Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Amazon Christmas day e-book sales beat print sales

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Tuesday, 29 December 2009  via manilatimes
On Christmas Day customers bought more electronic books than hard-copy books on Internet retail giant Amazon.com, the company said in a statement Saturday.

Amazon also said that its e-book reader, the Kindle, "has become the most gifted item in Amazon's history."   
 
Continue reading here   http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/tech-times/8636-amazon-christmas-day-e-book-sales-beat-print-sales

Monday, December 28, 2009

E-books spark battle inside the publishing industry

Monday, December 28, 2009
You can read lots of books on Amazon's Kindle -- but the device's interface design isn't exactly on the cutting edge.

 By Marion Maneker  Washington Post Staff Writer Sunday, December 27, 2009

The evolution of publishing from print to digital has caused a schism in the reading world. There are now two constituencies: readers (and writers) on the one hand, and the publishing world on the other. And they don't want to hear each other.

Readers want books that are plentiful and cheap, publishers want to preserve their profit, and authors want a larger share of revenue. The conflict has created a strident internecine battle inside the publishing industry. At issue are the price and timing of e-books, and who owns the rights to backlist titles. While publishers, agents and Amazon.com bicker, there is little time for conceiving new content that satisfies customer demand. If the book business doesn't tune in to that demand, it could wind up as a transitional source for the e-readers. Continue reading here http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/24/AR2009122403326.html?hpid%3Dsec-tech&sub=AR

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Using Amazon’s Kindle in the Philippines

Sunday, December 27, 2009


There are plenty of free ebooks online as well you can read on the Kindle.
From the unlawyer blog:  The latest Kindle firmware update, Version 2.3, has a PDF reader already built in, so an updated Kindle can now read PDF files without being first converted into an AZW file.

On the negative side: since my Kindle 2 is associated with a Philippine address, I can only make purchases from the international section of the Kindle store. The selections are somewhat less due to what I think are Amazon’s limited rights to sell certain e-books outside of the United States. Plus, they cost more to boot – I suppose to help pay for the cost of sending all that data through a foreign mobile phone network. I might as well mention that certain elements of newspapers and magazines, like graphics and pictures, are omitted from the downloaded material if purchased from said store.Continue reading here   http://www.unlawyer.net/?p=3025

My note:  There are plenty of free ebooks online as well you can read on the Kindle. 

 Check out some at my postinghttp://kindlephilippines.blogspot.com/2009/12/you-can-find-more-than-ten-thousand.html

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Amazon’s Kindle customers aren’t getting any happier about the end product.

Thursday, December 24, 2009
From MY Times blog:  A quick perusal of the comments show customers repeatedly griping about poor screen quality, unattractive device design and the constraints of digital rights management software on books and newspapers. Mr. Bezos may be right when he says an e-reader is better than a book, but the customer satisfaction suggests why so many companies are rushing in to compete with his Kindle.  Continue reading here http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/24/is-amazon-working-backwards/?ref=technology

Monday, December 21, 2009

E-readers and e-books: The new bestsellers & Amazon Kindle FAQ

Monday, December 21, 2009
Click the headline below to read the whole article


Friday, December 18, 2009

FREE Two-Day Shipping from Amazon Kindle Wireless Reading Device

Friday, December 18, 2009
Kindle Wireless Reading Device (6" Display, Global Wireless, Latest Generation)
Price:$259.00 FREE Two-Day Shipping from Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/dp/ref=pe_68470_13802220_tcg_html/B0015T963C

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Taiwan Plans to Roll out E-readers in Schools & Amazon Kindle FAQ

Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Click the headline to read more


Amazon Kindle officially selling like hot cakes - Gadgets

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Does the Amazon kindle have a backlight and does it hold a SD card?

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

No real e-book readers have a back light. Backlight cuases eyestrain, so instead they use e-ink. This makes them much, much easier to read on a bright sunny day though. If you need a light at night, you can use a clip on light.

The Kindle 1 has an SD slot, but the Kindle 2 does not. You don't really need it as it holds 1500 books and archives ALL your Amazon books for you for re-download as needed.

Newer books you'll have to get from Amazon. You can get older books from any site that offers e-books without DRM (though some may need converted first). For public domain books I recommend Project Gutenberg or Manybooks.net. I think they're both formatting better than Google books.

No real e-book readers have a back light. Backlight cuases eyestrain, so instead they use e-ink. This makes them much, much easier to read on a bright sunny day though. If you need a light at night, you can use a clip on light.
The Kindle 1 has an SD slot, but the Kindle 2 does not. You don't really need it as it holds 1500 books and archives ALL your Amazon books for you for re-download as needed.

You need this light to use the Kindle for reading in the dark, it doesn't have backlight:
http://www.amazon.com/review/RV3IIPVW8NO6W?ie=UTF8&ref_=cm_cr_rdp_perm

It doesn't have SD card, but 2GB internal memory. And you just need to get the books directly from Amazon.

Does it have a backlight?
The Kindle does not have backlight for easy reading with your eyes. Read here and you'll know:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/tagging/tag/kindle/forum?ie=UTF8&cdForum=Fx1D7SY3BVSESG&ref_=cm_cd_ef_tft_tp&cdThread=Tx164P1YL79AI6U
----------------------------------
you can find more than ten thousand free books for the Kindle. So no need to go to library to borrow them, you can actually own them:

http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page

http://manybooks.net/
-------------------------------------------
Review  written by a person who has tried Amazon Kindle, Sony Reader, and some other ebook readers. It is also the best review I've ever read about ebook readers:

Soul of the e-reader; Kindle 2 gets closer to delivering the promise., February 23, 2009
http://www.amazon.com/review/R3QM7LGL62MZ4X?ie=UTF8&ref_=cm_cr_rdp_perm

The Dinosaur & the Kindle, May 6, 2009
http://www.amazon.com/review/R9J54TZ1541OR?ie=UTF8&ref_=cm_cr_rdp_perm

Buy Amazon Kindle 2 now or wait for Kindle 3? & How much will it take for Kindle 3 to come out?


Comments replies

Their next release will be the international DX early next year. No one knows when the K3 will come out, and it could be a year or two. Are you that patient? If so you're better than me! There's not even an announcement yet let alone a release date, though I'm sure its in the works.

IMO, the K2 is better than the Nook and the store is certainly better so Amazon already has B&N beat unless they can figure out all the problems they're having with the Nook software.

Oh and just so you know, you can read PDFs on the Kindle. Either natively or converted. I prefer conversion because they you can highlight, etc.
----------------------------------------
I own the Kindle 2 and I do think the Kindle 2 is a mature product that is worth to buy. It has price cut recently and it is now selling at a good price. When Kindle 3 comes out, it must be selling at a higher price, so you'll need to wait even longer.

This is a review from a top reviewer and a book lover, see how she says:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?i…

BTW, there are some websites like these two, where you can find more than ten thousand free books for the Kindle. So no need to go to library to borrow them, you can actually own them:

http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page

http://manybooks.net/

Monday, December 14, 2009

Reviews of the Amazon Kindle 2

Monday, December 14, 2009
Review  written by a person who has tried Amazon Kindle, Sony Reader, and some other ebook readers. It is also the best review I've ever read about ebook readers:

Soul of the e-reader; Kindle 2 gets closer to delivering the promise., February 23, 2009
http://www.amazon.com/review/R3QM7LGL62MZ4X?ie=UTF8&ref_=cm_cr_rdp_perm

The Dinosaur & the Kindle, May 6, 2009
http://www.amazon.com/review/R9J54TZ1541OR?ie=UTF8&ref_=cm_cr_rdp_perm

you can find more than ten thousand free books for the Kindle. So no need to go to library to borrow them, you can actually own them: http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page http://manybooks.net/

you can find more thanyou can find more than ten thousand free books for the Kindle. So no need to go to library to borrow them, you can actually own them:

http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page

http://manybooks.net/ So no need to go to library to borrow them, you can actually own them:

http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page

http://manybooks.net/

Does the Amazon kindle have a backlight and does it hold a SD card?

No real e-book readers have a back light. Backlight cuases eyestrain, so instead they use e-ink. This makes them much, much easier to read on a bright sunny day though. If you need a light at night, you can use a clip on light.

The Kindle 1 has an SD slot, but the Kindle 2 does not. You don't really need it as it holds 1500 books and archives ALL your Amazon books for you for re-download as needed.
Newer books you'll have to get from Amazon. You can get older books from any site that offers e-books without DRM (though some may need converted first). For public domain books I recommend Project Gutenberg or Manybooks.net. I think they're both formatting better than Google books.

No real e-book readers have a back light. Backlight cuases eyestrain, so instead they use e-ink. This makes them much, much easier to read on a bright sunny day though. If you need a light at night, you can use a clip on light.

The Kindle 1 has an SD slot, but the Kindle 2 does not. You don't really need it as it holds 1500 books and archives ALL your Amazon books for you for re-download as needed.

You need this light to use the Kindle for reading in the dark, it doesn't have backlight:
http://www.amazon.com/review/RV3IIPVW8NO6W?ie=UTF8&ref_=cm_cr_rdp_perm

It doesn't have SD card, but 2GB internal memory. And you just need to get the books directly from Amazon.

Does it have a backlight?

The Kindle does not have backlight for easy reading with your eyes. Read here and you'll know:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/tagging/tag/kindle/forum?ie=UTF8&cdForum=Fx1D7SY3BVSESG&ref_=cm_cd_ef_tft_tp&cdThread=Tx164P1YL79AI6U

Friday, December 11, 2009

The Age of the Internet Tablet Is Nigh

Friday, December 11, 2009


December 10th, 2009 from Mashable web:    Much like the eReader space has been heating up (with a host of new entrants like the Nook and Que taking on Amazon’s Kindle and Sony’s Reader), the tablet device form factor race has seriously begun. Rumors have been flying about both an Apple Tablet and the Microsoft Courier, and now two new companies may have plans to bust out a tablet device: Dell and Asus.

Dell’s forthcoming tablet is still officially in the rumor stages, according to Pocket Lint. It will reportedly run AndroidAndroid and have a 5-inch screen, making it more akin to something like the Archos 5 Internet Tablet than either the Apple Tablet or the Courier, both reportedly featuring bigger screen real estate. Asus, too, who kicked off the wildly popular netbook craze with its line of Eee PCs, reportedly has plans to release an Eee Pad tablet device.
 
 

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Not Yet The Season For a Nook

Thursday, December 10, 2009
Every one of the Nook's vaunted distinctions from Amazon's Kindle comes
fraught with disappointing footnotes. Read the story here
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/10/technology/personaltech/10pogue.html?ref=technology

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Amazon Kindle e-book reader is great to bring with you when you travel

Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Amazon Kindle e-book reader. It really is a great thing to bring around when you travel. It is smaller than a netbook but can store hundreds of books. One of the big advantages with Amazon is that it has a backup of all the books that you bought. Even if you lose a book, you can get another copy and all the books that you bought from them can be restored to you.

The 10 Best Books of 2009 & Taiwan to invest $65 million in e-book industry

Click the headline below to read the complete article

Book Learning, Reading your kindle in the bathtub

Saturday, December 5, 2009

E-Readers: They're Hot Now, But the Story Isn't Over

Saturday, December 5, 2009
Books are having their iPod moment this holiday season. But buyer beware: It could also turn out to be an eight-track moment.

While e-reading devices were once considered a hobby for early adopters, Justin Timberlake is now pitching one on prime-time TV commercials for Sony Corp. Meanwhile, Amazon.com Inc.'s Kindle e-reading device has become its top-selling product of any kind. Forrester Research estimates 900,000 e-readers will sell in the U.S. in November and December.


WSJ's Geoffrey Fowler joins the News Hub and discusses the "format wars" and other pitfalls to avoid when buying an e-reader this holiday season.

But e-reader buyers may be sinking cash into a technology that could become obsolete. While the shiny glass-and-metal reading gadgets offer some whiz-bang features like wirelessly downloading thousands of books, many also restrict the book-reading experience in ways that trusty paperbacks haven't, such as limiting lending to a friend. E-reader technology is changing fast, and manufacturers are aiming to address the devices' drawbacks. Continue reading here
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704328104574519851557848662.html

Friday, December 4, 2009

E-Readers May Hold More Surprises & Amazon says Kindle sales hit monthly record in Nov Yahoo

Friday, December 4, 2009
Click the headline below to read the complete article

Barnes & Noble Delays Nook by One Week

Amazon Kindle boosts battery life, adds PDF reader


To compete with the Nook, the Amazon Kindle patches some holes in its feature list.

Courtesy of Amazon.com  Thanks to a software update, the Amazon Kindle will now enjoy better battery life and PDF support.

As shoppers draft their holiday wish lists, Amazon made a move today to nudge potential e-reader buyers into asking Santa for a Kindle.

A free software update will now patch up one of the frustrating holes in Kindle’s feature list and increase its battery life.

The e-readers can now get up to a week of power when its wireless antenna is turned on. Before, Kindles lasted about four days. This update makes the wireless features more energy efficient, so there is not a similar boost in the two-week battery life enjoyed when the connection is turned off. Kindle’s chief competitor, the Barnes and Noble Nook, will run for 10 days with wireless functions disabled.  Read more here http://features.csmonitor.com/innovation/2009/11/24/amazon-kindle-boosts-battery-life-adds-pdf-reader/

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Kindle for PC Beta Brings E-Books to Bigger Screens

Thursday, December 3, 2009
READ INTERESTING HEADLINES BY CLICKING THE LINKS BELOW
 

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Did Kindle Sales Get a Boost from Nook's Fumble? & Barnes & Noble Delays Nook by One Week

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Barnes & Noble Delays Nook by One Week Barnes & Noble has delayed its retail debut of the Nook e-reader by one week. Click the headlline to read more
 
Did Kindle Sales Get a Boost from Nook's Fumble? Amazon knows about supply shortages, but this time the Kindle may benefit from its competitors' inventory control issues.  Click the headlline to read more

Is there an e-reader shortage?

Is there an e-reader shortage?
Click the title to read the article

Monday, November 30, 2009

Amazon's new Kindle firmware: PDF and more battery life

Monday, November 30, 2009
READ INTERESTING HEADLINES BY CLICKING THE LINKS BELOW
 

Sunday, November 29, 2009

iPhone Owners Gobble Up Online Media

Sunday, November 29, 2009
 According to a new study, iPhone owners are more likely to purchase online media such as on-demand TV on their phones than average consumers.  Continue reading here http://lm.pcworld.com/t/776116/5419529/32781/0/

Why E-book Readers Make Bad Holiday Gifts

 Sure, the e-book market has never been better but that doesn't mean you should buy an e-book reader as a gift. At least not this year.  Continue reading here http://lm.pcworld.com/t/776116/5419529/32779/0/

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Nook E-Reader Sold Out for the Holidays

Saturday, November 21, 2009
CLICK THE HEADLINE TO READ THE COMPLETE STORY

Nook E-Reader Sold Out for the Holidays

Friday, November 20, 2009

Sony may not fill some e-reader orders by holidays

Friday, November 20, 2009
Read the complete article here click the headline Sony may not fill some e-reader orders by holidays

Condé Preparing Wired for E-Reader

Condé Preparing Wired for E-Reader
Read the complete article here

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Cellphone Apps Challenge the Rise of E-Readers

Wednesday, November 18, 2009
From the NY Times With Amazon’s Kindle, readers can squeeze hundreds of books into a device that is smaller than most hardcovers. For some, that’s not small enough.  Many people who want to read electronic books are discovering that they can do so on the smartphones that are already in their pockets — bringing a whole new meaning to “phone book.” And they like that they can save the $250 to $350 that they would otherwise spend on yet another gadget.  Continue Reading here http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/18/technology/18reader.html?_r=1&hpw

Monday, November 9, 2009

Taiwan Firm Positioned for E-Reader Takeoff

Monday, November 9, 2009


TAIPEI — With the market for electronic book readers set to take off, things are looking up for a little-known Taiwanese company that will probably supply most of the “e-paper” they use.
The company, Prime View International, said this summer that it would pay about $215 million to acquire E-Ink, which owns the technology for displaying text in the most popular readers, including Amazon’s Kindle and Sony’s Reader.

Prime View, often referred to as P.V.I., recently sweetened its offer and says it hopes to close the deal by the end of the year. It already manufactures e-reader display modules for the Kindle and the Reader.

“E-Ink is by far the leader” in the field, said John Chen, director of the display technology center at ITRI, a government-financed technology incubator in Taiwan. “P.V.I. is going to strengthen its leadership in the next year or two, before anyone else can catch up.”

Demand for e-paper is expected to rise, with Amazon expanding the availability of the Kindle to Europe and the U.S. book retailer Barnes & Noble creating its own e-reader to compete with Amazon and Sony.

The availability of more content and the ability to download material wirelessly has fueled demand for the devices.

DisplaySearch, a market researcher based in Austin, Texas, forecasts the global market for e-paper, including e-paper used in e-books, to hit $5.9 billion by 2015, from $400 million this year.
This is not the first time Prime View has jumped into a growing market early. It became the first Taiwanese maker of flat-panel screens in 1994. Ten years later, in a crowded market dominated by the likes of Samsung and LG Display, it decided to focus on specialty products like custom displays for medical devices.
In 2005, it acquired Philips Electronics’ e-
paper display unit, in an early bet on the industry.
“All the big companies like Samsung weren’t so interested in this market,” said David Hsieh, president of DisplaySearch’s Taiwan branch. “So Prime View found a good niche.”
It was also a good fit considering Prime View’s pedigree. The company is a subsidiary of Yuen Foong Yu Group, a Taiwanese paper and pulp company. The group started making toilet paper and paperboard as early as 1939 and began producing coated paper in the 1950s with Japanese technology, according to its Web site.

Now, one of Taiwan’s first mass producers of paper looks set, through a subsidiary, to become the world’s first mass producer of e-paper.

Analysts say Prime View’s production capacity, which includes factories in South Korea it acquired in 2007, make it the only e-paper company with the scale to meet booming global demand. And the ownership of E-Ink will mean they have no intellectual property issues to overcome and can make e-paper “from head to toe,” Mr. Hsieh said.

The company has its critics. Jeff Pu, an expert on the flat-panel industry in Taiwan, says Prime View has too much exposure in conventional liquid crystal displays. Prime View says that about half of its business concerns e-paper products.

A demand dip could be punishing, said Mr. Pu, who currently analyzes the mobile industry at Fubon Securities in Taipei. For example, he said, Prime View executives told analysts in April that its Korean factories were operating at 30 percent of capacity in the first quarter of this year, and that 65 percent was “break-even level.”

Mr. Pu also sees a price war coming, as AU Optronics, LG Display and others enter the e-paper market. AU Optronics has the most promising e-paper technology after E-Ink, the “microcups” technology owned by its subsidiary Sipix. Prime View will have to cut its prices after it loses its first-mover advantage, Mr. Pu said.

For now, Prime View is shrugging off such predictions. A company spokesman, Stephen Chen, conceded that capacity was low at the company’s Korean factories early this year but said that was because of the unusually bad economic downturn.

Mr. Chen said the company did not plan to license the E-ink technology to others and declined to comment on whether it might make its own e-reader.

“So far, for mass production and quality, E-Ink is the first priority for customers,” Mr. Chen said. “So I think we’ll keep the leading edge for some time — a few years is certain.”    Read the original article here http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/09/technology/09iht-epaper.html?hpw=&pagewanted=print

Heavy Demand Delays Some Orders for Barnes & Noble e-Book Reader


Demand for Barnes & Noble Inc.'s yet-to-be-released electronic-book reader is so strong that the retailer is telling customers that new pre-orders won't ship until Dec. 11.

In October, the nation's largest bookstore chain told its first wave of customers for the $259 Nook that the wireless device would ship Nov. 30. A second wave of customers was told it would ship Dec. 7. Now new customers are being told that their pre-orders will ship Dec. 11.

"Demand for the product in our stores and online has surpassed our expectations," said Mary Ellen Keating, a spokeswoman for Barnes & Noble.

She declined to say how many Nooks have been pre-ordered since the retailer introduced the Nook on Oct. 20.

Ms. Keating said initial pre-orders will be shipped on Nov. 30 as promised.   However, there has been so much interest in the Nook that customers who preorder the $259 device now will have to wait a little longer to receive them. "We are working hard to meet demand for the holidays," she added.

The Dec. 11 shipping date was reported on Brighthand.com.  Barnes & Noble introduced its Nook to compete directly with Amazon.com Inc.'s Kindle, e-readers from Sony Corp., and other devices. In October, Forrester Research Inc. issued a report projecting total e-reader sales in the U.S. will reach 3 million in 2009, with 30% of sales occurring in November and December.

"Consumers are excited about this device and as long as it arrives before Christmas they'll be happy," said Sarah Rotman Epps, an analyst with Forrester Research, on Sunday. "We see Barnes & Noble playing a much larger role in 2010."

The Nook runs on Google Inc.'s Android operating system, and features an e-paper display from E-Ink Corp. for reading and a smaller color-touch screen for control and typing. Its wireless capacity will enable users to download books from the retailer's online bookstore.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703808904574523994119321648.html
 
Tags:  kindle in the Philippines 

Sunday, November 8, 2009

iPhone as an eBook Reader Threatens Kindle, Says Report

Sunday, November 8, 2009


Apple's iPhone is quickly becoming the ebook reader of choice for many, and could steal market share from Amazon's Kindle, according to a report from market research firm Flurry.

The iPhone and iPod Touch turned into a popular handheld gaming platform over the last year, as most of the apps released for the devices were in the games category. Even Nintendo acknowledged that iPhone games were among the reasons its DS portable gaming machine under-performed in sales.

And now it appears it is the Amazon Kindle's turn to take a beating, as book applications for iPhone exceeded the popularity of games apps in the last four months, according the Flurry report. In September, iPhone books (some running on Kindle for iPhone) overtook games for the first time, while one in every five new apps in the App Store in October were books.

Flurry's chart below shows a surge in book apps for iPhone releases from July to October, with book apps overtaking game releases in September.

The analytics firm predicts that Apple could steal market share from Amazon's Kindle, as more publishers release new book apps for the iPhone at "record rates." Amazon did not disclose how many Kindle units it had sold, however, Forrester research estimates that three million e-readers will be sold in the United States in 2009.

There are over 57 million iPhone and iPod Touch users worldwide. The Kindle is vastly outnumbered by Apple's touchscreen devices, despite the iPhone having a significantly smaller screen than Amazon's Kindle (6 inches). This makes the iPhone platform a larger gateway for book publishers.

Apple's widely speculated upcoming tablet, yet unconfirmed, could also pose a future threat for the already crowded ebook reader market by the likes of Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Sony.
Read the original posting here http://www.pcworld.com/article/181142/iphone_as_an_ebook_reader_threatens_kindle_says_report.html?tk=nl_dnx_h_crawl

"iPhone as an eBook Reader Threatens Kindle, Says Report" Comments
nonseq says:   Mon Nov 02 06:09:54 PST 2009
I use my iPod Touch as a e-reader for Kindle and other formats and really really like it. I like it so much that I would not entertain getting a Kindle or other dedicated device. I am hopeful that an Apple tablet may actually be in the offing and if so, would buy one for that purpose.

Neither device should be too much of a threat to Amazon or Barnes & Noble or others as their profits will derive primarily from the sale of e-books and not hardware.

DebbieTT says:   I'm afraid the iphone is going to change forever, the way we use: cell phones, GSPs, Kindle, books, the Internet, laptop computers, wi-fi, and other things we haven't even thought about yet.  The iphone is 1 pretty amazing $99 device.

lutra says: Threatens Kindle? Well, I didn't buy a Kindle, that's for sure, but I did get the Kindle application for my iPhone. I've actually bought several books for it already and I really enjoy reading them on my iPhone. It's surprising how little battery usage it takes up. Honestly, using this kind of thing on a smartphone is going to be the way of the future for a lot of us. Why carry around a separate device when you can just use the phone you'll always have with you? So maybe the Kindle device itself is in danger, but Amazon can use existing technology to expand the department it created by introducing the device to us.
slayman says:

you dont have a clue what ebook readers are about. It isnt about having a portable device - people have been reading on their cellphones for, like, ever. With memory cards, you can carry thousands of ebooks on a phone/PMP.

ebook readers are about the display. All those cellphones and PMPs have (besides their puny displays and hours of battery life) have glare. If you have read on them for 30 minutes, you will have terrible eye strain. The ebook readers have (besides bigger, paper book size displays and days of battery life) no-glare, paper-like displays which is as easy on the eye as real paper, allowing one to read for hours without eye strain.   Read the rest of the comments by clicking above at the original link above

Friday, November 6, 2009

E-books' holiday charge

Friday, November 6, 2009

As sales soar, digital works face season's crucial test
Technology is stalking your bookcase.

It has already taken over your photo albums and emptied your film canisters. It overwhelmed your music collection and flooded Goodwill with CD towers. It canceled your newspaper subscription. (Sniff, tear.)
And now, digital evangelicals believe technology is on the verge of supplanting those dusty, yellowed tomes that weigh three times more than an iPod and don't even come with any cool free apps.

Sales of electronic books jumped 68.4 percent last year and skyrocketed 177 percent to $96.6 million for the year through August, according to the Association of American Publishers. That's not counting the millions downloaded for free at public libraries, where e-books are fast becoming one of the most popular features. And Amazon has said that its e-book reader, the Kindle, has become the best-selling product on its Web site.

But despite the staggering growth, e-books remain just a sliver of the overall publishing industry, at 1.5 percent of the $6.8 billion in sales this year -- about on par with audiobooks. And some experts believe that the $200-plus price tag for e-book readers will keep the market from exploding the way MP3s did.
Holiday hopes

This holiday season will be a crucial test of whether e-books can cross over from geeky novelty to mass-market must-have. Major retailers are pushing the format -- and, of course, the gadgets they've developed to display it. Barnes & Noble unveiled its first electronic book reader last month, with access to all of the retailer's titles and then some. Amazon and Sony, which make the two best-selling e-readers in the country, have introduced new versions just in time to stuff your stocking. And this holiday, for the first time, Best Buy is devoting store space to educating shoppers about e-readers.

All told, about 1.2 million e-readers are expected to be sold in the last three months of the year -- roughly 40 percent of the entire year's stock. By the end of 2010, industry experts predict, 10 million people will be carrying e-readers. As for the number of e-books that people have read, they've lost track.
Steve Haber, president of Sony's digital reading division, can hear his grandkids' grandkids now: You printed 1,000 pages and you made a million copies of those? Why did you do that?

"To me, it's just inevitable," says Haber, who knew printed books were goners when people told him they liked to touch and feel them. "I heard the same thing from LPs and CDs. The mass market, they want convenience and experience."

Already, we buy roughly as many printed books online as we do at chain bookstores. Each claims more than 20 percent of the market and alternates at the top spot, while independent sellers claim just 5 percent of the market, according to PubTrack, a survey conducted by publishing industry research firm Bowker. If it only takes one click to buy a book, why should we have to wait to read it?

The Amazon effect

Amazon executives have made near-instantaneous content a company goal. The latest Kindle, which began shipping last month, holds 1,500 titles and can wirelessly download books in 60 seconds. The company envisions a day when any book ever printed in any language can be downloaded in one minute.

Ginny Wolfe, 51, of Alexandria brought her Kindle to Afghanistan, where she is working for a few weeks as a private contractor; the device is loaded with 350 books, including "White Ghost Girls" by Alice Greenway and "The Invisible Mountain" by Carolina De Robertis. In the old days -- like, pre-2007, before the Kindle was released -- Wolfe would pack an extra suitcase on her work trips, just for books.

"I used to panic, thinking I might run out of things to read. That doesn't happen anymore," she writes in an e-mail, although she adds that she misplaced her Kindle for two days in Kabul, resulting in escalating drama until it turned up in a restaurant.

It is difficult to overstate the impact that Amazon has had on the publishing industry, both when Amazon began selling print books nearly 15 years ago and when it launched the Kindle two years ago. In both cases, the company struck fear in the hearts of publishers by lowering prices.

According to Bowker, the average price of an e-book this year is $8.30. The cost of a hardcover book -- the most profitable format for publishers -- is $14.55. The difference is particularly painful for publishers because e-book buyers tend to be readers who used to be hardcover buyers, says Kelly Gallagher, vice president of publishing services for Bowker.

Worse, the industry can't raise prices on e-books to match those of hardcovers because Amazon established $9.99 pricing for e-books, and consumers expect virtual products to be cheaper than actual ones, he says. To fight back, publisher HarperCollins is delaying the e-book version of former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's potentially best-selling memoir until after Christmas to help bolster hardcover sales.
"We've always kind of painted ourselves into a corner," Gallagher says.

Although the Association of American Publishers estimates that sales of e-books account for only 1.5 percent of all books, the medium's triple-digit growth has publishers on guard. Sales are outpacing most forecasts at a time when the book industry has seen sales declines. Adult paperbacks have dropped 9 percent to $908 million for the year through August, while hardcover sales plunged 12 percent to $738.6 million. Since it was launched last year, more than 2 million people have downloaded the free app Stanza to their iPhones to read e-books.
"The trend that the Kindle has started has grown far beyond Amazon," says Sarah Rotman Epps, senior analyst for consulting firm Forrester Research. "There are some companies that are on this for years and are finally seeing consumer demand building."

The e-reader market

Forrester's profile of the current e-reader enthusiast is a 47-year-old married man with a college degree and an average household income of $116,000. About 30 percent of e-reader owners use them on business trips, while about 17 percent rely on e-readers during commutes. They read about 3.5 books each month, more than the average Internet user. About 83 percent consider themselves "technology optimists."

The second wave that is emerging is composed of slightly younger men who may already be reading a few e-books on their iPhones or laptops and are graduating to e-readers. But to go truly mass-market, e-books will have to appeal to women, who tend to be warier of new technology and more price-conscious, Epps says. Harlequin, purveyor of those lusty supermarket bodice-rippers, has dipped into the market with an e-book subscription service for some series, like Silhouette Desire, "delivering the provocative passion you crave." And no one can see you put it in your shopping cart!

Can passion overcome the high price of e-readers? Epps performed an analysis of how much shoppers are willing to pay for an e-reader, and the point of mass appeal was $50 -- less than it costs to make the device.
Epps doesn't think that today's e-readers will do for e-books what the iPod did for MP3s. Even if 10 million people are toting an e-book reader at the end of next year, that's less than 1 percent of the 110 million people who have MP3 players. And at current prices, she believes the market for e-readers will top out at 25 million. Gallagher of Bowker says laptops still remain the primary mode for reading e-books.

Epps thinks the trend will look more like what happened to digital cameras, which took about a decade to catch on before exploding in popularity but are now taking a back seat to camera phones.

Book clubs and gadget geeks alike are buzzing about rumors that Apple is secretly developing a tablet-style device that combines an e-reader with other computing wizardry. An Apple spokeswoman did not respond to requests for information. But if the ubiquitous iPods and iPhones are yardsticks, an Apple e-reader could be the tipping point for digital books.

Sex appeal

Unless, of course, you are 40-something Hilton Henderson of Fairfax, who cannot fathom any reason why he would ever choose to read a book on a screen. Call him old-fashioned. Call him a Luddite. Or, Henderson helpfully suggests, call him a romantic.

A friend of his recently compared books to attractive women -- glorious to behold! -- and the comparison resonated with him. Reading an e-book, he says, is about as appealing to him as cybersex.
Yes, he went there.

"I prefer actually the experience, when reading a book, of using all my senses, like when I experience the world," Henderson says. "The touch of it, the feel of it, the scent of it."

All good points. But Sony's Haber argues that if it's women you're after, technology is man's best friend. Pull out a book in a bar and you look lonely. But whip out a Sony Reader and watch the magic happen.
"If you want to meet a girl," he says, "don't get a dog, get a reader."   Read the complete article here http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/04/AR2009110404834_pf.html

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Ng: Amazing Kindle

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Ng: Amazing Kindle

FOR the past few days, I have been toying with a new gadget, the Amazon Kindle. In the remote chance you haven't heard about it, the Kindle is Amazon.com's e-book reader. It is very thin---it is slightly larger than a standard DVD case but half its thickness. It weighs only a few grams and can store over a thousand books.

It was a hit when it was introduced over a year ago but during that time, it wasn't available outside the United States. It was only a few weeks ago that Amazon decided to sell the Kindle in selected countries worldwide, including the Philippines.

In my opinion, every bibliophile should get one.

I am no stranger to e-books, having worked with a series of Palm and Windows mobile gadgets as well as notebooks to read the latest news and books. But  the Kindle is different. It was designed from the ground up just for reading books and magazines and it shows.

There are various very noteworthy things about the device:

When you buy a Kindle, it has a special SIM. That SIM I think is what Amazon calls WhisperNet and I believe is a subscription to the Sprint network. It  means that the Kindle can surf the Net using cell phone signals, but Amazon pays for it all.

The user has the Kindle linked to his account and while he can surf, he is limited to basically a few sites like Wikipedia and Amazon store. So anywhere in the US, and anywhere now in the world where the company has roaming arrangements, you can go to the Amazon e-book store and check out the books for free.

And if you like the book and purchase it, the only thing you worry about is the purchase price, because in minutes, the book is sent to you without you having to pay web surfing cost.

If you, for instance, commit to pay for getting a blog or a magazine or newspaper, then on a regular or daily basis, the news/ magazine is sent to you at no additional cost.

Apparently Amazon is betting on the system the way Apple did with its Apple Store - the Apple Store thrived even if people pay just about a dollar per song because they make it so easy and convenient. In Amazon, it's the same way. 
 
You can get classic books whose copyrights have lapsed for a dollar or two (and many of them are available in the internet for free) but the convenience and accessibility may be worth paying for.

There is something there - the price of the book stays the same no matter where you are in the world - which is liberating.

Kindle uses a kind of electronic ink. This ink takes about a second to update but there is something noteworthy about the technology - once the ink dries up it does not require backlight or power to have it stick to the screen. So that means that without backlight or power to support the screen, the small battery can last days of reading.This makes it very convenient.

After all, a device is never truly portable unless you can do some meaningful reading or work without having to look for a power source all the
time.

The Kindle has a great design and my kids are reading more already because of the gadget. If you love reading, this is something that you should try. Check it out at
www.amazon.com.   Read the original article here  http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/ng-amazing-kindle

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Amazon Kindle DX E-Book Reader

Tuesday, November 3, 2009


Though the Kindle DX is an impressive e-book reader, its high price will likely turn off some prospective buyers.

In spite of its larger size, the Amazon Kindle DX ($489 as of October 29, 2009) comes off as a surprisingly lean and elegant contender in the current e-book reader steeplechase. This enlarged version of the Kindle has a number of appealing features--including strong PDF support--along with a few missteps.

The shift to a larger-screen Kindle makes sense. Dominating the front is its 9.7-inch,16-grayscale E Ink display. The device measures 10.4 by 7.2 by 0.38 inches and weighs 18.9 ounces. Like the Kindle 2, the Kindle DX has a keyboard, but it's awkward to type on. In my hands-on examination of the device, I came to appreciate many aspects of its design. Still, some roadblocks ahead could impede its widespread adoption. The most problematic of these are the reader's price ($489, more than some full-featured laptops cost), and the fact that early newspapers available for the Kindle DX lack the visual design and appeal of physical newspapers.

The Kindle DX's design was strongly influenced by that of the Kindle 2: It has a white finish, a keyboard at the bottom, and navigation keys and a five-way joystick at the right (unlike the other navigation buttons on the Kindle DX, the five-way joystick and its associated Menu and Back buttons are similar in size to those on the Kindle 2). Gone are the left-hand navigation keys--a conscious design choice, according to Amazon. When you flip the unit upside-down, the screen automatically inverts itself and the navigation buttons respond appropriately, reflecting the new orientation. (Of course, the printed wording on the buttons remains inverted. Perhaps a future Kindle will solve that issue with invisible capacitive touch buttons that appear as needed, depending on the orientation.)
Like the Kindle 2, the Kindle DX has a minimalist design. The only port on the bottom is the unit's Micro-USB 2.0 connection. The reader charges via Micro-USB, but the charging cable detaches from the outlet plug, so you can plug it into your PC's USB port for data transfers as well. Direct-to-Kindle data transfers are more important with the Kindle DX, due to the PDF reader in the new device: PDFs of large, image-heavy documents can eat up 10MB, 20MB, or more. Since Amazon now charges 15 cents per megabyte for data you e-mail to yourself over the Kindle's Whispernet service, fees could add up quickly if you're an avid viewer of PDFs.

The top of the Kindle DX houses a power slider switch and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Like the Kindle 2, the Kindle DX has text-to-speech reading capabilities for handling content whose producers permit it. But whereas the Kindle 2 has a monaural speaker, the Kindle DX has built-in stereo speakers.

One major Kindle DX enhancement is the ability to reorient content. The accelerometer inside can adjust to display all content horizontally or vertically, or even at a full 180-degree rotation. This ability renders left-side navigation buttons unnecessary, and it's great if you're left-handed--or even if you just want the freedom to vary how you hold the e-book reader. And unlike the iPhone, the Kindle DX lets you turn off the autorotation (and anyone who has tried to read an iPhone at an angle while in bed knows how aggravating autorotation can be).

The other big enhancement--mentioned earlier--is the Kindle DX's native PDF reader, enabling Amazon to target the professional market, where financial documents, reports, marketing flyers, and even PowerPoint presentations are commonly published as PDFs.

Of course, the Kindle DX also opens wide opportunities for textbooks and such highly formatted books as cookbooks and profusely illustrated books). In addition, newspaper and magazine publishers will have the opportunity to deliver targeted, customized content that takes advantage of this platform.

At $489, the Kindle DX will make consumers think hard before buying one (especially since highly functional netbooks can be had for substantially less). But it is also a very capable device that can benefit from a broadened scope. The more multipurpose Kindles can become without detracting from or minimizing their primary mission as electronic readers, the better-positioned they will be going forward.   Read the original article here
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/30/AR2009103004163.html
 
Read my blog on Kindle in the Philippines here http://kindlephilippines.blogspot.com/
 
Tags:  Kindle Philippines, Kindle DX, Kindle DX Amazon

Monday, November 2, 2009

The Kindle works in the Philippines

Monday, November 2, 2009
When I received a promotional e-mail from Amazon a week ago last Monday announcing that the Kindle is now available for the Philippines, I was hugely excited. I immediately went to the website, and within minutes had become the proud owner of a new Kindle.


When you purchase products on Amazon these days, you make a deposit for customs duties and taxes, which makes the shipment by DHL seamless to your doorstep. The Kindle arrived within four days, pre-programmed with my account information and with free 3G wireless connectivity. I don’t know which telecom firm supplies the connectivity, but it works like a dream. Minutes after I had opened the package, I had purchased my first eBook, a book on social media marketing, wirelessly.

I love the Kindle, and the way it works. The wireless connection, branded Whisper, is reliable. Books open in a snap, the ink-based technology used to “print” each page is supremely satisfying, and the functionality – bookmarks, search, jotting notes – does what it is supposed to do. But most of all I love the Kindle because it works as well here as anywhere else in the world – which is the way all things should be – despite a retail monopoly, high connectivity rates in the Philippines, and a hopelessly corrupt customs bureaucracy.
Despite all this, the Kindle works.  This is a part of his blog, read the entire article here http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/227655/the-kindle-works

Tags:  kindle, kindle philippines, amazon kindle, new kindle, kindle distributor in the philippines, kindle makati, kindle wireless, kindle philippines sale, PAPERBACKS, us wireless, amazon kindle, copyright-free digital books, ebook reader device, ebook store, free downloads, public domain work titles 

Friday, October 30, 2009

Amazon Says Kindle Reader Coming for Mac, Too

Friday, October 30, 2009


Amazon announced Thursday that Kindle reader software was on the way for PCs. Fortunately for those of us who live a bit better than our Windows-suffering brethren, Amazon has now hastily added that a Mac version of Kindle software is also on the way.

Amazon's Kindle, of course, is the slim white e-book reader with access to over 350,000 books and counting. (Though, personally, I'd hate to be the guy whose job was to do the actual counting.)

But soon after launching the Kindle device, Amazon quickly bastardized its own noun, releasing Kindle for iPhone and iPod touch. That software offers access to that massive library of digital books, without needing to buy the $260 hardware Kindle. With desktop software, one imagines you'll be able to read books right on your bright computer screen while you're supposed to be
working.

Desktop Kindle software--whether for Macs or PCs--will mark the first time
consumers can buy and read books from Amazon's library without owning some
other pricey hardware. Except for, uh, the computer itself.   Read the original article here
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/174275/amazon_says_kindle_reader_coming_for_mac_too.html?loomia_ow=t0:s0:a41:g26:r23:c0.000766:b28590375:z0

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Amazon Kindle Now with International Wireless 360,000 books etc,

Thursday, October 29, 2009
Amazon Kindle: Now With U.S. & International Wireless, Only $259Amazon Kindle Now With International Wireless

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Video Kindle 2 Guide basics and tips and where to find free books

Sunday, October 25, 2009
My Video Kindle 2 Guide
Have put together a very comprehensive video guide on the Kindle 2 that includes -
  1. Kindle Basics.
  2. 20+ Kindle 2 Tips and Shortcuts that will work on the International Kindle (except the Browser tips). 
  3. Where to find free books.
And a lot of other good things. This blogger might be a good watch for those that want to learn how to use the kindle

Two-faced gadget is e-reader plus netbook


(WIRED) -- Like Harvey "Two-Face" Dent, a new dual-screen device has two faces to match its double identity: It promises to be an electronic book reader and a netbook at the same time.
 The eDGe device will fold like a book and will be used as an e-reader and a netbook.
The eDGe device will fold like a book and will be used as an e-reader and a netbook.

The Wi-Fi enabled device, called eDGe, will fold like a book and can be used as an e-reader. It will also serve as a digital notepad you can use to write notes or highlight text, send e-mails and instant messages, browse the Internet and run apps, say the device's creators. Under the hood, eDGe will be powered by Google's Android operating system.

The left half of the eDGe will have a 9.7-inch E Ink e-paper display. Users will be able to read e-books in PDF and EPUB format and take notes or draw diagrams using a stylus. The right side of the device is a 10.1-inch LCD touchscreen that can be used to check e-mail and surf the Web.

The $490 eDGe won't be available until February, 2010, says its creator, Entourage Systems, a startup based in McLean, Virginia. But the company is taking pre-orders for the device.

Currently, e-book readers and netbooks are among the fastest-growing categories in consumer electronics. Not surprisingly, companies are trying to find ways to meld the two. Netbooks pioneer Asus, for instance, is also working on a dual-screen e-reader. Asus showed a prototype of the device at the CeBIT trade show in March and plans to unveil it at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. Asus' e-reader will likely have two color touchscreens, a speaker, a webcam and a microphone, along with the capability to make inexpensive Skype calls.
The eDGe will have an ARM processor, 4 GB storage, an SD card slot and 2 USB ports. Weighing about 2.5 pounds, eDGe's dual screens will work together, the company says. That means a user will be able to highlight a word from the e-paper screen and drag it to a browser on the LCD screen in order to do a Google search on it. (See a list of eDGe's specs.)


As with many hybrid devices, eDGe runs the risk of not being good enough as either an e-book reader or as a netbook. Also, eDGe doesn't have the kind of integrated access to an e-bookstore that companies such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble can offer with their e-readers. However, because eDGe uses the EPUB format, its customers can access the 1 million free, public-domain books digitized by Google. Getting the latest Dan Brown bestseller may be more difficult.

Still, the eDGe packs in some appealing extras. The device will come with a text-to-speech function and a 1.3-megapixel webcam. It will offer about 16 hours of battery life in e-reader mode and up to 6 hours when running the LCD screen, says Entourage Systems.  http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/10/24/netbook.reader/index.html

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Amazon Releases Kindle Source: Prepare for Kindle Clones (Update: Not Quite)


Keeping true to what Jeff Bezos had said about the Kindle Reader and Kindle books being two separate businesses, Amazon has released the source code for the 1st generation Kindle, the new Kindle, and the Kindle DX.

The Kindle OS is Linux () with a special set of drivers; we’re sure that someone, somewhere will thoroughly comb through it and reveal more details, particularly about its DRMed parts.
In practice, this means (if the code is released under GNU GPL, as Engadget suggests) that manufacturers can now build a Kindle () clone. While Kindle is a solid device, it’s definitely not perfect, and we’re definitely interested to see what the competition will do with the code. http://mashable.com/2009/06/17/kindle-source/
 
We have already seen several companies now issue competition devices according to news reports 
 
 
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