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Amazon Announces New Kindles: $139 Wi-Fi, $189 3G
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LOL. Only difference between and ipod touch and iphone are the cellular radios... and there used to be like a $300 difference between the two.
Ouch! Too true, though. He assumes we need to hear about his mac specs, yet makes a sarcastic remark about a posting on a website he visits?
Strange.
Talking about articles such as this?
http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2009/09/28/23918/
The university I work for actually had our Kindle pilot project shut down due to a lawsuit. I think the general consensus among students was probably the same though as what that article details.
However, it's important to differentiate between using the Kindle as a textbook replacement, and using it to replace general books. Personally I was never one to mark up my textbooks with highlighters, etc., but most of my friends always did, so I could see why they'd dislike having a Kindle. However, as a general replacement for books, I can't really see anyone disliking it. It certainly makes airline flights nicer.
(Oh, and is anyone truly shocked that college students don't read as much? Seriously, to the average college student, why be in reading a book, when you can be out getting drunk and such).
And the camera (2 now), and the GPS and the gyroscope, and the microphone, the speaker, proximity sensor, flash....
Yes it does. It is made in China. It must travel overseas to get to any N. or S. America location.
I don't find it heavy at all. To me it feels like holding a hardcover book, but not a dictionary.
You have to decide where you will use the book reader. If it's almost always at home where you have WiFi, the WiFi version should work great. But if you think you'll want to get books on the road, the 3g version would be handy.
Isn't it hilarious how people decide, literally sight unseen, that the iPad will hurt their eyes, while writing that opinion on the same backlit screen they been reading from for years.
Let's put it this way: If you want to read books, get a Kindle. Far more advantages (eInk, selection, prices)
If you like to browse through magazines or newspapers, read an occasional article here and there or read some blogs, then iPad is the more suitable device.
If you like both, well 189 is not too much if you ask me. Plus, you can read your Kindle-Book on your iPad if you forgot your Kindle at home.
Why not read the NYT on your nice iPad with video, good layout for 20 min in the morning and read a nice novel on your Kindle in the evening?
For me there is not too much competition or overlapping markets. Maybe Steve could be a bit upset not selling enough iBooks, in my opinion that's not what the iPad was created for anyway.
If you like to browse through magazines or newspapers, read an occasional article here and there or read some blogs, then iPad is the more suitable device.
If you like both, well 189 is not too much if you ask me. Plus, you can read your Kindle-Book on your iPad if you forgot your Kindle at home.
Why not read the NYT on your nice iPad with video, good layout for 20 min in the morning and read a nice novel on your Kindle in the evening?
For me there is not too much competition or overlapping markets. Maybe Steve could be a bit upset not selling enough iBooks, in my opinion that's not what the iPad was created for anyway.
Add the Barnes & Noble Nook into the equation
Look into the NOOK as well. Able to get books from lots of sources. The B&N store is larger, I think, than Amazon. It includes tons of free books (all of Google Books and the Guttenburg Project). Plus you can connect by USB to a computer and sideload books from other sources, like public libraries. Same size and type of screen as the Kindle. $149 for wifi only, and $199 for free 3G for accessing B&N books + wifi...including free access to all ATT wifi access points. Smaller device than the Kindle, and much smaller and lighter than the iPad. Like the Kindle, you can use it all day in the sun without it becoming uncomfortably hot and shutting itself down. Has the standard ebook complimentary apps, like a built in dictionary where you can highlight a word and find its definition. And you can make notes on books you are reading. You can also use it as a music player with headphones. It will work in a pinch over wifi as a web browser, but badly. Instead of a mechanical keypad, the Nook has a 2nd touchpad screen which converts to a touch keypad when needed. I prefer a mechanical keyboard, but tolerate the touch keypad disadvantage for the other benefits of the Nook. One good thing is that the touch keypad is small enough that you can hold the device in your hands and still type with both thumbs. The touch keypad on the iPad is too large for that, and I found myself either holding it in one hand and typing with the 2nd hand, or always searching for a spot to put the iPad down to type with 2 hands (at that point the large iPad touch keypad becomes nearly tolerable for full hand touch typing).
Overall, if you are looking for an eReader and not a more full featured device, and you are ok with needing a light source to illuminate the screen, you can't go wrong with either the Kindle or the Nook. My choice was the Nook.
Look into the NOOK as well. Able to get books from lots of sources. The B&N store is larger, I think, than Amazon. It includes tons of free books (all of Google Books and the Guttenburg Project). Plus you can connect by USB to a computer and sideload books from other sources, like public libraries. Same size and type of screen as the Kindle. $149 for wifi only, and $199 for free 3G for accessing B&N books + wifi...including free access to all ATT wifi access points. Smaller device than the Kindle, and much smaller and lighter than the iPad. Like the Kindle, you can use it all day in the sun without it becoming uncomfortably hot and shutting itself down. Has the standard ebook complimentary apps, like a built in dictionary where you can highlight a word and find its definition. And you can make notes on books you are reading. You can also use it as a music player with headphones. It will work in a pinch over wifi as a web browser, but badly. Instead of a mechanical keypad, the Nook has a 2nd touchpad screen which converts to a touch keypad when needed. I prefer a mechanical keyboard, but tolerate the touch keypad disadvantage for the other benefits of the Nook. One good thing is that the touch keypad is small enough that you can hold the device in your hands and still type with both thumbs. The touch keypad on the iPad is too large for that, and I found myself either holding it in one hand and typing with the 2nd hand, or always searching for a spot to put the iPad down to type with 2 hands (at that point the large iPad touch keypad becomes nearly tolerable for full hand touch typing).
Overall, if you are looking for an eReader and not a more full featured device, and you are ok with needing a light source to illuminate the screen, you can't go wrong with either the Kindle or the Nook. My choice was the Nook.
Assumption. What do you read your ebooks on then?
If it's a smart phone, the screen works, but it's too small compared to a Kindle let alone an iPad.
It looks pretty heavy. Isnt the previous Kindle retailing at like $300 or something? If it serves the same function for $160-$110 then i guess it worth the thickness.
Which is at least an order of magnitude too bright if you are used to reading astronomical charts and aviation maps under a dim red pen light so as not to destroy your night vision.
And if I don't destroy my night vision when reading in bed with an overbright tablet display, then I don't need to turn on the room lights and wake everybody up when I need to get up at night.
Both my day and night vision are excellent, BTW. What's the problem with your night vision?
You can get many ebooks free too, which is why I mentioned Gutenberg before. Just check out http://manybooks.net for a great selection of classic books, all free.
Some people claim backlighting causes eyestrain, but personally, I at least find the e-ink screen easier to read for longer periods of time. Of course, I'm fine with LCDs, too, but I'm usually doing more than just reading on them. There are clear disadvantages for e-ink: lack of (affordable) color and slower refresh, for example; but there are many advantages: it reads almost like paper, and its power consumption is minimal. Try going 10 days reading on iPad without recharging.
For $139 this actually looks like a really good deal. I still think it's ugly as sin with that toy keyboard sticking out and all, and I don't like the limited font selections and lack of left (ragged right) justification.
Still, at this price, even though I own an iPad and have already bought iBooks, it will be tempting to buy one of these and switch over to Kindle books for both devices.
The DX now really needs to come down to $250 or less though.
Still, at this price, even though I own an iPad and have already bought iBooks, it will be tempting to buy one of these and switch over to Kindle books for both devices.
The DX now really needs to come down to $250 or less though.
Some people claim backlighting causes eyestrain, but personally, I at least find the e-ink screen easier to read for longer periods of time. Of course, I'm fine with LCDs, too, but I'm usually doing more than just reading on them. There are clear disadvantages for e-ink: lack of (affordable) color and slower refresh, for example; but there are many advantages: it reads almost like paper, and its power consumption is minimal. Try going 10 days reading on iPad without recharging.
I've gone 5 or 6 days without recharging my iPad, but yes, your point is well made.
As I've been saying throughout this thread, each person should decide what is right for their eyes, their wallet, their library of books. Pick the solution that works for you.