Tag Archives: kindelicious

Kindle DX — bigger, better, maybe

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As you may have already heard, Amazon announced the release of the next Kindle 2, called the Kindle DX. This time there are actually quite a few improvements from the last Kindle. The Kindle DX has a 9.7″ display (compared to the original 6″ display). It’s a few inches larger overall measuring 10.4″ x 7.2″ x 0.38″. It holds up to 3,500 ebooks, which is 2,000 more than the previous version and it’s got a built-in pdf reader. The most exciting feature is the auto-rotating screen. Turn your Kindle DX sideways and the page you’re viewing will turn to a landscape view. This would be great for looking at images like maps in much closer detail.

Check out the Kindle DX: Amazon’s 9.7 product page for a side-by-side comparison of Kindle 2 and Kindle DX. The differences really are exciting. As with the previous two Kindle releases, the product page is extremely informative. You can pre-order a Kindle DX now for $489.00. Not such an exciting price tag, especially considering that Amazon is aiming squarely at the textbook market now. If this could save students money over $30 used textbooks, then maybe it will work out. I have a tough time seeing how a large market exists for a $500 digital reader among a group of people who exist on ramen noodles. I know I would have scoffed at the idea when I was in college four years ago. For more info on the textbook aims, check out Kindlelicious.

What do you think about the Kindle? For my readers who own Kindles, how do you feel about the new release? I must say, the more improvements made to Kindle, the more interested I am in trying one out. I may be an e-reader convert someday.

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Kindle version 2

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It’s official. The second version of Kindle has been announced on Amazon’s front page. There have been rumors across the internet about this release, like this article over at Cnet. Today Cnet has posted this great slideshow of Kindle 2 pics and this article includes live coverage of New York’s Morgan Library and Museum event this morning where the new Kindle was unveiled.

Keep an eye on Kindelicious for great Kindle-related info.

I must admit, I’m becoming more and more interested in owning a Kindle. Still I’ll probably wait as long as I did to get an MP3 player (and still the prices weren’t as low as what I consider to be value of a tiny metal/plastic music playing hunk of technology).


Lemonade Award

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Book Review Blog Carnival received the Lemonade Award from Kindelicious last week. Clark, the Carnival Director, passed it on to all of us.

I have a confession to make. Since I haven’t published an actual book review in a bit, I haven’t been participating in the carnival. I feel a little naughty accepting the award and posting it to my sidebar because of laziness. So, I decided to post the badge right here, in this post, for your oohing and ahhing pleasure and also for safekeeping until I pass it on to some fancy blogs I love.

Lemonade Award

Also, I have not been a Kindelicious reader until now. With my curiosity about the Kindle (and the Sony Reader, which I apparently missed somehow years ago, among others), I will definitely be paying close attention to Kindelicious.

This week’s edition of the carnival can be found on Maw Books Blog. In honor of the 7th edition, Maw is hosting a fun contest:

As a thank you for visiting this edition of the Book Review Blog Carnival, I’d like to give you a holiday gift. A $10 Amazon gift certificate. How do you win? Simply visit three participating blogs and leave them a thoughtful comment. One of those blogs must be a blog that you have never visited before. Come back here and tell me. I’ll pick a winner on Tuesday, December 30th.

You will notice that RIS is not listed there, but the list has grown twenty-fold. It’s amazing!

Kindle?

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For a mere $360 you could own Amazon’s new wireless reading device, the Kindle. Since I am not a rich woman, I did not buy the Kindle to review it. If you want to read owner reviews, there are loads on Amazon. It currently has 4/5 stars and around 4,000 reviews. Although considering the banter that occurs in the review area on Amazon, you could likely cut that number in half.

The reason I bring up the Kindle at all is almost entirely related to Amazon’s marketing of it. I visit Amazon often. I love the site. I even love “window shopping” (can I coin the term Monitor Shopping?) on Amazon. However, for what seems like the last 3 years the Kindle has been forced in my face every time I look Amazon.

With its newness the Kindle has some limits to its functionality. While it can email documents, its “PDF conversion is experimental. The experimental category represents the features we are working on to enhance the Kindle experience even further,” Amazon explains. If you’re looking for a list of functions or user reviews, check out the Kindle on Amazon.

I’m interested in how using the Kindle feels compared to reading a book. When I sit down to read, I enjoy the feeling of turning the pages. I like the smell of books (new smell and old smell). I love bookmarks (more than I love refrigerator magnets, but that’s a different post entirely). So what would it be like to sit down with this hunk of plastic and wirelessly download a novel in a few second? How would I feel pushing a button instead of turning a page? Even with it’s electronic paper technology, I don’t think it would be quite the same.

Then again, Neil Gaimen says it’s crisp. Funny thing about the quote is, he didn’t say he liked it. He just never said he didn’t like it…

The Kindle looks more to me like a PSP than something I’d want to read books on. Then again, I held onto my CD collection until a couple of months ago. I like having racks of CD cases to look through (alphabetized, of course). Then I ripped them all, bought an iPod, started buying mp3s, and I’ll never look back.

Watch the Kindle video and tell me what you think of it.

**As an added note, Kindle also can be used to download audio books. However, they must be downloaded to a PC. You use a USB cable to transfer them to the Kindle. You also provide your own headphones (or everyone in the room can listen to your book via Kindle’s speakers).

Updated 01/01/09 -
Since writing this post, I stumbled on Kindelicious. It’s a fantastic blog for anyone interested in Kindle, Kindle owners, and anyone who loves reading.