Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos issued an apology Thursday to customers over last week's surprise deletion of a number of books that Kindle owners had purchased and downloaded to their devices:
This is an apology for the way we previously handled illegally sold copies of 1984 and other novels on Kindle. Our "solution" to the problem was stupid, thoughtless, and painfully out of line with our principles. It is wholly self-inflicted, and we deserve the criticism we've received. We will use the scar tissue from this painful mistake to help make better decisions going forward, ones that match our mission.
With deep apology to our customers,
Jeff Bezos
Founder & CEO
Amazon.com
Bezos issued the apology on Amazon's Kindle Community forum, where users are able to respond with their own replies--many of which simply thank Bezos for broaching the subject.
Last week the company made waves after deleting several books from Kindle devices without the permission of their owners. The move was attributed to Amazon's self-service uploader, where a third party had added e-books to be sold on Amazon's store despite not having have the rights to sell them.
As part of the deletion process Amazon credited those who had purchased the book with refunds. Regardless, many users became upset at the idea that anything else they had purchased could be taken back without their permission.
Fujitsu's FLEPia offers color, but it costs $1,000.
(Credit: Fujitsu)Those of you holding out for a color version of the Kindle may be disappointed to learn that Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is telling the world it won't be arriving anytime soon. In fact, a color-screened Kindle is "multiple years" away, he said Thursday, adding: "I've seen the color displays in the laboratory, and I can assure you they're not ready for prime time."
We weren't expecting a color-screened Kindle in the near future, particularly one that anyone can afford (Fujitsu has just launched the FLEPia color e-book reader in Japan, but it costs $1,000). That said, I strongly suspect we'll see color-screened e-book readers very soon that don't use E-ink technology. Manufacturers could simply go with an advanced touch-screen LCD. Apple's rumored netbook/jumbo iTouch would fall into this camp. And we suspect cheaper, sub-$300 versions will turn up if the whole e-book trend remains hot.
Whether they'll be any good is another story. The downside to backlit LCDs is that cause eyestrain and arguably aren't ideal for reading (and they tend to get washed out in direct sunlight). But by the same token, a lot of people spend much of the day staring at an LCD monitor, so a model that was easier on the eyes would probably be tolerated for the right price, especially if you consider an LCD has no problem displaying video and Flash animations. (E-ink currently can't do moving images).
What do you guys think? Will color e-book readers of the future use E-ink or shift to another technology?
Wilson's out slaving for CNETTV at the Amazon Kindle DX unveiling, leaving Jeff and I to man the show sans laughter...we'll let you judge the outcome. Today we veryveryvery briefly touch on the biggie Kindle, and also discuss the dangers of gaming to the death, Apple's new iPhone replacement policy, Oprah's free chicken giveaway, and more!
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(Credit: Jacky W. Chen)We'd first like to thank Randall Bennett, former host of The 404, for having us on his new show Tech VI--check us out!
One story from today comes from our brothers in the East, and by "our" I mean "me and Wilson," and by "East," I mean "China." Soon, China will be the first country to approve a male contraceptive shot. Users will inject a monthly shot of testosterone into their body, which will limit the amount of sperm produced, and they're saying it could be as effective as a condom. Strange to think that prior to this, listening to The 404 was the only way to prevent a woman from getting pregnant. Be sure to listen to today's Calls from the Public for more on how our show is contributing to the the U.S.'s rampant overpopulation problem.
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(Credit: Matthew Marley)I'd also like to personally announce the winners of our Star Trek Photoshop Contest! We asked you guys to Photoshop us as your favorite Star Trek characters for a chance to win a ticket (we have two) to see the new movie with us one day before the official release, and we got some seriously hilarious pictures! Check out ALL the submissions in the slideshow below, but congratulations to Jacky Chen and Matthew Marley for their winning pictures, posted above! We'll be e-mailing you about where to meet us for the showing, but all 404 listeners are welcome to join, here are the deets:
- Star Trek
- Where: AMC Loews Lincoln Center @ 1998 Broadway, N.Y.
- When: Thursday, May 7 @ 7 p.m.
EPISODE 336
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Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos holds up the Kindle 2 Monday in New York.
(Credit: David Carnoy/CBS Interactive)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.
News.com Poll
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 moreBarely a month after Jeff Bezos' very public mea culpa over delays, Amazon's Kindle is apparently back on the virtual shelves.
The e-tailer's listing page for the e-book reader indicates that it's in stock and available for purchase, at the usual $399 plus free two-day shipping.
After the Kindle had sold out so quickly after its launch in November last year, there had been some speculation that the delays were caused by production problems or were planned deliberately to stoke more demand. But as Craver David Carnoy indicated, it was probably just a victim of holiday shopping madness.
If you happened to have visited Amazon's Web site today, you might have noticed that a large message from Amazon's CEO, Jeff Bezos, was plastered across the home page of the site. Basically, it was a big fat apology for Amazon's inability to ship its Kindle electronic book reader in a timely fashion.
Ever since it quickly sold out at launch, a lot of folks have been speculating about just how many Kindles Amazon had sold and whether the long delays in shipping were a case of production problems or a PR ploy designed to make the Kindle appear hotter than it really is.
Well, the note seems to speak for itself. People want the Kindle, and Amazon hasn't been able to make them fast enough. All that said, I still think this was a case of the company rushing to get the product out before last year's holiday season--and failing to iron out all the production issues before it went to market.
Of course, Amazon is new to the consumer electronics-manufacturing game, so this isn't shocking. The fact is, this is what happens when you're a pro at selling crap but not at producing it. Comments?
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