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Oprah Plugs the Kindle and Offers up a $50 Discount

Justin Kerr — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 17:11:34 -0500

Though I’m willing to bet the Maximum PC core demographic differs somewhat from that of the Oprah Winfrey show, oddly she has done something worth mentioning. The TV celebrity took the opportunity on Friday to do some heavy plugging of the Amazon Kindle. Oprah claims the gifted Kindle she received this summer “has changed her life”. Some might down play the significance of this endorsement, but the popularity of Oprah’s book club is often enough to catapult relatively obscure titles all the way to the New York Times Bestseller list seemingly overnight. Heck, new studies have shown even a simple nod from the celebrity will be enough to net Barack Obama an additional one million votes. Winfrey who was joined by Amazon founder and chief executive Jeff Bezos described the gadget as “pricy” but “environmentally friendly”. The endorsement does come with a fringe benefit however. A $50 price break is offered when using the promotional code OPRAHWINFREY during checkout. So if you’ve been waiting for a price drop before you pick up a Kindle this brings the device down to a modest $309.00 USD until November 1st 2008.

So while I’m willing to bet Oprah isn’t the primary reason our readers will pick up a Kindle, has anyone else made the switch from paperbacks? Let us know what you think of the Kindle.

Redesigned Kindle Potentially Leaked with Spy Photos

Paul Lilly — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 09:48:39 -0500

Speculation regarding Amazon's Kindle 2.0 has been spreading since at least July, but it appears we might finally know exactly what the redesigned eBook reader will look like. The spy shots come courtesy of BoyGeniusReport.com, which shows a gadget that is "a little wider and a little longer" than the first generation Kindle.

Assuming the snapshots turn out to be legit, Kindle 2.0 will come with smaller buttons to help avoid inadvertent page turns. The scroll wheel gets whisked away in favor of a joystick, and the new Kindle also eschews its own charger in favor of a miniUSB cable. What you won't find is a touchscreen or an SD card slot, and according to BoyGenius this second run Kindle will use EVDO for downloads.

Thoughts on the new Kindle? Hit the jump and let us know.

Rumor: The Next Kindle Targeted to College Slackers

Paul Lilly — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 10:13:17 -0500

Rumblings that Amazon is working on a revised Kindle eBook reader have been coursing through the web since July, and it's believed the new version will come in a variety of colors to appeal to a larger audience. We'll have to wait and see, but at least one analyst sees an opportunity to cash in with college students and believes a collegiate version could make a debut in the not too distant future.

"There are already several new, improved versions of the Kindle in the works," said Tim Bueneman, an analyst with McAdams Wright Ragen.

Bueneman also predicts that one of the new features might include improved interface operating controls, which he notes has been issue with some buyers. But if Amazon is to target the collegiate crowd, the biggest issue might come down to price - $360 buys a lot of Ramen noodles.

Report: Amazon Has Sold an Estimated 240,000 Kindles

Paul Lilly — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 12:22:11 -0500

By all accounts Amazon's Kindle eBook reader appears to be a resounding success. Despite the gadget's shortcomings -- no PDF support, closed eBook format, poor batter life when using the wireless service, limited magazine selection -- the $359 device sold out almost immediately after going on sale, fetching as much as $1,500 in Ebay auctions. Fast forward to today and the Kindle pushes over 12 percent of Amazon's book sales. And rumor has it that Amazon will soon release a new model, Kindle 2.0, a bigger version of the original in a multitude of colors.

Book sales aside, just how successful has the Kindle been? Because Amazon won't disclose how many of its eBook readers it has sold, nobody knows for sure, but TechCrunch claims to have the inside scoop. "240,000 Kindles have been shipped since November, according to a source close to Amazon with direct knowledge of the numbers," TC reports.

If true, that puts Kindle sales close to the $100 million mark and well over that amount after factoring in book sales, subscriptions, and so on. But that's only the tip of the iceberg. TC notes that Scott Devitt, an analyst at Stifel, Nicolaus & Co., has Amazon on track to sell 500,000 to 750,000 more Kindles within the next four quarters, with a total revenue of up to $355 million after tallying up additional book sales. This, he says, values the Kindle as a $1 billion business for Amazon.

Rumor: Kindle 2.0 Coming to Amazon in October

Paul Lilly — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 13:48:35 -0500

Amazon's Kindle is fast becoming a runaway success, and the eBook reader looks to get even more enticing this fall with two new models. Crunch Gear claims to have the inside scoop on two new Kindles, saying the first one will maintain the same size screen as the original but in a smaller form factor. As the un-named insider puts it, Amazon has "skipped three or four generations" with the new models compared to the original. The second of the new Kindles will reportedly come shaped like a standard 8.5 x 11-inch piece of paper, making it noticeably bigger than first run units.

Both models are expected to come in a variety of colors in an attempt to appeal to a larger audience. But what the insider didn't say is whether or not Amazon plans to implement PDF support and better battery life when using the wireless functionality. If so, will it be enough to get you interested in jumping aboard the eBook scene?

March 2008: Windows Hacks & Tips

The Maximum PC Staff — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 12:53:41 -0500

The complete PDF archive of the March 2008 edition of Maximum PC, every article included, every page posted! Download it now!

Amazon Kindle

Will Smith — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 15:37:51 -0600

We’ve long appreciated the concept of the eBook, but we’ve been disappointed in its execution. The old Franklin readers ate batteries, had small screens, and included only a meager selection of books. Sony’s Reader has a better battery life, but the selection of first-run books leaves much to be desired. Amazon’s new Kindle solves many of these problems but introduces an even thornier one.

Click Read More for more.