The National Federation of the Blind is applauding the decisions of Syracuse University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison not to Amazon.com's Kindle DX as a textbook replacement.
Kindle DX
(Credit: Amazon)The universities cited the Kindle's inaccessibility to the blind as the problem.
The federation said Wednesday that while it appreciates the Kindle's text-to-speech feature, the "menus of the device are not accessible to the blind...making it impossible for a blind user to purchase books from Amazon's Kindle store, select a book to read, activate the text-to-speech feature, and use the advanced reading functions available on the Kindle DX."
For its part, Amazon believes in the Kindle's potential. An Amazon spokesperson wrote in an e-mail that "With a few modifications, Kindle has the potential to be a true breakthrough product for the blind, and we're already working on it. We're excited about it."
According to the federation, the University of Wisconsin-Madison experimented with the Kindle in upper-level history classes.
"The big disappointment was learning that the Kindle DX is not accessible to the blind," Ken Frazier, the University of Wisconsin-Madison director of libraries, said in a statement. "Advancements in text-to-speech technology have created a market opportunity for an e-book reading device that is fully accessible for everyone. This version of the Kindle e-book reader missed the mark."
Frazier added that a suitable device would include better "accessibility, higher-quality graphics, and improved navigation and note-taking. I think that there will be a huge payoff for the company that creates a truly universal e-book reader."
Pamela McLaughlin, director of communications and external relations at Syracuse University, said in a statement that her school bought two Kindle DX units to see if it could replace hardcover textbooks and course materials.
Although students are still evaluating the devices, she said, the university has "no plans to purchase any more of these units in light of the fact that they are inaccessible to blind students. If Syracuse University decides to use e-book technology on campus, we will require technology that can be used by all of our students, including those who are blind."
Marc Maurer, president of the National Federation of the Blind, said his organization commends the universities' rejections of "broad deployment of the Kindle DX in its current form because it cannot be used by blind students and therefore denies the blind equal access to electronic textbooks."
Mauer pointed out that the federation does not oppose electronic textbooks and believes that "they hold great promise for blind students if they are accessible."
Updated at 10:14 a.m. PST to include Amazon comments.
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Wal-Mart Stores has waged an online book pricing war against Amazon.com, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday morning.
Wal-Mart sent the first salvo over Amazon's bow on Thursday when the retail giant announced that it would sell ten highly anticipated books for $10 on Walmart.com. Wal-Mart said Stephen King's upcoming hardcover "Under the Dome" and Sarah Palin's "Going Rogue" will be included in that grouping. Wal-Mart's prices include free shipping.
Not to be outdone, Amazon reduced prices to match Wal-Mart's pricing on all 10 titles. That was quickly followed by Wal-Mart's decision to reduce the prices on those books again to $9 late Thursday night. In response, Amazon reduced the prices of all ten titles to $9, as well. The company also reduced the books' Kindle pricing to $9. That's where the prices stand on both sites as of this writing.
Sarah Palin's book is going for $9 on Wal-Mart.
(Credit: Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)"If there is going to be a 'Wal-Mart of the Web,' it is going to be Walmart.com," Walmart.com CEO Raul Vazquez told The Wall Street Journal in an interview. "Our goal is to be the biggest and most visited retail Web site."
As viable a goal as that may be for Wal-Mart, it could also cost the online-retail industry dearly. According to the Journal, Wal-Mart is already offering up to 200 best sellers for "50 percent of their list price." That's a figure that most retailers can't keep up with. And as the publication pointed out, it's a price point that could put smaller, less powerful organizations out of business.
"Retailers traditionally pay half the list price for a hardcover book," the Journal wrote in its report. "Assuming that's the case with Wal-Mart, its $10 sale price on 'Under the Dome' represents a 71 percent discount of the $35 cover price, which suggests the discounter will lose $7 to $7.50 on every copy it sells." Wal-Mart might be able to afford that, but other, smaller retailers might not.
But $10 might not be a figure that Wal-Mart picked out of the air. Quite the contrary, the retail giant might have chosen $10 because it's the same price Amazon is currently offering e-books for in its Kindle store. Wal-Mart is, so far, on the outside looking in at the e-book market and the sale of highly anticipated hardcovers for $10 might reflect that.
That said, the company told the Journal that its decision to drop the price of those major titles had nothing to do with the Kindle. Even so, Wal-Mart is a major retailer with loads of cash that it can easily put towards infiltrating a discount book market--electronic or otherwise. A loss on select titles might be worth it in the long run. It could stymie some of the Kindle's impressive growth. That might have been Wal-Mart's intention all along.
What do you think of this? Is Wal-Mart the hero for offering hardcover books at such discounted rates? Is Amazon wrong for matching its pricing? Let us hear your thoughts in the comments below.
The subject of much debate.
(Credit: Amazon)Best-selling author Dan Brown's latest novel, "The Lost Symbol," is apparently selling better on the Kindle than in hardcover on Amazon.com.
In Amazon's overall sales listing, Brown's book is listed as the best-selling title on the site. But that listing includes both the book's hardcover version and the Kindle version.
On Amazon's Mystery and Thrillers page, the two versions are independently listed. At the top of that list is the Kindle version for $9.99. In the No. 2 slot is the hardcover version offered for $16.17. That list is updated hourly.
Blog site The Kindle Nation noticed the phenomenon early Wednesday morning.
As of late morning, the Kindle version is still atop the list. That said, it's important to note that this is one store. The hardcover version is still tops at rival Barnes and Noble, which also sells a digital version.
Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment and exact sales figures.
The possibility that the Kindle version of "The Lost Symbol"--which follows Brown's wildly popular "Da Vinci Code" and "Angels & Demons"--is outselling hard copies on Amazon could be a monumental moment in the e-book industry. Prior to the release of the book, its publisher, Random House, was mulling the possibility of not even releasing a Kindle version. Eventually, the company relented.
The Kindle version is leading the way on Amazon.
(Credit: Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)Random House's aversion to releasing a version for the Kindle e-reader was apparently rooted in its worries over "security and logistical issues." This underscored what has become a battle between publishers and Amazon's Kindle that mimics the battles Apple was forced to deal with when iTunes and iPods were under attack from the music industry.
But if the likely biggest book release of the year sells better on Amazon's Kindle than in hardcover in the massive online bookstore, that's undoubtedly big news for the publishing business. Companies that were suspect of Amazon's potential dominance in the space might realize the value of offering e-books on its device.
Amazon itself hasn't confirmed that more Kindle copies of "The Lost Symbol" have sold and it's possible that the Kindle version is only leading the pack for now, but it's still a significant event that could send shock waves through the publishing business.
Another Amazon Kindle competitor has unveiled its plans for the future. And like Plastic Logic's e-reader, the device will feature Barnes & Noble's e-book store.
The Kindle has even more competitors.
(Credit: Amazon)When Irex Technologies unveils its consumer e-reader later this year, it will include Barnes & Noble's e-books, Irex said in a statement Monday.
Barnes & Noble's store currently features more than 750,000 titles, and it expects that library of available titles to increase to more than one million within the next year. The full library will be available for download on Irex's e-reader.
That news followed a report earlier this month that Irex's new e-reader will sport an 8.1-inch touch screen and 3G wireless connectivity. The device's touch screen will be controlled with a stylus instead of a user's fingers.
... Read moreAmazon.com's Kindle may be the most-popular e-reader on the market, but that doesn't mean everyone is happy with it.
Amazon announced earlier this week that it will, in fact, sell a Kindle version of "Da Vinci Code" author Dan Brown's latest novel, "The Lost Symbol." The book is slated for release on September 15.
(Credit:
Amazon.com)
The Kindle version of "The Lost Symbol" was in limbo since Amazon first placed the hardcover version on its site for preorder. Its publisher, Random House, was concerned with releasing a Kindle version on the same day as the hardcover version. The company reasoned that with such a low price ($9.99 on the Kindle) compared with the hardcover version, which Amazon is currently offering for $16.17, that Kindle sales would cannibalize hardcover sales.
Random House's issues set the stage for what could have been a major battle between Amazon and publishers. Dan Brown's book promises to be a bestseller the day it's released. Random House might have had some leverage.
But after entering into discussions with Amazon, Random House announced last week that it had approved a Kindle version.
"Now that all of our security and logistical issues surrounding the e-book of 'The Lost Symbol' have been resolved, the e-book will be released simultaneously with the hardcover on September 15," the publisher announced. It didn't elaborate on what those issues were.
... Read more
Barnes & Noble is offering some e-books too.
(Credit: Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)Barnes & Noble on Monday announced that it's getting back into the e-book market. The company said in a statement that its new e-book store has more than 700,000 books for sale--far more than the 300,000 books available for download from Amazon.com's Kindle store.
Similar to Amazon's strategy, Barnes & Noble e-books can be downloaded directly onto an iPhone or iPod Touch. They will also be integrated into Plastic Logic's upcoming e-reader, which is expected to hit store shelves sometime next year.
It's an exciting announcement for the retailer. The company tried once before to break into the e-book market. But by not providing an easy delivery method to help users read the books, it failed in 2003.
Going forward, Barnes & Noble believes that it can compete on the same level as Amazon, which has enjoyed a head start in the space. But just how can it get ahead in the market? The Kindle is available to users now, Amazon has its own e-books available on the same platforms to which Barnes & Noble books will be made available, and both companies are known and trusted in the book market.
As far as I can tell, those 700 Barnes & Noble locations are the only factor potentially giving it an advantage. But can brick-and-mortar stores really cement success for Barnes & Noble's e-book endeavors?
... Read moreMicrosoft's competition might be looking for a silent contender, but they won't find it in CEO Steve Ballmer. Rather than relying on the software giant's marketing professionals to dish dirt on competitors, Ballmer does it himself. And he does it quite often.
On Tuesday, Ballmer had some interesting things to say about Google and its upcoming Chrome operating system.
Steve Ballmer fielding a question from Fortune's Geoff Colvin.
(Credit: Screenshot by Ina Fried/CNET)Speaking in an onstage question-and-answer session following his speech at the Worldwide Partner Conference in New Orleans, Ballmer told those in attendance that he doesn't "know if Google can't make up their mind or what the problem is over there...The last time I checked, you don't need two client operating systems."
Ballmer couldn't quite stop himself there. He had a few more interesting things to say about Chrome OS.
"Who knows what this thing is?" Ballmer said. "To me, the Chrome OS thing is highly interesting--it won't happen for a year and a half, and they already announced an operating system (Android)."
With all those zingers flying around, it made me start remembering other instances in which Ballmer has taken a company or product to task. So I decided to search Google for all results matching "Ballmer disses." Amazingly, the search returned more than 125,000 results.
Microsoft's CEO likes to hit the competition with some pretty tough comments. Here's what he's had to say about some of his most prominent competitors over time.
... Read more
Amazon is bringing the Kindle to all kinds of devices.
(Credit: Screenshot by Nicole Lee/CNET)Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos spoke on Monday at the Wired Business Conference, discussing his company and the future of the Amazon Kindle.
After discussions on Google Book Search and other topics, Bezos sprinkled in a few tidbits of information that could have a lasting impact both on the e-book business and the tech industry as a whole. According to Bezos, he plans to break the Kindle business into two parts: hardware and software.
Amazon's e-books are already available on the iPhone. Users who want to access titles can download the Kindle app and buy books from Amazon's store. But Bezos wants to do more. He believes that the path to success is through sharing e-book technology with competing hardware makers.
"The device team has the job of making the most remarkable purpose-built reading device in the world," Bezos said at the conference. "We are going to give the device team competition. We will make Kindle books, at the same $9.99 price points, available on the iPhone, and other mobile devices and other computing devices."
It might be the smartest move Amazon has made yet.
... Read moreThis story has been corrected. See below for details.
AppleInsider is reporting that Apple is engaging in an aggressive sale in many of its brick-and-mortar stores to eliminate its leftover inventory of last-generation Macs.
The updated MacBook Pro.
(Credit: CBS Interactive)According to the report, last-gen MacBook pricing has been reduced by $100 to $300; MacBook Air prices were reduced by $400 to $800; and MacBook Pros are being offered at $400 to $500 off original retail prices.
"Our MacBook family has been updated, and all current stock of MacBook and MacBook Pros need to be sold," Apple wrote in an e-mail to stores and other partners cited by AppleInsider. "All current in-store computers are on a first-come, first-served basis."
I called a few local Apple stores to confirm the report. According to store employees, Apple is, in fact, selling last-gen Macs at those discounted rates.
When Apple announced the release of its new family of MacBooks on Monday, the decision might have been simple for some of us: buy the new stuff. But with steeply discounted pricing, that decision might not be so easy. It's always nice to have new products, but at what cost? If you could get a Mac--one that was just fine for your needs last week--for less than what's currently being offered, would you?
It's a tough decision to make. So let's take a quick look at the product updates to help you make your decision.
... Read moreNow that Apple has announced that it is pulling out of Macworld after its 2009 event, during which Steve Jobs won't be making a keynote presentation, the outpouring of outrage is being heaped upon us once again by those who can't believe that Apple is ending its association with IDG and its expo.
Why? IDG and Apple's relationship over the past few years has been anything but cordial, and we can't forget that Apple wants complete control over, well, anything Steve Jobs can get his hands on. On top of that, Apple has been able to create Macworld-like hype for its own events, so the need for a Macworld keynote is even less appealing.
But to simply stop there in trying to explain Apple's decision to drop out of IDG's event would be overlooking the idea that the company may have run out of ideas for Macworld destined to send shock waves through the industry.
... Read more
