Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Amazon Releasing Software Development Kit to Bring Apps to Kindle
- Thread starter Surely
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
There's a crude, black and white app for that
I admire Amazon for slowing waking up to the reality of ebook reader competition but this seems kinda feeble. An old Atari 2600 or NES has better potential for apps than 16 shades of gray, limited movement and charges(!) for network access. Oh well, at least Amazon can say they tried at the shareholders meeting next year to wind down the Kindle. My take: http://tastyslate.com/2010/01/21/wsj-makes-apple-tablet-official/
I admire Amazon for slowing waking up to the reality of ebook reader competition but this seems kinda feeble. An old Atari 2600 or NES has better potential for apps than 16 shades of gray, limited movement and charges(!) for network access. Oh well, at least Amazon can say they tried at the shareholders meeting next year to wind down the Kindle. My take: http://tastyslate.com/2010/01/21/wsj-makes-apple-tablet-official/
This is probably meant to have interactive web-like applications (think early iPhone), not exactly to run Madden.
Logical evolution and there'll probably be a color Kindle next year. Not sure if Kindle has enough market share to attract that many developers though.
iPhone benefits from iPhone base and Touch base.
Logical evolution and there'll probably be a color Kindle next year. Not sure if Kindle has enough market share to attract that many developers though.
iPhone benefits from iPhone base and Touch base.
I'm beginning to get the impression that e-ink-philes are going to be just as annoying as audiophiles during the early days of the iPod.
As for game apps:
The type of person who reads eBooks probably isn't wanting to use it to play Doom.
They already have crossword puzzles for it. Chess, checkers, backgammon, Monopoly and so forth are all popular games that don't require color and high-speed motion.
The type of person who reads eBooks probably isn't wanting to use it to play Doom.
They already have crossword puzzles for it. Chess, checkers, backgammon, Monopoly and so forth are all popular games that don't require color and high-speed motion.
Between the slow processor and the high refresh rate of the e-ink, this could only be for casual games.
Of course I am sure in a month or so we will see someone who got Doom to run on it
They try to run Doom on everything.
Of course I am sure in a month or so we will see someone who got Doom to run on it
They try to run Doom on everything.
That was probably the stupidest counterarguments ever and actually proved my point. So I'm sorry but your strawman isn't going to cut it. You might want to be a little closer to the people-are-trying-kludge-e-ink-into-playing-videogames-and-then-defend-it-as-being-completely-useable-if-not-superior point than to start talking about something that has very little to do with what people are actually saying.
ie: The point was e-ink-philes are annoying, not that e-ink itself is annoying...unless you're an e-ink display then yes, e-ink displays that post on internet forums are annoying.
@gruber from daringfireball.com on this:
"Shh. Do you hear that? Off in the distance. It sounds like a freight train from Cupertino coming down the track.
Amazon hears it."
"Shh. Do you hear that? Off in the distance. It sounds like a freight train from Cupertino coming down the track.
Amazon hears it."
I'll take that bet.
He's right, and no amount of Apple worshiping is going to change that fact.
Getting back on topic, what kind of games can this thing run? My old TI-83 is probably more capable.
I don't see how I proved your point -- and your hostile response to my non-hostile response is puzzling.
As others have said, there are games suitable for a low-refresh display. Just because EA is interested doesn't mean they are going to be porting Need For Speed.
Given the choice of reading a text book for an 8 hour stretch versus reading an HTML version in Firefox for the same length of time, most will go for the paper book. Why is it surprising then that someone would choose e-ink over a computer monitor for that use?
Chess, Othello, Wordsearch, Solitare, Minesweeper, Crossword games, "brain training" quizzes....
Can't think of much more.
I have a Kindle and can't see this affecting me whatsoever. Why would I want apps on a device I bought to read books? What app would I possibly want? Certainly not games, the only thing I can think of is a word processor, which I would never use anyway. I don't think Amazon needs to be worried about the supposedly impending Apple tablet device, personally if it isn't e-ink I'm not going to be reading e-books on it. I think Amazon should focus on marketing the Kindle as the one that's easier on the eyes.
Given the choice of reading a text book for an 8 hour stretch versus reading an e-ink version on a Kindle for the same length of time, most will go for the paper book. Why is it surprising then that someone would choose a fully-functional LCD/OLED tablet device over e-ink for that use?
Breakout, Super Breakout...
With $10,000 you only have enough for a few weeks of one good developer, much less graphics artists et al.
That buys a pretty simple game, and you'd want the newest market to try to make money from it, before others made better versions.
So definitely the Kindle
Because if they'd choose the paper over e-ink, they'd also choose the paper over the LCD/OLED.
Breakout, Super Breakout...
Nope. It's still too slow for that. But why not Zork? Text adventures (er... "Interactive Fiction") could make a comeback.
Or not... considering that this brand has been around since before I was in high school, I think its safe to assume the "Kindle edition" probably isn't much different than the paper edition (read: no true interactivity, just "turn to page X"). These types are on the iPhone too in a number of flavors. Definitely a no-brainer.
~ CB
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
I think we'll be surprised by the creativity of developers. Things we can't think of now will make sense when we see it.