e-books

Amazon Kindle 2: It's NOT too expensive

Let me start by saying that I agree with you on one thing: $359 is a lot of money. I just don't agree that it's too much to pay for an Amazon Kindle 2.

In the wake of the announcement of the Kindle 2, the general response is that it's nice and all, but the price is just too high. A price breakdown of the original device found that you'd need to buy about 60 books to make up the price difference (all while paying to get delivery of newspapers and periodicals you could read online for free). And analysts complain that Kindle is a niche product with a small, upwardly mobile target audience. And here's my question: what is the problem with that?

Isn't the Kindle, fundamentally, an early adopter's device? And aren't we usually pretty tolerant of that in the tech space? You all know this story. In the evolution of technology, devices start expensive, they target a niche audience that can afford the price and care passionately about the product, and then they either adopt more mainstream features or become mainstream through a combination of obvious value proposition and gradually lower prices.

Even though the Kindle is on its second iteration, it's still very much in early-adopter territory. Does anyone really expect that an e-book reader is going to take the entire world by storm and become the iPod-like gadget commodity of its day? Of course not; so why should it be priced like bread and milk?

Then there are the features.… Read more

E-book expansion stalled by price

In the story of e-book readers, we're still in the first chapter.

On Monday morning Amazon unveiled its widely anticipated Kindle 2 device at a high-profile event in New York City. The updated, thinner e-book reader included some obvious cosmetic changes from its original Kindle as well as other more evolutionary tweaks. On the same day in the same city, another e-book reader maker, Plastic Logic, looked to stake out territory as the mobile device to read newspapers. Plastic Logic doesn't have a device on the market yet--not until next year--but already it's cementing relationships with newspapers … Read more

What's new about the Kindle 2? Not a whole lot

NEW YORK--Were there an anthology of gadget launch announcements, the unveiling of Amazon's Kindle 2 e-book reader would have one of the more anticlimactic storylines.

It started out like any other big press conference, with a line of reporters and photographers streaming out the door onto the chilly sidewalk outside the historic Morgan Library & Museum.

The Kindle 2's arrival had been preceded by the usual blog blitz of leaked photos, rumors, and breathless wish lists. (A color screen! Better PDF support! International versions of the Kindle store!) Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos took the stage, Steve Jobs-style, with a slide show recap of the original Kindle's success before making the big debut.

But the announcement itself was underwhelming. The price, $359, remains the same. The battery life's been improved by about 25 percent. The Kindle 2 is much skinnier than its predecessor, slimming down to 0.36 inches in thickness from 0.7, but it's only a tenth of an ounce lighter. The storage capacity has jumped from 256MB to 2GB, or about 200 to 1,500 books, and the electronic ink display has improved from a 4-shade to 16-shade grayscale.

The layout of some of the buttons has been restructured, and the new Kindle also has a text-to-speech reader. In short, the improvements seem worthwhile, but there was no real curveball to give the Kindle a mainstream appeal.… Read more

Live blog: Amazon unveils Kindle 2

Update at 7:25 a.m. PST: Kindle 2 has been officially announced.

Amazon.com unveiled the second generation of its Kindle e-book reader during an event Monday morning at New York's Morgan Library and Museum.

The event started at 7 a.m. PST/10 a.m. EST, and we're updating it live below. Below the CoverItLive box, see photos of the new, $359 Kindle 2, which will start shipping February 24. (See also press release and Kindle 2 site.)

<a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?option=com_mobile&task=viewaltcast&altcast_code=23013053ec" >Amazon's Kindle 2 Launch</a>

Amazon Kindle 2: Complete CNET coverage

Report: Amazon scares up Stephen King for Kindle

When Amazon.com hosts its anticipated Monday morning e-book event, one of the highlights could be an exclusive deal for the Kindle with horror story master Stephen King.

The Amazon event, taking place at the Morgan Library and Museum in New York, is widely expected to feature the unveiling of a next-generation Kindle e-book reader. On Monday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Amazon also will say it has acquired a new work by King that would be exclusively for the Kindle.

The Journal says a Kindle-like device is a factor in the story. The work by King might later … Read more

Amazon to unveil next-gen Kindle?

At a Monday morning press event at the Morgan Library & Museum in New York, Amazon.com is expected to turn the page on its e-book reader business.

The company is widely expected to introduce its next-generation Kindle device (CNET News plans to live-blog from the event later Monday morning). Rumors of its imminent launch have circulated since last summer, and in the fall, a photo of what is purported to be the Kindle 2 leaked on the Boy Genius Report blog. On Friday, a fresh set of purported Kindle 2 pictures hit the Web.

What the final product will look like is unknown, but if a new Kindle is launched Monday it's easy to imagine it will be lighter, slimmer, and have an updated look. The original design was largely panned for being too bulky and having too many sharp edges, as well as an interface that wasn't as user-friendly as some had hoped.

Even beyond that, there are a whole host of tweaks to the device consumers want to see in the next Kindle: wider support of file formats like PDF; a color screen; touch-screen capabilities like swiping to turn a page (as with Sony's Reader); and, more particularly, redesign of the "next page" button, which is located near the spot where many hold the device while reading.

Google going mobile with Book Search

Google is opening a new chapter in its book digitization saga, this time taking on the likes of Amazon.com's Kindle and Sony's eReader.

The search giant on Thursday launched a mobile version of its Google Book Search, giving iPhone and Android users instant access to more than 1.5 million public domain books. The works of authors such as William Shakespeare, Jane Austen, and Charles Dickens were optimized to be read on the small screen, a challenge the Google Book Search team called "daunting" in a blog post announcing the launch:

There's an interesting … Read more

Fully Equipped: Kindle 2, where are you?

Ever since rumors--and some alleged photos--of Amazon's next-generation Kindle digital reader hit the Web late last year, I keep getting e-mails from readers asking me for buying advice. Here's a typical note:

Hi, David:

Around Christmas, I ordered the Amazon Kindle, but as I'm sure you know, it's back-ordered for a couple of months. Then I saw your article on the Kindle 2 coming out soon and I'm not sure what to do. Should I cancel my order? If the new Kindle 2 comes out right after I get mine, will I be able … Read more

Kindle 2: Where are you?

Hi, David:

Get nine free e-books for your phone, PDA, or PC

I've made no secret of my love of e-books. I read 'em on airplanes, in bed at night, in line at the post office, and so on. But I do have a complaint: They're not priced substantially lower than their dead-tree counterparts.

That's why I'm tickled about this: e-bookseller eReader is offering nine Random House works of fiction absolutely free.

These aren't bargain-bin titles from no-name authors, either. The collection includes three crime-noir novels from Charles Huston, all of which earned 4.5 stars from Amazon readers; The Whiskey Rebels, a brand-new (and well-reviewed) historical … Read more