Introducing the new Amazon kindle ebook
reader...
- Lightweight
-
at just
10.2 oz it's lighter than the average
paperback
- Slim
- no thicker
than the average magazine at just over
1/3"
-
Wireless
- 3G technology lets you download books
anywhere - no fees and no need to find a
WiFi hotspot
- Fast
- Download books in under a
minute
-
Huge
Storage - Enough for
more than 1500
books
-
Long Battery
Life - Read for days
without recharging
-
Great
Display - 16 shades
of grey for crisp clear text and images -
reads like real
paper
-
Huge
Selection - Choose
from over 340,000 books plus US and
international newspapers and
magazines
-
Low
Prices - Cheaper
than printed books
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The New
Kindle 2
The Amazon kindle is, fundamentally, a portable e-book reader.
It allows users to read digitally stored books or documents on
an electronic screen. There’s nothing very novel about that –
we’ve all enjoyed the ability to read e-books and text files on
computers and other mobile devices for some time now. So what
is it about the kindle that makes it so important?
In fact, whilst the kindle has many impressive
features and functions, there is arguably no one single
point which marks it for future greatness. It really is
an example of the whole being more than the sum of the
parts. So, with that being said, let’s have a look at the
key aspects of Amazon’s new kindle 2.
Portable
First of all the kindle really is portable. It weighs 10.2
ounces and is just 1/3 of an inch thick. That’s about the same
weight as a paperback book and about as thick as a glossy
magazine. The overall dimensions are 8” X 5.3” X 0.36”. So it’s
considerably more portable than even a small notebook computer,
and the ergonomics make it a good deal easier to handle and
read from on, for example, a plane or a bus.
Extended
Battery Life
The kindle also enjoys a long battery life – up to a fortnight
when used only as a reader with the wireless turned off. When
downloading, especially in weak signal areas, battery life is
reduced. Even then 4 days between recharges is
achievable.
Easy To
Read Display
The kindle uses a “paper like” display, about 6” across the
diagonal, which avoids screen glare and reflection, allowing
reading in brightly lit conditions – something which can be
troublesome with a notebook PC. There are 6 font sizes to
choose from, so you should be able to read quite easily even if
you’ve left your bifocals at home.
Even if you don’t like the display or can’t
quite decide on the perfect font size, all is not lost.
The kindle 2 now has the capability of reading your book
to you using its new audio playback facility called
“read-to-me”. However, be aware that this feature may be
turned off by the publisher’s of certain books – best to
check before you download.
No
Monthly Fee For Connectivity
The kindle connects to Amazon’s e-book store using 3G wireless
technology. There’s no need for an internet connection or WiFi
hotspot and there are no download connection fees or monthly
subscription charges.
Choose From A
Huge Range Of Titles It
takes less than a minute to download an e-book to your
kindle and you can currently choose from 300,000 titles
on Amazon. The list is growing daily. The kindle device
itself can store up to 1500 books.
In addition to e-books, newspaper, magazine and
even blog subscriptions are available. Apart from kindle
books, the device supports various other file formats
including .TXT and MP3. PDF files are not currently
supported but a conversion service is
available.
The kindle also has limited internet browsing
capabilities.
Value For
Money
At $260, the kindle is not cheap – but considering that
kindle books are cheaper since they don’t use any print
consumables, the cost may be recovered fairly quickly for heavy
readers. You can also find a good selection of free Kindle books - right on Amazon's
website, and there's a lot more starting at just $0.01. You
could recover the purchase price of your Kindle pretty quick
with prices like that.
Over the piece, the kindle may prove to be the
ideal product for Amazon. Fast, free and easy downloads
coupled with Amazon’s huge selection of available titles
will encourage even greater loyalty to the already
trusted Amazon brand. Customers will return to Amazon for
further book purchases and, as the kindle goes
mainstream, economies of scale should be
achievable.
All things considered, it looks like good business for Amazon
and the kindle could very well change the way we all look at
books in the not too distant future.
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