Kindle Refresh Coming in August Should Reduce the Thickness & Weight but Lacks Color or a Touch Screen
Kindle Refresh Coming in August Should Reduce the Thickness & Weight but Lacks Color or a Touch Screen
Posted 05/29/2010 at 10:37am
| by Justin Kerr
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The iPad may have sucked all the wind out of the Amazon Kindle's sails, but rumor has it a refresh of the lineup could be coming as early as August. Sources quoted by Bloomberg claim that the new device will be significantly thinner and lighter than the previous model and would feature a higher resolution display.
This sounds like a promising start, but those holding out for a color or touch screen version will probably be stuck buying an iPad since neither feature seems very likely this time around. It would seem that Amazon is content to concede the market for e-readers with benefits to Apple, and will continue to focus it's efforts on the hardcore book reading crowd who continue to favor dedicated devices that are lighter to hold, and easier on the eyes.
By reducing the weight and improving the legibility of the display, Amazon appears to be in a good position to continue fending off competitors such as Sony who have done a fairly competent job of catching up feature wise. It remains to be seen just how big the market for dedicated reading devices ends up being, but I would venture to guess that it's a heck of a lot smaller than the tablet crowd.
Do you have any interest in the Kindle? Or is your fickle fancy leading you more towards a tablet?
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phroderick
May 31, 2010 at 9:53am
I have a first generation Kindle that I've been generally happy with except for the fact that OS/firmware updates pretty much ended when the 2nd gen Kindle reader came out. I think it's reasonable to expect the same thing to happen with the Kindle2 when the next generation of Kindle appears. This is pretty much consistent with my other experiences with Amazon - once they have your money they no longer have any interest in you except to get more of your money. Maybe I'm just unlucky, but for me Amazon customer service has varied between poor and non-existant.
My Kindle1 has been reliable except for the poor quality battery, which doesn't hold a charge after only a few dozen cycles. Because of their position as a (or the) major book retailer, Amazon is likely to continue to support their content format/DRM. Also the popularity of the Kindle (and its compatibility with the MOBI file format) means that there is huge selection of free, non-DRM content available. This doesn't mean the Kindles don't still have serious problems, the biggest for me being able to organize content so that I don't have to wade through all of it (i.e., all books and audiobooks in the combined internal memory and SD card storage) in a single continuous list (that is now over 20 pages long on my Kindle).
If I had known what I've learned from experience with my Kindle1, I would have waited for something better, particularly since Amazon seems to abandon their devices as soon as they come out with a new model. Except for the price, the iPad looks pretty nice. Maybe the prices for tablet PCs will drop when there is more competition.
mzupan
May 30, 2010 at 12:44pm
I'm happy with a dedicated e-Reader, but I would like to have one that I can use with any bookstore. I'd like a lightweight Kindle with e-Ink, that can access the Amazon.com Kindle store, as well as B&N, Borders, and Apple (yeah right) bookstores. I can go into any bookstore and purchase the same book... so why shouldn't I be able to do that with an e-Reader?
GJEMaximumPC
May 30, 2010 at 2:31pm
@mzupan
As you sarcastically stated about Apple, I assume you know that a single stand-alone ebook reader device that can access all major ebook retailers is never, ever going to happen. The whole reason Barnes & Noble designed the nook, and that Amazon designed the Kindle devices was to make money on the book sales. The devices themselves really don't turn a significant profit for such multi-billion dollar companies. Same thing for Apple. Apple made ebook reading an ability on the iPad because Apple wants the 30 to 20 percent of the ebook sales that go through its device.
The only promising out all of it is having open/free classic ebooks in the ePub format, which will be standard it seems for all devices and programs of this nature in 2 years. (even Amazon if they know whats good for them)
mzupan
May 31, 2010 at 6:09am
I disagree that it will never happen. It's already happened... with the iPad. I don't know if it will happen with the Kindle, but I would hope that Amazon would have enough sense to understand that Kindle customers would appreciate the opportunity of choice of where they purchase their books.
I have bought all of my ebooks from Amazon so far, but I don't like being restricted to only purchasing from them with my Kindle. That restriction makes me want to look elsewhere for an e-reader. But I want something with e-ink, not an LCD.
My jab at Apple in my original post was because while Amazon and B&N have both made their e-book stores available to the iPad, I am quite confident in stating that Apple will not do the same for other tablets or e-readers that come along.
In the end, I do hope that all ebooks do go to an open standard. It's the right thing to do for consumers, and it's no different than the fact that you can walk into any bookstore and buy a book.
SikeMo
May 29, 2010 at 3:59pm
For me, it will be all about the price point. I would rather have a reader (easy on the eyes) and a netbook (outperforms iPad and has a keyboard) than an iPad. Amazon will have to get this new device at or below $250 for my interest.
Baer
May 29, 2010 at 12:39pm
Our Kindle is so easy to read. I would not want to read for very long using a back lit device. Also, how may books have color print? The Kindle is a BOOK reader (and a very good one) not a large iPod. They are different.
Zachary K.
May 29, 2010 at 11:43am
it is a device for reading books, it does not need color or a touch screen, this is not an ipad clone, nor does it need to be.
bingojubes
May 29, 2010 at 11:14am
i preordered the Kobo from Borders recently, though, due to price (150$ whe nordered a few weeks ago). If e-readers included color, i think the price would skyrocket on these things. i would choose batery life over color, and grayscale is tolerable, i guess.
Shadai
May 29, 2010 at 11:10am
Actually I have a Nook. I bought one after buying one for my girlfriend who wanted an e-reader. The UI is a bit slow but managable and its lightweight. The e-ink screen (similar to the kindle) is really easy to read on, I've never had any eye strain problems like I do reading on my backlit phone. I don't use it for much else but its intended application (ie, reading) so I can't comment on its mp3, browser, gaming functions. The thing I like about it over the Kindle is the Nook allows you to load multiple formats of ebooks, and you aren't tied to the Amazon store to buy books. I can buy them from Amazon, ereader.com, barnes and noble, or any site that offers ebooks in the epub format (most).
Having choices as to where I buy my books is what makes it a superior product over anything that locks you into a market *cough*Amazon*cough*Apple.
I truely don't know how anyone can read for hours on that stupid iPad. Its heavy, and that screen would kill your eyes after a while.
GJEMaximumPC
May 29, 2010 at 5:22pm
@Shandai
First off, yes, Apple is a wall-garden system of sorts. However, to Apple's credit their primary ebook application uses both PDF (extremely common) and ePub ebooks (both open and DRM). Apple isn't screwing and forcing people here. Not to mention Apple's abundant apps for other ebooks out there you can use. Hell, you can even read Amazon Kindle DRM ebooks you buy for the Kindle device and use them on the iPad and iPhone with the use of the Kindle app downloaded to them . Same goes for B&N ebooks too and using them on the Apple products. However, Kindle is likely doomed with their DRM proprietary ebooks. They'll be opening up to the ePub ebook format soon or face problems in the long run.
Now, I'll definitely one of the skeptics and critics of Apple and their products. I see a lot of questionable and disquieting tactics by Apple in the grand scheme. I'm surely not an Apple fanboi. I'm one of the people who ridicules such creatures of the Earth.
However, I must state this, I've handled the Apple iPad at Best Buy about 3 times for nearly 3 hours total. I have time to kill on my lunch-break and so I waste it there some times. And after using the iPad, I have to admit, the iPad is a very good device, esp. for using as a media viewer. And that means it excels at showing digital magazines, newspapers, and books. Sorry, but the Apple iPad is truly superior to both the Kindle and Nook (and those two are the kings of the stand-alone ebook reader devices) Apple iPad destroy all stand-alone ebook readers in terms of appearance, use, functionality, and practical use.
Seriously, before the iPad advent, I was truly looking into the Barnes & Noble nook. I go to B&N all the time. I enjoy their stores and books. They had their device even based on open-source Google Android OS (a big plus for me) and it seem really cool compared to the boring, lame Amazon Kindle. But sorry, the iPad is just generations above and advanced. The nook looks quaint now. Like looking at a Pong console while playing on your Nintendo Wii.
However, as I said, I am a skeptic and doubter of Apple. Tablets are the future. Mobile Internet Devices are the future. That's why I'm very happy and hopeful about the upcoming Android OS based tablet machines (the most notable being India's Notion Ink company and their Adam tablet. Not to mention Foxconn's rumored tablet and also the numerous others)
The only place a stand-alone ebook reader is going to do well in the future is in the elementary school systems. They could make them for well under 100 dollars, give one to every school kid, and they would never have to have a novel or textbook to carry around.. And by then, they'll have color E-Ink to help it seem interesting.
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