Amazon Kindle

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Amazon Kindle and Kindle 2

The Kindle 2
Manufacturer Amazon.com
Type E-book reader
Release date 1st generation: November 19, 2007
2nd generation: February 9, 2009
Operating system Linux-2.6.10
Power 3.7 V, 1530 mAh lithium polymer, BA1001 model
CPU Freescale 532 MHz, ARM-11
Storage capacity 256 MB (original) or 2 GB (Kindle 2) internal flash memory (70% user-accessible)
Display 6 in diagonal,
3.6 (W) × 4.8 in (H),
600 × 800 pixels or 0.48 megapixels,
167 ppi density,
4-level grayscale (original)
or 16-level grayscale (Kindle 2)
electronic paper
Input USB 2.0 port (micro-B connector),
SD card (original model only),
3.5 mm stereo headphone jack
built-in speaker,
AC power adapter jack
Connectivity Amazon Whispernet using EVDO/CDMA AnyDATA wireless modem
Dimensions 8.0 × 5.3 × 0.36 in (203 x 135 x 9.14 mm)
Weight 289 g (10.2 oz)

Amazon Kindle is a software and hardware platform developed by Amazon.com subsidiary Lab126 for reading e-books and other digital media . Three hardware devices, known as "Kindle", "Kindle 2," and "Kindle DX" support this platform, as does an iPhone application called "Kindle for iPhone". The first device was released in the United States on November 19, 2007.[1]

The Kindle hardware devices use E Ink brand electronic paper displays, and download content over Amazon Whispernet using the Sprint EVDO network. Kindle hardware devices can be used without a computer, and Whispernet is accessible without any fee.[2] These devices also provide free internet access to Wikipedia.[3] The Kindle is not available outside the US due to import/export laws and other restrictions.[4]

On March 3, 2009, Amazon.com launched an application entitled Kindle for iPhone in the App Store for iPhone and iPod Touch owners to read Kindle content. Through a technology termed "Whispersync," customers can keep their place across Kindle hardware devices and other mobile devices.[5][6]

Amazon announced the Kindle DX on May 6, 2009. This device has a larger screen than its predecessors and supports PDF files natively. It is marketed as more suitable for displaying newspaper and textbook content.[7]

Contents

[edit] Original Kindle

The Kindle 1

Amazon's first offering of Kindle sold out in five and a half hours[8] and the device remained out of stock until late April 2008.[9]

The Kindle device featuring a 6 inch (diagonal) 4-level grayscale display retailed for US$399; Amazon subsequently lowered the price to $359. The 250 MB of internal memory in the Amazon Kindle 1 can hold approximately 200 non-illustrated titles, and the memory is expandable with an SD memory card.[4] This model is no longer available, as it was replaced by the Kindle 2.

Whispernet only works in the U.S., but content can be downloaded from Amazon over the Internet. However, Amazon does not sell the Kindle outside the United States, and will only sell content paid for by a payment card issued by a US bank and with a US billing address[4]. Plans for a launch in the UK and other European countries are being delayed by problems with signing up suitable Wi-Fi or cellular operators.[10]

[edit] Kindle 2

On February 9, 2009, Amazon announced the Kindle 2 which became available for purchase on February 23, 2009 for the price of $359. The Kindle 2 features 16-level grayscale display, improved battery life, 20 percent faster page-refreshing, a text-to-speech option to read the text aloud,[11] and overall thickness reduced from 0.8 to 0.36 inches (9.1 millimeters).[12] The Kindle 2 has 2 GB of internal memory of which 1.4 GB is user-accessible. Amazon estimates that the Kindle 2 will hold about 1500 non-illustrated books. Unlike the original Kindle, Kindle 2 does not have a slot for SD memory cards.[11][13] To promote the new Kindle, author Stephen King made UR, his then-new novella, available exclusively through the Kindle Store.[14] This model remains available as an alternative to the newer but considerably larger Kindle DX.

According to an early review by iFixIt, the Kindle 2 features a Freescale 532 MHz, ARM-11 90 nm processor, 32MB main memory, 2 GB moviNAND flash storage, and a 3.7 V 1530 mAh lithium polymer battery.[15]

[edit] Kindle DX

Amazon Kindle DX

The Kindle DX
Manufacturer Amazon.com
Type e-book reader
Release date June 10, 2009
Operating system Linux-2.6.22.19
Power Lithium polymer, 3.7 V, 1530 mAhr, 5.66 Wh, P/N 170-1012-00[16]
CPU Freescale 532 MHz i.MX31L, ARM-11
Storage capacity 4 GB internal flash memory (82.5% user-accessible)
Display 9.7 in diagonal,
1200 × 824 pixels or 0.99 megapixels,
150 ppi,
16-level grayscale
electronic paper
Input USB 2.0 port (micro-B connector),
3.5 mm stereo headphone jack,
built-in stereo speakers,
AC power adapter jack
Connectivity Amazon Whispernet using EVDO/CDMA AnyDATA wireless modem E727NV WN2 (ESN: 5BA671AE), with fallback to 1xRTT[16]
Dimensions 10.4 x 7.2 x 0.38 in
Weight 18.9 oz (540 g)

On May 6, 2009, Amazon announced the Kindle DX[17] which retails for $489.[18] It is the first Kindle model with an accelerometer, automatically rotating pages between landscape and portrait orientations if the device is turned on its side. It is slightly over 1⁄3 inch thick, has a 4 GB (3.3 GB user-accessible) storage capacity, holding approximately 3500 non-illustrated e-books, a 9.7 inch display with 1200 x 824 pixel resolution, and a battery life of "up to" 4 days while using wireless or 2 weeks offline. The DX adds support for PDF files natively, built-in stereo speakers, and 1xRTT wireless technology as fallback option for when EVDO connectivity is not available. Like the Kindle 2, it does not have an SD memory card slot. The model was released on June 10, 2009.[19]

[edit] Content

Users can download content from Amazon and some other Kindle content providers in the proprietary Kindle format (AZW), or load content in various formats from a computer. Kindle Terms of Use forbid transferring Amazon e-books to another user or a different type of device.[20]

Users can select reading material through the Kindle or through a computer at the Amazon Kindle store, and can download content through the Kindle Store, which upon the initial launch of the Kindle had more than 88,000 digital titles available for download, steadily increasing to more than 275,000 as of late 2008. As of July 1, 2009, there are currently over 300,000 books available for download.[21][22] New releases and New York Times bestsellers are offered for approximately $10, and first chapters of many books are offered as a free sample. Many titles, including some classics now in the public domain, are offered free of charge or at a low price stated to be related to the cost of adapting the book to the Kindle format[citation needed]. Newspaper Subscriptions cost between $5.99 and $14.99 per month, magazines between $1.25 and $3.49 per month, and blogs for $0.99-$1.99 per month.[23]

Amazon charges monthly for RSS subscription to select blogs, even though users may use the experimental web browser to navigate to and read blogs or any other web pages free of charge.[24]

The device comes with electronic editions of its owner's manual and the New Oxford American Dictionary. The Kindle also contains several free experimental features, including a basic Web browser.[25] Users can also play music from MP3 files in random order in the background. Operating system updates are received wirelessly and installed automatically.

[edit] File formats

The original Kindle supports only unprotected Mobipocket books (MOBI, PRC), plain text files (TXT), and Amazon's proprietary, DRM-restricted format (AZW). It does not fully support Portable Document Format (PDF), but Amazon provides "experimental" conversion to the native AZW format,[26] with the caveat that not all PDFs may format correctly.[27] Amazon offers an email-based service that will convert JPEG, GIF, PNG, and BMP graphics to AZW.[28] Amazon will also convert HTML pages and Microsoft Word (DOC) documents through the same email-based mechanism, which will send a Kindle-formatted file to the device directly for $0.15 per MB or to a personal e-mail account for free. Users may also convert PDF and other files to the first-generation Kindle's supported formats using third-party software. The original Kindle supports audio in the form of MP3s and Audible audiobooks (versions 2, 3 and 4), which must be transferred to the Kindle over USB or on an SD card.

Initially, Kindle 1 only supported the ISO 8859-1 (Latin 1) character set for its content; Unicode characters and non-Western characters were not supported. The firmware update of February 2009 added support for additional character sets including ISO 8859-16.

Kindle 2 added support for Audible Enhanced (AAX) format, but dropped support for Audible versions 2 and 3. Using the experimental web browser, it is possible to download books directly on the Kindle (in MOBI, PRC and TXT formats only). Hyperlinks in a Mobipocket file can be used to download e-books[29] but cannot be used to reference books stored in the Kindle's memory. Kindle DX added native support for PDF files.

[edit] User-created annotations

The user can bookmark, highlight, and look up content. Pages can be dog-eared for reference and notes can be added to relevant content. While a book is open on the display, menu options allow users to search for synonyms and definitions from the built-in dictionary. The device also remembers the last page read for each book. Pages can be saved as a "clipping", or a text file containing the text of the currently displayed page. All clippings are appended to a single file, which can be downloaded over a USB cable.[30]

[edit] Digital Text Platform

The text can also be displayed in larger sizes

Concurrently with the Kindle device, Amazon launched the Digital Text Platform, a system for authors to self-publish directly to the Kindle. In open beta testing as of late 2007, the platform has been promoted to established authors by e-mail[31] and by advertisements at Amazon.com. Authors can upload documents in several formats for delivery via Whispernet and charge between $0.99 and $200 per download.[31] The authors receive 35% of revenues based on their list price, regardless of discounts by Amazon.[32]

[edit] Criticism

Poor contrast

Among users of the Kindle 2, the most frequent criticism concerns the light text/poor contrast as compared to the original Kindle.[33] Some users have complained that the lighter text has caused eye strain or mild headaches after reading for long periods of time. [34] Some Kindle 2 users have become so disgruntled with the lighter text/poor contrast of the second generation device, that they have "downgraded" to the Kindle 1.[35]

Limited text search

The Kindle 2 and Kindle DX search feature cannot perform full-text search. Kindle technical support explains that search works only on root words and endings, such as "neuro", "neurology", "neuropathological", but not "neur", "neurolo", or "neuropa".[36] Amazon's description of the search function of the Kindle DX is identical to that of the Kindle 2, suggesting that the search functionality has not been updated to full text.

Pricing

Another claim is that the price of the device is too high[37] – especially given that by design the Kindle is closed to the kind of expansion and customization available to many other consumer electronic devices in the same price range.[38][39]

The Kindle 2 was also criticized for its high retail price of US$359, compared to the $185.49 it allegedly costs to manufacture.[40]

Hardware

Additionally there is concern based on the specific hardware choices made for the device.[41] For example, the Kindle 2 lacks the memory expansion slot which was part of the original Kindle, which not only affects the potential number of e-books which can be stored on the device, but also removes potential capabilities to import e-books onto the device via memory card. Another hardware decision which has been questioned is the non-availability of WiFi functionality on the Kindle. Instead, the device relies on Sprint's EVDO and 1xRTT data services[42], which, critics argue, does provide a large amount of geographical coverage, but also drives the price of the device up considerably. [43] E-books can be downloaded from anywhere over the Internet and transferred to the Kindle over a USB connection, but must be paid for with a US payment card.[4]

File format and DRM

Amazon owns Mobipocket[44][45], and the Kindle AZW file format and DRM scheme are almost identical to the Mobipocket file format and DRM scheme[46], yet Kindle is not able to read DRM-protected Mobipocket books without resorting to third-party conversions tools. This situation has led to great frustration for Kindle users[47].

PDF issues

While the Kindle DX can display PDFs, it takes each PDF page and automatically scales it proportionally to the screen size. The user has no capability to change the zoom factor, nor to scroll around the page. PDF is a print format, meaning that the size and resolution of the final device or printed paper is assumed before the PDF is created. As a result, if the PDF's assumed size and resolution is not already close to the DX screen's size and resolution, the user has no way to adjust the image for reading.

Business model

Other criticisms involve the business model behind Amazon's entire implementation and distribution of e-books.[41][48] Amazon recently introduced a software application allowing Kindle books to be read on an iPhone (or iPod Touch).[49]

A reviewer from CNET expressed concern with the presentation of the device despite its ergonomic appeal.[50]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Amazon Grows a Startup in Cupertino". TheAlarmClock.com. http://www.thealarmclock.com/mt/archives/2007/05/amazon_grows_a.html. Retrieved on 2008-03-22. [clarification needed]
  2. ^ What is the Amazon Whispernet wireless feature and how does it work?, Amazon.com[clarification needed]
  3. ^ "Product Promotional Video". http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Amazons-Wireless-Reading-Device/dp/B000FI73MA. [clarification needed]
  4. ^ a b c d "Amazon Kindle FAQ". Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200316870. Retrieved on 2009-10-06. 
  5. ^ Kindle for iPhone home page[clarification needed]
  6. ^ "That Was Fast: Kindle, Meet the iPhone." by Peter Kafka, AllThingsD, "Media Memo" section[clarification needed]
  7. ^ Stone (May 3, 2009). "Looking to Big-Screen e-Readers to Help Save the Daily Press". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/04/technology/companies/04reader.html?_r=1. 
  8. ^ Patel, Nilay (November 21, 2007). "Kindle Sells Out in 5.5 Hours". Engadget.com. http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/21/kindle-sells-out-in-two-days/. Retrieved on 2007-11-21. 
  9. ^ Sorrel, Charlie (April 21, 2008). "Amazon's Kindle Back in Stock". Wired.com. "Gaget Lab" blog. http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/04/amazons-kindle.html. Retrieved on 2008-04-21. 
  10. ^ No UK Kindle Launch Before Xmas[clarification needed]
  11. ^ a b "Kindle 2: Amazon's 6" Wireless Reading Device (Latest Generation)". Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00154JDAI. Retrieved on 2009-06-10. 
  12. ^ "Amazon Press Event: Kindle 2 announced". http://www.obsessable.com/news/2009/02/09/amazon-press-event-kindle-2/. [clarification needed]
  13. ^ "Kindle 2 Frequently Asked Questions". Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200316870&. Retrieved on 2009-02-11. 
  14. ^ "UR, Exclusively on Amazon's Kindle". StephenKing.com. Self-published. http://www.stephenking.com/promo/ur_kindle/. Retrieved on 2009-02-10. 
  15. ^ "Kindle 2 First Look". iFixit.com. http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/First-Look/Kindle-2/624/1. Retrieved on 2009-02-25. 
  16. ^ a b "Amazon Kindle DX Disassembly Guide". RapidRepair. http://www.rapidrepair.com/guides/kindle-dx/amazon-kindle-dx-disassembly-repair-guide.html. Retrieved on 2009-06-12. 
  17. ^ Amazon unveils Kindle DX e-reader[clarification needed]
  18. ^ "Live from amazon Kindle event in NYC". Engadget.com. http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/06/live-from-amazons-kindle-event-in-nyc/#continued. Retrieved on 2009-05-06. 
  19. ^ "Kindle DX: Amazon's 9.7" Wireless Reading Device (Latest Generation)". Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0015TCML0. Retrieved on 2009-06-10. 
  20. ^ "Amazon Kindle: License Agreement and Terms of Use". Amazon.com. 2007. http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?ie=UTF8&nodeId=200144530. Retrieved on 2007-12-13. 
  21. ^ Electronic Device Stirs Unease at BookExpo - NYTimes.com
  22. ^ Steven Levy (2007-11-26). "The Future of Reading". Newsweek. http://www.newsweek.com/id/70983. Retrieved on 2007-12-02. 
  23. ^ Ricker, Thomas (2007-11-19). "Amazon Kindle available now on Amazon". Engadget.com. http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/19/amazon-kindle-available-now-on-amazon. Retrieved on 2007-11-21. 
  24. ^ Joel Johnson (2007-11-19). "15 Things I Just Learned About the Amazon Kindle". Boing Boing. http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2007/11/19/15-things-i-just-lea.html. Retrieved on 2007-11-22. 
  25. ^ "Accessing Basic Web". Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?ie=UTF8&nodeId=200137070. Retrieved on 2007-11-22. 
  26. ^ "Reading Personal Documents on Your Kindle". Amazon.com. 2007. "How to Use Your Kindle" section. http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200140600. Retrieved on 2007-11-23. 
  27. ^ Amazon (2009). "Amazon.com: Kindle 2: Amazon's New Wireless Reading Device (Latest Generation): Kindle Store". Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00154JDAI. Retrieved on 2009-03-07. 
  28. ^ "Reading Personal Documents on your Kindle". Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200140600. Retrieved on 2007-11-22. 
  29. ^ "Kindle Download Guide". Feedbooks.com. http://www.feedbooks.com/help/kindle#guide. Retrieved on 2008-02-07. 
  30. ^ "Kindle User Guide" (PDF). Amazon.com. http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/digital/fiona/general/Kindle_User_Guide.pdf. Retrieved on 2009-02-07. 
  31. ^ a b Munarriz, Rick Aristotle (November 27, 2007). "Why Kindle Will Change the World". Motley Fool. http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2007/11/27/why-kindle-will-change-the-world.aspx. Retrieved on 2007-11-27. 
  32. ^ "Amazon DTP Support: Terms & Conditions". DigitalTextPlatform.com. online forum section. http://forums.digitaltextplatform.com/dtpforums/entry.jspa?externalID=2&categoryID=12. Retrieved on 2007-12-07. [unreliable source?]
  33. ^ Priya Ganapati, Wired: Gadget Lab, (04-13-2009), "Kindle 2's Fuzzy Fonts Have Users Seeing Red" http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2009/04/kindle-2-displa.html
  34. ^ David Carnoy, CNET News, (03-09-2009), "Kindle 2 flaw: Lighter Text Causing Headaches?" http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10191483-1.html
  35. ^ Ian Paul, PC World, (4-14-2009), "Users Lament Kindle 2 'Upgrades'" http://www.pcworld.com/article/163089/users_lament_kindle_2_upgrades.html
  36. ^ Ganapati, Priya (January 27, 2009). "Amazon Set to Rekindle Its e-Book Reader". Wired.com. "Speedy" section (review in comments). http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/01/kindle-2-likely. Retrieved on 2009-05-08. 
  37. ^ "Kindle, Why So Expensive?". Charged.mobi. http://www.charged.mobi/2008/11/kindle-why-so-expensive/. Retrieved on 2009-03-06. [clarification needed]
  38. ^ "Kindle 2's Closed System and MS Wants Its Money Back". CNET. "Buzz Out Loud Lounge" section. http://forums.cnet.com/5208-10152_102-0.html?forumID=97&threadID=332205&messageID=2989345. Retrieved on 2009-03-06. [clarification needed]
  39. ^ Brockmeier, Joe. "Amazon, Open the Kindle Before Apple Eats Your Lunch!". ZDNet. "Community Incorporated" blog. http://blogs.zdnet.com/community/?p=114. Retrieved on 2009-03-06. [clarification needed]
  40. ^ Slattery, Brennon (April 22, 2009). "Amazon's $359 Kindle 2 Costs $185.49 to Build". PC World. http://www.pcworld.com/article/163609/amazon_kindle_markup_cost_revealed.html. Retrieved on 2009-04-22. 
  41. ^ a b Perlow, Jason. "Kindle Economics". ZDNet.com. "Tech Broiler" blog. http://blogs.zdnet.com/perlow/?p=9441. Retrieved on 2009-03-06. 
  42. ^ Dignan, Larry. "Amazon's Kindle 2: 5 Burning Questions". ZDNet.com. "Between the Lines" blog. http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=12529. Retrieved on 2009-03-06. 
  43. ^ Perlow, Jason. "Kindle Economics 2: Why Amazon Should Not Be Apple, and Jeff Bezos Is Not Steve Jobs". ZDNet.com. "Tech Broiler" blog. http://blogs.zdnet.com/perlow/?p=9292. Retrieved on 2009-03-06. 
  44. ^ "Amazon buys Booksurge and Mobipocket". http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3833. [clarification needed]
  45. ^ "Franklin Sells Interest in Company, Retires Shares". http://philadelphia.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/stories/2005/03/28/daily32.html. [clarification needed]
  46. ^ "Reversing Everything: Mobipocket Books on Kindle". http://igorsk.blogspot.com/2007/12/mobipocket-books-on-kindle.html. [clarification needed]
  47. ^ See for examples user complaints such as these at Mobipocket.com's e-forum: "Unreadable on Amazon Kindle – Request Refund". http://www.mobipocket.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15064. , "Kindle Compatibility". http://www.mobipocket.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9455. , "PRC File Not Readable on Kindle 2". http://www.mobipocket.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15604. , and "Using Mobipocket Files on My Kindle". http://www.mobipocket.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14328.  Retrieved: 2009-06-10.
  48. ^ Frommer, Dan. "Bad News for the Kindle: iPhone 3G + Apps (AAPL, AMZN)". BusinessInsider.com. "Silicon Alley Insider" section. http://www.businessinsider.com/2008/7/bad-news-for-the-kindle-iphone-3g-apps-aapl-amzn-. Retrieved on 2009-03-06. 
  49. ^ Perlow, Jason. "Kindlenomics Zero: When e-Texts Have No Entry Cost". ZDNet.com. "Tech Broiler" blog. http://blogs.zdnet.com/perlow/?p=9570. Retrieved on 2009-03-06. 
  50. ^ Carnoy, David (2007-11-20). "Amazon Kindle". CNET. "CNET Editors' Review" section. http://reviews.cnet.com/e-book-readers/amazon-kindle/4505-3508_7-32751890.html. 

[edit] External links

Sister project Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Amazon Kindle


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