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Dan Brown's "Lost Symbol" Selling Better on Kindle? →
Numbers rarely lie and Kindle nation noticed them early Wednesday morning when best-selling author Dan Brown’s latest novel, “The Lost Symbol,” has been apparently selling better on the Kindle than in hardcover on Amazon. Who says people don’t read anymore and the fact that some have selected the digital route, speaks volume about the current state of the e-book industry.
I’m already half way through the novel and I’ve never felt more satisfied in carrying around a device that eliminates the burden that comes with lugging around a 509 page hardcover book. I pre-ordered it the night before and woke up to it the following morning eager to nosedive into it. I don’t regret my Kindle purchase.
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Kindle Launch in Sept for UK? →
Just the other day I posted options for some to enjoy using the Kindle in Europe and now well placed sources have related to Stuff.tv that Amazon is working to launch the popular device in Europe at the end of the IFA conference next week which runs between Sept 4th to 9th.
This obviously seems to be a response to win over the market before the launch of Sony’s Daily Edition. The only threat I see the Kindle having for this holiday season would be an Apple Tablet.
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Enjoying the Kindle in Europe
Amazon seems to be missing the opportunity in gaining more book lovers and business by not extending the Kindle to Europe and I think the delays has more to do with Amazon finding a UK operator prepared to host the Kindle’s Whispernet connections which is what makes the device so unique.
Having traveled through Europe before using my iPhone, I’m well aware of Europe’s many national boundaries, and the data roaming charges that go along with them which presents yet another issue for Amazon.
But if you’re willing to go the extra mile in wanting to download books abroad, I found two gutsy alternatives that can get the job done.
- Kindle Mod for Wireless Access - Keep in mind that it’s still a work in progress and that you may be voiding your warranty on the device by trying it but the gist of the operation involves SIM card swapping to activate Whispernet. If successful, you’ll now retain the luxury of wireless download while waiting in line at the Louvre in Paris.
- The USB way - If being a daredevil with the device is not your thing, Nerdgirl has put together an interesting tutorial targeted at people who have a Kindle, but don’t have a US credit card/billing address to purchase books. The book transferring for this option involves a USB cable and not Whispernet but at least you’ll have the option to enjoy a new piece of literature whenever you want which is the important part.
The fact that people have invested time in finding a backdoor access to taking pleasure of using a Kindle outside the US is a testament to the demand the device is having outside the states.
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Keeping the Kindle focus
I think it’s normal to expect every handheld device to have capability to explore the web with a full featured browser, to keep you entertained with classic games, to keep you connected with every social network there’s is to possibly join and these qualities are the ones a friend expected to get when he tinkered with my Kindle 2.
The concept is nothing different from what an iPhone would do and I found myself agreeing with what he expected for about a two seconds until I retracted my nod and rethought about why I bought the device.
Granted the Kindle does allow you to browser the web but it’s limited to text-based sites and uploading MP3s is openly possible but if that’s all you look forward in doing with the device, my question would be at what point would the reading take place? Obviously he isn’t much of a reader, hence the lack of priority in what the device is intended to do.
The Kindle is an amazing gadget with a first-class purpose to get you to fail to think about anything else but the book that you have in front of you. There is no little alert message telling you about Twitter replies you received, no minuscule envelope icon of new incoming mail or anything distracting that you can think of to get you away from reading. When you look at the screen, everything else really does become meaningless.
With all these rumors about Apple releasing a tablet for 2010, Amazon has little desire in feeling they need to redirect the Kindle to cater towards activities that take precedence while waiting on a crowded line. Any upgrades should only improve on the act of reading and any aesthetic changes wouldn’t be too shabby either.
Abhi over at Kindle Review points out what killer features the Kindle 3 would need to make it special:
- Speech To Text and Journalling.
- TouchScreen and Game Changing usability changes (think Swype for really good text input).
- ePub support and PDF Support.
- 3rd party Kindle App Store, with some solid Apps at launch (calendar, address book, calculator, to-do lists).
- A drastic jump in page turning speeds and screen resolution. This is actually rather unlikely.
It’s very easy to get distracted and the only device I own that does not make me go down that path is the Kindle. It’s the lack of what conventional handheld devices are inherently popular for that make this device special.
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New e-book reader to use AT&T network →
The Kindle has really opened and dominated the entire market place of electronic reading devices and much of it’s popularity has centered around the convenience of downloading books, periodicals and magazines wirelessly. But now Plastic Logic has released more details on their eReader which is set to launch in 2010.
Plastic Logic’s device will be able to use Wi-Fi. AT&T has an extensive network of public Wi-Fi hot spots, but the parties would not say whether access to that network would be included for owners of the reader.
AT&T’s network is compatible with overseas carriers, which means that the Plastic Logic reader could work internationally, unlike the Kindle.
Based on the demos, Plastic Logic already has an upper hand on the Kindle by integrating the touch screen technology but there’s two things that ruffle my feathers.
First is the size of the device (8 1/2 x 11) which takes away from the portability factor a bit and the other is that if you’re going to improve on a technology and as a CEO your goal is to attract customers with it, then why would you introduce your device by stating that “If somebody is just looking to read a book, and that’s all they’re going to do, they probably don’t need all the capabilities in our product”.
A statement like that just makes me wonder why I would be interested in switching over if I already get everything I want from my Kindle. Either way, the Logic device looks promising and as a Kindle owner, I’m inquisitive in knowing what Amazon’s response will be to maintain their lead in the market. Touch screen is a no brainer.
