Kindle 3 White And Graphite

Since the original Kindle 3 release announcement I had some to carefully examine all of the news and press releases and compile this comprehensive Kindle 3 Review.

Although Kindle 3 rumors  have been circulating for some time, Fall 2010 was the widely anticipated release date. Rumors intensified when Kindle 2 became sold out on Amazon.com one day prior to the official announcement that came on July 28th, 2010.

In a nutshell Kindle 3 (although Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) never used this name) comes with following features:

Kindle 3 Screen

3rd generation Kindle comes with the same next generation eInk Pearl screen that is found in recently released Kindle DX Graphite but in 6″ form factor. The screen features the same 600×800 resolution with 16 shades of gray. Partially due to new screen technology and partially due to a software update, new Kindle will feature 20% faster page turns than the 2nd generation Kindle.

Kindle 3 Fonts

On top of some software improvements that made the default font look crisper, Amazon has introduced 2 additional font options: condensed Caecilia and Sans Serif. But what is more important, finally Kindle will natively support a broader range of characters:

• Cyrillic used in Russian, Ukrainian, Belorussian, Bulgarian, Serbian, Tajik and dozens of other languages
• Japanese
• Traditional and simplified Chinese
• Korean
• Greek

This means that I can finally stop updating Kindle Unicode Font Hack that with time and numerous Kindle software and hardware update has become a conundrum of patches, jailbreaks and uninstallers. It also means that I would be able to republish Kindle Russian Dictionary using native Cyrillic characters rather than transliteration. Since it will not be the only book published with non-Latin characters, the updated font will inevitable make their way to all other Kindle versions.

Kindle 3 Size and Weight

Kindle 3 comes 21% smaller and 17% lighter than Kindle 2. You can select multiple eReaders (by holding the Ctrl key and clicking) from the list below to see how they compare by size.

As you can see, Kindle 3 is smaller than Kindle 2 but slightly larger than nook or Sony PRS-600. Both of these readers however lack keyboard that allows them to be more compact. PRS-300 is smaller still but it has a smaller 5″ reading area too so it wouldn’t really be a fair comparison.

This reduction in size didn’t come free though. Paging buttons are much smaller than they used to be and numerical keyboard row is merged with the top letter row the same way as it is on Kindle DX.

Kindle 3 Storage and Connectivity

Starting from 2nd generation Kindle Amazon has eliminated external memory card storage in their eReaders. Kindle 3 is no exception. Internal flash memory size has doubled compared to Kindle 2. Now entire line-up of Kindle readers features 4GB of internal flash memory for storing books. Not that it really matters: even without global 3G connectivity 2 gigabytes of text will take a very-very long while for anyone to read even with 20% faster page turns. 3G connectivity pretty much eliminates the need for large internal storage altogether barring the scenario of solo around the world sailboat trip.

So far WiFi has been a feature exclusive to Barnes&Noble nook until now. New Kindle will automatically take advantage of 3G WiFi hotspots if they are found nearby. This would provide faster download speeds, ability to download books in places without AT&T coverage and save Amazon money. Amazon used to pay $0.15 per megabyte downloaded to Sprint (and probably still pays similar amount to AT&T). I’m almost positive that it would be possible to configure Kindle to connect to any other wireless network – open or encrypted (provided you know the credentials).

There is a Wi-Fi only version. It is $50 cheaper and 0.2oz lighter. Personally I would prefer to pay $50 upfront for the convenience of being able to download books almost anywhere hassle free and automatically getting my periodicals without having to manually power-manage the WiFi or worrying about finding a hotspot. It should be possible to use Kindle WiFi together with Android phone (like Sprint EVO 4G) or any other device that acts as a mobile hotspot. Any way you look at it – WiFi is a welcome and long awaited addition to Kindle feature set.

Kindle 3 Battery Life

It looks like Amazon has pushed the battery life even further. Previous versions of Kindle used to work 7 days with 3G on and “several weeks” with 3G off. In my personal experience “several weeks” was 1 month. Now Amazon officially states 1 month of battery life with wireless off. So perhaps it would be even longer in reality.

Kindle 3 Browser

It was nice to be able to browser Wikipedia via 3G connection for free, but apart from that and running the Amazon Kindle Book store Kindle 2 experimental browser was hardly useful. The newest Kindle comes with new Webkit-based browser that hopefully would be more responsive and usable on websites with complex layouts. I own and actively use B&N nook and I can honestly say that nook browser is excellent. That being said I hardly ever use either Kindle or nook browser. 4″ smartphone screen offers much better browsing experience than 6″ eInk. eBook reader were built for linear reading and in this eInk excels. Web-browsing is a very random non-linear process. In all likelihood 4″ screen despite it’s small size is going to contain less text than you are going to read before navigating to next page via some link.

Another novel feature – is ‘browser article mode’. Kindle browser will use some experimental heuristics to eliminate everything but the main page text, distilling the web-page into something similar to newspaper article.

Kindle 3 File Formats

With new release the list of supported formats didn’t change. AZW, TXT, PDF, PRC, MOBI, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP are natively supported. DOC, DOCX, RTF and HTML are supported via online conversion tool. This list may not be final since new formats (hopefully someday EPUB too) can be added via software update as was the case with PDF support on Kindle 2.

Kindle 3 PDF Support

The latest Kindle offers the same level of PDF support as Kindle DX Graphite. You can pan and zoom PDF files, annotate them and do dictionary lookups.

Other Kindle 3 Features

On top of all this Kindle 3 gets voice-accessible menus and microphone. Voice accessible menus (Kindle will read aloud all menu items) along with text-to-speech should take make Kindle a fully accessible device that can be used in a classroom.

As for the microphone. It is there but it is not mentioned in official specification. Therefore it’s reserved for a future use. Most likely it will enable adding voice notes or recording classroom sessions. Some reviewers have speculated on voice-activated page turns and hands-free reading but I personally find such scenarios unlikely.

Social features like Facebook and Twitter integration and sharing favorite passages have carried over from previous Kindle versions. Personally I find “favorite passages” to be the most useful feature. It really adds to the book reading experience and is not intrusive. I have to confess that I selfishly use this feature while not highlighting any passages myself.

Final verdict

Should you buy Kindle 3? If you love reading – Hell, yeah! It’s shaping up to be the best eReader as far a features to price ratio is concerned. Amazon has been developing eBook Readers for years now and each product they release is better that the ones before (which were good to begin with). Personally I already pre-ordered mine so you are sure to see a hands on review soon after I receive it.

On June 15, the biggest update since the launch of the Kindle DX was released. The new version 2.5 update has a cool feature that owners of the Kindle 2 to send updates to Twitter and Facebook from the Kindle using Sprint’s 3G network. Information is so widely shared these days that it is only natural that the Kindle should add that capability.

Once you install the update, link your Kindle to Twitter or Facebook in the Kindle browser.  Once the browser is connected to the social networks, you can select text from whatever books you choose and tweet them to your followers.  The text will show up with a kindle hashtag and a link so the passage selection has to be pretty short. more

If you would rather share an annotation of a book you are reading, use the annotation tool to select the text and save and share your Twitter and Facebook friends or with the Kindle community.  There is a Highlights section in the Kindle community where you can go see what fellow Kindle users are reading.  This is a good way to find reviews and suggestions for books to read.

This is a good way to share favorite quotes or lines in a book quickly.  The drawback is that the space is limited, but if you have to, you can always create a set of multiple tweets on the same passage.  This would be a great online discussion or book club starter.  If this feature takes off, it will be fun to see passages from well known or much loved books shared and discussed.

In a June 29th press release, Sony(NYSE:SNE) announced a program reaching out to public libraries around the country.  As the popularity of eBooks has expanded throughout the market, libraries have seemed to many to be on the decline.  To combat this, many have built up their own eBook lending library using services such as Overdrive Digital Library to keep up with the times.  Sony’s new program will encourage such things by providing library staff with training and educational materials related to eBooks and eReaders, as well as providing a number of their own eReader devices to library staff.  This will, if successful, continue indefinitely with refresher courses offered every other year to keep up with the times.

This is not the first intrusion of eReader devices into the institutional lending environment, however.  College libraries around the country have met with enthusiastic responses to their Kindle lending opportunities and some schools have reported waiting on lists for months to have a shot at a week with the Amazon(NASDAQ:AMZN) favorite. Sony is not, from the wording of their release, going to be sending out devices specifically to lend out, but even the extra exposure to the public should make a difference.

All said, anything that gets more people reading is good and anything that increases access to digital texts has to be great.  It’s increasingly clear that the future of the book industry lies in the realm of the digital, so anything that can ease the transition for hesitant readers is going to do a lot for everybody’s peace of mind.

Slate magazine is offered daily on the Kindle and Kindle DX for $2.49 a month.  Slate is a fully online magazine, and its revenues rely on advertising.  I was surprised at the price of the Kindle version of this magazine considering that the web version is free.  I’m assuming that the subscription fee is mostly in the Kindle formatting process.  The issue comes out daily, so the price comes out to only 8 cents an issue. That is not a bad deal.

Slate was created as an online magazine in 1996 by Michael Kinsley under Microsoft, who later sold the magazine to the Washington Post in 2004.  Slate covers the usual everyday news topics such as Technology, Politics, Life, Arts and Business.  I love the lighthearted, informal style of writing that this magazine uses.  This informal, first person style of writing was one of the pioneers of the writing style we associate with blogging today.

The writing style seen in Slate matches the nature of the Kindle.  The Kindle is designed to make reading appear fun, lighthearted and portable.

Slate includes a blog section that includes the well known blog: “Kausfiles,” by Mickey Kaus, who is currently running for Senate in California.  Other blogs include: “Brow Beat,” a culture blog, “The Wrong Stuff,” a blog about making mistakes, and others on various topics.  In addition to blogs, Slate also creates podcasts on current issues and hosts a readers forum called “The Fray.”

Overall, the reviews for Slate are really good.  The main complaints are that it comes out a little later in the day than the average newspaper at 9am, and the content includes articles from previous days.  By 9am, most people are at work, so there goes the reading on the subway theory.  Other than that, the reviewers said that it is really nice to have a summary of all of the major news papers such as the New York Times, Washington Post, LA Times and others all in one place.  Another positive note about this magazine is that many of the articles are original and well researched, which says a lot about the quality of the content.

One Story is available for Kindle and Kindle DX for $1.49 a month.  The schedule for this short story literary magazine is every three weeks, so in the long run, the price is pretty reasonable.

One Story began in 2002, and has won many literary awards such as the Best American Short Stories, Best American Non-Required Reading and The O. Henry Prize Stories.

We believe that short stories are best read alone. They should not be sandwiched in between a review and an exposé on liposuction, or placed after another work of fiction that is so sad or funny or long that the reader is worn out by the time they turn to it. – One Story

This is a great philosophy, especially regarding readers who hate flipping through ads in magazines or for ones who are intimidated by 500 page books.

“At a time when literary writing seems like a dying art, when little magazines are folding left and right, when publishers bemoan the sinking bottom line, here lies a spot of hope…It is called One Story.” – The New York Times

The magazine features up and coming writers fiction writers.  The latest story in the June 20^th edition of magazine is called “The Puppet,” by Reif Larsen.  The story is set in Sarajevo.  The author offers a great discussion on his work and his experiences that inspired him to write it.  more

I think it is neat to see the background behind the characters and the setting of the short story through the eyes of the person who wrote it.  This is true especially since the “The Puppet” took place in a war torn area that touched the author personally.

One Story is a great addition to the Kindle collection because of its portable and lighthearted nature.  It does not include graphics, which seems to be a hang up with other magazines on the Kindle, and it is like getting a new book every three weeks. It is meant for the subways, the bathtub, the park, and anywhere else ideal for a quick read.

After searching for the best book light to use with the Kindle, I came across the Kandle, by Ozeri.  According to the product description, the Kandle can be used on other e-reader devices, regular books and as a free standing night light.  The Kandle has pivoting arms for customized page viewing and also includes lights that are distributed evenly to prevent eyestrain and glare.  It had the best reviews overall.  However, there are many others to choose from.  Other book light suggestions include the e-Luminator2 Booklight for Amazon Kindle 2^nd Generation and Mighty Bright XtraFlex2 Clip On Light.

After looking at the Kindle forums regarding booklights for the Kindle, I found out that there are a lot of Kindle users who want a backlight option to be added to the next generation of the Kindle.  Booklights in general have not had top rated reviews because of their battery drain and instability, as well as their cumbersome nature.  Amazon claims that their e-paper technology is easier on the eyes and allows longer, more comfortable reading.  The response has been mixed about this assumption.  Users have claimed they have no trouble reading on their computers or iPhone.  Amazon could install a backlight function just to have the option available.  That would put the choice to read with or without a backlight in the hands of the users and not Amazon.

Nook

In March 2010, the Nook surpassed the Kindle in sales.  So much for all of that hype around the iPad being such a fierce competitor for the Kindle.  The Nook is Barnes and Noble’s e-reader that includes a selection of over a million titles from Barnes and Noble, as well as books from outside resources such as Google Books.  It was launched at the end of November, 2009 with fantastic sales.  Such early competition from the Nook is surprising considering that the initial release was flawed.  Shipments were delayed and the reviews at the launch were mixed.  There were reports of viruses in the e-book downloads.

Apparently, the kinks from the initial launch have largely been ironed out. According to an article from Digital Trends, out of the 1.43 million e-book readers shipped, 53% were Nooks.  This is good news for both the Nook and Kindle, because it means that the e-book reader market is really taking off on a global scale.  The Kindle still holds its status as the veteran of the e-book reader market.  E-book reader sales are projected to quadruple from 2009 to 2010, from 3 million to 11 million.  Threatened by competition from the Nook and the iPad will hopefully push Amazon to make changes suggested by users and experts to the Kindle, such as price cuts and faster screen reaction times.

A big question is whether the Kindle, Nook and iPad will target different sections of the market or whether they will all be vying for the same group of people in the long run.  Either way, competition is heating up and the makers of e-book readers will be on their toes.



One of the things that B&N has been advertising since the nook first debuted is an enhanced in-store experience.  With the recently released 1.3 patch, they’ve really delivered.  Here’s how it works:

1. Take your nook to any B&N store and get access to the store’s hotspot.
2. Open up the nook’s store browser and find a book you’re interested in.
3. Select your book and choose the “Read in Store” option from the menu.
4. Enjoy!

It’s ridiculously simple and works for every last book in their ebook catalog.  You get an hour per book per 24-hour period, so you’re not likely to see your way through to the end of a book in a single sitting, but there seems to be no daily limit on number of books per day or number of days per book.

I don’t claim to understand the business model, but it’s certainly fun.  I anticipate many a lunch break around the country being spent in the local Barnes & Noble cafe.  Whether you’re reading a bit at a time or previewing that new release you were on the fence about, you can’t really go wrong.  It ties the nook device into the physical store better than anything else I could think of.  I would really love to see something like this coming from the Kindle, honestly.  It’s a neat feature that’ll give the nook a huge advantage should it catch on.

For those who enjoy reading in bed, there is a major reason why you should reach for a Kindle instead of an iPad.  Studies show that reading the iPad in bed affects sleeping habits according to a recent article from the Los Angeles Times.  The Kindle and other e-book readers such as Barnes & Noble’s Nook and Sony’s e-reader use e-ink.  E-ink technology is supposed to simulate the process of reading a page from a “real” book.

However, the iPad uses an LCD screen that emits light like on a computer screen or a television does.  On one hand, you can save buying a light and read the iPad under the covers while your significant other, if you have one, sleeps.  As you might know, it is recommended that you take a break from the computer or TV before bed so the brain can prepare itself for rest.  Since we hold an iPad in such close proximity to our faces, the effect of the artificial light is much greater than from watching a TV across the room.  The same idea goes for using the iPad.  The Los Angeles Times article says that exposure to such bright and artificial light can slow the production of melatonin, which helps us sleep.

So, curl up with your Kindle, and the reading light if you need it and enjoy some nightly reading pleasure.

As the May 1st release date for the Kobo eReader from Canada-based Indigo Books and Music Inc. draws near, people have begun to take notice.  The $149 price tag alone would seem to many to be the biggest draw, but the full picture is a little bit larger.

In keeping with the company’s goal of promoting content over gadgetry, anybody using the Kobo Store can expect to have access to their purchases available on any number of platforms from eReader to computer to cellular phone.  This should hold true not only in North American markets but around the world, as Indigo has brought in partnerships to expand their presence into the US, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, and Europe.

The device itself is simply a basic reading platform without any of the frills and features that a device like the Kindle boasts, but it provides an affordable option to people at a time when the eReader market is taking off and pulls in a large selection of international literature that is otherwise rather hard to come by.  There are reports of an impressive showing of Korean-language content on the horizon, for example.

If you find yourself interested, check out the National Post’s book blog, The Afterword, where’s there’s a contest going on all week to give readers the chance to win a Kobo eReader of their own to enjoy.  All it takes, it seems, is a few minutes, an email, and some luck!

With the recent launch of the iPad and battle with book publishers, Amazon’s Kindle book prices are starting to rise.  Books on the bestseller list that used to cap at $9.99 now start at $9.99 and up.  Bestselling author Jodi Picoult’s latest novel, “House Rules”, is available for Kindle at $12.99.  Others such as “The Bridge,” by David Remnick is $14.82 and “Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang,” by Chelsea Handler is $12.99.  More info is available in this article from The Baltimore Sun about the Apple iPad’s influence on e-book prices.  There are still a good many bestsellers holding at $9.99, but it remains to be seen what the future holds in terms of e-book price inflation.

It will be interesting to see what the reader response is to the price hike in the long run.  Based on observations of the comments on the Kindle forums, they are not happy campers.  There are many mass market paperbacks available for nearly half the price of the Kindle versions of the same books.  According to the article about the new e-book prices, publishers claim that paperback versions are often printed by different publishers than the Kindle version, thus leading to inconsistent prices.  Time will tell whether the price hike will be a short term or long term issue.  If they stay high for long term, it will be interesting to observe the impact on e-book and e-reader sales.

In recent days, as Apple steps into the market and eReaders are practically falling out of the rafters, one of the major points of comparison that has kept the Kindle on top has been the subscription-free 3G connection complete with web browser.  Nobody has ever claimed that it looked wonderful, but it does the job and who doesn’t occasionally love the option to check Wikipedia on the fly?

Well, it seems that Barnes and Noble has finally caught up with the crowd.  According to recently released rumors, we could be seeing a full web browser added into the feature list as early as next week in a downloaded firmware update.  Now, it would be reasonable to expect perfection right out the door, but any nook owner will tell you that this has been a long time coming.

Even assuming that the main purpose will be for text-based web pages such as Wikipedia or the many online dictionaries, there will be several unexpected side effects that could benefit owners.  Travelers in areas without 3G coverage who wish to use their devices in the airport, hotel, or coffee shop have often found themselves out of luck up until now, since many such places require navigating an internal web page to gain access to the connection itself.  If this rumor proves true, nook fans have some fun things to look forward to as the eReader feature gap closes up a little bit more.

The Kindle is difficult to carry around without worrying about whether it will be scratched or dropped.  There are a lot of covers available to choose from so choosing one can be overwhelming.  The M-Edge Latitude Kindle Jacket for the Kindle 2 is a great choice.  It fits the latest generation Kindle perfectly.  It is a little pricey at $34.99, but this jacket’s sturdiness and durability will allow it to last for a long time.

The jacket has a zipped up pocket in the front where the user can store the Kindle charger and accessories, and then another pocket in the back for more accessories if needed.  I often flip the front flap behind the back so I can hold my Kindle easier.  It gives the impression that I am holding a real book, instead of a fragile electronic device.  This way, I don’t have to worry about losing my grip on my Kindle.  There are four small mounts in the jacket that keep the Kindle in place and they work very well.

When traveling, the jacket has a hidden double zipper to allow easy access for charging.  The M-Edge Latitude Jacket comes in a variety of colors.  The bright orange and green ones are easy to keep up with, whereas the darker colors, such as black and navy, are for those who would prefer colors that blend in with their other accessories.  So, this Kindle jacket has something available to everyone.  The reviews of this product are overwhelmingly positive, so it is a win-win purchase for all.

Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott

Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott, is a childhood favorite for many young girls and women.  On the Kindle, you can get this cherished book for free.  The best part is that the book doesn’t get worn out or become unreadable from the usual wear and tear of reading it over and over.

In addition to Little Women, there are many other classics available for free to download on the Kindle.  These books include Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, Charles Dickens’ Hard Times and Homer’s the Illiad just to name a few examples from the selection. 

Charles Dickens' Hard Times

Classics in general are relatively inexpensive to purchase, and many are available in paperback.  On Amazon, a copy of Little Women costs about $3.95, but for college and university students, this small expense can add up.  Many of these classics are required readings for English Literature courses and students often have to purchase other, much larger and more expensive textbooks.

Often, after the course is over, the book never gets picked up again.  Can you imagine reading  Hard Times for pleasure?  Downloading it for free on the Kindle saves the expense and the student can put the money towards something else.  Another great advantage of accessing free classics for the Kindle is that they can be viewed on other platforms such as the PC, Mac, iPhone and Blackberry.

This is a guest post from my friend sharing his experience using Sony Reader PRS-505 for 2 years.

I recently gave him an Amazon Kindle to test and he agreed to share his thoughts about both of them on Blog Kindle. Even though both devices have been on the market for quite a while lots of people don’t have good idea what are the differences between them from a regular user point of view.

Below are his impressions from both:

Hi folks, this is not going to be an official Kindle vs Sony Reader review so don’t expect professional advice from me – just my impressions.

I purchased Sony Reader PRS-505 couple years ago when it just became available. So there wasn’t much choice during that time. Even Kindle wasn’t available back then. I haven’t upgraded it since then – I guess it was enough for my needs so far.

Right from the beginning I wan’t to post a disclaimer that since I used Sony Reader a lot I know lots of its negative and positive sides and I just had Kindle 2 for several days which was not enough to get complete impression of it. So consider my post as Sony Reader PRS-505 review with side comments about Kindle.

Amazon Kindle 2 and Sony PRS-505 Reader Side by Side

Sony Reader PRS-505 positive sides

2 years already passed and device is still functioning. Our Sony Reader was used for 2 years in quite harsh travel conditions and I still can read on it. I read on Blog Kindle that Kindle devices have a tendency to die during air travel. My Sony Reader survived lots of air trips.

It can read PDF files (I know lots of other readers can do it too but back then it was a unique feature). Since I read lots of old books in russian language PDF was the best way for me to transfer books on Sony Reader (I know that there are some hacks may be available to add language support there but encoding book to PDF is easier for me). Until recently I had to use CutePDF printer installed into Microsoft Word to print documents into PDF and it required some skill to make it print to the right page size for Sony Reader. But now there are several sites on internet which provide PDF files with russian books both in Sony Reader and Kindle formats.

I can read blogs on it too and for free. Even though it doesn’t have 3G connection like Kindle there is a possibility to read blogs and some websites on Sony Reader and do it free. Well not 100% free because you’ll be paying with headache :). But using Calibre software you can transfer 100’s of blogs to your Sony Reader within reasonable time. You just need to connect it to computer once a day and press Start button. For 20 blogs that I follow it takes 30 minutes. So if you have 3-5 blogs you like to read it will take less than 10 minutes. Negative side of it is when Sony Reader has too much complex information in its storage it will start to freeze during boot. And unfreezing it could take days (I’m not exaggerating here). You need to completely discharge it sometimes to get rid of the freeze. But good moment is that I was able to unfreeze it every time it froze.

Before going to negative sides I want to notice that I never upgraded firmware on my Sony Reader PRS-505. So I guess some glitches may have been patched by Sony. But I think 90% of users have no idea what is firmware and how to upgrade it and another 9% know it but have no desire to do it.

Sony Reader PRS-505 negative sides

Dead time while charging: one of the big disappointments with Sony Reader (not sure if it applies to Kindle) is dead time during charging. When it is completely discharged and you want to start reading a book you need to wait for an hour until it actually boots. Before that all you can enjoy is a red light on top of it notifying you that at least something is happening. But it really prevents you from reading when you want – because there is never guarantee that device is charged enough to read.

Faster battery drain: While using Kindle 2 that Andrei borrowed me I also noticed that when Kindle 2 is off it doesn’t drain battery while Sony Reader tends to do it and within a week I usually have to recharge it. Maybe it is just my unit but it is definitely a problem.

You need to check on it when it is charging: and if you don’t do it you will loose the charge. So here is a story. When you plug in Sony Reader to computer USB port it starts charging and when charge is strong enough to turn on the display it does so. The problem is when display is on in Sony Reader it drains the battery and if you turn off the computer to which it is connected it will start discharging unless you turn it off manually. So every time you charge it you really have to watch it. I would say it is one of the most disappointing problems with it.

PDF files problems: Yes it is also a negative side. After 500 page it starts to turn pages very very very slowly… I don’t know what the problem is there but it is better to split large PDF into two files rather than wait for 2-3 seconds for a page to turn.

Freezing on complex stuff: When I tried to upload 30 blogs from Calibre it started to have boot problems from time to time. Couple times I thought that we lost it.

Similar Features:

Weight is about the same. Kindle feels slightly different as it is thinner but wider and longer.

Not much difference in display quality. Both eInk screens look the same to me in size, contrast and readability.

Kindle positive impressions

One of the main reasons why I borrowed Kindle 2 from Andrei was its dictionary support. My wife studies English and she needs a dictionary while reading English books. With Sony Reader I haven’t found any solution to on screen dictionary. I know that Sony has a touch screen version now but I weren’t able to confirm that it has a dictionary. Kindle 2 has a great feature where you can move the cursor to the word on the screen you want to translate and you’ll see a translation within a second. This makes Kindle 2 a clear winner for our next purchase unless some reader could do it cheaper or better.

Amazon Kindle 2 Translation Feature

I also learned that you can send files that you want to read right from your computer to Kindle devices. This is a great feature even though I was a bit disappointed that I need to pay 15 cents for each transfer.

Kindle negative impressions

Wireless charges. I get this negative impression from almost every modern device like iPhone, iPad, Kindle. They all charge me for 3G traffic. It is more or less ok for me to pay $30 for unlimited traffic on iPhone. But I don’t want to pay additional $30 for iPad and then more dollars to read blogs on Kindle. I want a single unlimited data plan that I purchase from wireless provider like AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, etc. that could be used for any 3G device I own. Unless they will figure out how to do it 3G option will be a nice but rarely used feature for me on such devices.

Here is all that I can say about both devices so far. Once I get more time with Kindle I’ll try to write some more.

Update 2pm: Hawaii tsunami warning canceled; no damage seen in Islands. It is great to hear that tsunami passed without any damages and we also had a chance to see some tsunami effects in a safe small scale demo from the ocean.

Water in Ala Wai harbor raised and droped about 7-8 inches within 20 minutes or so. Now it is slowly raising again. It is strange to see that the actual tsunami effects came at the moment when people already started walking outside and boats started to return.

Here is a shot when it started. I marked a level to which it raised.

Here is a shot with water at the highest level.

And here is one more when water receded again leaving wet mark on the stones.

I’m watching KHNL (hawaii news) now and they just showed water slowly receding from Hilo bay and then surging back. But it was at most one feet water level difference. So looks like even if there was a tsunami it was a very small one. And without TV I doubt anyone would notice it. False alarm… Correction: it doesn’t mean that it is safe to go outside until warning is cleared!
Update 11.59am: watching hilo bay now – and it looks like water is running out of it quite fast. So there maybe some wave coming in.
Update 12:56pm: seen some water change here in Honolulu – about 1/3 of a feet. Still pretty empty outside. Warning is still in effect. Even though Honolulu Advertisers writes that Isles appear to have been spared there is still chance that more waves could come.
Update: 1.05pm: KHNL is showing some interesting pictures with some Hawaii reefs being exposed by tsunami. “Hilo Bay is continuing to fill and drain every 20 minutes, said warning center oceanographer Nathan Becker.”

I’m in Honolulu, Hawaii on short vacation right now. And I’m staying in the hotel right in front of the Ala Wai bay in Honolulu.

Today I was woken up by a very loud alarm at 6am today and police car going circles around the bay with a following message: “Attention. Attention. This is a message from management. Tsunami warning has been issued. Please immediately leave the bay.”
Also I overheard couple people talking downstairs that this tsunami warning is the most severe since 1964 and they strongly recommend boaters to evacuate to the nearest shelter. It should be safe for anyone higher than 3rd floor. I’m on 5th so hopefully it will be ok…

I’ll keep you posted. If tsunami comes I should have front view to it from my balcony. You can follow it on my twitter account

Even though it is interesting to watch real tsunami from the safety of 5th floor (I hope this statement is true) I still wish that the wave won’t come. Entire state life is completely disrupted now. So many people had to change their plans and evacuate…

Video of Ala Wai bay and loud tsunami siren alarm. It sounds every 30 minutes and it is very loud…

Here is a photo from my room. I never saw so many boats in the ocean here in Honolulu (even during Friday fireworks)…

Here is another photo of boats leaving Ala Wai harbor to avoid damage from the tsunami wave.

As of this morning I’ve received an email from Amazon (which resulted from leaving my email at KDK page earlier). Right now Amazon is considering first candidates for the limited KDK beta. You can head to https://kindlepublishing.amazon.com/gp/vendor/kindlepubs/kdk/request-seat and fill out a form with your contact information as well as brief description of the content you plan to develop, hit submit and hope for the best.

I was away from home for extended period of time without access to a machine that I could rebuild UFH packages for the newly released International version of Kindle DX. Fortunately one of blog subscribers did.

I’ve uploaded updated hack binaries to the Unicode font hack page.

In welcome move, Amazon has decided to open up the Kindle platform to authors who are situated outside the US. So now authors from all over the world can sell their works on the various Kindles. This ensures a win-win situation for everyone involved — Amazon, Kindle users and the authors/publishers.

A lot of good literature gets published outside in the US. In fact, if you look at popular fiction genres, you will see that many of the world best sellers come from outside the US. I mention works of fiction mainly because those are the ones that sell the most. And with those facts in mind, it is easy to see why this would benefit Amazon. Amazon has really ushered the era of eBooks by making the Kindle and tying it up with the Whispernet platform. With this new move, they ensure that there is a steady supply of fresh material that is much greater in number than their current competitors. The great diversity that the Kindle Store will gain as a result of this will be really good for Amazon’s business.

For the average user, this means more choices and that is always a good thing. Plus it will also mean that you can finally carry your favorite non-US author on your Kindle, in addition to having the printed editions. With better choices and more diversity, you will probably end up buying even more books on your Kindle and less from physical bookstores. And that is exactly what Amazon wants.

As for the Authors, this basically means a new market has opened up to them. Book sales have been down for a long time now and they have been getting worse. But eBooks are gaining momentum by keeping the print media relevant. So many of them will undoubtedly see the great opportunity that it is for them and jump right in.

The Kindle is great for what it does, but it is by design somewhat limited to Amazon’s vision.  I’ve written on this blog before about allowing third party developers on the Kindle.  It looks like with the upcoming holiday season, talk over whether Amazon should release an SDK has started again.

New York Times makes the argument that since Amazon won’t likely release any new hardware (Both the Kindle 2 and DX are new enough that they’ve never been holiday gifts), it may be beneficial for them to find some new way to innovate before the holidays.  Creating an SDK where anyone could make and sell applications would not only increase the Kindle’s possibilities, but also give it a sort of iPhone recognition for innovation.

Of course, Amazon hasn’t already done this for a reason.  Perhaps over the worries of the publishers, or fears of piracy that could result from opening up the ecosystem, Amazon has not allowed third parties into the Kindle.  But here is where the iPhone example really applies.  iPhone apps undergo a nearly draconian review process, yet the iPhone and its apps continue to be a commercial success.  Amazon could easily decide to create a Kindle app marketplace where they vetoed any programs that, say, abused the wireless or allowed ePub on the device.  Some people would definitely gripe about the restrictions, but the sdk would still be an overall success.  Like the NYTimes article suggests, apps could be created for medical or other specialized niches.  The apps would be in high enough demand and would still be okay with Amazon.

One easy entry into Kindle apps could be board games like chess, go, checkers, monopoly, etc. These can be computationally light, especially if you are playing against the Internet server or another human, cause minimal wireless traffic and look well on Kindle’s eInk display. Right now there are two games on Kindle DX – minesweeper and Gomoku. More can be easily added – either free or for a charge. The ecosystem need not be as open as iPhone from the start and can still bring Kindle success. Lets not forget that even for iPhone it took a year for App store to materialize.

Will this really happen? In my opinion it’s a coin toss. Amazon has to come up with something to generate some Kindle buzz this holiday season when competition is stepping on it’s heels. And I’m pretty sure they will. But it might not be an app store.

Also, just wanted to say thanks to the New York Times for linking to Blog Kindle.  Hello any new readers!

Here’s some bad news for Amazon and the Kindle.  Best Buy is planning on selling the iRex and Sony Reader in their stores.  Now not only will customers be able to see the eReaders physically on display, but many people will just come upon them out of happenstance.

This blog has made the point before that Amazon should sell the Kindle in more places.  Best Buy is the perfect kind of place to sell eReaders to people who would normally not even think about them.  Best Buy, after all, is not generally thought of as a destination for tech-savvy people.  Their bread and butter customer is someone who comes in wanting a computer/tv/etc, but doesn’t know a lot about it.  Now with the iRex and Sony Reader, people who would never normally be early adopters will hold the devices and have a sales rep walk them through the features.  I wouldn’t be surprised if eReaders become a big holiday gift this year, even among those with no interest in gadgets.

According to the article, the iRex’s wireless will also be entirely paid for in the cost of the device.  But, in a followup to Andry’s comments, it turns out that the iRex will not include web browsing functionality.  So when they say the cost of wireless is included, they really mean the cost of downloading books that you are already paying for.

Barnes & Noble has announced that they are planning to open their own ebook store.  That the brick and mortar chain would make moves to compete with the Kindle isn’t much of a surprise since, like Amazon, they already are a major retailer with deep-seated ties in the publishing industry.  In order for Barnes & Noble to ensure that they retain their massive share of book sales, it only makes sense that they would move in on digital media.

What is interesting is how Barnes & Noble is setting themselves up to be competitive with the Kindle platform.  As of now, they are planning to price match Amazon’s standard $9.99 pricing and supply a library of 700,000 books.  These books, however, can’t be read on either the Kindle or Sony’s eReaders.  Instead, a partnership is being made to use Plastic Logic’s upcoming reader.

It seems like in the future Barnes and Noble and Amazon will offer very similar eBook platforms, with with similar stores and exclusive formats/DRM.  The only real difference could end up being the Plastic Logic versus the Kindle.  Amazon shouldn’t be too worried yet, however, since the Plastic Logic Reader doesn’t come out till next year.  The Kindle is already at the forefront of eReader competition, and its household name status won’t be any different a year from now.  Also, Plastic Logic designed their reader with business uses in mind, unlike the Kindle which was planned for the everyday consumer all along.  It will be interesting to see how this pans out.

George Orwell is a pen name of English author Eric Arthur Blair; he is most known for his novel Nineteen Eighty-Four and the concepts like “thought police” and “doublethink” derived from it.  In 2005 the book was listed among the hundred best English-language novels published since 1923. Now this novel as well as some other works by George Orwell are available in Kindle edition.

Nineteen Eighty-Four (published in 1949) is a classic dystopia showing a repressed society with a totalitarian regime where the rights of an individual are totally sacrificed for national politics. To keep control over population, the government develops a complex invasive system of surveillance (“Big Brother is Watching You“), propaganda and “Newspeak” (a language based on English but with a much smaller vocabulary and grammar simplified to make it impossible to commit “thoughtcrime”, any alternative thinking). The book was written in 1948; some scholars believe that the title was derived from this year as Orwell reversed the numbers on purpose to show that the events taking place in the novel were not so distant, rather they might be contemporary. “The story of one man’s nightmare odyssey as he pursues a forbidden love affair through a world ruled by warring states and a power structure that controls not only information but also individual thought and memory, 1984 is a prophetic, haunting tale.”

Animal Farm (published in 1945) is another dystopian masterpiece by George Orwell. In 1996, it won a Retrospective Hugo Award; Modern Library ranks it 31 among Best 20th-Century Novels. At first, the author had great difficulty getting it accepted; one of four publishers finally agreed but later refused to publish the manuscript, having consulted with the Ministry of Information. At last, the first edition was published by Secker and Warburg in 1945. In a satirical allegory, Orwell severely criticizes Stalinism and outcomes of Bolshevik Revolution; though allegedly stating that all are equal, they created “more equal species” corrupted by power and greed. “Fueled by Orwell’s intense disillusionment with Soviet Communism, Animal Farm is a nearly perfect piece of writing, both an engaging story and an allegory that actually works.”

George Orwell On Kindle