Amazon Unveils eBook Reader: Kindle

Amazon has been working on an eBook reader for the past 3 years and they just unveiled it. The Kindle can be bought for $400 from Amazon.com and it uses e-ink technology with a host of other great features. It was developed by Amazon, along with the accompanying Kindle Store where you can buy books, magazine subscriptions, newspaper subscriptions, and blog subscriptions that get sent to your Kindle over Sprint’s EVDO network. It doesn’t cost anything extra to access Sprint’s network, which is a big plus that helps offset the price of the reader. What follows are some of the details of the reader and store, along with my thoughts.

• Electronic-paper display provides a sharp, high-resolution screen that looks and reads like real paper.
• Simple to use: no computer, no cables, no syncing.
• Lighter and thinner than a typical paperback; weighs only 10.3 ounces.
• Holds over 200 titles. SD card support for more storage capacity.
• Audio: 3.5mm stereo audio jack, rear-mounted mono speaker
• Content Formats Supported: Kindle (AZW), TXT, Audible (formats 2, 3 and 4), MP3, natively; HTML, DOC, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, MOBI, PRC through conversion
• Wireless connectivity enables you to shop the Kindle Store directly from your Kindle
• Buy a book and it is auto-delivered wirelessly in less than one minute. More than 88,000 books available, including 100 of 112 current New York Times Best Sellers.
• New York Times Best Sellers and all New Releases $9.99, unless marked otherwise. Other books are less.
• Long battery life. Leave wireless on and recharge approximately every other day. Turn wireless off and read for a week or more before recharging. Fully recharges in 2 hours.
• Unlike WiFi, Kindle utilizes the same high-speed data network (EVDO) as advanced cell phones—so you never have to locate a hotspot. No monthly fee for access to network.
• Includes free access to Wikipedia.org and a built-in Oxford English Dictionary.
• Email your Word documents and pictures (.JPG, .GIF, .BMP, .PNG) to Kindle for easy on-the-go viewing. They convert it into the right format and can send it to your Kindle for $0.10 or send it to you for free and you can transfer it to the Kindle with the usb connection

You can transfer MP3s or audio books to the Kindle. And you can listen to the MP3s separately or as background music while you read if that’s something you like to do. You can bookmark pages, or annotate them using the QWERTY keyboard. And there is a built in digital cursor that scrolls along the side of the page allowing you to select page lines. It is controlled by a scrollwheel. There are big buttons on the Kindle that let you go to the next page or back a page. It is all very intuitive according to published reviews.

A great feature is the switch on the back to turn the wireless single off. Great for planes and other places you can’t use a cellphone or wireless device.

Video: Neil Gaiman discusses the Amazon Kindle.

From reviews by people that actually used the Kindle it seems to work well. The e-ink is easy on the eyes, and the reader was designed with usability in mind. It’s ergonomically designed to feel like a book. It’s the same size as a paperback book and it ways a little bit less at 10.3 ounces. Amazon thought of everything. I’m almost tempted to buy one to check it out. I want one. But I might wait for some more hands-on reviews, and until more of the books I want are available from the Kindle store.

Buy it or find more info: Kindle: Amazon’s New Wireless Reading Device

Hands on Reviews and Interviews around the Internet
Newsweek: great interview with Jeff Bezos and background on Kindle and the book market.
ZDNet Hands on with the Kindle: This ugly duckling has potential
Engadget hands on, and some extra details
Gizmodo

Buy it or find more info: Kindle: Amazon’s New Wireless Reading Device