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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Amazon.com will offer release-date delivery on Windows 7 software and preorders on Windows 7 PCs, the online retailer announced on Monday.
(Credit:
Microsoft)
According to Amazon, customers who preorder Windows 7 will receive the operating system on October 22, its launch day. The company is also offering more than 250 computers from HP, Dell, Acer, and other PC vendors that come preinstalled with Windows 7. Those computers are available for preorder on the site.
Amazon followed its announcement with details surrounding Windows 7's success so far. Windows 7 was a bestseller on Amazon for two weeks following its original preorder availability earlier this year, according to the company. Amazon also said that, so far, Windows 7 has attracted more orders than both Windows Vista and Windows XP combined at the same point in their availability.
A key reason why Windows 7 was so attractive to buyers during that period was likely the operating system's steeply discounted pricing. Starting in June, Windows 7 Home Premium was available for $49, a whopping $70 less than its retail price of $119. Windows 7 Professional was on sale for $99, half of its suggested price.
Now that the program has expired, Amazon is currently offering Windows 7 versions for preorder at their suggested prices.
Updated at 1:37 p.m. PDT to include information on PC preorders.
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.
Amazon.com on Thursday announced that customers looking to get their packages sooner will have a couple new options available to them.
Amazon customers placing deliveries within the cities of New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Washington, Baltimore, Las Vegas, and Seattle, as well as "some surrounding areas," will now be able to receive shipments on the same day they place an order. The service will be coming to Chicago, Indianapolis, and Phoenix "in the coming months."
Amazon said "thousands of items" are available now to customers living in those cities. The new option, called Local Express Delivery, will have varied pricing that depends on the type of product purchased. Amazon Prime members--customers who pay $79 per year to receive unlimited two-day shipping from the online retailer--will need to pay $5.99 per item for the service.
In order to get an item on the same day it's ordered, customers will need to buy products prior to their city's cutoff time. For example, New York customers will need to order a product by 10 a.m. ET, while Seattle customers can purchase products by 1 p.m. PT. The other cities' cutoff times vary within that range. According to Amazon, it will list the cutoff times on each eligible product's detail page.
Amazon's Local Express Delivery charges.
(Credit: Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has written about everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Don is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and posts at The Digital Home. He is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.
The Samsung UN46B7000--one of the newly entertained Samsung HDTVs.
(Credit: CBS Interactive)Samsung announced on Wednesday that on-demand video services from Blockbuster and Amazon are coming to some of its home entertainment products.
Blockbuster OnDemand, which allows people to rent or purchase video content on a one-off basis, is now available on some of Samsung's high-definition TVs, Blu-ray players, and home theater systems.
According to Samsung, the service will be offered on its Series 650 and above LCD and plasma HDTVs, as well as its Series 7000 and above LED HDTVs. Blockbuster OnDemand will be available to owners of the Samsung BD-P1600, BD-P3600, and BD-P4600 Blu-ray players, as well as the company's HT-BD1250, HT-BD3252, HT-BD7200, and HT-BD8200 Blu-ray home theater systems. The company said that the service is available now through a firmware upgrade.
As part of the rollout, Blockbuster OnDemand content can be streamed across multiple Blockbuster-enabled devices in the home. According to the company, users who order a particular movie can start watching it on one Samsung product in their home and continue watching it on another supported Samsung device.
For its part, Blockbuster has had a busy week. On Tuesday, the company announced that its OnDemand service was finally made available on TiVo DVRs. Like the service on TiVo, Samsung equipment owners can expect to pay between $2.99 and $3.99 for movie rentals. Blockbuster charges between $7.99 and $19.99 for film purchases.
As part of the deal, Blockbuster will start selling Samsung Blu-ray players that feature the company's OnDemand service in "thousands of corporate-owned stores and participating franchise stores." Blockbuster also said on Tuesday that it will also start selling TiVo DVRs in its stores.
But Samsung didn't stop there. The company also announced on Wednesday that Amazon Video On Demand will be offered to owners of Samsung LCD and plasma HDTVs that are series 650 and above, and LED HDTVs that are series 7000 and above. To get the service, users will need to download the Amazon Video On Demand widget using their television's Internet@TV content service.
Samsung said that once the user downloads the Amazon Video On Demand widget, they will be able to access Amazon's more than 50,000 movies and television shows. Amazon's widget joins already-available widgets from Twitter, Yahoo, YouTube, and others, the company said.
A growing trend?
The fact that Samsung has added Blockbuster's and Amazon's video services to its HDTVs shouldn't come as a surprise; it's competing in a marketplace where integrated entertainment is becoming the norm.
Earlier this year, LG announced the launch of two broadband-equipped HDTVs--the 47-inch 47LH50 and the 50-inch 50PS80--that feature the company's NetCast Entertainment Access. That service gives users the ability to access Netflix's streaming library of movies and TV shows. Toshiba is also getting in on the trend.
Broadband-connected TiVo DVR subscribers have access to Blockbuster's long-awaited OnDemand rental service, TiVo announced on Tuesday.
The service is available to owners of TiVo Series2 and TiVo Series3 digital-video recorders (including the TiVo HD and TiVo HD XL).
According to the company, users will be able to stream films ranging from new releases to classics. Users will be charged $2.99 for classic hits and $3.99 for new releases. Blockbuster will be adding more films over the coming weeks, including "select HD titles."
As part of the agreement, Blockbuster will also begin selling TiVo DVRs in "thousands" of participating Blockbuster stores around the United States.
Blockbuster OnDemand's arrival on the TiVo (and TiVo's arrival in Blockbuster stores, for that matter) has been a long time coming. The partnership was first announced in March.
Whether Blockbuster will enjoy success on the TiVo is up for debate. The company's main competitor, Netflix, is already streaming films and television shows to TiVos for no additional fee beyond the company's unlimited-plan charges. Amazon Video On Demand is also available to TiVo users, and like Blockbuster, it, too, allows them to purchase individual videos, rather than pay a monthly subscription fee.
TiVo owners can also access content from YouTube, as well as films through Jaman and CinemaNow's Disney.
To access Blockbuster OnDemand, users will first need to create a Blockbuster account. Once complete, they can access Blockbuster OnDemand content from the TiVo's video-on-demand menu.
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 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 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 more
