of $259 for the device – the offer ends on September 8th.

Get the Amazon Rewards Visa Card and Get $100 Off Kindle
Thanks to Chase, you get $100 off Kindle when you get the new Amazon.com Rewards Visa Card. Limited time only. Here’s how this works: 1) Apply Online. Get a response in as little as 30 seconds. If you’re approved, we will instantly add the card to your Amazon.com account and you’ll get $30 back on your credit card statement after your purchase. 2) Add a Kindle to your cart. 3) Place your order using the Amazon.com Rewards Visa Card and enter this promo code: VISACARD to get the additional $70 savings at checkout. Additional restrictions apply.

Now you might be thinking why is Chase offering to subsidise you up to $100 for a Kindle, well, they want you to start using their credit card called the Amazon.com Rewards Visa card, and over time Chase hopes to recoup the $100 through interest payments. The promotion is offered and paid for by Chase, not Amazon, so for those who have bought the Kindle in the past couple of weeks, Amazon wont refund you the $70 that Chase is subsidising the Kindle.

Once your approved for the card, which Amazon says takes less than a minute, Chase will add $30 in credit to your Amazon.com Rewards Visa card. Once the card is added to your Amazon.com account you can add the Kindle to your shopping cart and apply the “VISACARD” discount code for an additional $70 off. This code will only work if you add Kindle to you cart and go through the normal checkout process and don’t use 1-click, the discount should work even if you already have the Amazon.com Rewards Visa card, unfortunately the $30 credit is for new card customers only.

A Kindle for $259 was an offer too good for me to pass, for the last couple of weeks I’ve been thinking about getting a Kindle for my wife, once I heard about this offer my mind was made up – I was going to get it. Once I was approved for the card, sure enough I put the “VISACARD” code in and a $70 discount was applied to the Kindle. My wife’s shiny new Kindle should arrive on Monday, perfect.

Now I’m not a big user/fan of credit cards in any case, I religiously pay whatever I owe off every month, but since there isn’t a yearly fee for having the Amazon rewards card, I don’t mind applying for it, I guess it will just sit there nicely in my wallet. If you do decide to go for it, make sure you pay it off and don’t drive yourself into debt, if you don’t trust yourself you can always cut the card up as soon as you get it.

Will you be taking advantage of this offer?

Source: Amazon.com

This week two new newspapers make it onto the Kindle – they are both British newspapers. The Times, which I don’t know an awful lot about, and the Financial Times which I adore and consider to be one of the best newspapers in the world.

The Times was first published in 1785 and is now owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation. The Financial Times has been in print since 1888 and its biggest competitor is The Wall Street Journal, while The Wall Street Journal has the higher subscription numbers, in my opinion the Financial Times has the superior content – I should know, Iv had it delivered to my home for the past four years.

The Times and the Financial Times bring the total numbers of newspapers on the Kindle to 24. Its been about 9 months since Kindle was released and I am a bit disappointed to see that only 24 newspapers have jumped onto the Kindle – 15 US based and 9 International newspapers. The USA Today currently has the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States with 2.25 million copies per weekday, however it has yet to make an appearance on the Kindle. We need more newspapers on the Kindle!

As usual, a 14-day free trial is available for both newspapers.

The Times (Kindle Edition)

The Times is one of the world’s leading newspapers respected internationally for its news, comment and analysis. The aim of The Times is to provide its readers with strong news reporting combined with thoughtful and insightful opinions on the main issues of the day. Whether dealing with politics, business, foreign affairs, the arts, or sport, The Times offers the most comprehensive coverage. It has an outstanding global network of reporters as well as must-read columnists such as Matthew Parris, Gerard Baker, Caitlin Moran, Giles Coren and Anatole Kaletsky.

The Kindle Edition of The Times contains articles found in the print edition, but will not include some images and tables. Also, some features such as the crossword puzzle, box scores and classifieds are not currently available. For your convenience, issues are automatically delivered wirelessly to your Kindle so you can read them each morning.

Financial Times (Kindle Edition)

The Financial Times, one of the world’s leading business media organizations, is recognized globally for its authority, integrity and accuracy. The Financial Times provides a 360-degree perspective on global business and geopolitical news by harnessing a worldwide network of award-winning journalists who deliver extensive news, comment and analysis. The Financial Times is much more than a business newspaper, it is an intelligent and stimulating read covering everything from in depth art reviews to new discoveries in food and wine and interviews with the day’s luminaries. The Financial Times has an unrivaled collection of columnists, including Tyler Brûlé, Anthony Bolton, Clive Crook, Niall Ferguson, John Gapper, Robin Lane-Fox, Gideon Rachman, Jancis Robinson, Merryn Somerset-Webb, Philip Stevens, Lawrence H. Summers, Gillian Tett and Martin Wolf.

The US Kindle Edition of Financial Times contains most articles found in the US print edition, but will not include tables, charts and stock quotes. For your convenience, issues are automatically delivered wirelessly to your Kindle so you can read them each morning. The Financial Times US Edition is published Monday through Saturday.

The E Ink Corporation has announces that it’s Vizplex Imaging Film based displays will be available on the Hitachi W61H and on the Casio G’zOne range, both phones will incorporate e-ink technology into the outer display of the handsets. The technology is virtually identical to the display on the Kindle, just a lot smaller.

“We wanted features such as outdoor sunlight readability, 180 degree viewing angle, extremely thin, rugged, flexible display that consumed very little power,” said Satoshi Shirasawa, Marketing Manager for Casio Hitachi Mobile Communications, adding “E Ink’s electrophoretic display technology provided all that and more, something we could not get from other display technologies.”

On the Hitachi W61H the secondary display will cycle through 96 different animations, Japanese designer SeKiYuRiO created the W61H to resemble a perfume bottle. The 2.7″ e-ink display only activates when the phone is in use and will only be available in Japan.

Casio will also incorporate e-ink technology into their G’zOne range, and unlike the Hitachi, will show messages and the time instead of just animations on its secondary “Silhouette display”.

E-ink is proving to be a versatile technology, I guess it was only a matter of time before other applications for e-ink were discovered and utilised, cellphones seem to be the ideal candidate for e-ink displays. I don’t wear a watch any more, I use my phone for telling the time, however in bright sunlight, reading the LCD display is a bit tricky, not so with an e-ink display, I can see these devices becoming very popular.

Source: Techradar

Jeff Bezos is the founder and CEO of Amazon.com. Jeff spent his hour reading a manuscript on an Amazon Kindle.

Photo by video services

If you have an image that you would like to submit for Kindle Photo of the Day, then please get in touch! you can send the image via email to – please make sure you include your name and a link to your site.

Electrophoretic displays or EPD is the superb paper-like technology used in the Kindle and Sony Reader, it is often referred to as e-ink. Prime View International (PVI) is the company behind the production of many e-ink screens, they supply Amazon with e-ink screens for the Kindle. PVI chairman Scott Liu believes that the EPD market is set “to grow 10 times over the next three years”.

PVI president Ys Fu said clients’ shipping schedules for EPDs remain unaffected by the sluggishness hitting the small- to medium-size panel market.

PVI chairman Scott Liu said the EPD market will double in 2009 and staggering growth is expected to continue through the next three years. Foreseeing insufficient capacity to meet the strong demand for EPDs, PVI last year determined that it was necessary to acquire Korea’s BOE Hydis, which PVI has now officially taken over and renamed Hydis Technologies, Liu said.

PVI is still the only major supplier for e-ink displays in the world, and it did have a decline in panel sales, so declining panel sales don’t seem to agree with PVI chairman Scott Liu’s prediction that the EPD market will double in 2009. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that e-book reader sales are going down, we dont know what proportion of PVI’s sales are devoted to e-book readers, so a decline in sales by 33% doesnt tell us anything e-book reader growth. The economy also isnt in the best of shapes, so this might also be contributing to the decline in sales.

Source: DigiTimes

Some would have you believe that the Toyota Prius is the answer to all our energy problems, however, it isn’t, its the step in-between. When you look up what the word Prius means “that which comes before” you will realise that the Prius is not the car of the future, the Prius comes before, to pave the way for the true car of the future.

In the same vein, I have come to realise that the Kindle is not the future of reading, but it is a Prius, it is what comes before. The much more important question is what will come next?

I will leave this open for you to ponder, your comments are welcome.

Yesterday I came across this great post on Google Groups, its a list of Kindle disorders that Kindle owners tend to suffer from – enjoy;

A few days ago I detected a certain malady that some Kindle users may have experienced. I have come to learn that there are many more conditions, symptoms and maladies of which I believe my fellow Kindle users should be aware. The list is not exhaustive so please feel free to add any additional items as you may have experienced on your own.

Kindle Abandonment Syndrome: The feeling of concern when you cannot find a newly published or previously published book in Kindle format which results in you sending threatening letters to publishing houses or checking the “New on Kindle” site every ten minutes.

Kindle Anxiety Syndrome: Worrying that your Kindle will run out of charge before you can reach your home and your charging cord.

Kindle Separation Anxiety: This manifests symptoms which include trying to tap the next page button on a paperback or hardcover book, if you still read those!

Kindle Agoraphobia: The fear of traveling to a destination that goes not have Whispernet access, like a foreign country, a remote location, or a tunnel.

Kindle Envy Condition: This is when people post negative comments about the Kindle on forums without having ever owning one.

Kindle Curiosity Malady: This is when you spot another Kindle owner in public and you insist he or she show you what they have downloaded on their Kindle.

Kindle Braggadocio: This is when you give a ten minute demonstration of how your Kindle works when someone casually asks if that is a Kindle.

Kindle Confusion Malady: This is when you repeatedly lick your finger when you tap the next page button.

Kindle Hoarding Syndrome: This is a condition where you have downloaded 2000 books from every free e-book website you can find. It is particularly serious when you download the Russian versions of
Tolstoy’s books and you cannot read Russian.

Kindle Displacement Condition: This is a condition where you consider your Kindle a member of your family and purchase seven designer covers and extra SD cards but neglect to buy your family milk.

Kindle Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: This is when you check the Velcro patch which secures your Kindle to its case every half hour to ensure it won’t slip out again. It can also manifest itself with the
purchase of multiple batteries and the constant checking of your Amazon Media Library.

Kindle Carpel Tunnel Syndrome: Intense pain in your thumbs from speed reading on your Kindle.

Kindle Obesity: This is the insistence that gaining weight is only due to the fact that with a belly you can now read your Kindle while lying prone.

Kindle Perplexity Disorder: This is when a patient insists that any reading matter he or she received must be in either asw, prc or pdf convertible format because “I don’t read anything that isn’t
Kindlized.”

Kindle Grammar Abuse: Using the word Kindle as anything other than a noun: such as is it Kindleable?; can you Kindlize that? Or I don’t do anything unKindled.

You may ask is there a cure for these maladies. I fear that no cure is available. My only hope that is when the Kindle becomes universally accepted like the IPod and the laptop computer, these maladies will be readily accepted by the population.

Some of these are hilarious and are especially true for me. Do you have any Kindle related disorders you would like to share?

Source: Google Groups

Welcome to the BlogKindle.com weekly news round-up!

Every Sunday we compile a list of our favourite stories from the past week, we also bring to you our selection of Kindle and Amazon related links from around the web. Compiled from blogs, magazines, main stream media and other sources, we hope these links will give you a definitive overview of what’s happening regarding the Kindle and what the Kindle community is talking about.

Citigroup sees better Amazon Kindle sales – Reuters

Is Amazon’s Kindle the iPod of the book world? – The Guardian

Amazon.com Rises; Citigroup Doubles Kindle Estimate – Bloomberg

Amazon shares up with Kindle news – The Seattle Times

Amazon Kindle is ‘iPod moment’ for ebooks, says analyst – Telegraph.co.uk

The Lessons From the Kindle’s Success – New York Times Bits Blog

Can the Kindle Break the E-book Curse? – Wired

Kindle book is tough to crack for Wall Street – Market Watch

Amazon’s unseen bestseller raises questions – Market Watch

Amazon Kindle set to go massive – The Register

Kindle sales pegged at $1 billion by 2010 – cnet

“The Kindle is becoming the iPod of the book world” – Vallywag

The Kindle is the Sasquatch of the Book World – Gawker

Optimizing Web Content for the Kindle Browser – O’Reilly TOC

Citi: Yep, The Kindle’s A Huge Hit. $1 Billion For Amazon In 2010 (AMZN) – Silicon Ally Insider

Is Your Favorite Book Not Available on Kindle? – Official Amazon Kindle Blog

The triumph of the Kindle – Alexandria @ wordpress.com

Kindle could be “Amazon’s iPod” – Online Media Cultist

Kindlemania! Is It Sensible…or Silly? – Technologizer

iPhone Vs. Kindle? – TMCNET

Amazon Mulls Jolly “Kris Kindle” Mascot – Seattlest

Improving Kindle’s Lookup Feature – Kindleville

How Sony can STILL beat Amazon in the e-book battle – TeleRead

Is Amazon’s Kindle Success Sustainable? – Seeking Alpha

Toddo On TV: Will Amazon’s Kindle Speed-Read Past Apple’s iPod? – Minyanville

My first Kindle experience. – Water Ouzel

Is Kindle’s Future Really That Bright? – The Money Times

Why aren’t textbooks free? AKA How the Kindle could potentially put textbook publishers out of business. – Kindle Reader Guide

Amazon Kindle – Hit or Flop? – JGadgets

Kindle ‘must-have’ for xmas – The BookSeller

Big Screen Kindle Aiming for $5.5 Billion Textbook Market – Law Librarian Blog

Amazon…It’s NOT About the Kindle, But I Will Take It! – Howard Lindzon

New “Kindle-ize This” Request Button on Amazon – Kindle Reader

Share Your Kindle With Your Kids – Go Green With A Kindle

Page Number Versus Position on Kindle – EduKindle

Does Research Support Kindle Use to Improve Student Reading Scores? – EduKindle

Amazon Lowering The Kindle eBooks to Match Paperback Prices – K.indled

Amazon’s Kindle Success Boosts Its Stock – Grace Cheng

Wait, so you people actually BOUGHT Kindles? – Justin Flood

Amazon’s ebook / Kindle Strategy Flawed – Terrible Swift Word

Welcome to the New York Times Best Sellers list for August 15th, 2008.

Each week we go through the top sellers on the list and give you our top 3 picks so to give you can get an idea of what to download for your Kindle. You can browse through The New York Times best sellers list on Amazon.com.

Here are our top 3 books of the week followed by the top 5 best-selling books by category;

Our Picks

Havana Nocturne: How the Mob Owned Cuba and Then Lost It to the Revolution by T. J. English – Number 7 in Hardcover Nonfiction

I loved this book for a lot of reasons but it didn’t make me want to take my clothes off and go dancin’ in the rain. In fact, after reading this account of Havana I wonder when it was that Ricky Martin thought such frivolity would be a good idea. The history of the city and the lifestyle surrounding it’s golden years seemed exciting but a little dangerous.

Author T.J. English did a wonderful job of researching the happenings in Cuba in his non-fiction winner, “Havana Nocturne.” I relish well- researched histories and with about 330 end notes, some 25 insider interviews, and 11 pages listing the books, articles, essays, transcripts, reports, documentaries, television programs, institutions, and FBI files that English relied on for his information, this book certainly qualifies.

Usually that much research material produces a book with the trudging characteristics of a Russian epic that takes several years to read, but not Havana Nocturne. English has deftly woven the information into a tight record of a couple of decades of activity, and produced an entertaining account of what the Mob and the Cuban government was involved in, all the while naming those who participated in some highly nefarious schemes. All the familiar big-city Mafiosi characters are here, along with the hangers-on from Hollywood, Tampa, Washington, D.C., New York City, Chicago and Las Vegas– those who loved the glamour and excitement of a glittering Havana especially prepared to lure them in.

Famous Americans such as John F. Kennedy, Frank Sinatra, Steve Allen, Lucille Ball, Marlon Brando, George Raft, Graham Greene, Errol Flynn, Dorothy Dandridge, Ava Gardner, Eartha Kitt, Ginger Rogers, Tony Martin, Johnny Mathis, Donald O’Conner, and Tyrone Power, among many others, became real aficionados of the wild Cuban lifestyle and spent a good deal of time sampling it. Give English credit. He’s not a muckraker and lurid details of their visits are sparse, but their presence is acknowledged.

Fulgencio Batista’s turbulent career as dictator and his repressive regime through the 1950s is brilliantly chronicled as is his open-pocket acceptance of the Mob’s movement into the biggest luxury hotels and gambling casinos in Havana. English parallels the lush life and Batista’s corrupt governmental activities with the story of a young revolutionary named Fidel Castro who lives in the Cuban mountains, plotting to overthrow Batista and implement his own ideas for the Mob. The author tells of the Revolution, the ouster of Batista, and the double-cross Castro executes against the American mobsters, a move that virtually sent Cuba into an economic downward spiral from which it has never recovered.

This book was a pleasure to read. The writing is taut: the activity is crisply presented. There are many characters involved but the author never loses the reader to the playbill. I haven’t enjoyed a book this much for some time. I highly recommend it. - reviewed by Schuyler T. Wallace”

4/5 Amazon.com rating by 23 customer reviews.

Kindle Version is available! for $9.99 – save: $17.96 (64%)
Source: Amazon Customer Review*

When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris – Number 1 in Hardcover Nonfiction

I must admit that this is the first David Sedaris book I’ve read, and I hope it won’t be my last…or his last, now that he has given up smoking. “When You Are Engulfed in Flames” is a warm mix of syntax and prose, moving at just the right speed to absorb every nuance of his observations. When one is finished it might occur that Sedaris would be a nice dinner companion, though I suspect the reader would probably get to know him better in print than over a meal.

This is a book of comparisons and the author likes the word “like”. It could be his favorite word but every simile he uses has a humorous tone meant to educate the reader in diverse ways. It’s hard to classify David Sedaris at mid-life…he’s not as neurotic (but no less perspicacious!) as Woody Allen but a bit more overstated than, say, Bob Newhart. A gay Ernest Hemingway? Well, not quite, but at least there was booze and smoking material surrounding each writer.

Every chapter in Sedaris’s book is engaging but his final one (and by far the longest) deals with his giving up cigarettes as he roams the cities of Japan. I would imagine that if you’re relinquishing a habit or an addiction, writing about it must be helpful. This is a wonderfully constructed book and I highly recommend “When You Are Engulfed in Flames” for the author’s wit, insight and terrific narrative style. - reviewed by Jon Hunt “musician, teacher”

4/5 Amazon.com rating by 172 customer reviews.

Kindle Version is available! for $9.99 – save $16.00 (62%)
Source: Amazon Customer Review*

You: Staying Young: The Owner’s Manual for Extending Your Warranty by Michael F. Roizen – Number 3 in Hardcover Advice, How-To, and Miscellaneous

I found this book tremendously motivating. Although I’ve never been big on being healthy, at 41 I’m beginning to be a bit concerned with staying young. Essentially they are the same thing but marketing it as “staying young” instead of “staying healthy” caught my attention. In reality we all want to remain active and healthy throughout as many years as possible.

This book is written in a very simplistic way, yet with enough detail to give an understanding of what one should do to maintain good health for many years. It was easy to follow many of the recommendations because they told you not only what vitamins in what amounts, but also which foods contain these vitamins. As 110 lb. person who has never had to diet, I have always been resistant to giving up my fries and soda for a better diet. I liked that the authors didn’t chide you about what NOT to eat but just told you what foods helped in various areas. It has inspired me to eat more of those foods, knowing that I’m not forever forbidden to enjoy the things I like to eat.

They also cover exercise, emotional health, etc. It appears to be a fairly complete look at all aspects of body and health. I highly recommend “You Staying Young” even if you don’t intend to dive fully into all improvements. If your family is predisposed to certain illnesses, you will certainly find tips to encourage your own body NOT to express those genes and avoid the genetic predisposition. In general, there is just a lot of interesting information in here and it’s not written like a boring medical text. The authors are funny, sometimes to the point of being a little corny, and it smooths the pathway to knowledge. - reviewed by T. Corson

4/5 Amazon.com rating by 184 customer reviews.

Kindle Version is available! for $9.99 – save: $16.01 (62%)
Source: Amazon Customer Review*

* These reviews are taken from Amazon.com customer/editor reviews and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions blogkindle.com

Top 5 Books by Category

Hardcover Fiction
1. MOSCOW RULES, by Daniel Silva
2. THE BOURNE SANCTION, by Eric Van Lustbader
3. THE HOST, by Stephenie Meyer
4. THE STORY OF EDGAR SAWTELLE, by David Wroblewski
5. THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY, by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

Hardcover Nonfiction
1. THE OBAMA NATION, by Jerome R. Corsi
2. WHEN YOU ARE ENGULFED IN FLAMES, by David Sedaris
3. STORI TELLING, by Tori Spelling with Hilary Liftin
4. ARE YOU THERE, VODKA? IT’S ME, CHELSEA, by Chelsea Handler
5. FLEECED, by Dick Morris and Eileen McGann

Paperback Trade Fiction
1. THE SHACK, by William P. Young
2. BAREFOOT, by Elin Hilderbrand
3. WATER FOR ELEPHANTS, by Sara Gruen
4. THE KITE RUNNER, by Khaled Hosseini
5. THE ALCHEMIST, by Paulo Coelho

Paperback Mass-Market Fiction
1. PLAYING FOR PIZZA, by John Grisham
2. TURBULENT SEA, by Christine Feehan
3. PLAY DIRTY, by Sandra Brown
4. CRY WOLF, by Patricia Briggs
5. THE MANNING BRIDES, by Debbie Macomber

Paperback Nonfiction
1. THREE CUPS OF TEA, by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
2. EAT, PRAY, LOVE, by Elizabeth Gilbert
3. THE AUDACITY OF HOPE, by Barack Obama
4. BIG RUSS AND ME, by Tim Russert
5. I HOPE THEY SERVE BEER IN HELL, by Tucker Max

Hardcover Advice
1. THE LAST LECTURE, by Randy Pausch with Jeffrey Zaslow
2. THE SECRET, by Rhonda Byrne
3. JUST WHO WILL YOU BE?, by Maria Shriver
4. DECEPTIVELY DELICIOUS, by Jessica Seinfeld
5. YOU: STAYING YOUNG, by Michael F. Roizen and Mehmet C. Oz et al.

Paperback Advice
1. A NEW EARTH, by Eckhart Tolle
2. SKINNY BITCH, by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin
3. THE POWER OF NOW, by Eckhart Tolle
4. WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU’RE EXPECTING, by Heidi Murkoff and Sharon Mazel
5. SOUL WISDOM, by Zhi Gang Sha

Children’ Books
1. GALLOP!, written and illustrated by Rufus Butler Seder
2. FAIRIES AND MAGICAL CREATURES, by Matthew Reinhart and Robert Sabuda
3. ALPHABET, by Matthew Van Fleet
4. SMASH! CRASH!, by Jon Scieszka
5. A VISITOR FOR BEAR, by Bonny Becker

The Amazon team have added a new button below any book which is currently not available on the Kindle. The new “Please tell the publisher” button aims to alert publisher of a demand for a particular book by Kindle owners and hopefully prompting them to publish a Kindle version of that book.

This is what Amazon said on its blog;

Our goal is to make every title available for Kindle, and to that end some eagle-eyed Kindle owners and enthusiasts have already noticed and been using a new tool to help us do just that. If you’re frustrated that a physical edition of a book is not (yet) available in Kindle version, just look below the book’s image on its product detail page and you’ll find a box that reads, “Please tell the publisher.” Click on the “I’d like to read this book on Kindle” link and we’ll forward your request. Make your voice heard.

It is a nice feature which will hopefully be used by Kindle owners to highlight old and new books which publishers haven’t bothered to Kindle-ize, yet. It would be also nice if once you have submitted you request to be notified by Amazon if the book does become available on the Kindle,

Next step is magazines and newspapers which should also have this button.

Source: Official Amazon Kindle Blog

These days if company’s want a device to be a success it has to support as many different standards as possible, be as useful to the user as possible, be as cheap as possible and be as open as possible. There are always exception to the rule, take iPhone for example, but on the whole its an accurate statement.

One way of opening a device up is by offering a software development kit (SDK), I was reading k.indled today and the question came, If Kindle had an SDK, What would you do with it?

One thing I would do is add support for the .epub format, I’m not sure if it would be possible because I am no programmer, but I feel that Kindle must support .epub one day, its the industry standard and I think this will get a lot more publishers on board, especially the ones who have a lot of technical content which isn’t easy to render on the Kindle.

I think Amazon will have to eventually open up the Kindle and they should do it sooner rather than later, having an ‘app store’ similar to the iPhone app store I think would go a long way in helping the Kindle attain mainstream acceptance, and it could open up a while host of other uses for the Kindle.

What would you create with a Kindle SDK?

Source: k.indled

Photo by Keegan Jones

If you have an image that you would like to submit for Kindle Photo of the Day, then please get in touch! you can send the image via email to – please make sure you include your name and a link to your site.

Another day, another Kindle competition. Surpass Hosting is staging a contest where the winner can bag themselves a Kindle.

Its a lot easier to enter than the previous competition we told you about, all you have to do it write a haiku – simple.

Give us a great haiku about Surpass Hosting and win an Amazon Kindle to further enjoy poetry and reading.

“The most common form for Haiku is three short lines. The first line usually contains five (5) syllables, the second line seven (7) syllables, and the third line contains five (5) syllables. Haiku doesn’t rhyme.” Here is an example haiku:

i love you surpass
you make my sites go so fast
happy webmaster

Just post your entry in this thread, then on August 29th we’ll all vote for the winner. It’s a community feeling.

Sometimes I wish that I had a Kindle to give away, I have so many competition ideas, but no prizes to give away =(

Source: Surpass Hosting Blog

Thin and flexible e-ink displays is one the advances that has been a long time coming. Plastic Logic hopes to bring us this amazing technology by 2009, a cross between the Kindle and actual paper.

Spun off from Cambridge University in 2000, Plastic Logic is now based in Mountain View, California, since 2000 they have been working hard to produce a semi-transparent sheet of tough plastic which can create and erase static images. Plastic Logic haven’t mastered animation yet, but they don’t think it will be too long before they do.

Whilst its headquarters are in Mountain View, California, it also has a manufacturing centre in Dresden, Germany, which is scheduled to open in September 2008. Plastic Logic says its product will be on the market in early 2009.

The company has taken over $200 million in funding to date, and other $50 million funding earlier this year, so all those investors will want to see what products Plastic Logic can come up with.

The obvious application is newspapers and magazines, whether it will be economically feasible for newspapers to ‘print’ on this new generation of e-ink displays is another matter. One possible way of turning a profit for the newspapers could be to sell monthly subscription, with a built in wireless receiver, the flexible display could receive updates for a month before asking the user to renew their subscription. But, I think the most likely–and most profitable–application will be displaying ads on posters and billboards.

You can watch a demonstration of the new e-ink displays provide by Plastic Logic;

Scribe Media discusses the future of books, and how e-books could possibly be the future – or at least part of it.

Its a fascinating discussion with Bob Stein who is the Director of the Institute for Future of the Book – futureofthebook.org – and it well worth listening if you have a spare 40 minutes.

Source: Scribe Media

I came across a worrying story today from Reuters news today which said;

U.S. federal agents have been given new powers to seize travelers’ laptops and other electronic devices at the border and hold them for unspecified periods the Washington Post reported on Friday.

Under recently disclosed Department of Homeland Security policies, such seizures may be carried out without suspicion of wrongdoing, the newspaper said, quoting policies issued on July 16 by two DHS agencies.

I have been aware of agents searching through laptops and copying the data, and in some cases even seizing them for prolonged times, which is one reason why I don’t take my laptop with me on flights. However, seizing any electronic device without suspicion of wrongdoing is very worrying.

It gets worse;

The policies cover hard drives, flash drives, cell phones, iPods, pagers, beepers, and video and audio tapes — as well as books, pamphlets and other written materials, the report said.

Basically any electronic device can be seized, including out beloved Kindle arbitrarily and indefinitely.

Books are not expect either, which seems odd. The last time I went through US border security I was reading “The Post-American World” by Fareed Zakaria, a fabulous book by the way, considering that most people will think your an American-hating traitor for reading this book, it could have been seized along with my other electronic devices, which included my cellphone, iPod and Nintendo DS. Thankfully it was in my carry-on bag, the border agent didn’t see it and I passed through without a problem, which was a good thing since I was only halfway through the book!

So just a word of warning to Kindle owners, either keep your Kindle hidden, or hope you don’t run into a paranoid TSA agent at the airport.

Source: Reuters

Welcome to the BlogKindle.com weekly news round-up!

Every Sunday we compile a list of our favourite stories from the past week, we also bring to you our selection of Kindle and Amazon related links from around the web. Compiled from blogs, magazines, main stream media and other sources, we hope these links will give you a definitive overview of what’s happening regarding the Kindle and what the Kindle community is talking about.

Why Sony lost the battle of the e-book – Financial Times

The Book on the Shelf – Washington Post

Will electronic readers take hold in the classroom? – Honolulu Advertiser

E-Book Readers: Changing the Way We Read – Fox Business

The marriage of human thought and paper – The Salt Lake Tribune

Kindle. Or Kindling? – Portfolio.com

We Know How Many Kindles Amazon Has Sold: 240,000 – TechCrunch

Estimates put Amazon Kindle sales at 240,000 – Geek.com

Amazon Kindle Sales Living Up To Projections, Surprising Some – Huffington Post

Despite flaws, Kindle a $100m success for Amazon – Ars Technica

Amazon May Have Actually Sold A Bunch Of Kindles (AMZN) – Silicon Ally Insider

Matt Mullenweg Loves His Kindle [podcast] – Mashable

Amazon swallows AbeBooks – Tech Radar

iPhone: Understudying the Kindle? – Ignis Fatuus

First thoughts on my Kindle – TeleRead

Will Kindles become as big as iPods? – Fresno Bee

Random Ebook Thoughts From A Jetlagged Mind – Book Square

My new favorite toy – dewumpy @ wordpress.com

Wired: Is Kindle overly hyped? – SFN Blog

How I Met and Married My Kindle – Spontaneous Derivation

Kindle Monitors All Activity? – MobileRead Forums

Yet Another Shortsighted Kindle Perspective – Kindleville

No, Amazon Doesn’t Want to “Do Away with the Book as We Know It” – Joe Wikert’s Publishing 2020 Blog

Buy This, Not That: Amazon Kindle vs. iRex iLiad – Slash Gear

Why Newspapers Should Go Digital for Profits – A Print Decision – Mosnar Communications, Inc. Public Relations Blog

Do You Own a Kindle? – Geek Sugar

kindle in the UK – MobileRead Forums

Amazon Kindle and divorce – PumpingPages

Is the print book destined for death? – Mitzi Szereto’s Weblog

An Amazon Kindle – cellphone combo in the future? – eReader Central

Kindling the flames of e-book controversy – Tech Lunch

Amazon Kindle Competes With iPhone App Store – HTLounge

The Amazon Kindle – some first thoughts – universitydiary

Kindle: Crap or Awesome? – Oh so random…

Rancho Mirage library offers new device for ‘electronic’ reading – The Press Enterprise

Kindle Sales Surprise! – Mover Mike

Amazon Kindle: On Fire or Burned Out? – Gadget Spice

Would you consider going back to paper books? – K.indled

How Newspapers Can Turn Problems Into Profit – Micro Persuasion

The Kindle: Redefining the Reading Experience (Is This Blasphemy?) – erin straza

Haiku Contest : Win a Kindle – Surpass Hosting

Kindle Impressions – Ruminations

Is Kindle the One? being an account of 1983 Buicks and other heresies – for.theloveofbooks.com

Kindle .azw1 file – MobileRead Forums

Print IS Dead (Well, To Some Of Us. OK: Me!) – Mike Cain 2008

New Kindle! – Mr. Grouchypants

[Not a] Disadvantage of the Kindle: Sometimes Instant Is Not Good (But You Can Return It) – Spontaneous Derivation

Not with the DOJ – kindle formatting

But it’s not like it’s the iPod of reading or anything…..or is it? – temporus @ livejournal

Breaking Dawn Delayed for E-book Readers – Publishers Weekly

A suggestion and a highly intriguing one–on how to settle the problems that involve face-saving among nations! A great short story by Nathaniel Gordon.

Excerpt from the e-book:

It was stifling hot in Jerusalem in the afternoon of June 16, 1956, and Major General Terence Patrick O’Reilly, United States Army, was rather more bored than usual. His Army career had gone well—two stars already at forty-five—until the mysterious workings of the Pentagon had given him perhaps the most frustrating posting a soldier could have.

He was chairman of the mixed United Nations armistice commission trying to keep the uneasy peace between Israel and her Arab neighbors. For months he had presided over unending investigations of border incidents, some petty, some not so petty. He had signed reports reprimanding and recommending and approving, but nothing ever came of them, and he no longer expected anything ever would.

Today’s hearing was different, and not strictly in his field. But because he was an engineer, and because both Arabs and Israelis trusted him, he had agreed to listen to their opposing arguments on using the waters of the River Jordan.

Too many years ago, the United States had offered to provide most of the funds for a “little TVA” on the river, benefitting both Israel and Jordan alike. At first, both had refused outright to have anything to do with the other. But over the years, skillful negotiating by Eric Johnston, the American President’s personal envoy, had brought Israel and Jordan closer and closer together—until now they agreed on the disposal of ninety per cent of the water.

But farther than this they would not go. For months, years, they balked on the remaining ten per cent, and the dams remained only blueprints.

Terence O’Reilly was sick unto death of the arguments, and thought everyone else was, too. He had heard them over and over; he knew them by heart. He knew they were evenly balanced, with justice on both sides. He knew both nations longed for a settlement, but he knew neither would back down, for reasons of “face.” Worst of all, he knew that any decision of his was meaningless. It was purely advisory, and he knew all too well what “advisory” opinions counted for out here.

Yet he tried to look interested as the delegate from Jordan wearily produced an argument that every man in the conference room could recite word for word. In a brief lull, General O’Reilly groaned: “Why don’t they toss a coin for it?” It was not as sotto voce as he meant.
The Arab delegate stared at him. “I beg your pardon!”

Flushing, General O’Reilly apologized, but the Arab was already talking excitedly to his fellow delegates. Puzzled, O’Reilly heard a confused babble of Arabic, then sudden silence.

The Arab delegate had a glint in his eye as he asked for the floor.

Download “The Golden Judge” by Nathaniel Gordon for your Kindle:

“The Golden Judge” by Nathaniel Gordon [.azw file]

As a Kindle owner with over 100 e-books–many of them only half read I must admit–on my Kindle, I have found that I’ve been buying a lot on impulse. If the product description excites me, then I will buy it considering the price is under $5. If its between $5 and $9.99 then I will pause for a moment to consider if I will actually read it all the way through. However once the price of an e-book passes the $9.99 mark, then I automatically don’t want to buy the book, even if I really want it. My mind is telling me that if your practically going to pay full price, you might as-well get a dead-tree book.

The thing is, it’s so easy to buy books on the Kindle, it almost feels like your not spending money, but once the price passes $9.99 it does feel like your spending money. Just like Apple got it right with 99-cents per song on iTunes, this is where Amazon got it right as-well, $9.99 is the perfect price for new releases.

If all those book I didn’t purchase because they were priced above $9.99 not been, then I would have probably have had about 125-130 titles on my Kindle by now. I’m willing to bet many other Kindle owners are walking away from purchases because of pricing, perhaps its a psychological barrier which I have become used to which means I cant buy books above $9.99. One of the reasons behind my purchasing a Kindle was the reduced price for many books, now when e-book are being priced at $2 or $3 cheaper than their printed counterparts then it hardly seem worth investing $400 for the Kindle.

I realise that Amazon probably doesn’t set for most of the e-book on Kindle, so publishers need to get the message that the $9.99 price tag means more sales and that pricing e-books higher than that is stifling their growth.

Do/Would/Should you pay more than $9.99 for a Kindle e-book?

The Kindle has popped up on Time Magazines “25 Gotta Have Travel Gadgets”

Appearing at number 9 on the list, the Time Magazine article says;

Amazon’s first-generation e-book reader certainly needs improvement — the page-turn buttons are awkwardly placed, among other things — but anyone who likes to read on the road should consider it an essential companion. That’s because you can take a veritable library with you.

Time still couldn’t resist a quick jab at the Kindle.

Other gadgets which made it onto the list include, Airport Express, MacBook Air, Panasonic Portable DVD and a PSP amongst other things, interestingly not a single bad word was said about any of the other gadgets.

Source: Time

When the leaked Kindle sales figured came out earlier this week, a lot of the anti-Kindle crowd were silenced. However, a certain Liz Gunnison from Portfolio.com was still very sceptical, claiming that the 240,000 represented a good proportion of the market. The article then does on to list why Amazon will have a difficult time selling more.

Liz Gunnison eventually whittles down the number of American’s who would be interested in buying a Kindle to about 500,000 – 2,000,000 people. You can read her article here, there’s a lot of misinformation and half-truth’s scattered around the article which makes Gunnisons analysis seem kinda factual, however, a post at thekindle offers a good rebuttal of the entire article.

The conclusion is that a lot of the anti-Kindle crew are now going through the ‘denial phase’, since the leaked sales figures didn’t agree with their assumptions that the Kindle was a doomed device from the beginning.

The article also fails to mention the international markets which Amazon has yet to offer the Kindle and it also fails to mention educational establishments, library’s and corporate organisations which could utilise the Kindle. A lot of these institutions are still evaluating the Kindle, so in my opinion there is still plenty of growth left in the Kindle, and when I say plenty I mean a LOT of growth.

The truth is, Kindle is less than a year old and is a first generation device, considering that, 240,000 units shipped in its first year is a very good statistic for Amazon. The market hasn’t yet fully embraced the Kindle, not a lot of people even know about the Kindle, but when they do, Amazon–in my opinion –will have the iPod of the book world.

Source: Portfolio.com -the article in question, thekindle @ wordpress.com- the rebuttal,