Here’s a story from the WSJ with some more details on the next version of the Kindle: “Amazon is unveiling a new version of its Kindle e-book reader, and possibly an exclusive agreement for a Stephen King work.” Interesting.
I’m not too enthusiastic about the idea of exclusive content on the Kindle, or any other e-book reader. I don’t mind the idea of a new book being released for the Kindle before it’s published in physical form, though. That even kind of makes sense, since you can publish for the Kindle much faster than you can print actual books and ship them out to stores and all that. And maybe a publisher could use Kindle book sales as an indicator of how popular a book is going to be, and hence make judgements about the size of a print run.
This story doesn’t have much info, or any photos, about the actual hardware. I’ve seen new photos elsewhere on the web though. I’m still not seeing anything in the new Kindle that’ll make me want to toss my old one. Hopefully, we’ll get full details later today.
Category: Kindle
new Kindle?
According to a variety of sources (including the NYT), there will likely be a new Kindle model released on Feb. 9. I’m pretty happy with the current Kindle, but I’m curious to see what the new model looks like (assuming that’s actually what Amazon is announcing on 2/9).
It doesn’t look like they’ve got any really revolutionary advances in E-Ink technology ready, and that’s the area where they could really make a difference in the hardware.
Making It All Work
I posted a couple of weeks back that I would likely pick up David Allen’s new book, Making It All Work, whenever the Kindle version dropped to $9.99. Well, it just did, so I bought it today. I just just thinking that our new president could probably use a bit of organizational help from David Allen. He’s got such an ambitious agenda, and in such a challenging environment, that I really think he should put a personal productivity guru of some sort on his staff. (Who knows, maybe he already has one.)
I’m not sure when I’ll actually get around to reading this book, though. I’m in the middle of a Doctor Who novel right now, plus I just started reading 1776, and I have John Adams on the Kindle too. Plus a boatload of SF and fantasy novels, both dead-tree and Kindle format, waiting to be read.
mystery books
I finished reading Spirit House today, on my Kindle. I’m a little annoyed that there’s only one other book in the Calvino series available in the US. The remaining books are available mail-order from Thailand, but that’s kind of expensive. One of the good things about the Kindle is that it should make it relatively easy and risk-free to get a bunch of already-written books into “print” in the US. You don’t have to worry about upfront printing costs, the risk of returns from brick and mortar retailers, or any of that noise. Just put them out there on Amazon, and see what happens.
productivity books
David Allen’s new book just came out. I’ll probably pick up the Kindle version at some point, though I think I’ll wait and see if they drop the price on it. It’s $14.27 right now; the hardcover is $17.13. I’m assuming the Kindle version will drop to the usual $9.99 eventually.
I still haven’t finished reading Ready for Anything , actually, so I’m in no hurry to start the new book. Along similar lines, I’m almost done with the audio version of Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits.
I don’t know if all this book-reading is doing me any good, really, but I like to think it’s helping.
More Readers Picking Up Electronic Books
Here’s an article from the NY Times on the Kindle, and other e-book readers, and the e-book market in general. The gist of it is basically that the market is picking up, and people, both readers and authors, are becoming more accepting of it. I’m still waiting for J K Rowling to decide that she’s OK with e-books. I wouldn’t mind re-reading the first few Harry Potter books at some point, but I had borrowed them from a friend when I first read them, and have since returned them. I could probably be talked into buying Kindle versions, though! I guess JKR just doesn’t want my money.
odd Kindle content
Okay, another Kindle post. Sorry. I just read that Rand McNally is releasing a few road atlases for the Kindle. I don’t know, I guess that could be useful, but really, the Kindle seems like a really bad platform for a book of maps. The screen is small and grey-scale. If you really want static maps, just buying a paper atlas is a much better idea. And if you want electronic maps, just use Google maps on your cell phone, iPod Touch, or whatever. Or get a GPS.
great Kindle covers
These guys make some great covers for the Kindle. They’re pretty expensive though. I guess I’ll stick with the one that came with it.
It seems like I haven’t been blogging about anything other than the Kindle lately. There’s no particular reason for that. I just haven’t had much else to say. I think I’m nearly done fighting the cold I caught a couple of weeks ago. I should, hopefully, be fine by Christmas.
new magazines on Kindle
There are two new magazines available on the Kindle: Cash, a personal finance magazine, and The Escapist. I’m still hoping that they’ll eventually add The Economist. As magazines go, it’s perfect for the Kindle — nearly all text. Very little would be lost in the translation.
I’m curious about “Cash”. The general format itself is interesting — it appears to be a Kindle-only compilation of repurposed content from other TMS sources. I wonder if we’ll see more of this kind of thing on the Kindle.
free books
Random House has made a number of their Kindle titles free to download, until 2/28/09. There are three Charlie Huston novels on the list, and a few other ones that sound interesting. I actually haven’t read any of Huston’s novels yet, but I did enjoy his run on Moon Knight.
Meanwhile, I’m fighting a cold this week. It snuck up on me on Sunday afternoon. I’m assuming I picked it up while I was out Christmas shopping. Hopefully, it won’t linger for too long. I want to be healthy for Christmas and New Year’s!